Harry Potter and the Angel of Justice

Chapter Nineteen - Seeds of Conflict

Shock reverberated throughout the room. No one could believe what Rita Skeeter had just said.

"Professor, you were watching her eyes. Was she telling the truth?" demanded Hollings.

"Yes, Gerald. She was not lying," answered Dumbledore.

"Snape always did hate muggleborns in school," said Simpson. "Well, I think this is more than enough to get an arrest order. Skeeter, we'll be in touch with you. See you at the Ministry, Hollings." He disapparated with a *crack*.

Harry was reeling too much to speak. As much as he hated Snape, and as much as he knew Snape hated him and his friends, Harry could not imagine Snape using Unforgivable Curses to hurt them.

"Professor Dumbledore, I know Severus Snape has worked for you for a very long time. But we're going to have to arrest him. I can't ignore this evidence," said Hollings.

"I understand, Gerald. Just make sure that he ends up with the Ministry, and not CADS, will you?"

"Too right about that. I've had it to here with those nuts. I'll see you at Hogwarts, then," Hollings nodded and disappeared.

Rita looked at them fearfully. She mumbled something that might have been "thank you" and dissapparated.

Lily came out from under Dumbledore's hair and flew quickly through the window. The headmaster gazed down at Harry with concern. "Harry, I need you to stay with me for the rest of the evening. I'm afraid it's going to be a long and difficult night."

Harry nodded.

Dumbledore put out his hand and bid Harry to take it. As Harry did so, Fawkes flew over to them, and the Professor grabbed Fawkes' tail-feathers. A feeling of great lightness spread over Harry's entire body, and he felt himself rise off the floor. Harry then felt a rush of warmth. He looked around, and instead of the drab bedroom that had been there only a second before, Harry saw endless sky filled with brilliant--almost blinding--light in every direction. He could see no clouds, no buildings - not even the ground. It was painful to keep his eyes open, but the radiant beauty around him compelled him.

The next moment everything went dark and Harry again felt the tug of gravity. As his eyes adjusted, Harry recognized Dumbledore's office, and saw that Professor McGonagall was there. She approached the Headmaster.

"Oh Albus, is it true what Professor Mars is saying?" McGonagall asked nervously. "That Rita Skeeter tortured Hermione Granger with the Cruciatus Curse and claimed Severus had forced her to with the Imperious Curse?"

"Yes, Minerva. I witnessed her release from the curse, and myself removed the Memory Charm that had been placed upon her. She was not lying when she accused Severus of the crime. It is very hard to accept," he brooded. "Where is Mars? I need to speak with him immediately."

"He told me to meet you here and that he was going to move Severus to a protected area," she answered.

"Ah, yes, good thinking. We must ensure it is the Ministry that arrests Professor Snape, and not the Committee Against Dark Sorcerers. We should wait in the Entrance Hall to greet the aurors when they arrive. I do not wish for any of them to gain entrance to the castle without speaking to me first," said Dumbledore, and he headed for the exit.

On the way to the Entrance Hall, McGonagall questioned Dumbledore and Harry thoroughly about the events in Hogsmeade. As they reached the Hall, she looked up at Dumbledore and said quietly, "Do you really think Severus did this?"

"As unimaginable as it seems, I am positive that Rita Skeeter was telling the truth, Minerva. However, I will speak with Mars before I decide upon Severus's guilt."

Professor McGonagall turned away from him and stared gloomily at the front doors. A moment later, a hallway door opened and Mars stepped through. He looked very cross as he approached the three of them.

"Severus is a fool, Headmaster! He refused to take refuge in my office, even temporarily," spat Mars in disgust.

"That is most unfortunate. It is probably the safest place in the castle. Where is he then?" asked Dumbledore.

"His own office. And of course, he refused to let me place any wards upon its door."

"That is the first place they will look for him; very foolish. We must make sure no one enters the Castle without my approval."

"Yeah, I know. At least he allowed Flitwick to stay with him," said Mars.

"That's something. Did you get a chance to test his veracity?"

"It wasn't easy, but yes, I made him declare his innocence while under my gaze. He's telling the truth; he did not curse that boneheaded reporter," answered Mars.

Dumbledore visibly relaxed.

"But - but Mars," McGonagall protested. "Professor Dumbledore is positive that the Skeeter woman was telling the truth about Severus."

"I know."

"But one of them has to be lying," she replied.

"No Minerva, one of them just has to be wrong," declared Mars.

Harry was trying to work out Mars' meaning when the front doors opened. Jo Anne Lennon, impeccably dressed in aqua robes, entered the hall in the company of another witch and two wizards; all four headed straight for Dumbledore. The witch and one of the wizards wore auror robes.

When the group was a short distance away, Lennon spoke. "I'm sure you know why we're here. I do wish it could be for a happier reason." Her teeth twinkled in the torchlight.

"Yes, I understand, Jo Anne. Do you know when the Ministry officials will arrive to detain Severus for questioning?" asked Dumbledore.

Lennon's smile faded.

"The Committee Against Dark Sorcerers will be handling the interrogation, Professor Dumbledore. I've already advised the Ministry not to send its people to Hogwarts."

"Then I'm afraid we have a problem, because I am not going to let you take him," said Dumbledore politely.

Harry expected Lennon to fly into a rage. Her voice, however, remained calm. "Come now, let's be reasonable. We have indisputable facts showing that Severus Snape has cast an Unforgivable Curse to control a witch, and then forced his thrall to use another Unforgivable Curse to torture one of your own students. You yourself helped gather the evidence."

"I do not deny that the facts are stacked against Professor Snape, but I will only allow his arrest by the Ministry itself."

For several minutes Dumbledore and Lennon argued, tensely, but politely. Harry waited for the CADS people to try something, but they simply stood around and let their leader negotiate. Finally, Mars ended his silence.

"It's a ruse, Professor. They're just a decoy," said Mars, pointing at Lennon. "Another party of CADS members have already reached Snape's office. They just used a portkey to escape the castle."

Dumbledore's face soured a bit, but he kept his sharp blue eyes on Lennon. "They couldn't have gotten in with a portkey."

"I agree. It seems they used the secret passage that leads to the Serpent's Labyrinth to get in. Making a portkey to get out of Hogwarts is a lot simpler," said Mars, with a distant look on his face.

Harry didn't remembering any secret passage in the labyrinth near the Slytherin Common Room on his Marauder's Map. He had always thought that the map--created by his father and his father's three best friends during their own school years--had charted every part of Hogwarts.

"That door cannot be opened from the outside. They must have had help," said Dumbledore.

Mars nodded, still looking distant. "Flitwick is hurt. Lily left to bring Poppy to him," said Mars, and snapped his gaze back to Jo Anne Lennon. "They can't be allowed to keep Severus. Not for a single day. We cannot wait for the Ministry to straighten this out," said Mars to Dumbledore.

"Now, wait a moment, Mars. He's our prisoner. It's not up to you -" Lennon began when Mars cut her off.

"Silence!" he cried. His wand seemed to leap into his hand, and he pointed it at the CADS members. They reached for their own wands, but Mars barked, "Displacio!" The familiar red spheres shot out of his wand and surrounded the four committee members, tumbling their victims round and round in mid-air like clothes in a dryer. Smaller arcs of the spheres pried the wands from the members' hands; after only a few seconds, each of the enemy wands was in Mars' possession.

Mars let the members tumble for a few more seconds before releasing his spell; they thudded to the floor. All had passed out, either from the tumbling or the landing on the stone floor. Mars faced Dumbledore. "I'll have to go to their headquarters and bust Snape out. Our informants have given us very good intelligence on the building, so I think I know right where the're keeping him," he said quickly.

"Yes, get him as soon as possible. I will speak with the Minister while you're gone. If he's just going to let CADS do as they please, there is little point in us propping up his regime any longer," said Dumbledore.

"You know, Professor...I could do more than just free Severus while I'm there."

"What's on your mind, Mars?"

"We have their leader in our grasp, and Simpson too. Lennon trusts Simpson more than anyone in the world. Why not finish them all off once I secure Snape? Any hope of Lennon breaking free of Dolohov's influence is long gone. Surely you can see that? His man Spikes leads her around by the nose. CADS is becoming more and more hindering. We should rid ourselves of them before they become strong enough to challenge the Ministry militarily!"

"No, Mars, I cannot condone that. There are still good witches and wizards in CADS, and I do not think Lennon is a lost cause. An all-out war with the Committee would not be in our interests."

"Very well," said Mars, annoyed. "I'll heed your advice, but I fear this inaction will haunt us in the future." He handed Dumbledore the four wands he had taken, and walked out the front doors.

"I'll deal with these," Dumbledore told McGonagall, glancing at the four unconscious people in front of them. "Would you be so kind as to take Mr. Potter to the Hospital wing? I imagine he would like to see how Miss Granger is doing."

"Professor, that Displacement Charm that Mars cast. It was - was, well ...," stammered McGonagall, searching for the right word.

"Impressive?" suggested Dumbledore.

"Impossible!--or so I would have said had I not seen it with my own eyes. A display of power like that scares me. Was he trying to send a message?"

"Yes, Minerva. To our enemies, not us. No one despises Voldemort more than Mars. You have nothing to fear from him," answered Dumbledore reassuringly.

McGonagall acknowledged the Headmaster with a nod, but she did not look mollified. She and Harry headed for the Hospital Wing.

As they neared the Hospital, Harry turned to McGonagall. "What bothered you so much about the Displacement Charm?" he asked.

"It's not the charm that worried me, Potter, just its application. That charm is for moving enormous objects, like a bus or a house. A powerful wizard like Mars or Dumbledore might even be able to move something as big as this castle. The caster normally has little or no control of the target once it begins moving," she said.

"So maybe Mars has just practiced it a lot?"

"Potter, don't be thick!" she barked. "What he did with that spell would be the equivalent of conjuring a hurricane and then using it to blow the candles out on a birthday cake without damaging anything else nearby. That doesn't happen because of practice and it isn't just impressive. I tell you, that kind of power is unthinkable!" blurted McGonagall. She paused, straightened her robes, and regained her demeanor. "Come. Let's check on Miss Granger, shall we?"

Hermione was going to be okay, Madam Pompfrey assured them. She had not been tortured long enough to cause permanent damage. Madam Pompfrey let Harry and Ron stay the night in the ward, though the treatment Hermione had received left her unconscious for the whole night. Harry told an astonished Ron about Skeeter accusing Snape of controlling her with the Imperious Curse.

At breakfast Sunday morning, Ginny leaped on Harry and Ron with questions. The boys related their struggle in the abandoned boarding house and Skeeter's subsequent accusation, to Ginny's consternation and astonishment.

"So Mars and Dumbledore are convinced Snape didn't do it?" asked Ginny.

"Yeah, but I still don't understand how both he and Rita Skeeter can be telling the truth," said Harry.

They gulped down their breakfast and hurried to Hospital to see Hermione. This time Hermione was awake and very pleased to see them. She insisted on hugs from all three of them as she lay in bed. It appeared that Hermione didn't remember much about her abduction. She recalled walking down the alley that ran by the quill shop, and then waking up in the dusty bedroom with Rita Skeeter leering at her. Hermione did not elaborate on her bruises and scratches.

The four of them were not allowed to visit for long as Madam Pomfrey insisted that Hermione needed rest. As the three friends were about to leave, Hermione asked Ron for another hug; he looked confused but quickly complied. As he let go, Hermione said, "Thank you for saving me," kissed him quickly right on the lips, and laid back down with a smile on her face. Harry was taken aback, but Ginny grinned broadly.

Ron left the Hospital in such a happy daze that Harry and Ginny had to practically hand steer him back to the Gryffindor Common Room. They tried to spend the rest of the day on homework, but their thoughts were so distracted by Saturday's events that they accomplished very little. Harry was intensely relieved that Hermione was okay, but he wondered what was happening with Mars and Snape.

Much to their delight, Hermione joined them for breakfast Monday morning. When the delivery owl brought the Daily Prophet, she read the headlines out to the others. "CADS Chairwoman Jo Anne Lennon calls for the arrest of Mars," she said with concern.

"How'd you like to be the auror with that assignment?" Harry grinned. He held his wand up to his throat like an announcer. " 'Last time we tried to arrest him, only half of us died; we're hoping for a better ratio this time!' "

Ginny and Ron chuckled, but Hermione looked annoyed. "It's hardly a laughing matter. We're supposed to all be on the same side, you know!"

"According to Mars, CADS is under the control of Dolohov. Not really ally material, if you ask me," replied Ginny.

Hermione shuddered at the mention of the name. Dolohov had nearly killed her with a curse last year.

"Actually, Ginny, Mars told Dumbledore that a wizard named Spikes was steering Lennon around, and that he reported to Dolohov," said Harry.

"Spikes?" said Hermione. "Any idea what he looks like?"

Harry shook his head.

"It's not that common a name. I wonder if he's related to our darling head girl," suggested Hermione acidly.

"Probably--and, speaking of her, I'm sure Ester was using the Listening Charm to eavesdrop on us Friday at breakfast," said Harry.

"Why do you think that?"

"Because I got the same 'being-watched' feeling I had when Mars used that spell to hear what McGonagall was telling us about our punishments. Only the feeling was much stronger on Friday. I saw someone dash away from the entrance to the hall, so I chased after them. When I reached the corridor, Ester was the only one headed away from the Great Hall," explained Harry.

"You can tell when someone casts that spell on you?" asked Ron.

Harry nodded.

"You must have felt it stronger from Ester because she's not as good at it as Mars. Have you ever had that feeling before, Harry?" asked Hermione.

"Yeah, on the Hogwarts Express, right before you three went to do your prefect duties. Luna said she felt it too."

The Weasley siblings looked impressed, but Hermione seemed to be thinking deeply as they finished their breakfast and started off to Defense Against the Dark Arts. As they neared the classroom, Hermione asked, "What were we talking about Friday at breakfast?"

Ron shrugged. Harry said he had been busy trying to discover who was eavesdropping, so he hadn't really been listened.

Ginny, however, piped in, "We were talking about what we were going to do in Hogsmeade. Ron was drooling over Honeydukes, Harry wanted to see the Shrieking Shack again, and you mentioned needing to visit the quill shop."

"Which is where I was attacked," said Hermione plainly before leading them into the classroom.

Mars arrived and greeted the class in his normal fashion. Ron and Neville led their group to the lab; Hermione and Padma went to their corner to work on the UAS system; and Harry sat at his table and started looking through the book Mars had given him. Harry had mastered the Reverse Transfiguration Spell during his last lesson, and Mars had assigned him an entire book on Fire Charms. Some were very simple and just conjured smoke to obscure your enemy's vision; but others were very complex and dangerous, such as the Wall of Flame and the Spontaneous Combustion charm. Mars even hinted at teaching Harry how to summon a meteor swarm.

Mars spent almost the entire class working with Harry on the Smoke Cloud charm, leaving only once, to reverse a hex that Seamus had put on Colin accidentally.

When the bell rang Hermione asked Ron and Harry to come with her to speak with Mars. Luna and Ginny were already chatting with him when they came up to his desk.

"Mars, can you tell us what happened when you went to fetch Professor Snape?" asked Hermione. The other teenagers nodded eagerly.

"Certainly, Hermione. We have CADS infiltrated very well--of course, so do the Donnies. I knew right where they were likely to keep Severus, and which wards were used to protect the area. So I apparated to a place where I knew I wouldn't be detected, and deactivated the magical defenses.

"I reached Severus undiscovered, and had no problem surprising and dispatching the two wizards that were guarding him. I gave him one of their wands and he apparated to just outside the school. I then looked around until I found his wand and the port-key they'd used to escape from Hogwarts.

"Before I left, I inscribed a very nasty glyph on Lennon's office door. I doubt she has anyone who knows how to remove it. She should be furious at not being able to use her own office," Mars twinkled.

"Why did you want to find the port-key?" asked Ron.

"So he could come back directly to Hogwarts," answered Ginny.

"Actually, I wanted it so they couldn't use it to come back directly at a later date," said Mars.

"What's a glyph?" asked Hermione.

"Glyphs are ancient symbol magic," Luna spoke up. "It's a system that was developed by the Egyptians more than three thousand years ago. They're many times more powerful than runes."

"Very good, Luna," said Mars. The others looked impressed.

"Mars went back in time and taught Salazar Slytherin and Godric Gryffindor the secret of glyphs so they could use them to protect Hogwarts," Luna added.

Mars frowned. "Luna, that's ridiculous. I've never traveled backwards in time. You must stop listening to those stupid rumors. I've never killed a dragon either, much less when I was seven or nine or however young the daily gossip makes it out to be. To tell you the truth, I quite like the big lizards, and besides, Charlie would never forgive me if I ever did hurt one." Mars winked at Ron and Ginny. Luna, however, didn't seem to be listening to him.

"Can you tell us about the factions in the Death Eaters? Do they really work against each other at times?" asked Hermione.

"Well, I guess y'all can spend break with me. Pull up your desks, and I'll tell you what we've been able to piece together so far," said Mars.

Once the students were seated, Mars explained about the three factions within the ranks of Voldemort's followers. The first faction they were familiar with: it was the one lead by Lucius Malfoy. Those Death Eaters who had escaped punishment after the fall of Voldemort and carried on in Britain's wizarding society largely looked to Malfoy as Voldemort's chief lieutenant. Mars suggested that Malfoy had not been entirely happy to see his Dark Lord return; he had fancied himself the new champion of the pure bloods.

"Malfoy? The leader of the army of darkness?" asked Hermione skeptically.

"Do not confuse the father and the son. Draco is a pathetic prima donna, but his father is extremely astute. Lucius is no wizard of great power; he is skilled, but he is no Barty Crouch or Bella Lestrange. However, he makes up for this with his cunning."

Mars explained that Lucius was in good standing with Voldemort now because of the intelligence he had gained by using Snape as the fool. Malfoy had also gained points with his master when his wife Narcissa delivered the information that tricked Harry into going to the department of mysteries.

Blame for the failure to procure the prophesy was largely placed at the feet of the Lestrange clique. This faction included Rodolfuss Lestrange, his wife Bella, and his brother Rabastan at the head. The group included several others that had rotted in Azkaban. From what Mars had heard, Wormtail was also involved in this faction, but he had been in hiding--even from his fellow Death Eaters--ever since it had become known that Sirius' old friend, Mars himself, was back in Britain.

Mars considered this faction to be the most loyal to Voldemort. Many of its members had learned the dark arts from their master, and were almost fanatical in his service. The three Lestranges were also among the most powerful wizards and witches in Europe. Mars claimed that Bellatrix could almost have been capable of rivaling Tom Riddle himself if there had been more than just air between her ears. But, as Mars had stated, the destruction of the prophesy had lowered their standing with Voldemort.

The last faction was lead by Antonin Dolohov, whom Mars said was both powerful and clever. Dolohov loved combat, and, unlike Malfoy, often led the charge during battles. Several of the escapees of Azkaban were counted among his followers, as were quite a few foreign wizards, especially those from Eastern Europe. His greatest henchman was Reginald Spikes. Like Dolohov, he was both intelligent and magically powerful. He had always been suspected of being a Voldemort supporter, but no one had ever been able to prove it. Mars said he was a close confident of Jo Anne Lennon, and also the major funding source for her Committee Against Dark Sorcerers.

"Is he related to Ester Spikes, our head girl?" spat Hermione.

"Oh, yes; he's her father. Both are red-headed and meaner looking than a chimera," answered Mars.

"The Daily Prophet hints that open hostility has often broken out between the factions, but it's not really true," Mars continued. "They are too cowed by Riddle to fight each other flagrantly. The Alliance has tried to make some of our raids look like factional fighting, but it seems to have only fooled the newspapers, and not the Donnies."

"Where did you learn to use glyphs?" asked Ginny.

"The same place that Slytherin and Gryffindor did. Now y'all need to get moving. Break is just about over."

They bid their teacher goodbye and walked into the hall.

"Luna?" asked Hermione carefully.

"Yes?" said Luna.

"Do you know where someone could learn to use glyphs?" asked Hermione.

Luna let out a small giggle and admitted, "Well, no. Only a small order of Egyptian wizards ever knew the secrets of glyph magic. They never told anyone outside of their own sect. Their king, Ramsieve, ordered them to kill themselves upon his death so no one could break into his tomb."

Harry and Ron looked aghast.

"And they all did?" asked Ginny, wide-eyed.

Luna nodded. "They were quite fanatical, I hear."

"But they did unseal that tomb. Bill did it in his second year with Gringotts. It got him a nice promotion," said Ron. Ginny nodded.

"Yes, he did," said Luna matter of factly. "But it helps when your best friend is Mars, doesn't it?"

She smiled and walked down the corridor.

"If everyone who knew the secrets has been dead for 3,000 years, then how does a twenty-eight year old American learn them?" asked Hermione.

"And how would Slytherin and Gryffindor know? They certainly weren't around 3,000 years ago," said Harry.

"Well at least we know they both learned it from the same place," Ginny shrugged. She waved goodbye and headed toward the dungeons for her Potions class.

On the way to breakfast the next morning Harry noticed Ron and Hermione holding hands. Harry had known for years that they fancied each other, but Ron had always been thick when it came to girls. Harry supposed that their recent brush with death must have finally convinced Ron to examine his feelings. Either that, or the shock of seeing Ron come within an inch of the Killing Curse had caused Hermione to force the issue. Either way, in Harry's opinion it was -

"Not before time!" said Ginny, as if reading his mind. She smiled warmly at him. Harry returned the smile and followed his friends into the Great Hall.

At breakfast Hermione found another headline in the Daily Prophet that was worth reading aloud. "Minister of Magic issues full pardons to Hogwarts Professors Severus Snape and Mars," she read.

"Bet that upset Lennon a bit," said Harry.

"It doesn't mention her or CADS in the article, but I agree. It must have been a tough decision for Fudge to make," suggested Hermione.

"It doesn't sound too hard to me, Hermione," Ron said as he passed the milk jug to Mark Evans. "Who would you be more afraid of? Jo Anne Lennon and CADS, or Dumbledore and Mars?"

Chapter Twenty - Failure of the FireBolt

Link to chapter illustration:

[url]http://hpbook6.freewebpage.org/art/nomarks/Harry_Ginny_Flying.jpg[/url]

That coming Saturday the first, and in Harry's opinion the biggest, Quidditch match of the year would take place. The Gryffindors had beaten their arch-rivals, the Slytherins, five straight times, and as the match neared, the tensions between the houses grew. Several members of the Gryffindor team were hexed in the back while walking to classes. Colin Creevey was hit with the Jelly Legs curse, while Jack Sloper suffered from sneezing fits so bad that his nose bled for three entire days. Millicent Bulstrode had tried to jinx Ginny Weasley, but Ginny was too fast for her: Ginny dodged the curse and nailed the Slytherin full in the face with the Bat Bogey hex.

After Mars found out about Millicent's attempt to hex Ginny, he issued a stern warning to all the students in the school. The inter-house squabbling incensed him, and he declared that any Slytherins or Gryffindors caught fighting or jinxing each other before or during the coming match would be used for target practice during his Defense Against the Dark Arts classes. This pronouncement ended the curses, but not the trash talk.

The threats and insults still seemed to bother Ron, but at least his great performance in winning the Quidditch Cup in his fifth year had brought an end to the Slytherin singing of the "Weasley is our king" song. Draco had written the hateful song before the Gryffindor-Slytherin match last year, and had taught all the other Slytherins to sing it. The vicious insults about Ron's ability and his family had unnerved him so badly that he didn't play well until the year's last match. Harry and Ginny, on the other hand, were having no problems handling their own hecklers; in fact, Harry thought the two of them gave better than they got when it came to taunting.

Harry had himself been given so much homework that he had no time to worry about the upcoming match, and it was upon him before he knew it. When Saturday morning arrived, he suddenly felt excitement again rushing through him. Nothing got Harry's innards buzzing like a Quidditch match; he practically sprinted down to breakfast.

The only Gryffindor team member that appeared anxious was Ron. Even though he had played the year before, this was to be his first match as captain. His nerves were clearly getting to him. Colin Creevey, on the other hand, the only Gryffindor to be playing in his first Quidditch match, didn't seem nervous at all. He and his brother both chatted excitedly about his broomstick throughout breakfast.

"Oh my," said Ginny, looking surprised. The others looked up at her, then in the direction she was staring. Luna was approaching them wearing her most outlandish hat yet. It was the same lion that she had worn last year to the Slytherin-Gryffindor match, but it now had a snake in its mouth. All the Gryffindors except Hermione were staring at it with their mouths open. Hermione moved closer to Ron and put her hand on his shoulder.

"I'm supporting Gryffindor today," said Luna proudly. "With a little help from Mars I've managed to get the lion to chew on the serpent." She looped her wand in the air and tapped the hat. The lion's jaws opened and closed while the snake twitched about, hissing angrily. Everyone at the table except Harry and Ginny looked disturbed by Luna's demonstration; Harry and Ginny simply smiled.

"Nice transfiguration, Luna," said Ginny with a giggle.

Luna thanked her, wished them all luck, and with a parting glance at Ron, wandered out of the great hall.

"That girl's one stick short of a bundle, I'm telling you," said Ron, shaking his head.

Harry grinned at Ginny.

When breakfast was nearly over, Ron stood up and ordered the team to the locker room. As they walked out of the hall, the Gryffindors cheered loudly for them, easily drowning out the boos from the Slytherins. Hermione and Colin's brother Dennis accompanied the team across the grounds. Before they entered the locker room, Hermione wished Ron good luck and kissed him on the cheek; then she and Dennis headed for the stands.

They quickly changed into their Quidditch robes and Ron stood before the team. He went over some last minute reminders about the most important plays and then apologized rather meekly for not being very good at pep talks.

Ginny quickly came to his rescue. She roused up the team's spirits by reminding them of all the dirty tricks Slytherins had pulled on them over the years. She brought up Professor Snape's horrible treatment of Gryffindors, and urged them to imagine his humiliation when he had to hand the Quidditch Cup over to Professor McGonagall yet again. Nothing, Ginny claimed, was better than putting a Slytherin in their place, just as she had done with that hag Millicent Bullstrode. The team applauded and loudly yelled their approval. They burst out onto the pitch revved up and ready to get after their opponents.

Katie, Ron, and Ginny walked to mid-pitch to meet Madam Hooch, the referee, and the Slytherin captain, who was none other than Draco Malfoy. As usual, Crabbe and Goyle followed behind the approaching Malfoy like a pair of slackjawed henchmen. Madam Hooch told the captains she wanted a clean match, and ordered them to shake hands. Following the precedent set by past Gryffindor and Slytherin captains, Ron and Draco each tried to crush the other's fingers. The larger Ron seemed to be getting the best of his rival when Draco's other hand flew out and grabbed Ron's robes. Ron reciprocated and the two grappled with each other. Crabbe, Goyle, Katie and Ginny started to converge on the two.

*BANG!*

Madam Hooch lowered her wand. She gave the two captains a harsh look.

"Have you lot forgotten what Professor Mars promised to anyone fighting before or during the match? Which of you wants to be his jinx target?"

Ron and Draco immediately let go of each other.

Madam Hooch went into a lengthy tirade about good sportsmanship. Harry quickly tired of the lecture and started flying around the pitch. As he flew by the Gryffindor stands, he waved at Dean, Neville, Mark and Mary. Hermione seemed to be staring too intently at Ron on the ground to notice Harry. He then passed the Slytherin crowd, who, as expected, jeered at him viciously, but he also noticed Heather Parkinson and her friends giving him a friendly wave. He quickly returned the greeting, knowing full well that Pansy Parkinson would soon put a stop to their good will gesture.

Harry then glanced over at Hagrid's cabin and spotted Mars and Hagrid walking toward the forbidden forest, deep in conversation. Shortly after they entered the forest, Harry saw many of the trees in that area swaying back and forth, despite the lack of wind. They seemed to be moving their boughs like appendages. Harry looked closer. Maybe, he thought, giants were in the forest moving the trees. He had certainly seen Grawp bend trees like drinking straws.

"Harry, wake up!" yelled Jack Sloper as he raced near him, wielding his bat. He swerved in front of Harry and struck a bludger that had been barreling straight at Harry's face. Sloper's aim was not very good, and the bludger sped away, not at a Slytherin player, but toward Ginny Weasley. She quickly employed the sloth grip roll to avoid a broken jaw, and sped away, scowling.

Harry slapped himself twice and swore in anger. He couldn't believe he had missed the release of the balls. He zoomed around the pitch with his sharp eyes peering in every nook and cranny for the elusive golden snitch. From the little attention Harry dared to spare away from his search he could tell that Ron's plays seemed to be working well.

After thirty minutes Gryffindor was up seventy to ten. The big lead gave Harry the confidence to try a move he had wanted to use ever since he saw Viktor Krum pull it off at the Quidditch World Cup over two years ago: The Wrongski Feint. It was named after the famous Polish Seeker, Josef Wrongski, and it entailed tricking the other Seeker into thinking you were diving for the snitch and racing you to the ground. At the last moment you hopefully pulled out of the dive and the rival seeker would slam violently into the ground. Krum had used the move twice with excellent results in the Championship Game.

Harry looked about until he spotted Malfoy zipping around near the grass at mid-pitch. Harry made several sharp turns as though he was following the snitch. Malfoy took the bait and zoomed after him. Harry took a steep angle to gain altitude. Malfoy was very close behind him when Harry began an almost completely vertical power dive. He heard the crowd gasp as he descended, and felt Malfoy nipping at his heels.

Harry slowed slightly to allow the Slytherin seeker to catch up to him. About twenty-five feet from the ground, Harry pulled up hard on his broomstick, praying that he could complete the maneuver without breaking his neck. He heard screams from the crowd as he skimmed the grass. He had to lift his feet onto his broom to avoid scraping the ground. With all his strength, Harry strained to pull his broom out of the dive, fighting both gravity and momentum.

*WHAM!*

Draco tried too late to pull up and hit the ground hard just as Harry succeeded in fighting his broom back into the air.

Madam Hooch declared a timeout, called for the quaffle to be passed to her, and immobilized the bludgers with her wand. Madam Pomfrey looked cross as she ran out to treat Malfoy. Harry climbed higher on his Firebolt, getting the thumbs-up sign from Ginny and Ron as he passed them. Once he was above the rest of the players, he scanned the area unmolested.

Harry saw no sign of the snitch, but his attention was again drawn to the forest. A thestral was flying just above the treetops, and it had a tall, red-robed rider on its back. Harry knew it had to be Mars. Below the rider, the trees were again moving wildly in all directions, as though they were being bent by dozens of giants. Mars and the thestral gained altitude and grew fainter as they flew off into the distance. Harry wondered what was going on.

Ginny suddenly screamed his name and Harry looked in her direction. He saw a bludger speeding straight at his head and tried a belated evasive maneuver, but it was too late and the bludger struck him solidly on the right shoulder. Harry felt his shoulder separate; he suspected that a few of his ribs had been cracked. He managed somehow to stay on his broom and fly himself free of the bludger's pursuit.

Harry was furious that he had twice allowed himself to be so distracted. Now he was injured, his left arm was useless, and he saw that Malfoy was back in the match. He decided that it would be best if he just shadowed Malfoy for a while. If Harry couldn't catch the snitch himself, he could at least manage to keep Malfoy from catching it for a while. If he denied Malfoy long enough for Gryffindor's chasers to build a 160 point lead, then if Malfoy obtained the snitch it wouldn't decide the match.

Harry spotted Draco flying around the Gryffindor goals, and sped after him. He endured the pain as he chased Malfoy around the pitch and stands. Over the next twenty minutes, Harry's pain grew increasingly worse. The only thing that kept him going was knowing that the Gryffindor chasers were dominating the battle for the quaffle. They were in the lead, 180 to 30; only one more goal was needed to have enough of a lead that Harry could let Draco catch the snitch. Twice Harry had pushed Malfoy off his course in pursuit of the golden ball, and both times the physical contact had caused so much pain that Harry had come close to passing out.

Malfoy swerved suddenly and sped straight at the Gryffindor stands. Harry zoomed after him as quickly as he could. Malfoy dove, and Harry followed as they traveled the length of the field. As Harry reached Malfoy's side he saw it: the golden snitch. It was three feet in front of them and trying desperately to give them the slip. The walnut sized ball zigged and zagged, rose and fell, but the side-by-side seekers stayed closely on its tail.

They tried frantically to bump each other off course, all the while slowly gaining on the prize. It was now barely a foot ahead of the tips of their broomsticks and Harry changed his plan: instead of just blocking Malfoy, he was going to catch the snitch himself.

His legs gripped the Firebolt tightly and he reached his one working arm out ahead of him. His straining fingers were just inches away from the ball when Malfoy grabbed his hand and pulled himself even with Harry. Harry struggled to shake off Malfoy's grip, but his injured shoulder and ribs burned hot with pain with each contortion. To his growing horror, Harry saw Draco slowly reach out with his free hand and grab the golden snitch between forefinger and thumb. Malfoy immediately let go of Harry and flew high into the air, showing the delirious Slytherin crowd the hopelessly struggling ball.

Harry quickly looked at the board. Surely one of the Chasers had scored while he and Malfoy were side by side battling it out! His heart sank as he landed his broom on the ground. A Chaser had scored, but it was a Slytherin chaser. The board now read Slytherin 190, Gryffindor 180. Harry collapsed on the ground in despair. The adrenaline that had kept him moving despite his injuries now left him. Not only had he lost for the first time to Slytherin, but it was Malfoy that had beaten him.

Harry felt that he had wasted his teammates' tremendous effort. They had been winning by 150 points, and he blew it because of his injuries--injuries he had received by not paying attention to the game. It was something that might be forgivable in a first year player like Colin, but this was Harry's sixth year as Seeker and he should have known better! He was furious with himself as Madam Pomfrey and his teammates approached.

"Harry, are you all right?" asked Colin, landing near him.

Harry tried to reply but he was losing consciousness. The last thing he remembered was Ginny and Ron looking down fearfully at him while Madam Pomfrey examined his shoulder.

When Harry awoke in the hospital he had no idea how long he had been there. Ginny, Ron and Hermione were all waiting in chairs near his bed. He was very sore, but the agonizing pain was no longer with him. His friends approached. Ginny grabbed his hand and held it, explaining that he had been unconscious for five or so hours. She told him that Madam Pomfrey said he responded well to his treatment and that he would be able to leave the hospital Monday morning.

Harry apologized over and over for blowing the game. Ron and Ginny insisted that he was not to blame, although they did ask what had distracted him. He informed the three of them what he had seen with Mars, Hagrid and the trees.

"Do you think Hagrid convinced more giants to come to our side?" asked Ron.

"And he's keeping them all in Forbidden Forest?" Hermione shuddered. "Grawp was bad enough by himself."

Harry agreed completely.

Tuesday evening Harry was walking back from the library, still mad at himself for losing the Quidditch match, when he heard two girls complaining about something. Their voices, which sounded very familiar, were coming from down a short corridor. Harry crept into the hall, keeping in the shadows, and saw the first years, Mary Sue and Heather, in a cross corridor to his right. Mary was scrubbing the floor--another detention; no doubt; Heather was looking down the far end of the corridor, away from Harry.

"What are you doing?" Mary was asking.

"Never mind what I'm doing, I want to know where's she going this time of night!" Heather answered shortly.

"Who?" asked Mary.

"Our favorite bossy, frizzy-haired prefect," answered Heather rather nastily.

"What do we care what she's doing? We're already in detention, you know."

"Yes, I know! I also remember it being your mistake that got us caught," retorted Heather.

"Like you haven't landed us in detention three times as much as I have?" said Mary defensively.

"Shh, I'm trying to see which way she's headed."

"Would you just forget about Hermione Granger for now."

"I can't believe you said that to me. You're like her stalker or something. You know more about her than about yourself, Mary."

"And you know perfectly well why I keep an eye on her," snapped Mary.

"Yeah, you're her little fangirl," Heather giggled.

"Ho, ho," said Mary sarcastically. "She's up to something, with Snape I think, I just don't know what yet. I can't believe that Harry and Mars actually trust her."

"Your fixation with her is starting to scare me, Mary."

"Oh, shut up, will you?" said Mary. She paused. "Which way did she go?"

"Down that hall, which is why I noticed. That corridor only leads to two places, the kitchen and the Slytherin Common Room. She's too much of a goody to nick food, I'd think, and muggleborns aren't really welcomed around my lot, I'm afraid," Heather said rather sadly.

"No good reason for her to go either place, really," said Mary as she abandoned her scrub brush and joined Heather at the end of the hall.

"Only one way to find out."

"What's in your mind, Heather?"

"You skive off to the kitchen to ask the elves if they've seen her, and I'll check my Common Room."

"But we're supposed to be scrubbing these floors in detention," said Mary nervously.

"Oh, Filch won't come back in the three minutes we'll be gone. C'mon, chicken," Heather teased, starting down the hall.

"I'm not chicken!" insisted Mary, following the Slytherin.

Harry waited in the shadows for another minute to be sure the coast was clear. Just as he was about to follow after them, he heard footsteps approaching from the left, opposite the way Mary and Heather had gone. Seconds later Snape passed him, heading down the passage after the girls.

Harry desperately wanted to warn his students about Snape's arrival. He racked his brain fruitlessly, but before he could think of a way to warn them, he heard the girls returning. To his surprise, Snape was not with them.

"How did she just disappear like that?" demanded Heather.

"Maybe there's a secret passage?" offered Mary.

"No, I don't think so. This was Mark's area to check for secret doors; you know how good he is at finding them," replied Heather.

"But not all the doors will open by touch, Heather. Some need words; I bet that's what it is. Hermione's a devious one, you know," said Mary.

"We still need to find the door itself though. Do you have any more of that tracking dust left? With that, Hermione would lead us right to it next time," suggested Heather.

"No, we used it all on that git, Draco. We'll need to make some more. It's your turn to steal the ingredients from Snape, by the way," said Mary matter-of-factly as she picked up her brush and started scrubbing again.

"Are you sure? Snape almost caught me last time!" squeaked Heather. "Maybe we could sweet talk Mark into doing it? All the teachers love him, you know."

"Yes, I'm sure it's your turn, and quit being such a drama queen!"

"What's a drama queen?"
"Never mind. Help me finish this scrubbing! Filch will be back soon to check on us."

Harry was amused as he left the first-year girls to their squabbling. Maybe Mars had a point after all when he said they took after him?