Harry Potter and the Missing Memories

Chapter 8

Defence Against The Dark Arts

Harry, Ron and Hermione had almost finished their breakfast the following morning when Lavender put in an appearance. Her eyes looked rather puffy, in spite of wearing more make-up than usual. Harry was still feeling a mixture of embarrassment and just a little bit of guilt, like a hangover from the previous evening's events.

Hermione saw him glancing down the table at her. "I don't think she slept much last night," she said in a whisper. "She was still crying when I went up to the dorm last night. Not sure if it's the rejection or the public humiliation that got to her most. It might be an idea if you apologised though."

"I don't really see why I should apologise to her," Harry replied, frowning. "She was the one who was all over me in front of everyone else in the common room. And even though I don't care much for Dudley, it still seems incredibly mean of her to manipulate him like that. If anything, she should apologise to me."

Hermione sighed. "It'll make things really tense in class and in the common room if you and Lavender are avoiding each other all the time. Why don't you say sorry, just to keep the peace, even if you don't really mean it?"

"No way, Hermione," said Harry firmly. "I'm not the one in the wrong here, and I'm not going to take the blame."

Ron looked from one to the other. Harry had filled Ron in on the fine detail about the Lavender/Dudley/Harry triangle late the previous evening.

"Yep, Harry's right," Ron agreed. "No point in saying things you don't mean. And if he apologises now, she might think she still stands a chance. Anyway, we'd best go get our things - don't want to be late for our first Defence against the Dark Arts lesson, do we?"

The Trio set off back to Gryffindor Tower to get their books. Fred and George had given them good reports of the lesson they'd had with Professor Sophia the day before, and they were anxious to get to class on time and get good seats.

"She really knows her stuff," Fred had said.

"Maybe not as impressive as old Moody seemed last year," George had added, "but she's still leagues ahead of Quirrell and Lockhart any day."

"Bit of a babe too," observed Lee Jordan, giving a thumbs up.

*

Twenty minutes later, Harry, Ron and Hermione were at the head of the queue of Gryffindor students now lined up outside Professor Sophia's classroom, all waiting expectantly. Harry had always found Defence against the Dark Arts to be an interesting subject, even with the inept teachers they'd had in their first two years at Hogwarts. But in the last couple of years especially it had been his favourite subject, and he was hoping that Professor Sophia would prove to be at least as good as Remus Lupin, who had taught them in their third year.

The moment the bell rang the classroom door opened, and Professor Sophia surveyed them from the doorway. She was wearing dark green robes, and her long, black hair was twisted loosely up and clipped on the top of her head. She looked down the line of students, as if weighing them up. Her light green eyes passed over Hermione, up at Ron, who towered over her, then down again to Harry. She paused momentarily on Harry's scar and then looked him straight in the eye. Harry was used to people pausing to look at his scar when they first met him by now, so he held her gaze calmly, green eyes to green eyes. For a moment he had the strangest feeling that she was searching his mind, similar to those times when Professor Dumbledore seemed to be looking right through him, but even more so. The corners of her mouth twitched upwards slightly as if satisfied and her eyes moved quickly on.

"Well, do come in," she said, standing to one side to let them enter. "Unless you wish me to conduct the lesson in the corridor."

They filed in and sat down, Harry, Ron and Hermione taking seats at the front right of the class, near the windows. When the last student was in, she closed the door behind them and walked down to the front of the room.

"My name, as you already know, is Professor Sophia," she said, looking round at them all with just a hint of a smile on her face. Although her English was impeccable, Harry could tell from her accent that she wasn't actually English, though he couldn't place exactly where she was from. "Before we begin our studies, I am sure you are all curious to know my credentials for teaching this subject."

Harry and Ron exchanged glances.

"Bet she hasn't won Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award three times," whispered Ron to Harry with a smirk. Hermione rolled her eyes and kicked Ron under the desk.

"As Professor Dumbledore informed you at the Start of Year Feast," Professor Sophia continued, "I previously worked at the Ministry of Magic, in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, where I worked as an Auror for fourteen years. I was halfway through my initial training when Lord Voldemort was defeated - a steep learning curve, as I'm sure you can imagine."

At the mention of Voldemort's name, well over half the class flinched or gasped, including Ron. The professor instantly rose a few points in Harry's estimation.

"It was during the initial training period that I received this," she said more gravely, indicating the long scar across her left cheek, "when an Auror raid on a known Death Eater meeting place went wrong. It had been assumed that no Death Eaters were present, and that we were merely looking for documents and evidence. However, our information was faulty. My partner was killed, and I escaped with this lasting reminder of the event."

The Gryffindor students now sat totally silent, staring open-mouthed at the professor, who was pacing up and down along the front of the classroom.

"That is why I accepted this position," she said, breaking the silence. "The opportunity to train others not to make the same mistakes I made was too good to pass up. Defence against those who would use magic against you, whether standard or dark, is a vitally important part of your education. So, to work."

The students reached for their parchments and quills.

"Now I understand you have covered dark creatures in detail and have covered a variety of curses, including the Unforgiveables. What I propose to cover this year are various means of getting out of dangerous situations, or of avoiding them in the first place. For the first half of the year, we will look at how to find the way in unfamiliar settings, leading on to how to track a person and how to avoid being followed. Part of syllabus will be taken directly from the Ministry of Magic's Auror training programme."

"So, starting with directions: how to find the way when you are unsure. Any suggestions as to how you could do this?"

Harry and Hermione's hands both shot up at once. Professor Sophia turned to them, smiling.

"Mr Potter, you first," she said.

"The Four-Point Spell," said Harry.

"Yes, good," she nodded. "Miss Granger, what were you going to suggest?"

"The same," said Hermione, disappointed.

"Well, perhaps you could demonstrate the Four-Point Spell for us then?"

Hermione dutifully took out her wand, placed it on the palm of her hand and said, "Point me." Her wand tip instantly swung round to point north.

"Very good," said Professor Sophia encouragingly. "As you can see, Miss Granger's wand is now pointing due north. This is obviously useful when you know roughly which direction you should be going in, but have lost your bearings. Would you please all get out your wands and try this spell."

The students pulled their wands out from robes and bags, laid them on their outstretched hands and tried the spell. It proved to be an easy spell for most of them to master. Even Neville managed it perfectly at his second attempt, which he was very pleased with.

"Good, good," said Professor Sophia, clapping her hands to bring them back to order again. "That is one method of finding your way. Can any of you suggest any others?"

No hands shot up into the air this time. The professor looked around at them for a few moments.

"No-one?" she asked. "Try to think outside the box. Consider both magic and non-magic means."

Just then the classroom door opened, and Professor Dumbledore popped his head round it.

"Sorry to disturb your lesson, Kaliope," he said, "but could I have a quick word with you? It will only take a minute."

She nodded and made her way towards the door.

"Class, while I am talking to Professor Dumbledore, please write down all the means of finding your way that you can think of, however obscure. We will go through them when I return," she said, before going out of the room and closing the door firmly behind her.

Low whispering immediately broke out across the class.

"I can't think of anything apart from the Four-Point Spell," Harry said to Ron and Hermione. "Can you?"

"Not apart from a compass," replied Hermione.

"A compass! That'll do," said Ron, writing it down quickly. "What's one of them?"

Hermione tutted. "What's the point in writing something down when you don't even know what it is? What if she asks you to explain it?"

"Better than having a blank piece of parchment. And you can always step in and rescue me if she does ask - it'd make you look even better," Ron replied.

The door opened, and Professor Sophia came back into the room.

"Right," she said as she reached the front of the classroom, "Who has thought of other methods of finding the way?"

A few hands raised slowly into the air.

"Yes, Mr ... Longbottom," she said, consulting the register and pointing to Neville.

"Um, ask someone?" ventured Neville timidly.

Many of the other students laughed. Professor Sophia smiled, but did not join in the laughter. Instead she looked at Neville appraisingly.

"Good idea, Mr Longbottom," she said, then turned to address the rest of the class. "Never dismiss the obvious just because it is obvious. Mr Longbottom is quite right: if there is someone to ask, then asking them the way is a perfectly logical means to achieve your goal. Any others? Mr Weasley?"

"A compass?" said Ron, reddening.

Professor Sophia gave him a sharp look. "The Muggle equivalent of the Four-Point Spell," she said. "Miss Granger, why don't you explain to us what the problems of using a compass in a magical environment are?"

Hermione gave a small, satisfied smile and replied, "Compasses point north unless disrupted by a magnetic field. The presence of strong magic very often creates a magnetic field around its source. This would make the compass unreliable."

Ron looked crestfallen. Professor Sophia looked around the room.

"Mr Thomas, did you have another idea?"

"Map-reading," Dean replied.

"Excellent. I was hoping one of you would think of this," she said, smiling and nodding at him. "Now, maps and map-reading are very useful tools, both in the magic and muggle worlds. A thorough understanding of coordinates is a pre-requisite to taking an Apparition licence when you are of age, so interpreting maps will be an important part of the syllabus this year."

The rest of the lesson was spent in a basic introduction to map symbols. For their homework, Professor Sophia asked them to learn the basic map symbols by heart and to ensure they understood the concepts of latitude and longitude.

*

"Do you think she knew I didn't know what a compass was?" asked Ron as they were on their way to lunch after their Transfiguration lesson.

"Probably," Harry replied, casting his mind back to that strange feeling he'd had when she had looked at him. "I think she doesn't miss much."

"It's your own fault for saying something you knew nothing about," said Hermione haughtily. "If you'd known what a compass was, and if you'd read Hogwarts: A History, you'd have known that you couldn't use one anywhere near here. Hogwarts is Unplottable, and compasses would just go haywire."

*

The weather that weekend was gloriously warm. Hermione and Ron had to spend most of Saturday morning in a Prefects' meeting, so Harry took the opportunity to go for a walk in the grounds. He would have headed for Hagrid's cabin if Hagrid had been around to visit, but as he wasn't, he went in the other direction, round the lake. It was pleasant to actually spend some time by himself. Much as Hogwarts was his home, and much as he enjoyed having his friends around and sharing a dormitory, it could be quite a claustrophobic environment. When he had walked for about ten minutes and no-one else was around, he settled down near the water's edge and lay back on the grass to soak up the sun.

As he lay there, his mind wandered over the events of the past week, from the attack on Arabella Figg and the troubles of actually getting from Privet Drive to Kings Cross to Ron and Hermione, Lavender Brown and the blessed familiarity of his lessons. He'd found coming back to Hogwarts easier than he had thought he might in some ways, but harder in others. There were so many reminders of Cedric Diggory; apart from the jibes from Malfoy and his gang of Slytherins, the very castle itself invoked so many memories - the Great Hall reminded him of the Yule Ball, when he'd felt so jealous of Cedric for having asked Cho before he had, and every time he passed the Prefects' Bathroom he remembered Cedric's help with the egg. But the vast majority of the students, apart from Malfoy and gang, were treating him reasonably normally. And at least he was sleeping pretty well again.

Harry lay there for quite a while, drifting in and out of his thoughts in the hazy sunshine, listening to the calls of birds and the buzzing of flies. Occasionally the giant squid would raise a tentacle slowly above the surface of the lake and let it fall again with a languid splash, sending ever-widening ripples across the lake.

The sun was by now quite high in the sky, and Harry wondered what time it was. He looked down at the watch on his wrist out of habit, but as it was still broken he didn't find it very helpful. Looking back towards the school, Harry saw that the students were slowly going back in dribs and drabs, so he figured he'd better head back as well. After all, he wouldn't want to miss lunch.

As he approached the main lawn in front of the school, a group of sixth year girls were also walking in from the shade of the trees at the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

"Hey, Harry, wait!" he heard a familiar voice call.

He stopped and turned to see who was calling. Cho Chang broke away from the group and walked across the lawn towards him, turning briefly to wave goodbye to the other girls.

"Harry, have you got a moment?" she asked as she approached.

"Yeah, sure," he said, shrugging his shoulders awkwardly. "Do you know what the time is? My watch is broken, and I thought it must be nearly lunchtime."

"There's another ten minutes before lunch," she said, glancing at her watch. "Shall we sit over here?"

She headed towards a bench near the edge of the lake and sat down. Harry followed along behind and sat down next to her. She looked less pale than she had done on the Hogwarts Express, but still seemed more reserved, more serious than the laughing, carefree girl he had admired from a distance for the last couple of years.

"I just wanted to ask how you are, Harry," she said calmly. "When I saw you on the train you looked pretty low, and I was just wondering how you were coping with... well, you know, how you were coping."

"Um, as well as can be expected, I suppose," Harry replied. "I mean, I had lots of nightmares to start with over the summer, didn't sleep much, but that bit's a lot better now. What about you, Cho? You looked rather cut up on the train as well."

Cho's soft brown eyes quickly cast downwards. Harry took a deep breath and continued hastily before his nerve failed, "I thought about you a lot over the summer. I meant to send you an owl, ask how you were, but I didn't really know what to say. Sorry."

She passed a hand wearily over her forehead, looked back up at him and smiled weakly.

"It would've been nice to hear from you," she said.

"Sorry," Harry mumbled again, feeling his cheeks start to burn.

"The summer wasn't too good for me either," Cho said after a moment's silence. "I know Cedric and I hadn't been together very long, only a few months, but it came as such a shock when he wasn't there any more. I really missed him. Still do. And there are so many memories here at school."

"Yeah, I know what you mean there," replied Harry. "There are places in the school I can't pass without remembering certain conversations I had with him."

"The Astronomy Tower..." said Cho, gazing dreamily out over the lake.

"The Prefect's Bathroom..." said Harry. Cho shot him a quizzical look, so he added quickly, "He helped me with the clue in that egg, remember?"

"The Yule Ball..." continued Cho.

"Quidditch," they said simultaneously.

They both let out a small laugh at this and glanced across at each other. The smile faded from Cho's face as she looked at him, and Harry hurriedly dropped his gaze. Cho looked down at her watch.

"It's lunchtime now," she said, getting to her feet. "We'd better go in."

"Thanks for coming to talk to me Cho," said Harry as they walked across to the main door. "I really appreciate it. And if you want to talk any other time... Well, I'd like that."

"Maybe - we'll see," she replied, giving him a smile reminiscent of the old Cho. She squeezed his hand lightly, and then skipped up the steps into the Entrance Hall and out of sight.

Harry waited a few seconds before following her in, his heart beating heavily. He could still feel where her hand had touched his, and he wanted that feeling to last. As he entered the Great Hall for lunch and headed for the Gryffindor table, he saw the back of Cho's head as she took her seat at the Ravenclaw table.

"Where've you been all morning?" asked Ron, moving along on the bench to make room for Harry between him and Hermione.

"Just out by the lake," he replied. "How was the Prefects' meeting?"

Ron grimaced.

"Hope they're not all like that," he said. "Don't think I could've stood any more of Malfoy preening himself. And if Pansy fawns all over him like that every time, I'm going to puke! There's a bit more work involved than I thought as well. At least I managed to wangle the job I wanted - I'm on Prefect patrol every Tuesday evening. Just imagine being allowed to wander round the school after hours and not get told off for it!"

"So if I need to sneak off round the school at night, I'd better make it a Tuesday," grinned Harry.

*

On Sunday evening after tea, Harry met up with Fred and George and headed for Professor McGonagall's office, where Angelina, Alicia and Katie were already waiting for them.

"Mr Potter, Messrs. Weasley, do come in and take a seat," said Professor McGonagall in her usual stern voice, as she sat behind her polished oak desk. They shut the door behind them and sat down.

"Now, our business this evening is to choose a new captain for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Oliver Wood was captain of the team for four years, and I think it is true to say that the team flourished under his leadership and encouragement during that time. He is going to be a hard act to follow for whichever of you is chosen. But I must say that with the talent we have in this room, I will expect the standard of play this year to be equally as high as in previous years."

They exchanged glances round the room. They were all aware that it was well over a year since they'd played Quidditch together, because of the Triwizard Tournament the previous year, and that they were likely to be rather rusty. No pressure from their Head of House then.

"How are we going to choose a captain?" asked Angelina. "It's not something any of us have ever had to do before."

"Each house has its own traditions in this respect," replied Professor McGonagall, "and ours is as follows: each member of the existing team makes a nomination by secret ballot. If there is a clear majority, then that person is the captain. If the vote is tied, then I, as Head of House, have the deciding vote. Is that clear to you all?"

They all nodded. Professor McGonagall handed each of them a piece of parchment and a quill. Harry looked around at the others, who were already scribbling down the name of the person they wanted to nominate, then down at his own blank parchment. Who should he pick? He made a snap decision and wrote down 'Angelina Johnson'. After all, she was a superb Chaser and she definitely had leadership skills.

They all handed their pieces of parchment to Professor McGonagall, who looked through them one by one as they watched her with bated breath. After a few moments that seemed far longer, she looked up at them all.

"Well, it appears we have almost unanimous agreement on the new captain," she said, a small smile flickering across her face. "One person nominated Angelina Johnson, but the other five of you nominated Harry Potter. So Mr Potter is now the Quidditch captain for Gryffindor House."

Harry's mouth dropped open. All of the others had voted for him? Fred and George both grinned and slapped him on the back.

"Good on you, Harry," said one.

"Go, Harry, go!" said the other.

But Harry was shaking his head. "You can't pick me!" he said, starting to feel rather panicky.

"Why not, Harry?" answered Alicia. "You're the obvious choice."

"Because I'm the youngest. And because I'm just a Seeker - I don't know enough about tactics and strategies. You're all far better at that than me. All I know how to do is catch the Snitch," he replied.

"Don't do yourself down," said Katie Bell. "You've played Quidditch for four years now, so you'll have picked up far more on strategy than you think. And it wouldn't be the first time the Seeker has been the Captain."

"But more importantly," added Angelina, "you're the only member of the team who will still be here next year. Continuity is vital for the team to be successful in the longer term."

Harry looked around at their earnest faces. He supposed they had a point - actually a few valid points - but that didn't ease his feeling of trepidation.

"Mr Potter," said Professor McGonagall quietly but firmly, "the team has made its decision, and I expect you to abide by it. I am sure you will do admirably, as ever. Now, you will have the final say in whom is chosen to join the team at tomorrow's Quidditch trials. However, I suggest you take your team-mates' advice into consideration in reaching your decision."

Harry nodded. That was one piece of advice he definitely intended to take.

*

Ron was delighted when he found out Harry had been made Quidditch captain.

"You let me be Keeper," he said, "and you can wander the school every Tuesday night for all I care."

Harry grinned. "Don't let Hermione hear you say that! Anyway, you know McGonagall and the others will be watching the choices I make really carefully. It'll have to be strictly on merit. But you've had that much practice at home I'm sure you'll get in - really The Burrow ought to be a recognised Quidditch team! You can use my broom for the trials if you like."

Ron's eyes lit up. "Can I? Great, thanks!"

Straight after tea on Monday evening, Harry fetched his Firebolt and headed for the Quidditch pitch with Ron in order to be there early. They were surprised to find that they were not the first. Angelina, Alicia and Katie were already there, looking down the list of students who had said they wanted to take part in the trials. They looked up as he and Ron approached.

"Hi Harry," said Angelina, "do you want to take a look at the list? There should be eleven turning up to try out altogether."

Harry cast his eye down the list. Apart from Ron, the list of hopefuls included Ginny Weasley, Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnegan and Dennis Creevey.

"Dean and Seamus didn't tell me they were coming along tonight," said Ron, looking over Harry's shoulder. "What positions are they trying for?"

"Either Chaser or Beater," said Harry, deciphering Angelina's shorthand. "Ginny's going for Chaser as well."

"Anyone else trying for Keeper?" asked Ron.

"Just one," said Harry, suppressing a smile. "Dennis Creevey."

"Not much competition then," snorted Ron.

"So how do you want to play this, Harry?" asked Angelina.

"Well, we don't need a new Seeker, so the Golden Snitch can stay firmly in the box," answered Harry. "I suppose we could just put some of them up in the air in rotation and see how they do. What would you suggest?"

"I think we should try for each type of position separately," said Angelina, "except for the Keeper. And we should try them first. That way they get to play with seasoned team members. Then, when we've narrowed it down a bit, we can try a couple of combination reserve teams against us to see how they do with some opposition."

"Sounds okay to me," said Harry, trying to sound confident.

Fred and George arrived a couple of minutes later, carrying a handful of school brooms and the chest containing the Quidditch balls.

When everyone had arrived, Angelina nudged Harry to let him know he should get things started.

"Firstly, thank you all for coming," said Harry a lot more calmly than he felt. "We're going to do the trials for each position separately. This will mean a fair bit of sitting around to start with, but I'm sure it will be worth it. We'll start by trying out for the Keeper. Dennis, you first. You're to defend the hoops against ten attacking manoeuvres from Angelina, Katie and Alicia."

Dennis got onto a school broom and kicked off into the air. Angelina took the Quaffle and flew off to the far end of the pitch with Alicia and Katie, where they put their heads together briefly to discuss tactics. Then they flew towards Dennis at medium speed, passing the Quaffle from one to the other. As they approached him, Katie took the Quaffle from Alicia, put on a spurt of speed upwards and hit the Quaffle hard at the middle hoop. Little Dennis rushed to intercept it, wide-eyed, and just managed to deflect it with his fingers. The Quaffle hit the rim of the hoop and bounced off. Everyone on the ground cheered.

"Beginner's luck," said Ron.

But in fact, Dennis Creevey proved to be quite good. Of the ten shots at goal from the Chasers, he only let in three. Then it was Ron's turn.

"Give it your best shot," said George encouragingly, as Ron took Harry's Firebolt and kicked off.

Harry was quite nervous for Ron, because he knew how badly his best friend wanted to prove himself. But he needn't have worried. Ron anticipated the girls' moves well and only let one goal in. When he touched down again and handed back the Firebolt, he was grinning from ear to ear.

"I think he's in," Angelina murmured to Harry.

"Okay, next it's the Chasers," called Harry. "Now, there are nine of you, including Ron, who have put your names down to try for Chaser, so what we'll do is ask Ron and Dennis to man one set of goalposts each as Keepers, and separate the rest of you into two teams of four. You have to get possession of the Quaffle and score as many goals as possible in ten minutes. The girls and I will be watching you all closely to see how you get on."

A few minutes later when the teams had been sorted and everyone was in position, Harry blew the whistle and threw the Quaffle up into the air. The ensuing game was quite ferocious, considering there were no Bludgers to contend with. Harry tried to evaluate each Chaser to see how agile they were and how they worked with the other team members, but he did find it difficult. He was very glad that Angelina and crew were taking notes too.

After the ten minutes were up and everyone had landed again, it was the turn of the prospective Beaters, of which there were four: Dean, Seamus and two second-year boys that Harry didn't really know. Harry sent two teams up into the air: Angelina, Alicia and Katie with Ron on one team and three of the potential Chasers with Dennis on the other. He assigned the two second-years, Lewis and Connor, to one team and Dean and Seamus to the other. This time there was no Quaffle in play. The teams merely had to fly around and avoid the Bludgers, which the opposing Beaters sent in their direction. Fred and George stood with Harry to watch the Beaters in action.

"You know," said Fred after a few minutes, " you'd think Dean and Seamus would work together really well, being such good mates. But they don't, they're all over the place."

Harry had to concede they were right. After a couple of minutes more, he stopped the game and swapped the Beaters around, so that Dean was paired with Lewis and Seamus with Connor. That seemed to work much better.

When the ten-minute game slot was over, Harry quietly asked the rest of the team if they'd seen enough to be able to form their opinions. They had, so Harry dismissed those who had taken part in the trials with the promise that an announcement would be made in the common room later that evening. Harry and team then went into the relative warmth of the changing rooms to make some decisions.

"What you do think then?" asked Harry as he sat down heavily on one of the benches.

"Well, the Keeper definitely has to be Ron," said Angelina. There were nods all round to this. Harry was glad Angelina had said it - it would have been far more awkward for him, Fred or George, because of the family connections.

"For reserve Beaters, I'd suggest Seamus and Connor," said Fred. "They seemed to work well together."

"Yeah, and that Connor can really whack 'em hard," agreed George. "Did you see the one he hit that nearly took Ginny's head off?"

"Okay, that's settled then," said Harry. "What about the reserve Chasers? Girls, what do you think?"

"That's not so clear cut," said Katie. "We're agreed that Ginny Weasley is in - she's very fast, does some daring flying, and she's definitely a team player."

"She passes well to the other players," agreed Alicia. "But it's the other two we're not so clear on. We narrowed it down to three possibles: Lewis, Veronica and Owen."

Angelina continued, "Lewis is a fast flier, and he scores goals, but he doesn't always look at what the other Chasers are doing. Veronica is good at working in a team, and she scored her fair share of goals, but she's not the most adventurous flier, doesn't take risks. Owen passes well and flies okay, but he missed a few fairly easy goals today. Harry what do you think?"

"Well, chasers are there to score goals, aren't they?" said Harry. "On that basis I'd choose the first two."

"But unless they can work as part of a team, they won't score enough to win the match," said Alicia.

After a bit more debate, they went with Harry's choice, that Veronica and Lewis would join Ginny as the reserve Chasers.

When they got back to the Gryffindor common room, all eyes turned to them expectantly. Harry stood on the staircase, cleared his throat and announced their decisions. When he had finished, the common room erupted, congratulating the new team members and commiserating with those who hadn't made it.

"Well done, Ron!" chorused Dean and Seamus, lifting him onto their shoulders with some difficulty and taking him on a lap of honour round the room. They set him down in front of Hermione, who said her congratulations in rather a cool, offhand manner. Ginny, by contrast, went pink with delight when Harry congratulated her on her flying.

A few minutes later, Fred and George appeared with some platters of food kindly donated by the house elves in the school kitchens, and everyone tucked in. The revelry continued for ages, and it was almost midnight when Harry and the others finally collapsed into bed.