Harry Potter and The Tomb of Hogwarts

Harry Potter and

The Tomb of Hogwarts

Chapter 19

Harry's Big Surprise

Harry woke up early Monday morning and was dressed, finished with breakfast, and had been sitting at his desk for over half an hour when Ron walked through the door still looking both tired and not the least bit happy.

"Where the bloody heck have you been?" Ron cried. "Hermione and I have been searching the whole school looking for you."

"Why?" Harry asked mildly. "What's up?"

"What's up? You're missing is what's up. Why didn't you tell anyone where you were going?"

"I wasn't aware that I had to. And here I thought I could just walk around the school like any other Professor without having to report it to you first."

"Well..." replied Ron, suddenly at a loss for words. "It's just that as long as we've been back at school you've never been up before me, and when you weren't in your bed when I woke up I asked Hermione if she knew where you were, but she didn't know either. Then she went on about that whole thing with the medallion yesterday and, well, we were worried."

"Well you don't need to worry any more. You've found me alive and well, or at least alive, so you can go tell Hermione that I'm alright."

"There's no need, Harry," said Hermione's as she walked through the office door. "And I'm sorry if I got things blown out of proportion, but I was really worried about you. You didn't say anything to us after you came back from your training with Dumbledore and frankly you didn't even seem yourself after you woke up from that vision."

"I'm alright, Hermione. Trust me, if there were anything wrong, you'd be the first to know. But right now, I've got a lot of work to do. I've got a few more papers to grade, plus an hour of meditation, and that's all before my first class, plus I've got to plan the Quidditch practice for tonight. And Ron, I need you to let the rest of the team know that I want them there at four o'clock sharp. I don't care if it's clear outside or raining cats and dogs, I expect a full three hours of practice every day from now through Thursday."

"Okay. But, well, don't you think you're spreading yourself a bit thin, Harry? I mean, it sounds to me like you've got a schedule even Hermione wouldn't touch in her heyday."

Harry took a deep breath. The truth was he was working as fast and hard as he could just so he wouldn't think about how much he had to do. There were still more things he had to think about that he wouldn't share with his closest friends if he didn't need to, but still, it couldn't hurt to delegate a few things if he could.

"You know what, Ron, you're right. As of right now you're my Deputy Captain for the Quidditch team. I want you to schedule the practices and come up with a game plan on how we're going to beat Slytherin. Then, I want you to meet me at the Owlery at three o'clock. We'll go over our strategies then while getting a quick look at how the Slytherin team is looking this year."

"Yes sir," Ron said with a mock salute, though Harry knew Ron would take the job seriously. There were few things that Ron took more seriously than Quidditch and he would do his best to make sure they kept hold of the Quidditch Cup.

"Well, I've got a lot of stuff to do over the next hour and a half before my first class," Harry added, looking at the papers on his desk.

"Okay. Well Hermione and I should really go downstairs and grab a bite to eat before all the first years are up, so I guess we'll see you for Apparation."

Harry nodded to them and went back to work. He finished grading the papers in just under fifteen minutes and had just enough time to do a full hour's Occlumency Meditation.

Charlie had given him a small diary style book outlining some of the basics of the proper Meditation. He opened it to the first Monday and read the directions. Today he was supposed to work on something called Blank Thinking which turned out to be the same exercises that Charlie had gone over with him the previous day.

He tapped the desk, dropping it down just as he had in the main classroom, sat legs crossed on the floor, and closed his eyes.

For an hour he tried blanking his mind, concentrating on not thinking, and he quickly found that Charlie was right. This was one thing that was going to take a lot of practice. Still, he had to keep working, and so he sat there for the full hour, mentally reprimanding himself for any thought he had, then reprimanding himself again for thinking too much about his reprimands. By the time the hour was up Harry felt that the only thing he had accomplished was a giving himself a major headache, and that's what he wrote in the Diary.

To his astonishment, the moment he lifted his quill from the diary, new words appeared.

A headache is a reminder that you are thinking too much. Think less, and think less about thinking less. Do not punish yourself for your thoughts. Simply stop having them.

Harry was startled to see the words appear on the diary, just as they had four years ago in another diary.

He jumped to his feet and ran for the door when he heard something fall behind him. Falling lightly to the floor was a single piece of parchment.

He walked over and quickly picked it up, inspecting both sides. On one side was a simple note that put his heart at ease.

Dear Harry,

I hope this diary helps you with your exercises. It will give you a full weekly outline on what you should do on a weekly basis and amends itself according to your responses. And do not fret if it writes back to you. A very ingenious group of witches created that diary and charmed it with one of a couple hundred different suggestions based on what you write.

Enjoy the Dairy and I'll see you in a few days.

Charlie.

Taking a couple of deep breaths, Harry raised his desk, put the note and the diary into the top drawer, and headed out to the main room where Snape was already preparing for the start of class.

The rest of the day went on without incident and at three o'clock he was up in the Owlery, looking out over the Quidditch pitch as the Slytherin team was working on their second hour of practice.

Harry was only there for a few minutes when Ron arrived, a long roll of parchment in his hands.

"Why did you want to meet here?" Ron asked.

"Take a look," Harry replied with a smile.

Ron took a quick look out the window and it didn't take long for him to figure it out.

"Oh. You know, that's a bit sneaky for a Deputy Professor. Are you sure you're not being a bad influence on us?" he added with a smile.

"Are you kidding? It was your brothers that suggested it to me, and from what I've heard we need to watch as much as possible."

"Why's that?" Ron asked in a worrisome tone.

"Slytherin's got a new Chaser and she's supposed to have the fastest Cleansweep ever made. It's not even supposed to be on the market for another year and a half because the enchantments are taking so long, but her Dad helped develop it so she got the final test broom to use at school. But I've got a plan."

"What's that?"

"Oh, it's a surprise, but don't worry, I think you'll like it. Right now we need to watch how they work as a team and find out where their weaknesses are."

They spent the next thirty minutes watching the Slytherin team as they practiced and it only took a few minutes for Harry to find out which one was the new Chaser. One broom blew by the others, even Malfoy's and at one time Harry could swear he saw her intercept the Quaffle, swoop down and catch the Snitch, and then pull up and toss the Snitch to Malfoy with one hand and toss the Quaffle through the centre hoop with the other.

Harry had to admit that she was pretty good, and there was no way that his Firebolt was going to hold up to her broom, but it didn't need to. He had a surprise in store for the team and he was going to ensure that they kept the cup this year. But he was a bit concerned about whether or not he'd have enough time to prepare the team on Friday. He looked over to Ron.

"Okay, before we get going on strategy I want to tell you something, but you can't ask me any questions, you've just got to trust me."

"Okay," Ron replied without much conviction.

"I mean it. No questions."

"Alright. I won't ask a thing," Ron shouted back.

"I've given the Slytherin team our Friday practice time in exchange for the whole day on Wednesday ,"

"You've what?" Ron cried out.

"Hold on. I've given them our Friday so we can have all day Wednesday because I've got something else planned for Friday. Everything's already been set and I've even talked to Professor McGonagall who said we could practice until 10 o'clock on Wednesday."

"You've lost it. You've completely lost it. Are you honestly telling me that you traded away the best day for practice, the day before the game, just so we could practice all day Wednesday? You've gone mad."

"Maybe," said Harry with a smile. "But I've got something planned that will make everything else seem insignificant. But that's why I need your help for tonight, tomorrow, and especially on Wednesday."

"But why did you..."

"I told you not to ask. For heaven's sake, just trust me."

Ron shook his head in disbelieve but said nothing more, and after a few more moments of silence they began to talk strategy.

Ron had several good ideas for practice but they were regularly interrupted by his not-too-subtle hints that his original plan had called for all five days of practice instead of four. Harry did his best to ignore it and continue on.

Finally, with five minutes before practice was scheduled, Harry summoned his and Ron's brooms. Since they were not far away, it took less than a minute for them to arrive.

"You go down first and get the team prepped for practice," Harry said, giving Ron his broom. "I'll be down there in a few minutes."

"Right," Ron replied, shaking his head, confused.

After Ron was a good distance away, Harry pulled a small mirror from his robe and called his Godfather, not Remus, but Sirius. After a few moments the living room at Grimmauld Place came into view and Sirius was right there in his portrait, smiling grandly back at Harry.

"Hello Harry. How have you been?"

"Good," he said without much sincerity.

"What's wrong, Harry?" Sirius asked in a solemn tone.

"I just didn't realize that things were going to be so hard. I'm barely starting my fourth week back at school and I feel like I've done more than I did during the entire Tri-wizard Tournament."

"Well, give it time. You'll find your pace soon enough and then things will seem much more simple, trust me."

Harry nodded in agreement. "Well, there is one thing you could do, if you would, to help me out."

"Anything." Sirius responded without a second's delay.

"Are you able to, well, make purchases and stuff?" Harry asked warily.

"You mean because I'm no longer alive?" replied Sirius bluntly.

"Yeah," Harry replied, ashamed he had asked.

"Of course. It's actually not that uncommon for wizarding families to have us portraits make purchases for them. It's faster than using owls and there's less chance of the order getting messed up. There's also the added benefit of having someone to negotiate," he added with a wink.

"Good," Harry replied with a grateful sigh. He quickly rattled off his order and told Sirius his idea. When he was finally done, Sirius looked truly astonished.

"Harry. I can't believe you would think of such a thing. That's not at all like you," he responded, obviously taken aback.

Harry cringed, ashamed.

"If your father was alive today," Sirius continued, "He never would have tried anything like that. If he were around today I imagine he'd only have two words for you. Bloody brilliant!" he applauded, laughing out loud.

Harry's eyes shot open in shock, then relaxed into one of relief and amusement.

"So you'll do it then?" asked Harry.

"I can't imagine a Galleon being put to better use than the downfall of Slytherin House. I just wish I could get a picture of Snape when he sees what you've done."

"Well, I've still got my Omnioculars, so I'll see if I can talk Hermione into using them to take a picture. In fact, I think I'd like to get a picture of Malfoy too while I'm at it."

"Well, if we're going to do this then I've got to run. I've got some old friends to see to get this set up. If we're lucky they should arrive no later than Thursday, but I'll see if I can get them sooner. Oh, and if you're going to try to reach Remus I'd suggest you do it soon. I heard something about him going on a mission for the Order some time this week."

Harry nodded.

"I'll try him right now," Harry replied in a rushed voice.

"Just be careful, and do see about getting that picture from Hermione. I'll try to reach you after everything's done."

"Right. See you then," Harry replied quickly.

A moment later, Sirius was gone, and after a few more words he was replaced by Remus.

"Well hello, Harry. How are things going at school?"

"Good," Harry replied, not wanting repeat his earlier discussion.

"Good. Well, I'd love to chat for a while but I've got a little errand to run for the Order and I've got to meet up with my brother. He's going to be helping me out a bit, where he can. But if there's something you need, I'll see what I can do."

"Well actually there is one thing I was hoping you might be able to help me with, if it's even possible, and with a little luck you might be able to do it before you meet up with Romulous."

"What can I do?" Remus asked.

Harry repeated his plan to his godfather and got virtually the same response as he had from his previous godfather, only better.

"I don't think that will be a problem. I'll be seeing Dumbledore just before I meet up with Rom so I'll ask him about it then and let you know what he says, but I don't think he'll object. And if he does, I'll just remind him of Mr. Malfoy's investment into the team a few years back, but I don't think it'll be needed. But if I'm going to go, I'd better do so now."

"Right then. I'll talk to you tonight?" replied Harry.

"Tonight it is. I'll see you then," he replied before fading from his mirror.

He rolled up the parchment and called down Hedwig. As he looked up for her he noticed that the Owlery was a bit more empty than usual, but that was probably just because most of the parents were a bit more paranoid than usual about their kids with all of the Death Eater activity.

After a few moments Hedwig appeared, coming to a soft landing on the ledge next to Harry. He gave her a couple of small treats from the bin, patted her on the head a few times and tickled her under her chin, then attached the letter to her leg and sent her on her way. With a little luck he hoped he just might get a reply from Remus before the end of the day.

He then quickly mounted his own broom, climbed out on the ledge, and headed off towards the Quidditch field.

When he reached the pitch he found his team already dressed in their team robes and standing around Ron who was going over the practice schedule that he and Ron had gone over.

"Well, it looks like Ron's already covered the basics, so unless there's any questions, lets get going."

Everyone began to mount their brooms, but Harry stopped them, looking over at the one team member who had not moved at all, but seemed intent on staring at the ground.

"Yes, Jack?" Harry asked.

He looked up, apparently concerned that what he had to say might get him in trouble.

"Well, I don't want to make any trouble or anything, but we all voted together to make you team captain and, well now-"

"And now you're afraid that I'm passing that job onto Ron because of everything else I'm doing, is that about it?"

"Well, yeah," he replied guiltily.

"Don't worry. I'm honoured that you guys voted me Team Captain and I plan on keeping the job. It's just that with being the Deputy Professor of the Duelling Class I knew I'd need some help and I doubt there's a single person at Hogwarts who knows Quidditch better than Ron. If you, if all of you trusted me to captain this team then you should trust me to do what's best, and in this case I think that's what I've done."

It was obvious that Jack felt bad for even bringing up the subject and Harry didn't want that to be the way practice would start, so he added a few encouraging words, hoping they would hit their mark.

"Look, we're going against Slytherin and I've watched them practice. Trust me when I tell you we're going to need every ounce of help we can get. They've got a new Chaser whose dad works for Cleansweep and she's been given a broom that won't even be on the market for another year, and that's information that came straight from Ron. So I suggest that you all give thanks that we've got Ron on our side, hop on your brooms, and get to our practice. Let's show the Slytherin team that fancy brooms and cheap tricks won't win them the Quidditch Cup. Not this year! So let's go and play some Quidditch!" he finished with a final cry, throwing his fist in the air.

As one the team shouted their hurrahs, mounted their brooms, and flew off into the sky.

The rest of the week seemed to have revolved around the Quidditch practices. Even Snape seemed to be a bit more reclusive towards Harry.

He had spoken to Remus just before he went to bed Monday night and was relieved to hear that Remus would be able to pull it off, though he did say that Dumbledore was less than enthusiastic about the idea.

"He's worried that someone might take the opportunity to come after you, but I assured him that you'd be safe and he reluctantly agreed."

"Right. It's not like there's Death Eaters at every corner waiting to attack me. Besides, if the Prophet was right then I'm sure they've got other things to do right now than to go after me."

"That's what I told him. Besides, if I'm successful on my little mission then you should be covered for at least a week."

"What exactly are you doing for the Order anyway?" Harry asked.

"You know I can't tell you that, Harry. But indeed, I do need to get going, but I'll meet you all on Friday, near the Whomping Willow."

What struck Harry as ironic was that time seemed to speed by until the next practice on Wednesday, yet that practice only seemed to last a few minutes.

And so all too quickly Thursday night had arrived and still his gifts hadn't arrived and Harry began to worry that they might not arrive before the practice the next day, or worse, until after the game.

But Harry's worries were relieved on his way back to Gryffindor Tower when he bumped into Ron.

Harry had just said goodnight to Amanda after spending a full hour with her in his office, talking a lot and connecting in a variety of more physical ways. But soon it was time for her to get back to her group, and Harry felt he needed some time to think about the upcoming game. So he opened the secret door and let her take it down to the main floor, deciding that he'd rather take the long way around himself.

And so a few minutes later he came around the final bend towards the staircase, staring at his feet and thinking about the upcoming game and wondering where his order was, when Ron spotted him and ran over.

As he looked up at Ron Harry noticed that sweat was covering Ron's face as though he'd just run straight from the grounds, and he soon found out that he wasn't far off. Harry's face became very serious and concerned.

"What's wrong, Ron?" he asked quickly.

"What's wrong?" Ron repeated. "What's wrong is Hedwig's been outside the dorm window for the past forty minutes with three other owls and a package as large as your trunk and they're all biting at anyone who tries to bring it into the dorm. Shamus and Dean both have scratches all over their hands trying to help me bring it in."

"Oh, Thank God."

"Thank God? Are you completely bonkers?"

"What? Oh, no. I'm sorry they got hurt, but... Well, you'll just have to see. Come on," he added, running off before Ron could reply.

Harry ran up to the Gryffindor Tower as fast as he could with Ron behind him, trying to keep up. They were both out of breath when they entered the bedroom but Harry seemed still full of energy as he reached the window and found Hedwig, along with three very large black owls, all working furiously to keep the large package afloat.

Harry quickly pulled out his wand, called Wingardium Leviosa, and reached out for the package. As soon as he had both hands on it the three black owls quickly flew off while Hedwig landed on the balcony and awaited her reward.

Harry quickly put the package on his bed and turned back to Hedwig, pulled a teacup out from his pocket, and threw it out the window. Just as it passed beyond Hedwig it transfigured back into a large mouse which Hedwig immediately turned and dove for. She caught it just feet from the ground and flew off into the moonlight, hooting happily all the way.

Harry turned and looked at his present, turned to see who else was in the room, and found only Ron. The others must have gone to see Madam Pomfrey for their cuts.

"Well, I'd love to open them here, but I don't want to take any chances. Come on, we're going back to my office."

And again, without further warning or waiting for a reply, Harry grabbed the still very light package, ran downstairs, through the common room, out the portrait hole, and into the passageway up to his classroom, again running as fast as he could with no regard to how exhausted he was.

When he got into the room he turned for his office when a loud singsong voice came from above.

"Well if it isn't Mr. I'm so very important Deputy Professor Pottie wee Potter."

"Cresco Inflatus" cried Harry, flipping his wand towards Peeves.

The spell hit with uncanny accuracy causing Peeves to begin blowing up like a balloon until he was five times his normal size until even his face and mouth were too bloated to let him speak. Had Harry taken notice he might have compared it with what he had done two years ago with his Aunt Marge, but he had already gone into his office and closed the door behind him.

But then Peeves poked himself in the belly which caused a loud, high-pitched screeching noise followed as he flew about, flying around this way and that, shooting in and out of Harry's office until he finally dropped through the floor and out of sight.

Harry shook his head for a moment, trying to forget what he'd just seen and turned his attention back to the package which he'd just put down on his desk.

Now that the time had come he was almost scared to open it, afraid that it might really be empty. Still, he had to get it over with, and so just as Ron began to ask what it was, Harry attacked.

Paper went flying everywhere, small bits floating down like snow as he finished, looking at seven boxes. Each of the boxes ranged in sizes from four and a half to six feet long, all about two and a half feet tall and about a foot wide. Three were bright silver, two a dull gold, another a very bright gold, and the one he knew was his which was pitch black

"Ron, do you know what those are?"

Ron didn't reply. His eyes were fixed on the boxes, glazed over and without any sign of life. If Harry hadn't known the cause he might have been worried, but if there was anyone who would recognize these boxes, Ron would.

After what seemed like an hour Ron turned his gaze towards Harry, afraid to ask the question Harry knew was on his mind.

"You get the Dominator," replied Harry simply.

As one, they both quickly turned towards the boxes and Ran for them, opening them up and looking at their brand new, state of the art brooms.

Harry's Firefox, the next model up from the Firebolt, was solid black and looked quite a bit like it's predecessor, not including a few soft curves here and there, and a shiny little faceplate engraved with a fox's head, it's hair turning to fire behind it. There was one other distinguishing thing Harry noticed, and that was the length of the broom. It was at least a foot longer than the Firebolt mounted on the far wall, and the bristles on the back were nearly twice as thick.

Harry looked over at Ron who had tears flowing from his eyes, grabbing tightly to his new Dominator, the shortest of the brooms.

"It's supposed to be made especially for Keepers. It's not quite as fast as some of the other brooms, but it's charmed to go in any direction at the slightest push or pull and has the second fastest acceleration in the Nimbus Line. Mine's got the fastest acceleration, but those three can still go a bit faster. Those are for your sister and the others. So, do you think they'll like them?"

Ron performed an over-exaggerated nod, smiling from ear to ear while still tightly gripping onto his new broom.

"Good. And before you go getting thick on me you can just consider this as both your birthday and Christmas presents. And I don't want you doing anything stupid like trying to buy me a house or something to make it up to me. All I want is for you to bring up your game."

Ron just nodded slowly, a glazed look over his face.

"Good. Now, I've got to get some sleep for classes tomorrow, but I want you to give these letters to everyone on the team. I want everyone to meet us by the Whomping willow right after their first classes after lunch, and tell them not to worry about their final classes. The only person who had me worried is you with Advanced Potions, but I told Professor Snape that you'd be willing to stay late next Monday to make up and that Hermione would be able to get the homework for you. And you better not brush it off. I've still got to work with him and I told him that I'd make sure you'd do your best work if Hermione and I had to stand over you until you did."

"Alright, alright. But what's this all about?" Ron implored.

"You'll see tomorrow just like everyone else," Harry replied with a cynical smile. "Now let's get to bed. We've got a big day tomorrow.

And with that they headed back to Gryffindor Tower, all the while Ron begged Harry to let him go out for a spin for just a few minutes, but Harry just kept reminding him that he was a prefect and that he had to be an example to the rest of the students. Of course, this was about the only thing stopping Harry from jumping out the first window they came to and flying off himself.

But they made it to their beds without incident, hiding their brooms under their Quidditch robes and rushing by anyone who asked what they were doing as though they hadn't heard what had been said.

As soon as they reached their rooms they hid their brooms under their beds, changed, and were fast asleep within minutes.

Friday was a very bright sunny day which seemed to make the day last ten times longer than it was. The minute hand on the clock seemed to stand still, if not move backwards whenever he looked up at it, and by a quarter to three he felt he just might go insane. But finally the bell rang and classes were over. He ran as quickly as he could up to his own classroom where he grabbed the rest of the brooms, along with his own which he'd brought with him before the start of classes, and ran to the first window from his class, which was just down the hall.

He quickly flew down towards the Whomping Willow, flying over five of his team members as he did and spotting his sixth member, Ron, standing just outside the reach of the Willow.

He landed next to him and put the rest of the boxes between him and Ron just as he saw Remus coming from the other side of the Willow.

"Hello Harry," he said pleasantly, placing his hand on Harry's shoulder.

"Hi," Harry replied, too excited to say anything else.

"Well, it looks like everyone else is just about here. Did you want to give out their presents now, or after we go?"

"Let's do it afterwards," Harry replied with a smile.

Soon they all arrived, standing around in a circle as Remus pulled out a large suitcase and asked everyone to hold on.

A few minutes later Harry felt that familiar tug on his navel and knew that they were on their way.

A few moments of twisting and turned came to an end when Harry and company felt the ground once again beneath them as they found themselves at the far end of a long hallway leading somewhere outside.

Knowing immediately where they were, Harry smiled broadly and headed for the end of the hallway calling out, "Alright, everyone, lets get going!"

And so Harry lead the Gryffindor team through the hallway and out into the wide-open air with the sun shining brightly overhead.

Harry heard the gasps, the oohs and ahhs from his fellow teammates as they looked upon the great open Quidditch pitch, taking in everything they saw, and he waited.

Any moment now, he thought with a smile. And then it came.

"Crikey!" cried Ron suddenly. "Harry, do you know where we are?"

"I don't know, Ron. Why don't you ask them?" Harry replied pointing towards the far side of the Quidditch Pitch.

Flying down from the goals at the opposite side of the pitch were seven small figures racing towards them. They slowed only when they were less than fifty feet from Harry and his guests. It was only then that the rest of the team finally concluded what Ron had discovered moments earlier; this was the Chudley Cannons' Quidditch Pitch.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team," pronounced Harry, "I introduce you to our guest coaches for the day, the Chudley Cannons!"

And on queue the Cannons landed, hopping off their brooms to greet their visitors. Blake stepped forward; hand stretched out and welcomed the team, starting with Harry.

"I hear we've got something in common, Captain Potter."

"I guess we do, Captain Baxton. Congratulations and congratulations on your recent wins. You keep up the good work and there just might be a large cup with your name on it."

"That's the plan. But before we worry too much about that, let's first make sure that old Gryffindor keeps the one they have. Now then, who have we got here?"

And so Harry began to introduce each member of his team as Blake did the same.

"Now then, shall we break into groups and get some practice in?" asked Blake. "You've all brought your brooms, of course. I see Harry and Ron did."

A hush fell over the Gryffindors as they realized that none of them had brought their own brooms, but the silence was quickly broken by Harry who replied for them, "Of course they have. They just don't know it yet."

And without further ado Harry whipped out his wand, called "Alohomora," and the five remaining boxes he'd brought with them burst open, each broom popping out of it's box and hovering a few feet from the ground.

And once again the silence overtook the Gryffindor Team until Harry finally walked over and began handing out the brooms to each of the players. When the last one was passed out he addressed his newly equipped team proudly.

"Now then. We've got the brooms, and the Cannons have the same models as we do, so the only excuse we have left for not winning the Cup is not knowing how to use them, and that'll be remedied right now. Everyone, mount your brooms. You're about to get the best Quidditch lesson of your life."

And so began a six-hour training session that the Hogwarts Gryffindor Team would never forget.

Everyone split off, each paired with their Cannons counterpart.

Harry was once again paired off with the Sylvia, but before they headed off he watched as the rest of his team took to the skies, each oblivious to the world as they lived out fantasies none of them ever imagined could have come true.

Harry was especially happy to watch as Ron headed off with the Cannons' Captain knowing full well that it would be a day that Ron would not soon forget, if ever.

Finally, when all of his team were in the air he finally turned to Sylvia.

"So how well does it handle?" he asked her simply.

"Better than my legs," she replied. "It's like, once I see the Snitch the broom suddenly locks onto it and follows it perfectly with barely any guidance at all. I'd think it was cheating if I hadn't tested it myself a couple days ago."

And so their day of training began.

Harry and Sylvia tested the speed of their brooms, chasing down the Snitch with a speed Harry would never before have believed possible on a broom. What's more, though he could feel the wind flowing so quickly through his hair he found himself oddly unaffected by it, as though it was only a light breeze. Sylvia would later explain that this was due to a new set of spells which not only allowed for the increase of speed but reduced the impact of the wind on the rider. This allowed for greater freedom at higher speeds which would allow Harry to chase the Snitch at maximum speed without worrying about taking his hands off the broom to grab it.

He proved this theory several times, catching the Snitch nearly as often as his counterpart, still quite amazed how well it handled under such incredible speeds. It turned so sharply that it seemed impossible not to fall off, yet a light hand on the broom was all it would take to keep hold, making U-turns nearly as easy to pull off as stopping.

As he felt the broom throughout the day Harry knew that the game of Quidditch would go through some incredible changes over the next decade, considering how many things could be done on his broom that were truly impossible on his Firebolt.

As the day turned to dusk, Coach Johnson came out to announce a timed game between the Gryffindor team and the Cannons.

On any other day the Gryffindor Team might shy away from such a challenge if not all together run for the hills, yet they were so hyped by their practicing that they were raring to go.

The Coach quickly went over the modified rules for the quick game, announcing that the capture of the Snitch would earn the points but not end the game and that adversely, if the Snitch were never caught the game would still end at eight sharp. This would give their guests time for a brief supper before heading back to the school.

Harry and Sylvia agreed, just before heading off, that they would meet above the pitch and watch their respective teams, checking for strengths and weaknesses during the first hour of the game. Harry could not have been more impressed.

Ron seemed to be covering all three goal posts at once, bouncing up and down, putting his broom's vertical flying to the test and surpassing all expectations. Of ten attempts, Ron was averaging eight saves which was good in any game, but against a professional team like the Cannons it was nothing short of spectacular.

And Ginny was astounding Harry with her speed. That broom of hers was not nearly as good with sharp turns as his or Ron's, but what it lacked in turning ability it greatly made up for with it's impossible weaving ability and brute speed.

Before then Harry had never seen a broom go from one end of the pitch to the other in less than forty seconds, yet he timed her at least three different times making the trip in between twenty-two and twenty-five seconds, and once with an open lane made by her faithful Beaters, she pulled it in nineteen seconds.

"I'd hate to see what would happen if she ever collided with someone moving that fast," he called to Sylvia.

"Not what you'd expect. It's one of the safety spells on the new brooms. They create some kind of bubble around the broom and its rider. They tell me it seems like everything outside the bubble is normal but once it enters that little space near the broom everything just seems to compensate for speed. I've seen two of my Chasers collide a couple of times and it was no worse than on their old brooms. In fact, most of the time they seem to be rather better off."

"Nice one." Harry replied. "Well, I guess we'd better get off on that Snitch. I'm sure I could use a bit of practice myself."

"Right," agreed Sylvia, and off they went.

Two hours and seven hundred and eighty points later they heard the whistle go off announcing the end of the game.

Harry was not at all surprised that the Gryffindors had won; in fact he had expected it. What he would never tell his team was that Sylvia had agreed to throw the game to them which she had done, though not until the very end of the game. It was not until there was only fifteen minutes left in the game that she finally spotted the Snitch. But instead of following it as she would normally have done, she instead performed the Wronski Feint, the signal to Harry to follow her wherever she went.

He followed her as planned and she pointed him towards the Snitch, though in truth Harry had spotted it himself as he caught sight of Sylvia heading towards the ground. Still, he followed her as planned, moved up right beside her, and stretched his hand out for a final grasp reaching just a few inches further than her and grasping onto it, putting his team one hundred and twenty points above the Cannons.

A final scoring by Ginny capped off the win, but was a thousand times more important to Harry was that it meant that without the points he and Sylvia had gained for their teams, his team had scored only ten points less than a world class Quidditch team and he knew full well that there was no team at Hogwarts who could ever compare to that.

Later, as they were finishing up their supper Ron regaled Harry will everything he learned from the Cannons Captain.

"He's bloody brilliant. He puts Wood to shame. And everything that broom can do, it'll take me the next fifty years to find a way to repay you for that broom. And did you know there's a charm on it which makes your shoes stick to it? Blake actually pulled of a Starfish and Stick with no hands. I'd though I was losing it till he told me what he was doing. If you're careful you can even stand upside-down on it, though he said it's a bit hard to steer like that. And you can also..."

And Ron went on and on about everything Blake had shown him and soon the whole team was reminiscing over everything they'd learned, thanking Harry every ten minutes for the brooms and telling him how much they loved the trip.

"Well, it's a fringe benefit of being a Professor," answered Harry, "and so long as we win that cup I'll consider it money well spent."

And so they continued chatting right up until the very last minute before nine when they gathered up their things and took the suitcase Portkey back to Hogwarts.

When they arrived back at the Whomping Willow they found Hagrid waiting there with a big smile, welcoming them back and nodding to Remus who had to go back to Hogsmeade so as to get some rest before he headed off to finish the secret mission Dumbledore had sent him on.

"Well, I'll do my very best to get back in time to see the game, so long as you don't catch the Snitch too quickly," he added with a wink. "What you did here, Harry, was a really good thing and I don't want you double-guessing the fairness of it. Each and every team at Hogwarts has their own secrets as you told me a few days ago regarding that Slytherin Chaser of theirs. But now you're prepared and that's good."

Harry smiled sinisterly, but Remus was not done.

"But I'd like to ask you to be sure that you don't try solving all of your problems with money. I realize you've got a lot over at Gringotts but you should be careful with how fast you spend it. You'd be surprised how fast money can move when you don't watch your spending, and the interest rates at Gringotts is nothing like those Muggle banks. You'd be lucky to make one and a quarter percent in interest and that's not going to add up nearly as quickly as you can spend it."

Harry nodded blankly, not really sure where his Godfather was coming from but certainly not up for rebuking him.

"Good. I don't want to sound like I'm telling you what to do, but I worry about you some times and I just want to make sure that you don't have to worry about the future."

"I'm not worried," he replied. "As long as I've got you watching over me I'm sure I'll be just fine."

Harry wasn't quite sure why he felt he needed to justify himself, but he couldn't stop himself so he just kept quiet.

"Alright then. Well Hagrid's going to take you all back so I'll see you later."

Remus put his hand out and Harry took it, and each of them softly slapped the other on the shoulder, their final showing of masculinity before he headed home.

Harry turned and ran after the group, catching up with them just moments before they came around the corner and headed for the Quidditch pitch.

Their timing couldn't have been more perfect as they watched the Slytherin team walk off towards the Castle as they approached their dressing room, allowing them to lock up their brooms for the night before following the Slytherins into the castle for the night.

The air the next morning was electric as everyone awaited the big game; Slytherin versus Gryffindor.

Harry downed his breakfast in three big bites, anxious to get it over with so they could get to the game.

As good as the team was, Harry was still extremely nervous, worried that, as is always the case in Quidditch, anything could happen. With this being his first official game as Gryffindor Captain, Harry's nerves were as bad as they were as he waited for his turn against the dragons during the first challenge in the Triwizard Tournament.

Harry and the rest of the team gathered at the back of the Great Hall as they all seemed to finish their breakfasts early and started heading out towards the pitch.

They passed Hermione on their way out and Harry reminded her to bring the Omnioculars and take as many pictures of Snape and Malfoy as she could and she smiled broadly back to him.

"Actually, we've got two pair so I can watch Malfoy while he watches Professor Snape."

Harry was about to ask who she was talking about when Davie walked up behind her, Omnioculars in hand and smiling broadly, giving Hermione a soft kiss before looking up at Harry and wishing him good luck at the game.

"I'm a bit excited to see what a real British game of Quidditch is all about."

"Well I'm sure you'll be in for quite a treat," replied Harry with a smirk, the rest of the team chuckling behind him. "But there won't be much of a game if we don't get out there and get ready so we'll see you later."

Davie waved goodbye, his other arm around Hermione who did the same, and soon they were off for their own breakfast and Harry led the team the rest of the way out the castle and out to the Quidditch field.

An hour later students and professors could be heard heading up into the stands as Harry finished going over the game plan.

The idea was very simple. They would come out very quietly, flying slowly and with a much control as possible, giving nothing away. Then, after they took their positions Ginny would fall back and lie in wait for the Slytherin Chaser to take off, expecting to shock and amaze everyone. That's when Andrew Kirk and Jack Sloper, his two Beaters, would rocket off for the nearest Bludgers and send them whaling down, trying to knock the Slytherin Chaser off her broom while Ginny dove down from above, snatching the Quaffle from her hands just seconds after the Bludgers hit.

Even if they missed, and Harry knew there was that possibility, the point was to distract her knowing full well that she'd never expect a Gryffindor to match her speed. Once Ginny got hold of the Quaffle, Harry was sure that his three Chasers could work together to score the first point and that's all it would take to get on a roll.

That was the one thing Harry knew would win them the game. All they would need to do is get three or four goals without letting the Slytherins score and they'd get start getting angry which would lead to them spending more time cheating and less time working together. It had been true for the past five years and he was sure it would be that way today.

The team agreed and so they continued working on ways to keep scoring while getting under the skin of their adversaries as much as possible. With only seconds to go Ron made the final suggestion that was instantly applauded by the rest of the team.

"As soon as you get the Quaffle over at their end of the field," said Ron with a grin, "I'll need you to volley it for about thirty seconds. That'll give me all the time I'll need to get them started, and soon enough we'll have the Slytherins going absolutely bonkers!"

"Is everyone ready?" asked Madam Hooch as she poked her head through the front of the team room.

"We're ready," replied Harry with a big smile.

"Very good then. One minute to game time."

And the seconds ticked down, slowly but surely, until Harry could hear the voice of Lee Jordan over the speaker, making the opening announcements for the game, quickly working up to the team roster.

And then he heard his name called, shouted back to the team to keep to the plan, and slowly took off, rushing off into the open sky.

The crowd was wild, shouting and screaming at the top of their lungs in honour of the Gryffindor team.

The rest of the team followed, each getting a thunderous response as they flew around the pitch, just high enough to not be identifiable to the naked eye and thereby hopefully reducing any chance that the Slytherins would notice the new brooms, and it seemed to have worked. They flew full circle around the pitch, never too fast, and met back at their side of the pitch before splitting off into their own positions.

Madam Hooch approached the field and prepared for the game, opening the Quidditch box and releasing the two Bludgers, picked up the Quaffle, and finally pulled out the tiny Golden Snitch, throwing it into the air and letting it fly off.

Sending the box off with her wand she mounted her own broom, flew up to the centre of the pitch, pulled out her whistle, and blew.

The game was on.

Coming Soon

Chapter 20

Quidditch, Game 1

Gryffindor VS Slytherin