House-elves on Broomsticks

"Hey, Harry," Ron called, jumping onto the bed. "Are you ready for the game?"

Harry groaned and pulled the blanket back over his head. He'd hoped he could sleep in before going to the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw Quidditch match. "Yeah, Ron, but it doesn't start until 12:00! Can't you please let me get some rest?"

"Well, fine, but Hermione told me to tell you that you'd better get some studying in for the Transfiguration exam tomorrow."

Harry sat up. "A Transfiguration exam?" he gasped.

"Yup, we have to turn a flower into a box of tissues," Ron explained.

"Oh, no..."

"Well, I'm sure if you get up now Hermione will help you," Ron said comfortingly.

Harry looked at his friend suspiciously. "What about you? No offense, but you're not so great in Transfiguration."

Ron turned a little pink, but before he could answer, Fred and George Weasley ran into the room.

"Ron was studying with Hermione for two hours last night in Gryffindor common room," Fred teased.

Harry could see Ron's hands clenching into fists.

"Yeah, but most of the time he wasn't looking at his books!" laughed George.

Now Ron's face was beet red, and he lunged at his brothers. "Shut up! And go away! I TOLD you to quit spying on me!"

"Uh-oh Fred, he's getting touchy. We better go," George said.

"Yeah, let's go get Angelina to run some Quidditch drills with us," said Fred.

Harry was about to ask Ron what was going on, but he decided not to put his friend through any more embarrassment. After all, he knew he wouldn't like it if anyone started teasing him about Cho. Cho...Just thinking about her gave Harry an unsettling feeling in his stomach. Wait a second...Cho was the Ravenclaw Seeker, which meant he would see her today!

He sat up and climbed out of bed. "Come on Ron, I suddenly feel like getting up."

* * *

After getting his robes on, Harry walked down to the Gryffindor common room. There, he saw Colin Creevy and Ginny Weasley, yet another of Ron's siblings, playing wizard chess. Those two were so in awe of Harry, they had once tried to start a fan club for him! Ginny's knight hopped over to take Colin's queen, and then she looked up to see him.

"Harry!" she said, jumping up from her chair. "How are you? Are you excited about the Quidditch game?"

"Of course he's excited, he gets to see the hot Ravenclaw Seeker," Fred called out from the game of Gobstones going on in the corner.

Harry felt his face going as red as Ron's had been. Now he DID know how his friend had felt.

Ginny's face fell as she looked down at the floor. Her crush on Harry was so big, she couldn't stand to hear anyone even joke about him liking anyone.

Harry smiled at her, saying, "Yeah, Ginny, I'm pretty excited." He felt better when she looked up smiling.

Colin now jumped up from his chair and ran up to Harry, his hand twitching in excitement. "Harry, I'm sure you're going to be great! You're the best Quidditch Seeker I've ever seen, and that includes the ones I saw at the World Cup last year! You know, I bet that you're going to play for England someday, Harry, I just-"

Harry broke him off. "Thanks, Colin Well, I better go get ready for the game."

Colin swelled up with pride the way he did every time Harry said his name. "Oh, sure, Harry! Don't let me keep you here!"

"Bye, Harry!" Ginny said shyly.

Harry forced a smile and waved as he dragged Ron out of the common room.

"Come on, let's go get breakfast," he suggested. "Chocolatecoveredskrewts," he added to the Fat Lady.

"Taste real good!" she agreed, swinging open.

Harry never understood why this year Professor McGonagall had forced the Gryffindors to give the password even as they left the tower.

He walked down the stairs with Ron, chatting about the rumor going around that a new line of broomsticks was being made to rival even the Firebolt. When they reached the dining hall, Ron spotted Hermione right away.

"Hey, Herm!" he called. "Come sit with us!"

Harry and Ron sat on opposite sides of the table, and Harry wasn't surprised when Hermione sat down next to Ron.

"Hello, Harry. Good morning, Ron," Hermione said, smiling at the redhead.

"Harry needs some help for the Transfiguration exam tomorrow," Ron said, growing a little pink as he smiled back. "I was thinking you could quiz him while we ate."

"Oh, sure," Hermione said enthusiastically. "Now first of all, you have to make sure your arm is perfectly straight..."

* * *

An hour later, Harry was sure he knew more about Transfiguration than necessary for tomorrow's test. "Well, thanks Herm, I really appreciate it, but I don't have time for any more. I have to head down to drills now."

Hermione's face looked slightly annoyed. She hated her teaching to get interrupted. "Well, fine then. I think you'll be ready. Oh, and good luck at the game."

"Thanks, I'm going to need it for this one," Harry responded. "Come on, Ron."

"Umm, I think I'm still a little rusty on the Transfiguration, I'm going to get some more help and come down with Herm when it starts," Ron said nervously.

Harry looked at his friend in disbelief. "But didn't you spend two hours...?" He shook his head. This wasn't the way to get through to Ron. "There's still 15 minutes before the drills start. If you come with me now, you can have that whole time on my Firebolt," he offered.

Ron's eyes opened wide with excitement at the prospect of a quarter hour on a Firebolt. He bit his lip and looked from Hermione to Harry to Hermione, and back to Harry. He couldn't resist. "Well, what are we waiting for? I'll save you a seat, Herm."

"Okay," said Hermione distractedly, not looking up from her Transfiguration notes.

With that, the boys ran to the field, pausing only for Harry to run to Gryffindor Tower and grab his broomstick.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Harry was watching the Weasley twins practice smacking Bludgers at targets while Angelina Johnson and Katie Bell were playing a sort of aerial catch with a Quaffle. Ron was getting into the practice by trying to hurl a practice Quaffle past Gryffindor's Keeper, still on Harry's Firebolt. Harry knew he should be practicing his flying, but he just wasn't in the mood. He knew how to fly. All he wanted to do was wait for the Ravenclaw team to show up. He had to see Cho Chang again.

"Look out, Harry Potter, sir!" a squeaky voice warned.

Harry bent down just in time to see a Bludger go whizzing past his head.

"Sorry," Fred called.

Harry looked around, trying to figure out who had called him.

"Down here, Harry Potter, sir!" the voice called again.

Harry looked down, and saw Dobby the house elf staring up at him with his huge green eyes. "Dobby would feel very bad if the great Harry Potter got hurt!" he said wide-eyed. Harry shook his head, and couldn't help laughing as he noticed Dobby's new socks: a bright purple one with snowflakes, and an orange one with owls all over it. Harry winced, knowing it would be useless to try to explain to Dobby about clashing. Dobby didn't care what color his favorite articles of clothing were, as long as they didn't match.

"What are you doing here, Dobby?" Harry asked, stooping down.

Dobby's eyes filled with tears. "The great Harry Potter cares about the intentions of a lowly elf such as Dobby! Harry Potter is truly a wonderful wizard!" he exclaimed.

"Really, Dobby, I just want to know why you're over here and not in the kitchen. That doesn't make me wonderful, so stop saying that!" Harry muttered, his face growing pink for the second time that day.

Dobby grinned. "Dobby has been given permission to practice flying by the great wizard Dumbledore," he said proudly. "Oh, but Dobby does not mean that Mr. Dumbledore is a greater wizard than Harry Potter!" The elf's eyes widened. "Dobby just means that Mr. Dumbledore is also a great-"

Harry didn't bother to listen to Dobby babble on. "Flying?" he asked in wonderment. That was when he noticed the Cleansweep 7 laying at Dobby's side. "Dobby, I never knew house elves could learn to fly!" he exclaimed.

Dobby stopped his telling of all of "Harry Potter's great things he's done, like the defeating of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named," and stood on his tiptoes, sticking put his tiny chest. "Sir, of course Dobby can learn how to fly! All house elves can learn how to fly! Dobby can fly good, like the great Seeker Harry Potter!"

"Wow, Dobby, you have to show-" Harry broke off, and looked at the opposite side of the field. The Ravenclaw team had arrived, each holding their new Nimbus 2001. "Actually, Dobby, I'll see you after the game. I have to go."

"Good-bye, Harry Potter, sir!" Dobby called.

Harry jogged over to the Ravenclaw team, and looked for Cho, his heart starting to beat faster. He finally saw her, behind all the other teammates, looking just as pretty as she had that first game he saw her. There was something different about her face, though, and he couldn't quite tell what it was.

He walked over to her, and mustered up the courage to say hi. "Hey, Cho," he said, glancing down at the floor.

Cho stared at him for a moment, and Harry saw that look again. This time, however, he could tell what it was. It was sadness.

"Come on Ravenclaw, let's get in the air!" She jumped on her broomstick and flew off without speaking to Harry.

Harry just stood in shock for a moment. What could he have possibly done?

"Ron! Come on, I need my broom,"Harry called.

"Aww, man," Ron moaned, coming down for a landing.

"Don't worry, Ron, I'll let you have as much time as you want after the game. I've got to go talk to Cho," Harry said.

Ron looked like he would protest, but then he heard Hermione calling. "Umm, okay, Harry. Go get her!" he yelled, running to sit with Hermione.

Harry mounted his broomstick and zoomed off. He sighed in happiness. He hadn't been on his broom for a long time, and he was exhilarated for a moment by the peaceful feeling of floating in the air. For a moment he forgot about Cho, and flew all over the field, doing loops, quick turns, and zooming around the goal posts. After he finished doing that, he realized that the game was about to start; his fellow students were already filing into the stands. If he wanted a chance to talk to Cho, it would have to be now.

"Hey, Cho!" Harry called, going over to her. She started to fly away, but Harry reached out and grabbed her shoulder. "Cho, please, just tell me why you're mad at me!" he begged.

The girl stared at him for a moment, and then her eyes welled up with tears. When she spoke, it was in a harsh whisper. "If you hadn't been in the Triwizard tournament, You-Know-Who wouldn't have been involved, and Cedric...Cedric wouldn't have died!"

Her voice had been increasing in volume from the beginning of her sentence, and when she finished, she was screaming.

Harry was shocked. This was probably more words than Cho had ever spoken to him in his 4 years at Hogwarts, but he wished she had never said them. He felt horrible knowing that he had caused her this much pain, pain she had probably felt all through the summer. But still. This wasn't fair.

"Cho, I am so, so sorry that Cedric died," Harry said timidly. "But I didn't put m name in the Goblet of Fire, and you know that. I've been beating myself up ever since the final task, and I feel really bad. But, please, don't be mad at me." He brought his broomstick right next to hers. "You know I would never, ever want to hurt you." Harry was pretty surprised at himself. He had said five sentences without stuttering, blushing, or even feeling stupid.

Cho looked at him, and the moment seemed to last forever. Harry was terrified that she wouldn't care, that she would just scream at him again. But instead, she smiled softly. "Oh, Harry, I know you didn't mean to hurt me. I'm sorry for yelling at you. It's just I needed to find someone to blame who I can actually yell at, and you were the best thing I could find. It's just..." Her lower lip began to tremble. "I miss him, soo, soo much," she whispered. Cho started to cry, and Harry began to feel very awkward. He wasn't sure what to do, until he saw Fred and George fly into his view and hug each other. Suddenly aware of what he was supposed to do, Harry moved his broomstick so close to Cho's they were almost touching, and he opened his arms and hugged her. She held onto him, crying, and as much as he tried to fight it, he could feel his face going red.

After some time, Cho thanked Harry for comforting her, apologized again for yelling at him, and resumed her practicing. As for Harry, he performed a kind of aerial ballet, doing as many loops and tricks as he knew how to do, while avoiding winks from the Weasley brothers.

* * *

Finally, 15 minutes later, Madame Hooch blew her whistle. It was time for the game to start.

Both Quidditch teams floated down to the ground, and stood next to their broomsticks. "Mount your broomsticks!" Madame Hooch called, and all 14 players on the field straddled their broomsticks. Then, the big box containing the 4 balls was opened, the Bludgers immediately started chasing after people, and the Golden Snitch disappeared.

Harry rose into the air, looking all over the field for the Snitch, while he heard Lee Jordan's voice over the loudspeaker.

"And the game has began, with Gryffindor in possession. Oh, look at that, a lovely pass from Katie Bell to Angelina Johnson. Have I mentioned that Katie is also lovely, and that I am completely free for the Winter Ball that will be in a few months?"

"JORDAN!" Professor McGonagall yelled.

"Sorry, Professor. Gryffindor is still in possession of the Quaffle, with lots of back and forth passing going on between Bell and Johnson. Hey, has anyone else heard about the rumor going around that there's gonna be a new line of-"

"JORDAN! I'm warning you..."

"Sorry again, Professor, I was just asking. Oh, look at that, Bell hurls the Quaffle past the Ravenclaw Keeper and SCORES! Gryffindor is now in the lead, 10-0. Hey, Katie, maybe we could celebrate tonight, eh? Just kidding, Professor, just kidding...Ravenclaw now in possession..."

Harry stopped paying attention, and kept his eyes peeled for a glance of the tiny Snitch. Suddenly, he saw Cho Chang diving towards the ground. He looked at where she was headed, and saw a tiny gleam of gold. He dived down sharply, aiming for the same spot as Cho, trying to gain as much speed as possible. However, Harry could se it was useless. Cho had a 15 foot advantage.

Just when Cho was about to reach her spot, Harry saw a shape fly over the spot where the Snitch had been. It flew past in a split second, and then the Snitch was gone.

Harry saw Cho groan, but he was happy. Now his team had a chance to win.

"Harry Potter sir, Dobby found something you might like!"

Harry almost fell off his broomstick in surprise, and looked down to see Dobby on his Cleansweep 7, holding something in his hand.

"What is that, a house-elf on the field?" Lee Jordan's voice came over the loudspeaker.

"Dobby, I don't have time for this! You can give it to me later, I'm trying to find the Snitch!" Harry hissed.

Dobby's eyes held their innocent expression. "But, sir, Dobby has found the Snitch!"

With that, he placed the Snitch in Harry's hand, and zoomed away.

Harry's eyes widened in surprise, and he could think of nothing else to do but hold his hand up in victory.

"Gryffindor has found the Snitch...or, should I say, a house elf has found the Snitch and given it to the Gryffindor Seeker! That's something I never expected...Hold on just a moment, folks, the professor is checking the rules..."

The rest of his team crowded around Harry, waiting in anticipation.

"Hey, Gryffindor, good news! there isn't a rule saying "No house-elf is permitted to help a Seeker," so Gryffindor wins, 160 zip!" Lee exclaimed.

The entire team whooped and cheered, while the Ravenclaws looked angry and protested.

Fred and George slapped Harry five. "Way to go, man!" George praised.

"Hey, where's the elf? Harry better be careful, or his spot on the team will be given away!" Fred laughed.

There was a crackle of static as Professor McGonagall's voice thundered through the crowd. "Don't be too excited, Gryffindor. This will never happen again."

No one paid attention to the warning. Instead, they all made plans to meet back in the common room and have a party. The Weasley twins slipped away silently, and Harry knew they were going through the secret passageway to get some candy from Hogsmeade.

The crowds started to file out of the stands, and Harry landed, got off his broomstick, and walked over to Dobby, who was banging his head against the castle walls.

"Dobby, stop it!' Harry cried.

"Yeah, don't you know you could lose brain cells that way?" a voice from behind them said.

Harry turned round, and saw Cho smiling. "Hey, Harry. I just wanted to tell you, no hard feelings about the game. I won't accuse you of cheating or anything."

Now Harry smiled. "Er, thanks, Cho."

"You're welcome," she replied. "Oh, and you're a pretty good Seeker," she said to Dobby. "Too bad there's no Kitchen team!" She laughed, waved to Harry, and walked inside the castle.

"Well, Dobby-" Harry began.

"Oh, Dobby is so, so sorry, sir! Dobby must go iron his ears for being so bad! Dobby will never interfere again!" the elf wailed.

"No, Dobby, don't hurt yourself! I came to thank you, you won the game for us!"

Dobby looked surprised. "So...Dobby did not do bad thing?" he asked.

Harry shook his head. "No, but don't ever do it again!"

Dobby grinned. "No, sir, Dobby won't! Now, Dobby has to go tell Winky!" he exclaimed, running away.

"Hey, Harry!" Ron called, running up to him. Hermione wasn't far behind. "That was so cool! A Gryffindor victory due to a house-elf!"

"Do you realize what this could mean?" Hermione asked. "Instead of SPEW, I could organize HEQL! The House Elf Quidditch League! All I need are players and some smaller sized brooms! Come on, Ron, we're going to the library!"

She ran off in excitement. Ron groaned. "Bye, Harry, time to do some research! What fun!"

Harry grinned mischievously. "Hey, don't worry about it. You could always consider it a study date!"

"Don't even try it!" Ron yelled, chasing after Harry. After running out of breath, Ron said goodbye to Harry again, and walked off into the school. Harry might have been imagining it, but he though he saw a little more bounce in his friend's step.