Harry Potter and the Students of the School of the Sphinx

Harry Potter and the Students of the School of the Sphinx (12/?)

By Angelina Johnson

Chapter 12

Gryffindor Vs. Slytherin

    Harry had changed his mind about discussing the details of the fight he had seen, but he had mentioned to Ginny and Ron what Kristin Langley had tried to do. He had also mentioned it to Alex, but Hermione had been too busy for Harry to get a chance to talk to her about it. Alex had looked furious when Harry told her.

    "I knew I didn't like her, but really! I never realized that she was that mean!" Alex had said. Harry just sort of shook his head. Alex hadn't seen the fight, she hadn't seen the look on both Sirius and Melissa's faces. It was now obvious that they meant the world to each other, and Harry was not keen on forgiving Kristin for causing them to hurt each other. Harry had not ever really talked to her, but she had been teaching a few of their History of Magic classes. While everyone realized that her lessons were far more interesting than Professor Binns', and they almost been fun, but Harry refused to enjoy them. Hermione did not understand why Harry didn't even try to like the class, but Harry's patience was starting to run thin, and when she asked him about it he only snapped at her.

    Harry's biggest worries at the moment had to do with Quidditch. This weekend was the first match of the season, Gryffindor vs. Slytherin, and Harry was feeling the pressure of being captain more than ever. He had held practices every night of the week, and he had closed them so that no one could spy on the team.

    Malfoy, who was the new Slytherin captain, seemed just as on edge as Harry. His usual confidence and arrogance seemed to have faded, and when Harry passed him in the halls, he didn't even take the time to sneer or make some mean comment. Crabbe and Goyle, however, seemed to have finally learned how to use their incredibly tiny brains without Malfoy's leads, and they had taken to making mean comments about how Harry would fall off of his broom or Ron would miss the Quaffle.

    Harry and Ron had finally, after five years, learned not to rise to the challenge when they were baited by the Slytherins. They had enough experience to know that it usually ended up in them getting in trouble, and even though Harry felt as though detentions were trivial compared to things going on around them, he still preferred to avoid them.

    The night before the match, the team sat huddled around the fire. None of them had anything to say. They were all so young, and so new. Slytherin not only had the size advantage, but they also had the experience advantage. They only had one new player, while the Gryffindors had four new players and a player who now had a new position. Even though Harry felt that they definitely had the talent advantage, but he had doubts about whether that would be enough. The Luna's, who were usually loud and obnoxious, were now silent. Brett, who was usually the center of attention, was now sitting away from the action of the Common Room. Andrea, who was usually bent over a book or scribbling on a piece of parchment, sat staring blankly at the wall. Harry, Ron, and Ginny (who was very nervous despite her denying that she was) sat next to them, talking softly about what they were going to be up against.

    "They still have the broom advantage, Harry, you may have a Firebolt, but it still can't match up to the brooms that Mr. Malfoy gave them," Ron said.

    "Before he was arrested and tried, of course," Ginny muttered. Ron smiled.

    "It's just Slytherin. We've beat them before, and we have a great combination on this team! We can pull it off," Ron said loudly. Harry grinned at him appreciatively.

    "You know, you're right, Ron. We have no reason to be nervous!" Caroline Luna said.

    "Yeah, why are we all sitting around doing nothing when we could be making a mess?" Katherine Luna asked. She and Caroline rose and headed off to their dorms, but Brett and Andrea still looked nervous.

    "Don't worry about it, guys. If you don't think you can concentrate on anything lese, then you should go get some sleep," Harry said.

    "I think I should do that. Otherwise I'll be sick," Andrea said, and headed to bed.

    "I shouldn't be scared. Katie said that it's nothing to worry about," Brett said, mostly trying to convince himself. He, too, headed off to bed.

    "I'm tired. I ought to get some sleep, too," Ginny said, and she headed off.

    "Ron, I really don't want to lose to Malfoy! We have to win," Harry said.

    "And we have to get our minds off of this game! It's only seven thirty and half the team is already in bed. I know just the thing," Ron said, and he dragged Harry toward the portrait hole.

    "Where are we going?" Harry asked.

    "Find Alex," Ron said.

    "What for?" Harry asked. Alex seemed to be Ron's answer to everything lately.

    "Just because," Ron said.

    "Ron, don't you think Alex needs some time to herself? You've gone to talk to her every night this week!" Harry said.

    "Not true. You were the one who talked to her on Tuesday," Ron said sheepishly. Harry shook his head.

    "Can't we just go down to talk to Melissa or something? Or maybe go down to the library? I don't want to bother Alex," Harry said.

    "You wouldn't say that if it were Ginny instead of Alex," Ron said, and finally Harry gave in. They found Alex in the library, surrounded by a pile of books.

    "Do you ever go to your dorm?" Ron asked her as he slid into a seat on her right. Harry grudgingly sat in the one on her left.

    "Hardly," Alex said, grinning.

    "And why is that?" Harry asked her.

    "I told you before I'm not a big fan of the people from my school. They aren't exactly nice to me, and I don't really mind," Alex said. Ron smiled sympathetically.

    "Hey, Alex, are you coming to the match tomorrow? Gryffindor vs. Slytherin, first match of the season," Ron reminded her.

    "Of course I'll be there. Quidditch is my life! Besides, it's my duty to my team to keep an eye on the competition," Alex said with a wicked grin.

    "I just hope one of us knocks Malfoy off his broom," Ron said, showing his disgust for the blond haired boy.

    "That's very nice of you, Weasley. Do you feel the same, Potter?" Malfoy asked. He had just come from the Restricted Section, a book in his arms. He was careful not to let them see the title.

    "Dunno. We'll find out tomorrow, won't we?" Harry asked.

    "It's always tomorrow with you, isn't it, Potter?" Malfoy asked.

    "What is that supposed to mean?" Ron asked.

    "Oh, nothing," Malfoy said with a smirk. Ron grabbed him by the collar.

    "I asked you what that was supposed to mean, Malfoy," Ron said, his voice in a dangerous whisper.

    "Leave him alone, Ron. He's just trying to draw you into a fight. He knows that you aren't fool enough to try anything with Crabbe and Goyle around, but that doesn't mean that you should jump on him when they're not around," Harry said.

    "Bug off, Harry!" Ron said.

    "Ron, leave him alone! He hasn't done anything to you, it was Harry he was insulting-or at least I think that must have been an insult. But this should be Harry's battle, and if he has the sense not to fight this little weasel then you should, too," Alex said firmly. Ron finally released Malfoy.

    "You're right," Ron said, and Malfoy sneered at the three of them as he left.

    "Wonder what that worm was doing in the Restricted Section," Harry said.

    "Yeah, that's a good question," Alex said.

    "I just want to know why you won't let me bloody him up one good time," Ron said darkly. Harry laughed.

    "You can't go around beating people up," Alex said.

    "Malfoy deserves it, though," Ron said.

    "I agree, but don't get even with him by beating him up, get even by beating him in Quidditch," Alex said with a wicked grin.

    "I know you can do it," she said, patting Ron on the shoulder. He grinned broadly.

    "Thanks, Alex," he said.

    "And speaking of Quidditch, I think I'd best go on up to bed. We need to be well rested," Harry said, and he got up to leave.

    "I'll be there in a minute," Ron said, and Harry left him and Alex alone.

    Harry slept uneasily that night, but it had nothing to do with Quidditch.

    The night was dark and cold, and Harry could see that they were inside of the forest. There were two other people with him, but he couldn't tell who they were. They were going deeper and deeper into the forest, and Harry heard rustling ahead of them. They seemed to be following a trail of blood-human blood. They walked and walked for what seemed to be an hour or more. They reached a clearing, and in it was a body. Harry couldn't make out who it was from this far away.

    "Should we see who it is?" a voice asked. Harry recognized it as Draco Malfoy's.

    "We have to try and help them," the other voice said. It was Alex Evans.

    "They're probably already dead," Malfoy muttered.

    "Shut up, Malfoy! Do you have no compassion?" Alex asked. Harry could see that whoever the person is wasn't dead. Their chest was moving up and down very slowly-they were breathing.

    "Let's go," Harry said, and they drew nearer to the body. Just as they had gone to draw the hood back, Harry woke up.

    He sat straight up, sweating and panting. Dawn had just begun to break at the edge of the forest, and Harry knew that he had a couple of hours before he even needed to be up, but he couldn't go back to bed, so finally he got out of bed and went down to the Common Room.

    He wasn't the only one down there. Ginny sat in a chair next to the fire, wide awake, holding her knees.

    "What's wrong, Gin? Nervous?" Harry asked her gently.

    "Yes, but not about Quidditch. Well, it's partly about Quidditch, but I just have a bad feeling. Not about the match, though-it's about something bigger, I feel it," she said. Harry just looked at her nervously. He wasn't sure if he wanted to bring up the dream he had had or not.

    "Why are you up so early?" Ginny asked him.

    "Bad dream," Harry said, not wanting to give her the details.

    "Cedric?" Ginny asked softly.

    "No. Something-else," he said, in a tone that clearly said he didn't want to talk about it. Ginny understood, and they sat in silence until breakfast.

    Harry had to coax Andrea and Brett to eat. Ginny ate on her own, but she didn't eat a lot. The Luna twins and Ron, on the other hand, had piled their plates with food.

    No one said much during breakfast. A couple of people from other houses came over to wish them luck, but other than that not much was said.

    After they were done eating, Harry led the team down to the locker rooms to change into their scarlet robes.

    "All right, well, this is it. All of our practice has brought us here, and there's not really anything I can tell you to make this any difference. I know you guys have what it takes to beat Slytherin, and now all we have to do is prove it to the rest of the school," Harry said. The Lunas cheered loudly. Harry peeked out of the door, and he motioned for the team to line up. They listened as Seamus announced the Slytherins. The seven of them emerged in green robes to a large series of boos.

    "And now, I give you the Gryffindor team. Keeper Ron Weasley, Chasers Ginny Weasley, Brett Bell, and Andrea Johnson, Beaters Katherine and Caroline Luna, and Seeker and Captain Harry Potter!" Seamus roared. Cheers erupted around the stadium.

    "Players, mount your brooms," Madam Hooch said, "on my whistle... One... Two... Three." The whistle blew, and fifteen brooms rose into the air.

    "And Bell takes the Quaffle, passes to Johnson-these two plan to live up to the standards that their sister set the past few years, and they look as though it is quite possible. Great flying by Johnson, passes back to Bell, he swerves around the Slytherin Chaser, heads to the goal, passes to Ginny Weasley, she shoots-oh, no, way off there, Ginny, and the Quaffle goes to Slytherin," Seamus said. Boos rose around the crowd. By the time the noise had died and Seamus could be heard again, the Slytherin Chaser was at the other end of the field.

    "He shoots-past Weasley, the Quaffle goes in, and oh, no, ten to zero Slytherin," Seamus said. There were groans from the Gryffindor fans.

    Above the action of the game, Harry and Malfoy flew from side to side, trying to catch a glimpse of the Snitch.

    "Weasley streaks toward the goal, Bludger hit at her by Goyle, she drops the Quaffle, it's taken by Slytherin, they shoot again, and where is Ron Weasley? Slytherin scores, twenty to zero," Seamus said. Harry groaned. They were making a mess down there. Ron, who usually blocked everything, had now missed eight straight goals, and the Chasers, who usually flew so well together, had only managed to score two goals. Crabbe and Goyle celebrated their lead by pelting a Bludger towards the back of Katherine Luna's head.

    "Unnecessary! TWO fouls to Gryffindor," she shouted, but then she called a time out while someone attended to Katherine. The Bludger had hit her hard, and she was now out cold. Harry flew down to the ground, and saw that Professor McGonagall was dragging Katherine on a magical stretcher to the Hospital Wing.

    "That's a nasty head injury she has. Do you have a Reserve?" Madam Hooch asked. Harry nodded, and he motioned for Dean to come into the game.

    The game resumed, Brett and Andrea each took one of the foul shots and they both made them, making the score eighty to forty, Slytherin. The Gryffindor Chasers were now very angry, and they quickly closed the gap. Caroline Luna was so angry that she was pelting Bludgers in every direction, and the Slytherin's never stayed in possession of the Quaffle for very long.

    Gryffindor was now winning, one hundred and sixty to ninety. Harry was cheering for the goal that Ginny had just scored when he caught a glimpse of the Snitch. It was down on the other end of the field, near the ground. Malfoy was much closer to it, and though he had not seen it yet, Harry was afraid that if he went toward the Snitch Malfoy would notice and beat him to the small golden ball.

    "And there's the Snitch!" Seamus announced. Apparently he had seen it as well. Now Malfoy noticed it-Harry urged his broom to go as fast as it could, but Malfoy was too close. Harry pushed on, but it was no use. He was twenty feet away from it, Malfoy was five. The seconds seemed endless, but Harry watched helplessly as Malfoy's hand closed on the Snitch.

    "I don't believe it! Slytherin wins the match, two hundred forty to one hundred sixty," Seamus said. The Slytherins cheered loudly. Harry landed his broom and hung his head. He trudged to the locker room, the rest of the team behind him.

    "It's not your fault, Harry. You didn't know that the Snitch would appear next to Malfoy. It was just luck, everyone knows that you're a much better Seeker than he is," Ginny said. Caroline nodded fiercely in agreement.

    "We'll get even-somehow," Ron said.