Harry Potter and the Power the Dark Lord Knows Not

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CHAPTER SIX

FOULS AND FOUL-PLAY

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As September flowed into October, the weather became crisp and cool alerting everyone to the fact that Quidditch season had arrived. Quidditch tryouts had been held the previous week and Gryffindor's new Captain, Katie Bell, had demonstrated that she could lead the team with quiet effectiveness. There had been a few changes in the team roster since last year's struggle with Dolores Umbridge. First, Harry had been fully reinstated as Seeker, which was a great relief to him and everyone else on the team. Ginny had tried out for one of the Chaser positions and had turned out to be completely brilliant at it. Ron had proven himself as Keeper by helping the team win the Quidditch Cup last year, and Harry felt that Ron's performance was almost unrecognizable when compared to his shaky goal-keeping failures from early on last term. Now, as they got ready to face the first game of the season against Slytherin, Ron's confidence seemed strong and unshakable.

Jack Sloper and Andrew Kirke made the team again as Beaters. Their playing was nowhere near as good as Fred and George's had been, but they had continued to improve since the boost from last year's successful Quidditch Final. The only brand new player was a Chaser by the name of Duncan Morey. Duncan was a year younger than Ginny, and Harry could only remember seeing him in passing. Duncan had dark blond hair, acne on his chin, and his eyes had a slightly crossed look about them, but as a Chaser he rarely missed a pass or a goal during practices. Harry had noticed that Duncan seemed rather shy when he wasn't playing Quidditch, but once onboard his broom, he became quite bold and extremely proficient - he was almost as good as Katie and Ginny were.

Harry had felt almost giddy during Gryffindor's first Quidditch practice. He hadn't been able to fly on his Firebolt for almost a whole year because of Umbridge's ban, but as Harry mounted his Firebolt again with the new team, Harry felt an incredible sense of freedom wash over him. Quidditch was the one thing in the Wizarding world that Harry hadn't had to struggle to learn or understand. Flying on a broomstick had felt as natural to Harry as breathing, and some of his best moments had been while playing Quidditch.

Harry had chased the Snitch with an almost reckless abandon during that first practice, and after his fifth effortless-looking capture, everyone had cheered. Ron and Ginny were whooping from their own broomsticks, and Hermione was

clapping below in the stands. Harry had felt happier that day than he had since before losing Sirius as he landed with the rest of the team on the Quidditch pitch. The upcoming game between Gryffindor and Slytherin was beginning to fill everyone in the school with an eager excitement, but also with some absolutely necessary escapism. No one really wanted to think about what was going on outside of the school with Voldemort and the Death Eaters, so many students were throwing themselves into this Quidditch season even more whole-heartedly than usual.

Harry had needed this temporary respite from reality more than anyone else had, and he found himself almost living for his next chance to play Quidditch again. Harry found that he felt the most like his old self while aboard his Firebolt, and many times he was almost loath to return to the ground after practice was over. Harry hadn't really been paying much attention to the students outside of his own close-knit small circle of friends and dormitory mates, so when Luna Lovegood unexpectedly tapped him on the shoulder the day of the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin match in the Great Hall, Harry was briefly taken aback by her appearance.

At the end of last year, Luna had gone with Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Neville into the Ministry of Magic to attempt to save Sirius from Voldemort. In the horrible events that had followed that night, Sirius had been lost, and everyone who had gone with Harry to help had been injured - some severely. Hermione and Luna had both been knocked unconscious, Hermione with internal injuries. Ron had been attacked by a brain and he still bore the deep scars on his forearms from its powerful tentacles of thought. Ginny had broken her ankle, and Neville had sustained a hard kick in the face which had resulted in a broken nose and wand.

Harry felt that he was the one to blame for all of those injuries, and along with the horrible nagging pain of losing Sirius, everything sometimes became too much to bear. Sirius had told him in his dream that he shouldn't blame himself for what had happened, but Harry couldn't help but feel responsible. Anytime that these thoughts occurred, Harry tried very hard to push them away and focus on something else, but too often he found that he wasn't actually able to do so. As Harry stood looking at Luna, he noticed that she was wearing the same radish-shaped earrings she had worn last year. She was also once again wearing her ludicrously large lion-shaped hat in support of Gryffindor. As the hat roared realistically, Harry saw that she had apparently decided to improve upon it for this year.

"I like your hat, Luna," Harry said, "that serpent's new, isn't it?"

"Oh, yes," said Luna, as her wildly protuberant eyes seemed to almost pop with excitement. "I wanted the lion to be chewing on the serpent last year, you know, so I made sure to go on and finish it this summer. I'll be

commentating the match as well - so good luck, Harry!" Her expression then changed to something much more vague and loopy-looking than before as she

drifted back to the Ravenclaw table. Harry felt surprised. He had known that Lee Jordan had finished school at the end of last year, but he couldn't help wondering why Luna Lovegood had been chosen as the new announcer. Perhaps they had felt that someone who wasn't in Gryffindor would be less partisan than Lee had been, but as Harry heard Luna's hat roar loudly again, he thought that rather unlikely. As Harry watched her go, he noticed a very pretty seventh year girl with a long black shiny ponytail chatting to her friends nearby. It was Cho Chang. Cho was the Seeker for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, and she had been Harry's first real crush. Harry had gone out with her for a while last year.

Unfortunately, Cho had been Cedric Diggory's girlfriend the year before that, and after Cedric's untimely death, things had become a bit too complicated. Harry and Cho had dated and Harry had even shared his first kiss with her, but she hadn't been able to get over losing Cedric. Cho had always wanted to talk about the traumatic events surrounding Cedric's death, which Harry had been an unwilling witness to. Harry and Cho had fought often while together and by the end of the year she was with someone else. As Harry looked over at her, he still thought that she was quite pretty, but he simply didn't fancy her any longer. More often than not while they had been dating Cho had been in tears, and Harry had found that very difficult to handle. Harry had a hard enough time coping with his own burdens, without adding someone else's as well.

Harry turned away from the Ravenclaw table and attacked his breakfast; he would need the energy for the match later that day. That afternoon when Madam Hooch blew the whistle to begin the match, the weather was gray and windy, but not rainy. Harry circled the pitch as the wind buffeted against him, aggressively wanting another win against Slytherin. Malfoy was circling in the opposite direction with a look of intense concentration. Harry had always been able to reach the Snitch before Malfoy, often picking it up right before Malfoy's rat-like nose, and Malfoy had always tried to retaliate in some way.

"The game begins with Gryffindor in possession," Luna's singsong voice drifted languorously throughout the stadium.

Katie, Ginny, and Duncan were working wonderfully well together below Harry as they scored again and again. As usual, the Slytherin team was made up of huge brutes rather than skilled players, and Gryffindor had the advantage. The Slytherin team, however, had no moral scruples whatsoever, and they often resorted to dirty tricks to try to win. Harry glanced down to check the progress of the game; he had yet to see a sign of the Snitch. As he did, Harry saw Slytherin's three huge Chasers barreling towards Ron and his goalposts, led by Adrian Pucey, a beefy-looking seventh year and Montague, the Captain of the

Slytherin team. Harry pulled up slightly, watching his best friend.

"Gryffindor already leads by sixty points as Slytherin makes an attempt to score," Luna intoned dreamily, as if nothing of any importance was going on.

Ron looked stoutly determined as he watched them close in. Suddenly, Pucey faked right and then threw the Quaffle very fast towards the left goal hoop. Ron had seen what he was trying to do, though, and raced to intercept. The bright red Quaffle had been thrown so hard that as Ron reached out to stop it, it went through his hands, hitting him with great force in the face. Ron's broom dipped slightly - he was dazed and was beginning to spurt blood from both nostrils, but he had managed to stop the Quaffle anyway.

"Slytherin Chaser Adrian Pucey is stopped by the quick thinking of Gryffindor Keeper Ron Weasley. Good job, Ron!" Luna was saying - finally sounding enthusiastic, but Harry barely heard her as the stadium erupted in cheers and the red and gold colors of Gryffindor waved in the wind.

Harry yelled, "Yeah, Ron!" as he flew by the Gryffindor goalposts continuing his search for the Snitch. Hermione was screaming herself almost hoarse in the stands, waving her Gryffindor flag wildly and calling Ron's name. Ron, seemingly noticing this, had smiled widely as he gingerly pinched his bloody nose, while a slight flush began to crawl up his freckled face. As Harry zipped past Ginny he saw her fake a pass to Duncan and then fly boldly by Miles Bletchley, the Slytherin Keeper, to throw the Quaffle right through the center hoop. Bletchley was now looking very angry indeed, especially when Ginny and Katie then both scored twice more - and the crowd began to reach a state of absolute frenzy. The Slytherin side was booing and cajoling the Gryffindor team, but they could barely be heard over the Gryffindor supporter's more raucous shouts.

Abruptly, Harry saw a golden glint near the ground in the middle of the pitch. Luna was speaking again, but Harry was no longer listening as he concentrated only upon capturing the small fluttering ball that was buzzing rapidly away from him. Malfoy had seen it a second later and as he pursued Harry he yelled something Harry didn't catch at Crabbe and Goyle, the Slytherin Beaters. Harry then drew his Firebolt into an exceedingly steep dive. As Harry gained speed, he laid flat on his broom continuing to focus exclusively on the small golden fleck that was the Snitch. Unbeknownst to Harry, both Crabbe and Goyle were heading straight for him. Harry saw Goyle hit a Bludger at him out of the corner of his eye and swerved quickly to avoid the collision. Unfortunately, what Harry didn't see was that Crabbe was waiting for him.

As Harry swerved to miss Goyle's Bludger, he heard Crabbe strike his own Bludger very near at hand. Harry turned his head towards the noise but didn't have enough time to get out of the way. With a sickening crunch Crabbe's Bludger then slammed into Harry, hitting him full force almost right between the eyes. Harry's glasses immediately broke and sent small slivers of glass everywhere, cutting the skin around his eyes, nose, and forehead. The force of the blow instantaneously knocked Harry from his broom, and he crashed into the ground backwards, his head hitting first. Harry's consciousness was beginning to flicker in and out as Madam Hooch's whistle was blown, and the game came to a stop as everyone ran to check on him. As if from a distance Harry heard the screams and gasps coming from both the crowd in the stands and his fellow teammates as they started zooming towards him from all directions. The pain in Harry's head reached a shrill pitch as he shuddered uncontrollably and then retched violently on the ground. After that, everything faded to black, and Harry knew nothing more.

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Sometime later, Harry could faintly hear a vague buzzing somewhere above his head. As his mind came closer to the surface, Harry realized that the buzzing sound was actually voices.

"How is he doing, Poppy?"

"The same, I'm afraid."

"It's been four days, now. Do you think he's in any significant danger?"

"Well, it's a concussion, and quite a severe one to be going on with. It may take some time for a full recovery, Minerva. He won't need to be up on that broomstick of his anytime soon, you can be sure of that." They sounded like women's voices, Harry reflected.

"Has the headmaster been in yet today, Poppy?"

"Yes, he stopped by early this morning looking like he'd been up all night again. I told him he should take some potion and get some rest, but he refused, as usual."

"Well, we'll all feel better when Potter wakes up, I'm sure." Harry heard someone leave. There was silence for a moment, then footsteps.

"You three should be at dinner."

"Madam Pomfrey, we're fine. Please tell us, has there been any improvement at all?" It was a new voice, younger, a girl.

"Mr. Potter will be all right, Miss Weasley, as I've told you repeatedly. Severe head traumas like this take time to recover from. He could regain consciousness at any time now."

Something in the back of Harry's mind was striving to comprehend what was going on. Were those voices talking about him? Harry heard a gasp.

"Did you see that? I think he might be coming round," said another girl.

As Harry struggled his way to consciousness again, he had no idea where he was or what he had been doing, only that his head felt like it had been smashed open by a sledgehammer or perhaps a triple-decker bus. As Harry

finally opened his eyes, he heard a horrible low moan, then he realized it was coming from him.

"Harry!" three different voices said in unison very close by. The voices sounded anxious; they also sounded quite familiar. Everything was extremely blurry, Harry still didn't know where he was.

"What happened?" Harry croaked feebly, and then flinched slightly as someone put a cold cloth on his pounding forehead.

"Lie still, now, Mr. Potter. Lie still," said Madam Pomfrey, as she bustled around him. Harry realized that he must be in the hospital wing. "Here, take this potion, it should help to reduce the swelling and the pain a bit." As Madam Pomfrey helped Harry to drink some of the potion from his awkwardly supine position, Harry heard someone else speak from the other side of where he lay; it was Ron.

"You gave us quite a scare there, Harry. That Bludger nearly did you in," Ron said, vehemently.

"Bludger?" Harry whispered, quizzically.

"Yeah, Harry. Those bastards..."

"Mr. Weasley!" Madam Pomfrey chastised.

"Sorry... Crabbe and Goyle ganged up on you illegally when you were diving for the Snitch. Their Bludgers were bewitched so they could control whatever they did. Don't you remember?" Ron asked.

As Madam Pomfrey went rushing off, Harry tried to turn on his side to see Ron better. This movement made his head throb horribly again, however, and Harry closed his eyes as the room swam about him like a tugboat caught in a hurricane. After a few moments, Harry painfully tried to squint up at his friends once more to make them come into focus.

"Oh, sorry mate, I forgot. Here," Ron said, gingerly placing something on the brim of Harry's nose. "Your other glasses were destroyed beyond all repair, but Dumbledore was able to get these new ones for you."

As Harry gazed over at his friends and was actually able to see them clearly, he realized that they looked rather frightened. Ron seemed worried, but angry. Hermione was regarding Harry with a somewhat fretful air, appearing more anxious than anything else. Ginny, however, looked even worse than the other two. At the very moment the impact had occurred, Ginny had been pursuing one of the Slytherin Chasers in possession of the Quaffle and had glanced up just as Harry had fallen. Ginny had been the closest one to Harry at the time, and hence had been the first to reach his side after he'd been knocked out.

"It was just such a shock to see you lying there unconscious like that, Harry. We weren't sure if you were going to be able to wake up on your own or

not... " Ginny whispered. Harry was taken aback by the look on Ginny's face. She was as white as parchment, and she was trembling slightly as Hermione placed a comforting arm around her petite shoulders.

"I'm okay," Harry said in a rough whisper to all of them, but he was looking specifically at Ginny. "Honestly, I am."

"But I still can't believe that they did this!" Hermione exclaimed

unexpectedly, making Ginny, Ron, and Harry jump - she seemed extremely

frazzled. "They really hurt you this time, Harry. I mean - I know they wanted to beat us, but this was completely over the line."

"I guess we shouldn't be all that surprised, Hermione," Ron said disgustedly. "It's not too hard to figure out that Crabbe and Goyle are basically Death Eaters-in-training anyway, just like Malfoy. They'd probably be thrilled to know that Harry's laid up here in the hospital if they weren't already in so much trouble." Ron's ears were now glowing bright red as his temper rose, and at this reminder from Ron - Hermione and Ginny were suddenly looking a bit more irate themselves.

"They did get into trouble, then," Harry finally said, his voice just a little stronger.

"Oh, yes," piped up Hermione. "McGonagall suspended both of them. They've been sent home for a week, and when they get back they've got a full month of detentions where they'll be scrubbing every toilet on the second floor," she said, satisfaction glowing on her face.

"We won anyway, Harry," Ron said proudly looking at his little sister, his temper cooling slightly. "Apparently Malfoy hadn't been paying attention to what the Chasers were doing, and Ginny was able to raise the score ten more points before he had the chance to catch the Snitch. The final score was Slytherin one-fifty; Gryffindor one-sixty - Malfoy was bloody furious. It was brilliant!"

Ginny glanced over at her big brother, taking the compliment in good grace. Then she said disparagingly, "He deserved it, the evil git. I bet you anything that Malfoy was in on this somehow, Harry. Those two goons of his aren't clever enough to have done this on their own." As the color rose in her cheeks again, Ginny had looked remarkably like her twin brothers in one of their more obstinate moods, and Harry gave her a small grin - then winced as his whole head throbbed angrily again.

Madam Pomfrey had apparently noticed this and came in to shoo everyone out, muttering nonstop about her patient's need of rest and quiet. Despite Madam Pomfrey's demands, however, once the nurse had disappeared into her office, Ginny's vivid red head reappeared in the doorway. Ginny was peering over at Harry with a rather intensely anxious look on her face while she stood quietly at the entrance to the hospital wing. Ron and Hermione had already entered the corridor.

"Get well really soon, okay, Harry," Ginny whispered in a surprisingly vulnerable voice, before smiling softly at him and walking slowly out the door.

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That night, the pounding headache subsided a little, and Harry tried to

recall what had actually happened. Harry remembered diving for the Snitch, and then hearing Malfoy yell something at Crabbe and Goyle - it had been just a few seconds later that they had apparently ganged up on him with both Bludgers in tow. Ginny was quite right, Harry realized bitterly, Malfoy had been the one who had instigated the whole thing.

Madam Pomfrey kept Harry in the hospital wing for an additional three days, giving Harry what felt like a hundred different potions a day. As he became fit enough to venture out of bed on his own, Harry saw in a nearby mirror what had caused his friends to react so strongly to his appearance. Harry's whole forehead was deep purple tinged with yellow and the impact had burst the blood vessels in both eyes, making the whites of his eyes look blood-red. He could also see the faint marks left behind from where the numerous small cuts he had sustained from his ruined glasses had just recently been healed. No wonder I feel like I was hit by a sledgehammer, Harry thought, as he gazed at his rather disturbing reflection.

The next few days brought many visitors, including Dumbledore, Hagrid, McGonagall, Moody, and every member of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Luna also came by looking as dreamy and odd as she always did - though not nearly as odd as she looked in her lion hat. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny only left Harry's side when they had to. Ginny appeared to be almost more reticent about leaving than even Ron and Hermione were.

Harry had had to stay in hospital before and though he didn't enjoy it, he wasn't one to complain. Harry felt like it could've been much worse than it had been; he had never been completely knocked out for so long before, and he actually felt somewhat lucky to be alive. At night as the only patient in the ward, Harry contemplated how many brushes with death he'd had in his short lifetime, and he found himself once again reliving the incredibly vivid dream he'd had of Sirius not long ago. It still hurt to think of it, but it now afforded him a small degree of comfort. After all the close calls and narrow escapes, Harry felt that if he wasn't ultimately able to defeat Voldemort, at least he could be with Sirius again in the end. Harry smiled to himself at these slightly macabre musings; but as his body healed from the concussion, his heart had finally begun its long journey of healing as well.

Another thing that was keeping Harry going in this positive new direction was the memory of Ginny lingering in the doorway that first day after he had regained consciousness. Harry couldn't really explain why, but his

mind kept drifting back to that single image of her. There was something quite compelling about the looks of soft kindness she had been giving him recently, and Harry found that he was beginning to look forward to seeing Ginny again at least as much as he looked forward to seeing Ron and Hermione. Even though Harry hadn't had much cause to smile lately, Ginny's numerous visits were always able to elicit that response from him. As he nodded off to sleep that last day in the hospital wing, Harry found himself reflecting on the sound of Ginny's sweetly soft voice, and he slept better and more soundly that night than he could remember sleeping in a very long time.