Not in the Hands of Boys

Fourth Rose

Story Summary:
Once the final battle is won, life must go on, although it can be even harder to master than death. Back at Hogwarts for his final year of school, Harry tries to cope with everything he's been through. As the world around him struggles for a way back to normality, he is forced to realise that in the long run, living takes a lot more courage than dying.

Chapter 09 - Part 9

Posted:
10/04/2007
Hits:
4,943
Author's Note:
Thanks to cloudlessnights for betaing!


Ron had predicted that Harry would find himself eager to play Quidditch again once he'd been forced to watch a Gryffindor match from the stands, but Harry felt nothing of the sort when he sat down next to Hermione in the Gryffindor section. He was strangely apprehensive instead, and he was sure it wasn't just his imagination that the atmosphere all around the pitch was tense. As luck would have it, the draw for the first match of the season had been Gryffindor-Slytherin, which had been the most explosive of combinations even before the war. Now, with Slytherin House reduced to half its size and its members regarded with suspicion, no one knew what to expect from the upcoming match between the old arch-rivals.

Hermione was chewing her lower lip uneasily, and he didn't think it was Ron's performance as Keeper she was worried about. The time when such things had been of utmost importance seemed a lifetime away; Harry found it hard to imagine that Quidditch had once been his foremost concern even while he'd known what kind of battle the future might hold in store for him.

Luna's voice interrupted his musings; he'd been so deep in thought that he hadn't even noticed her approach. "Do you mind if I sit here? A Billywig flew across my path when I was on the way to the Ravenclaw stands, and I don't want to risk an ear infection." She plopped down in the empty seat next to him before Harry had a chance to answer. He had no idea what Billywigs had to do with ear infections, but he knew from experience that it was best not to question Luna's weird beliefs.

Hermione rolled her eyes and murmured something about Billywigs living in Australia, but Luna paid no attention to her. She hadn't donned the lion-topped hat from their sixth year today and was wearing blue - at least eight different shades of it - all over, as if she wanted to remain neutral between the rivalling factions. Harry had already noticed before that many Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs weren't showing Gryffindor colours this time, although he didn't see any green and silver outside the Slytherin section of the stands either.

"I'm sorry I'm so late," Luna nattered on, "but I went looking for Ginny to give her a Diricawl feather for good luck; she's really nervous, you know."

Considering how Ginny had stormed off after seeing him sit with Luna a few weeks ago, Harry couldn't help wondering what Ginny had thought of Luna bringing her a good luck charm. Besides, he had a hard time imagining Ginny being nervous about a Quidditch match; even Ron had seemed remarkably relaxed on his way to the pitch. "We'll kick their arses into next week, mate, mark my words," he'd said before heading for the changing room. "I've seen Malfoy and his sorry lot; he looks like a mother hen among her chicks in the middle of these green kids. I doubt I'll have much work to do today." Harry had considered warning him about the pitfalls of over-confidence, but had thought better of it. He no longer was Ron's captain; it wasn't up to him to give him advice.

No, surely it was just another of Luna's crazy ideas. Ginny definitely wasn't nervous; if he knew her at all, she was eagerly looking forward to getting one over the Slytherins. It was him who was getting nervous when he thought of Ginny; now that they were all halfway settled into the new-old routine of school life, he had decided it was time to talk to her. Ron and Hermione seemed joined at the hip wherever they went these days, and Harry had caught himself wishing that Ginny was with him more than once when he trudged along beside them.

He'd given it a lot of thought and had come to the conclusion that, considering the circumstances under which they'd first got together during sixth year, another Gryffindor victory would be the perfect opportunity to set things right between them. Whenever he'd woken up from a bad dream lately (it still happened frequently, although these were just ordinary nightmares, not the kind that made him scream the castle down), he'd imagined how he would be waiting for her when she came out of the changing room, her face still flushed with exertion and triumph. She would see him smile at her and would run up to him, back into his arms and his life, and Ron would finally realise how wrong he'd been about the two of them.

If they all survived the match without bloodshed, that was.

The last, rather sobering thought brought Harry back to the present. The stands were almost full; he spotted Professor Flitwick on the commentator's podium, which was new - he'd never seen a teacher comment a Quidditch match before. Luna must have looked in the same direction, because she sighed. "I told Professor McGonagall that I'd gladly comment again, but she said she wanted to make sure the commentator was unbiased. I promised I would be, but she wouldn't listen."

"Perhaps she remembered your lion hat," Hermione threw in with a slightly mocking undertone that seemed totally lost on Luna.

"That could be the reason, indeed," she answered in her usual dreamy way, and Harry bit back a grin, remembering Luna's one-time appearance as Quidditch commentator. He fleetingly wondered what Lee Jordan was doing these days, now that Potterwatch was no longer necessary.

Luna turned to Harry and gave him one of her piercing stares. "I haven't seen you much lately."

"I was busy," Harry answered truthfully; since Draco had used Quidditch practice as an excuse to bow out of marking Snape's essays until his team had played their first match, Harry had been left with all the work to do on top of his own schoolwork. It wasn't quite as unpleasant as he'd expected, given that he had to go through the essays in the company of Snape's portrait, but he would still breathe a sigh of relief when the lazy git would have to take over his half of the workload. At least they hadn't been forced to work together for another classroom demonstration so far.

Luna nodded solemnly and seemed about to say something when Professor McGonagall climbed onto the commentator's platform next to Flitwick and tapped the magical megaphone with her wand. A speech from the Head of School before the beginning of a Quidditch match was also highly unusual, but Harry had no trouble seeing why she would consider it necessary. Gryffindor-Slytherin matches had had a long history of getting ugly, and the danger that things might get out of hand seemed a very real one.

McGonagall's speech reminded Harry of her words at the Welcoming Feast; she spoke of reconciliation, new beginnings and the healing of old rifts, reminded both the players and the audience of the principles of fair sportsmanship, and finally introduced both teams herself as they walked onto the pitch. Consequently, nobody dared to hiss or boo when the Slytherins were announced, but Harry wasn't sure whether the half-hearted round of applause they received from the non-Slytherin part of the audience wasn't worse, especially given the roar that had gone through the ranks when the Gryffindor team had made their appearance.

Harry watched the captains shake hands through his Omnioculars; Demelza looked slightly nervous, but her jaw was set in a determined fashion, while Draco seemed to do his best to keep his expression as blank as possible. Nevertheless, there were hectic red blots on his cheeks, so he probably wasn't as calm as he tried to appear. Harry didn't know the other Slytherin players; next to Draco, who towered over them just like Ron had said, they looked like a bunch of frightened children - which they probably were.

Then Madam Hooch blew her whistle, the players rose into the air, and the match was underway. It was obvious that the Slytherins were inexperienced, but Harry soon realised that they had been trained well; some of them were very talented flyers, and the team worked together quite smoothly. The Gryffindor team seemed a bit too careless at the beginning, but they pulled themselves together quickly after the Slytherin Chasers scored twice within the first ten minutes of the game. Harry saw Demelza shout something at Ron, whose face turned almost as red as his hair. Hermione, who had likewise watched the scene through her own Omnioculars, winced.

"I told him he should take them seriously, everybody knows that Slytherins will do everything to win."

"Yes, even score goals," Luna added serenely. "They're not cheating, Harry, are they?"

Harry had to admit that she was right; the Slytherins played a rather rough game, but it seemed to him that Draco had drilled them to stay within the rules. Now that the Gryffindors were paying attention, however, their greater experience showed; Ron pulled off several spectacular saves, and then Demelza and Dean both scored twice in quick succession.

"Gryffindor now lead forty points to twenty," Professor Flitwick announced, "and Slytherin captain Malfoy gets hit by - no, narrowly dodges a Bludger from Gryffindor Beater Coote, while Gryffindor Seeker Weasley almost collides with him - careful there, Miss Weasley, that could have been a nasty fall for both of you... Thomas takes a shot at the Slytherin goal, but Pembroke manages to save it inches away from the hoop. Gryffindor in possession, but Robins drops the Quaffle when a Bludger hits her broom - Gryffindor Beaters both rush in a second too late... Slytherin in possession, but Gryffindor Keeper Weasley has no problems saving a rather weak shot from Robertson - we're now fifteen minutes into the match, and Gryffindor still lead forty to twenty!"

Harry had finally managed to spot Ginny with his Omnioculars; she wore a look of fierce determination on her face and was circling the pitch at high speed, searching for the Snitch. Draco wasn't tailing her, but seemed mostly occupied with keeping an eye on the performance of his team. It was a rather dangerous tactic - Harry knew from experience how difficult it could be to captain a team from the Seeker position, but perhaps Draco was confident that he would be able to out-fly Ginny for the Snitch once she'd spotted it. It would certainly be in character for the arrogant bastard, Harry thought with grim satisfaction - watching Draco, he was reminded once more that the git really was a good flyer, but that wouldn't help him if Ginny spotted the Snitch while he was on the other end of the pitch. Out of curiosity, he zoomed in on Draco's face and realised that Draco was trying to watch his team and look for the Snitch at the same time; his eyes were scanning the whole length and width of the pitch even while he was shouting instructions at the Slytherin players.

Then Luna gasped, "I think Ginny has seen the Snitch!" The crowd started clapping and cheering while Ginny dived so fast that she was a mere blur of red and gold, and Harry quickly readjusted his Omnioculars to watch her chase for the Snitch up close.

Professor Flitwick, too, sounded excited. "It seems Weasley has spotted the Snitch - she's going after it, but the Slytherin Seeker is coming in fast - watch that, he's almost caught up with her, that was a neat bit of flying, and they're racing for it... Malfoy is falling back due to a Bludger he has to avoid, but no, he's catching up again..."

The audience grew louder and louder; Ginny and Draco were now flying almost side by side, so that Harry could see both of them through his Omnioculars. Then he spotted the tiny golden ball mere inches ahead of Ginny's outstretched arm, but Draco's reach was greater, and Harry saw his fingertips brush the fluttering silver wings and slip off them when Ginny's elbow collided with the side of his head. There were angry hisses from the Slytherin stands, and Professor Flitwick muttered "Ouch," but Madam Hooch didn't blow her whistle. Harry knew that such things could happen accidentally when two Seekers were racing up close, so it would have been really harsh to call foul, especially since Draco hadn't even been thrown off course. They already were shoulder to shoulder again, both their right arms outstretched as far as possible. If the Snitch veered to either side now, it would fly right into the palm of one of them, but it suddenly shot straight upwards instead. Both of them reached for it, and Ginny's fingers missed by an inch just as Draco pulled his broom up and plucked the tiny ball right out of the air.

"Malfoy has caught the Snitch! Only twenty minutes into the game, Slytherin wins with a final score of one hundred and seventy points to forty!"

The stands erupted; the Slytherins were cheering and clapping, with a bit of polite applause from the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs mixed into the noise; around Harry, the Gryffindors were hissing and muttering. He kept his Omnioculars on Ginny and Draco, who had just landed less than two meters apart; Draco was still holding up the fluttering Snitch, and he was about to turn towards his team mates who were rushing up to him when Ginny yelled something, closed the distance between them with two long steps and spat in his face.

A hush fell over the crowd; Hermione's sharp intake of breath and Luna's muttered "Oh no" sounded overly loud to Harry. Then hell broke loose; all around them, people were shouting and arguing while on the pitch, the Slytherin team closed ranks around their captain. Madam Hooch's whistle shrilled again and again, and the Headmistress herself ran onto the pitch in what seemed to be a furious rage.

Harry was on his feet before he'd had time to think. "Come on, let's go."

Both Hermione and Luna followed him as he made his way down to the pitch; he wasn't sure what he was hoping to accomplish there, but he knew he couldn't stay in his seat and do nothing. He heard McGonagall shout at Ginny long before he, Luna and Hermione reached the group of people gathered around the two of them. Demelza was talking to Madam Hooch, who kept shaking her head with a grave expression on her face; McGonagall, however, seemed angrier than Harry could ever remember seeing her.

"- can't believe such a display of distasteful immaturity and vindictiveness! Did you hear a word of what I said before the game, you stupid girl? You will apologise to Mr Malfoy at once!"

Ginny, who was extremely pale but for her burning cheeks, opened her mouth for what would undoubtedly have been a heated reply, but Draco was faster.

"No need, Professor," he said calmly, his voice dripping contempt. "I don't give a damn about her apology. And now if you will excuse us, we have a victory to celebrate."

With that, he gathered his team and led them off the pitch. They followed him in silence, their faces set and grim; they passed right by where Harry was standing, but neither Draco nor his team mates spared him a look.

Meanwhile, McGonagall seemed to have calmed down somewhat. "I am beyond shocked and appalled, Miss Weasley. I don't care about your feelings towards Mr Malfoy or Slytherin House as a whole - such behaviour from a member of a Hogwarts Quidditch team can't be excused."

For one horrifying moment, Harry was convinced that McGonagall was going to kick Ginny off the team, and all he could think of was that if she did, everyone was going to demand that he play Seeker in her stead.

Thankfully, McGonagall seemed to think along the same lines. "You have just lost Gryffindor House a hundred points, and you will serve detention with Mr Filch every evening for a month."

There were gasps all around - less than six weeks into the school year, Gryffindor House didn't even have a hundred points so far. Ginny opened her mouth again, and Harry hoped against hope that she wouldn't be suicidal enough to talk back at McGonagall, but he knew her well enough to understand that that everything was possible once she was well and truly furious.

McGonagall, however, didn't even give her time to speak. "You should consider yourself extremely lucky that I don't remove you from the team right away, Miss Weasley," she said icily, "but I assure you that I will do it immediately if I see one more display of such behaviour from you. Now go change, and that goes for all of you."

Ginny, her head held high, swept off the pitch without meeting anyone's gaze, but Harry hadn't missed the angry tears glittering in her eyes. The rest of the team followed a bit more slowly, looking subdued.

Up in the stands, teachers were ushering the remaining students down the steps and back towards the school. Harry noticed how they tried to separate the Slytherins from the other students, probably hoping to prevent fights that way.

"This could be really bad," Hermione said when they made their way towards the changing rooms to wait for the members of the Gryffindor team; she sounded worried. "I mean, I don't understand how Ginny could lose her temper in such a way..."

"She hates Draco Malfoy," Luna interrupted her. "She has often said that she doesn't understand how he could return to school when he should be in Azkaban. Now that his family got off too, it probably became too much for her."

"Can't say I blame her," Harry murmured, remembering how Ginny had almost been killed by Riddle's diary that Lucius Malfoy had slipped her. If anyone had the right to begrudge the Malfoys their freedom, it was definitely Ginny.

"No, of course not," Luna agreed, "but she was probably lucky that he didn't Crucio her in return, I'm sure he knows how to."

"I'd like to see him try in front of all these people!" Harry replied heatedly; he suddenly remembered how Draco had tried to do just that when Harry had found him crying in the bathroom during sixth year.

Hermione shook her head impatiently. "Just because she spat at him? That seems a bit extreme even for Malfoy; it sounds like something Bellatrix Lestrange would have done."

Harry saw Luna look straight at him and knew that she too remembered how he'd used the Cruciatus Curse on Amycus Carrow for spitting at McGonagall. He wasn't exactly proud of it, but he still resented the silent implication that he had been able to do something that Hermione considered to be beyond the likes of Draco Malfoy. Besides, circumstances had been very different then; they'd been fighting for their lives, not for a Quidditch victory.

Luna went back to the castle when they'd left the pitch, but Harry and Hermione stayed behind to wait outside the changing rooms. Ron was the first to come out; he looked a bit sheepish, as if he weren't quite sure what to make of the situation. Harry clapped him on the shoulder and gave him what he hoped came across as an encouraging smile. "Tough luck, mate; you'll do better next time."

Ron shrugged uncomfortably. "Yeah, whatever. Come on, let's get out of here."

Harry shook his head. "I want to wait for Ginny." He doubted they'd be able to talk the way he'd hoped after everything that had just happened, but he felt that he should at least show his willingness to be there for her during difficult moments like this.

Ron, however, seemed doubtful. "I don't think that's such a good idea. You know how she gets when she's angry, and I'm telling you, she's ready to kill someone right now."

"It'll be fine," Harry said confidently; he too knew Ginny's temper, but he also knew that there likely was hurt and grief underneath the anger. "Perhaps I can get her to calm down a bit."

Ron shrugged again and wrapped an arm around Hermione's shoulders. "It's your funeral, not mine, but don't come complaining to me when she bites your head off. We'll see you later in the common room."

"Unless she does bite my head off," Harry grinned and sat down on the rickety wooden bench outside the broom shed to wait for Ginny.