Harry Potter and the Black Grimoire

CHAPTER NINETEEN - PLANS AND COMPETITIONS

Soon enough October was gone and with it the crisp, cool weather and autumn leaves. The first traces of winter could be felt as the Fifth-year Gryffindors walked to their outside classes. Every once in a while small snowflakes would flutter down from the clouds and leave the grounds dusted in white.

After the failure of the search for the Founders Office, going through the box of his parents had cheered him up slightly, but another familiar recreation came along soon enough to completely take his mind off of it. In just a few short weeks Gryffindor would be taking on Ravenclaw in another Quidditch match. It would be taking place a week before the end of term and the winter holidays and Ron was working the team with perseverance and determination that rivaled that of Oliver Wood. Five days a week they had practice for the match. And between all of the homework they were receiving and practice, for once it seemed Harry and Ron were more exhausted than Hermione.

In their classes nothing had changed except for an announcement they had received from Professor Radford two weeks before the start of the holidays.

"Now," she said, looking around at her students ten minutes before the end of class. "Lately we have been learning about dark wizards and their ways and you have all done an excellent job in learning the content. But I know that this might not have been the most exciting time for you all."

A few people clapped their hands or nodded their heads. Professor Radford smiled slightly.

"And this was needed, I assure you, but it hasn't been that fun for me either. That's why I have decided to keep with what I said at the beginning of this school year."

This last statement intrigued everyone in the room and they hung on her every word.

"That is why after the return from the Christmas holidays I have set up a Dueling Club with permission from the headmaster."

Apparently she did not receive the enthusiastic response she was expecting for a frown formed on her smiling face.

"You're not all excited about this?" she asked, a note of desperation in her voice.

Hermione raised her hand to speak.

"It's just that, Professor, the last time we had a dueling club it was, well, a bit of a joke."

"Ahh. You are speaking of the Dueling Club you had in your second year, are you not?"

"With Professor Lockhart, yes."

"Well I can assure you all that I, unlike him, know what I am doing."

This seemed to cheer the class up significantly as most of them leaned forward in their seats to pay more attention.

"Well, now that I have caught your fancy, I can give you more details. The club will be open to everyone, but you will not all be bunched into one group, but into several, based on your ability level. That way the students who have not been studying this all year won't be demolished by you lot," she said with a twinkle in her eye.

Several knowing smiles broke out throughout the class at her indirect praise of them.

"So," she said, getting up. "I suggest you all start researching spells you can use during your duels."

The bell rang just as she got to her feet.

"Now get out! All of you!" she said as they didn't move. "I'll tell you more as the time comes. Class dismissed.

Reluctantly they got to their feet and left the classroom for dinner. They would just have to be patient.

* * * *

It was a good thing that Harry had Quidditch practice to occupy his mind over the next weeks or he would have done nothing but think of dueling. The prospects of learning how to duel, and properly for a change, excited him immensely.

But Quidditch he had and the days leading up to that Friday night's game were long and exhausting. But overall, Harry felt the work was worth it. The team had done nothing but improve. Ron had been bringing a notebook to practice sessions with him. In it were all of the Quidditch plays and strategies that he had ever heard of, or created, in his life. The team spent hours on the pitch memorizing the strategies or huddled in a corner of the common room with Ron while he pushed around little Quidditch figurines, looking very much like Oliver Wood again.

The whole team felt that they were better prepared for this match than any of their previous matches, but they would just have to wait and see.

And wait they did. The day came soon enough and dawned with a dazzling white sky. Or that's what Harry thought it was when he looked out the window from his bed. It was a whole other story though when he came closer and peered out of the pane properly.

Snow, dazzling white snow, was all that could be seen. Swirling and blowing about here and there in the wind. Harry tried to see the forest in the distance but could not because of the whiteout. He couldn't even see the ground below. He had never played Quidditch in these conditions and it worried him.

He got off the windowsill and went to wake Ron up from his slumber. Ron seemed to be just as worried as Harry. He didn't voice his concerns though, and they went together to get Maddie and Hermione before going to get breakfast.

The rest of the team was already assembled in the Great Hall when they arrived. Despite the circumstances they seemed to be in quite a good mood. Fred and George had been doing their best to keep everyone in high spirits. At least this, Harry thought, was a good thing.

Harry decided to take his eyes off of Fred, George and their comedy relief and he looked over at the Ravenclaw table. There their team was assembled together at the end, broomsticks propped up against the table. Harry was quick to notice that Cho Chang, their seeker, was just as pretty as ever. She turned her head and noticed him looking at her. She gave him a quick smile and wave and turned back to her teammates.

Soon the Gryffindor team was fed and ready and they exited the hall to make their way out to the pitch. A bitter cold wind whipped in their faces as Ron opened the doors in the Entrance Hall. They wrapped their cloaks around them as they walked out into the blinding white. First the team made their way over to the field to inspect the ground and get an idea of what they would be taking on. If they expected the weather to be any different on the field they did not get their wish. The ground was frozen solid and covered with three inches of snow. And the snow was no less thick. They made their way to the locker room as the Ravenclaw team came onto the field.

"Well team," Ron said after they had gotten dressed. "I know things don't look good right now, but I know we can deal with this. "After all, they have to play in it too and we're better than them, so we still have an advantage."

"Damn right," George Weasley said.

"We'll just have to go out there and play our hardest," Ron continued.

"Ron?" Hermione said, speaking up from the bench where she was sitting next to Harry. "I have an idea."

* * * *

The team made their way out onto the field to enthusiastic but muffled applause. They could barely hear anything over the wind.

Just before they were to assemble before the start of the match they all gathered in front of Hermione. She went to each of them and muttered "contego" before moving on to the next player. This gave each of them a kind of protective shield from the snow and cold. It did not help completely, but gave the team a bit more visibility. Just then they heard a whistle blow from somewhere within the white.

They gathered in the center of the field and the captains shook hands. Madam Hooch blew her whistle again and kicked the crate open, releasing the balls and signaling the start of the match.

From the first second out Harry zoomed up as far as he could. He still could not see hardly anything but snow. He didn't know how he was going to see the snitch. Let alone catch it. He kept thinking though that Cho was worse off than he was, which was encouraging.

As the match went on, Harry decided his best bet was to just fly around as much as possible. Hopefully, he thought, he would get lucky and come close to the snitch.

And thus far, it seemed to be working somewhat. Several times Harry would catch sight of the snitch within his visibility area, but somehow Cho would always appear and distract him for long enough that it disappeared again. He persisted on.

Finally he heard a whistle from somewhere and Ron flew over to him, or rather into him because he didn't know where he was going.

"I've called a time out. How are getting on?"

"The snow is making it almost impossible to see the snitch," he answered. "I've just been flying around as much as possible hoping it'll hit me in the head or something."

"Well keep doing that. Sounds like your best bet."

"What's the score?"

"Were down fifty to sixty, but we can still pull this off if you get the snitch."

"Well I guess its up top me then," Harry said.

"No pressure though," Ron said, slapping him on the back.

He flew away again as Harry zoomed off into the other direction. A moment later he heard the whistle again, and play resumed.

Harry kept on with his strategy and caught sight of the snitch again twice, but was unable to catch it before Cho slammed into him, disorienting him long enough for it to disappear.

The match continued on for longer than Harry could reckon. He heard Lee Jordan's voice faintly say that Gryffindor was now in the lead, ninety-to-seventy. He had to catch the snitch soon and end the game. It was just getting too miserable to be flying around.

The good thing about the fact that the match was lasting so long was that as time went on, the storm seemed to be lessening. There was no lack of cold or wind, but the snow was breaking up, giving Harry a better view of what was going on around him. The clouds began to break apart slightly and the sky got a lot brighter.

Harry noticed a slight glimmer somewhere in the distance as he dodged a bludger that came straight for him. With renewed hope he sped off towards the glint as fast as his Firebolt would take him. His heart sank as he saw Cho diving from above the snitch. He yelled and flattened himself against his handle, fixing his eyes on the prize. If it had not been for Fred hearing his cry Cho would have gotten the snitch, but he sent a bludger her way, which hit her in the arm and sent her wheeling off in the other direction. Harry wanted to see if she was ok, but decided that it was all part of the game and kept his concentration on the game.

Such as was usually the case the snitch again was gone. But the lightening of the weather and the close call had had its affect on Harry. He was now absolutely determined on his task.

He again started his strategy of flying around and soon he caught another glimpse of a glint of light. The fact that it was beginning to get sunny and that there was snow falling actually helped in the fact that the sun shined off of the gold ball and reflected off of the snow.

Up at the Ravenclaw end, Ginny had just scored another goal, giving the Gryffindor team a thirty-point lead. A short while later Ron let the quaffle slip by him, shorting the lead to twenty.

But up ahead Harry had just streaked off. He was almost at the snitch when Cho Chang came barreling into him from below. The started a shoving match, ramming into each other on their brooms, but Harry was careful to this time keep his eyes on the gold ball. It flitted downwards and Harry dived after it, all the while taking the blows from Cho. As was usually the case though, his Firebolt paid off in the end. Soon he was pulling away from Cho as he kept his pursuit of the snitch. He made one last dive towards it as Cho again hit him, but this time she had made her own blunder. She rammed him from behind which only caused him to go forward faster and before he knew what had happened, the snitch was in his gloved hand. He pulled upwards and circled the field before Madam Hooch blew her whistle. Gryffindor had won.

* * * *

Back in the Gryffindor common room the usual end of game party had ensued. They had pulled through with a victory and would be going to the final, but just barely.

Harry and the group were enjoying tall, steaming glasses of swiped butterbear with the rest of the team when Harry felt his chest suddenly become warm. He looked down his shirt to see the crystal in his chain had started throbbing with light. It was not bright, but just enough for him to see that it meant something. He excused himself from the group and went into a corner. He pulled it from under his shirt and grasped it in his hand. Immediately he heard a voice speak to him from somewhere.

"Harry, it's me, Sirius," the voice said.

"What is it?"

"Dumbledore has called a meeting. We're all to report to the meeting room in fifteen minutes time."

"Ok. Thanks Sirius, We'll be there soon."

With that he let go and replaced the key under his shirt. He then went back to get Ron and Hermione and filled them in. They told Maddie they would see her later and they left the common room. Once they had gotten to a deserted corridor they all grasped their pendants and said aloud "ceremony room."

Harry felt a flash of heat go through his body and his eyes closed. When he opened them again a second later, he was standing next to Ron and Hermione in the meeting room.

"Ahh. Glad you three found your way here," Dumbledore said, striding over to them.

"It was no problem," Harry said as they went to go sit down at their seats.

Dumbledore started the meeting immediately and everyone stopped talking and paid him close attention.

"Welcome back, everybody. Now, this is just going to be a quick meeting as I just wanted to fill everyone in on the progress of the search and Severus's whereabouts."

They nodded in understanding.

"Well, to begin with. You all know that we began our search a few weeks ago and we came up empty-handed. This is unfortunate for all of us, but I assure you that we are still working hard. I have recently unearthed an ancient map of the castle from the library archives and I have been going over that. It accounts for a fair many new secret rooms, including the room of chamber-pots I stumbled upon last year," he said, winking at Harry, Ron and Hermione.

There were a few light chuckles and Dumbledore continued.

"Now, we don't yet know if any of these rooms are relevant to our search, but we will be conducting another search right after the Christmas. I still need to get together with Sirius and Remus to consult them on their expertise of the castle layout. It is possible that these rooms are places we have already been to and I have merely forgotten."

Sirius and Remus nodded to Dumbledore and he took a drink of water from one of the glasses that were provided for them before continuing.

"The next order of business is Severus. We still have not heard from him since we lost contact. I am almost certain now that he has been captured. What we need to do is somehow find out if he is indeed being held captive or not."

"Would Voldemort not have just killed him?" Ron asked, straining hard to get the name out.

"I doubt it Ron. I surmise that the Dark Lord would want to keep him alive as long as possible to try and extract information from him."

"That makes sense," Ron said to himself.

"It does indeed. Now does anyone have any ideas?"

"Snape told us that Lucius Malfoy has become Voldemort's right-hand man. I vote for a raid on his house," Mad-Eye Moody said.

"Me too," Sirius said. "He's our best bet."

"I'm afraid I agree," Dumbledore said. "But it's not going to be easy."

"The Malfoys no doubt have top security on their manor," Remus added.

"We will have to devise a strategic plan for infiltration to the mansion," Dumbledore said. "Mr. Weasley, you are good at chess, are you not?"

"Why-um, no. Well, yes. I guess," he said, looking a little shocked.

"Good. Then you will help on this manner."

"Ok," he replied, with an unsure look on his face.

"We will have to acquire plans for the house and start surveying our options. By that time we will have another meeting to discuss procedure and participation. That is all for now."

Dumbledore stood up and dismissed the Order. They all got up from their chairs and began talking amongst themselves. Harry, Ron and Hermione grouped themselves together in a corner to discuss the prospects of going into the Malfoy manor. They were interrupted by Sirius.

"Hey guys," he said. "Would you mind if I had a word with Harry in private?"

"No problem, Sirius," Ron said, and he and Hermione went to the other side of the room to wait for him.

"What's up Sirius?" Harry asked.

"Well, I know I promised that you could move in with me when I get my life back up and running and I was wondering if you wanted to come visit over the winter break. You can come check the place out. Decide if you really want to stay."

"Decide? Of course I want to stay! I don't care if you live in a hole!" Harry said, suddenly becoming very excited. "But that would be great. I'd love to come and check out the house with you. When do we leave?"

"Don't be so hasty!" Sirius said, laughing. "You still have this week before the end of term. Then we leave the first day of vacation."

"Sounds great! I can't wait!"

"Well you're gonna have to! But I'll see you guys in class Monday. Talk to you then."

With that he patted Harry on the back and he left to go and talk to Remus and Arabella.

Harry strode over to Hermione and Ron without really looking where he was going. He told them what Sirius had wanted to talk to him about and they were almost as happy for him as he was.

"That's good though, mate because my mum wants me to come home and spend some time with them over Christmas. Now I don't have to feel bad about leaving you here alone."

Yeah," he replied. He turned to Hermione and asked: "What are you doing over the break?"

"I guess I'm going back home then," she said with a hint of disappointment.

"Why don't I ask if you can come with?"

"Oh Harry, I'd love that!"

"Thought you would. I'll ask Sirius on Monday after class. Right now I wouldn't mind going back to the dormitories. I'm beat."

"Here, here mate."

"Oh you boys are such wimps," Hermione teased.

They both tried to grab her at the same time but she had expected it and grabbed her pendent. They ended up hugging each other instead. They released each other very quickly and looked around uncomfortably before patting each other on the back. Ron punched Harry on the arm as well. Then they followed suit and went back to the common room themselves.

That night Harry lie awake in bed for hours, unable to get to sleep. He would be going to Godric's Hollow in just a week. He would be seeing where he would be staying! Without the Dursleys! It was such a good thought that he couldn't seem to calm himself down enough to fall asleep.

Eventually he did fall asleep and had one of the most peaceful and content sleeps he had ever known, full of dreams of good times and new places, and not a Dursley in sight.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! It's Sunday and I have to do my homework, but I should get the next chapter out by the weekend. This is gonna be a big one, so it's gonna take some time. Harry gets to go to Godric's Hollow! The plot's really gonna start to unfold in the next chapters so look out for them! Thanks to all who reviewed and keep it up!

--DemonOfTheFall