Lost Love Found

First of all I have to thank to my reviewers: Padfoots_nightingale, Twirler, Remus's girlfriend and fic freak20! THANX A MILLION FOR READING MY FIC!!! You are the best!!!!!!!!!! All right now, here's chapter 6 of the fic enjoy lol!

Chapter 6: Gryffindor vs. Slytherin.

The weeks went by at neck breaking speed or so it seemed to Harry and Adrian. Not only they had tons of homework; they also had Quidditch practices nearly every day. But they weren't the only ones.

In fact, all the fifth year students were under a lot of stress. They were learning advanced magic and more complicated things. They had never received so much homework during their past four years at Hogwarts, and on top of that they had to prepare for their O.W.L.s.

Potions and Transfiguration became the hardest classes. In Transfiguration they had to transfigure pillows into cats, shoes into toads and perform all sorts of other highly complicated transfigurations. But worst of the two was Potions. Undoubtedly, Snape's job as a spy for Dumbledore was taking a toll on him. His skin looked waxier and paler than usual and he had dark circles under his eyes. Obviously his mood was terrible. He would explode at the slightest error and he gave a minimum of three detentions per day. Of course his favorite victims were the Gryffindors, especially Harry, Ron, Adrian, Hermione, and Neville, who was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

The days were getting colder and darker, and it rained almost every day. But that didn't stop the Gryffindor Quidditch team from practicing for their upcoming matches, especially for the one against Slytherin.

The night before the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin match Harry was very nervous. He wanted to win that match really badly. Not only because he wanted to defeat Malfoy but also because he wanted to prove himself as a good captain. He had been tossing and turning for more than an hour until he finally fell asleep. He dreamed that he was flying high over the Quidditch field when he saw the golden snitch glimmering on the other side of the field. He zoomed towards it feeling the rush of air against his face, his heart pounding with excitement. He was inches from catching the snitch when suddenly the sky darkened and a green mist began rising from the ground. The mist kept rising and swirling until it formed a skull with a serpent coming out of its mouth.

"I am going to get you Harry Potter and when I do you'll be sorry you were born. You will pay dearly for getting in my way," hissed a voice so cold that it chilled Harry to the bones.

He was falling now, complete darkness all around him. All he could see was Voldemort's snake-like face and his glistening red eyes glaring at him from above.

"Harry, Harry," a distant voice was echoing in Harry's head.

Harry sat bolt upright on his bed; beads of cold sweat trailing down his forehead.

"Are you alright Harry?" Adrian was sitting at the foot of Harry's bed with a worried expression on his face. "You were twitching and shaking like you were having a fit or something."

Harry was still shaking and breathing hastily. "I'm alright. I had a nightmare." Harry put on his glasses and looked out the window. The sky was still a soft shade of purple and the clouds were outlined by an orange halo. He realized it was the crack of dawn. "Why are you up so early?"

"I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep, so I walked over to the window to get a drink of water and that's when I saw you," replied Adrian.

Harry got up from his bed. "I don't think I can go back to sleep either so I guess I better get dressed."

"I was about to do the same."

Adrian and Harry got dressed and went down to the common room carrying their brooms on their shoulders. Harry sank in a chair in front of the now dead fire and Adrian sat down next to him.

"It must've been a pretty bad nightmare you had," said Adrian.

Harry was staring absently at the fireplace. "Yes. I was dreaming about," he paused not sure if he should tell Adrian. Finally Harry decided he could trust Adrian and he told him all about his nightmare.

"You've actually seen Voldemort face to face Harry?"

Harry's expression darkened. All the memories of the night of Voldemort's return came back to him. "Yes, I was there when he killed Cedric, when he came back..."

Before he could stop himself Harry told Adrian the whole story about what happened that night. Adrian listened without interrupting Harry. "Bastard," was all he muttered when Harry told him about Voldemort using the Cruciatus curse on him. Adrian was nauseated by the time Harry finished his story. He felt sympathy for Harry and his admiration for him augmented.

"I still have nightmares about it. You know? You are the first person --aside from Dumbledore and my godfather-- that I've told about what happened that night."

"Don't worry, Harry. I won't tell anyone. You are truly amazing Harry. You are very brave. You really deserve the fame you have."

A faint smile appeared on Harry's face. "Thanks for listening to me. I feel better now that I took this off my chest."

"No, thanks for trusting me Harry."

"Ready to smash those Slytherins?" Fred's cheerful voice came from the stairs.

"You bet," Harry and Adrian answered in unison.

In what seemed like no time at all the Gryffindor team was in the locker room sitting in front of an anxious looking Harry, who was giving them last minute instructions and encouraging them.

"Well team, let's do our best. Let's go," said Harry leading his team onto the field, which exploded with cheers the moment they came out of the locker rooms. The Slytherins were already out on the field wearing their emerald robes. Madam Hooch walked up to the center of the field where both teams were standing and she made the captains of both teams shake hands. Malfoy and Harry squeezed each other's hand tighter than it was absolutely necessary and looked daggers at each other the whole time.

"I want a clean match gentlemen," said Madam Hooch before she blew her whistle and signaled them to start the game.

The fourteen players rose into the air and the game began. The two teams were playing fiercely. It had been fifteen minutes already and Gryffindor was on the lead with twenty points to zero.

"Angelina is zooming toward the Slytherin post. Come on Angelina... and yeees she scores! Gryffindor thirty points to zero." Lee Jordan's voice was resounding throughout the field. "Warrington of Slytherin has the Quaffle, he is dangerously near the Gryffindor post. He shoots and YES, Franco blocks it. The new Gryffindor keeper has blocked five shots already. Go Gryffindor!"

"Jordan! No favoritism!" warned McGonagall.

Harry was very pleased with his team. "Time to find the snitch," he thought to himself. He was squinting around the field when Lee Jordan's voice made him turn toward the Gryffindor goal post.

"You cheating bastards!" roared Lee Jordan over the megaphone when one of the Slytherin beaters intentionally shot a Bludger straight to Adrian's face. Adrian staggered but he managed to stay on his broom and landed safely on the ground. Madam Hooch, Madam Pomfrey, and the rest of the Gryffindors hurried over to Adrian's side.

"I think he's got a broken nose," said Katie worriedly.

"Are you alright Mr. Franco?" asked Madam Hooch.

Adrian nodded trying to wipe the blood off his face first with the back of his hand and then with the sleeve of his robes. His head was spinning and his ears were ringing. He felt a stinging pain on his nose and he could barely make up the blurry figures of Madam Hooch and his teammates around him. But the anger that he felt for the Slytherins and his desire for revenge made him lie, "I'm fine. Does anyone have a tissue to wipe this damn blood off my face?"

Blood was streaming out of Adrian's nose and his scarlet robes looked a deeper shade of red where his blood was staining them.

"Let me have a look," said Madam Pomfrey leaning over Adrian. She examined Adrian's face carefully. "His nose is broken alright." Then she wiped off the blood and touched Adrian's nose with the tip of her wand and said, "Sanare."

Adrian felt a tingling sensation in his nose and soon the pain was gone. He was still dizzy from the impact, but he felt much better now that the pain was gone.

"I think you better come with me," said Madam Pomfrey putting her arm around Adrian's shoulders.

Adrian resisted. "No, I am okay. Let's resume the game."

Harry walked over to Adrian. "You don't have to do this if you don't feel good."

"I am perfectly fine," he said firmly, his eyes glistening with anger.

"Very well then if you are sure you are okay Mr. Franco (Adrian nodded). Let's resume the game." Madam Hooch called the Slytherins over. "I said I wanted a clean game. Penalty shot for Gryffindor."

All the fourteen players rose once more into the air. Alicia scored the penalty shot for Gryffindor and in the next ten minutes Slytherin scored twice. Harry noticed that Adrian looked very pale and that he was constantly blinking and having trouble focusing so he flew toward him. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, just catch that snitch soon. I'm still dizzy and I feel like I'm going to throw up."

"I'll catch it," and he rose high into the air. Soon, he saw something shimmering a few feet away from him. "The snitch!" he thought. He saw Malfoy racing towards the snitch too. He leaned forward to accelerate his broom. Now he was side by side with Malfoy. Draco tried to bump into Harry to knock him off his broom, but Harry was faster than him and he rose a little higher. Harry's body was flat against his Firebolt now. He stretched his arm and he caught the snitch just a second before Malfoy got there.

"Potter's got the snitch! GRYFFINDOR WINS!" screamed Lee Jordan excitedly and loud cheers exploded from all over the field, of course except from the Slytherin end.

As soon as Adrian put a foot back on the ground Madam Pomfrey dragged him out of the field and into the hospital wing. The Gryffindor team followed them but Madam Pomfrey didn't let them stay for more than five minutes. Two hours later, Adrian finally convinced her to let him go. When he arrived to the Gryffindor common room he found everyone celebrating, and he was welcomed by animated cheers. Adrian caught sight of Hermione (who was sitting at the other end of the room with Harry, Ron, Ginny and Parvati) and he walked toward her. He wanted to know what she had to say now that she had seen what a good keeper he was.

"Madam Pomfrey finally let you go," laughed Harry.

"You were great out there Adrian!" said Ron.

"Thanks," he replied. "Well, what do you think now Granger?"

"Think about what?" replied Hermione.

"Am I good at Quidditch or not?"

"Yes you are, especially at catching Bludgers." Everyone but Adrian began laughing.

"Very funny, Hermione."

The next Monday after the Quidditch game, Harry, Ron, and Adrian were about to exit the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom when Lupin called Adrian, "Mr. Franco could you stay a few minutes please? I need to talk to you."

"Sure Professor. I'll meet you guys later at lunch."

Harry and Ron nodded and left for the Great Hall. Adrian closed the door after them and walked over to Lupin's desk.

Lupin was putting the last of his books inside his briefcase. "How is your nose Adrian?"

"As good as new. Madam Pomfrey surely does wonders. She's a really good nurse."

"Yes, she is." Lupin closed his briefcase, set it on the desk and then he looked up at Adrian. "I want to talk to you about your grades. I've talked with your other teachers and they tell me that you have perfect marks in all of your classes." Lupin smiled at Adrian's puzzled look and then his expression turned grave. "That's why I'm surprised that you are not doing so well in my class."

Adrian's stomach dropped. "Am I failing?"

"No, you are passing, but with low marks. As I said, it surprises me since you have such good marks in all your other classes. Is it the way I teach?"

"No, no. You are the best teacher ever. I really like your class but," he scratched his head and continued, "in Spain they don't put much emphasis on Defense Against the Dark Arts. In fact, at my old school we didn't even have a Defense Against the Dark Arts class. That's why I am really behind."

"Why didn't you tell me before?"

"Because I thought I would be able to catch on quickly. At first I was doing fine, but then with Quidditch practices and the loads of homework I'm getting... well, it's just been very hard to catch up. I wanted to ask you if you could tutor me in your spare time." Lupin was looking thoughtfully at his briefcase so Adrian quickly added, "If you can't don't worry. I'll manage to catch on by myself."

"I don't have much spare time, but I'll be glad to help you. Do you have time on Wednesday nights?"

"Yeah I have Wednesday nights free."

"Would you be willing to spend a couple hours of Sunday studying too?"

"Sure! Anything to catch on and boost my grades before the holidays."

"Before the holidays? Why?"

"Because we get our progress reports before the break and if I go back home with low marks my mom will be really mad. My mom can be the sweetest mother alive but when she sees a low mark on my report card she completely freaks out."

Lupin and Adrian laughed, but Adrian knew by experience that when his mother "freaked out" over grades it wasn't a matter of laughter. Clara Franco was very understanding and sweet but when it came to grades she was an inflexible tyrant. She knew that her son was intelligent and that when he got bad grades it was because he was slacking off. When that was the case she would scream her head off at him and ground him for at least a week.

They were still laughing when Lupin asked, "What about your father? Does he freak out too?"

Adrian stopped laughing immediately and his expression darkened. Lupin had put his finger right on Adrian's sore: his lack of a father. He looked down at the floor and said, "I don't know. He is dead."

This revelation hit Lupin like a brick on the face. He felt like a moron for upsetting Adrian. "I am sorry Adrian I didn't know," he offered apologetically.

Adrian saw the remorse in Lupin's eyes so he quickly said, "don't worry professor. He died before I was born."

Adrian was always very reserved about his feelings. He never talked about them with anyone, but, for some strange reason, Lupin made him feel confident so he continued, "the closest person to a father that I've always had is my grandpa. You know? It's weird but I miss my dad even though I've never even seen a picture of him. I really wish he was alive."

Lupin got up and put his hand sympathetically on Adrian's shoulder. "I understand what you mean. I know what it feels to lose someone you love."