Rating:
PG-13
House:
Schnoogle
Ships:
Cho Chang/Harry Potter Hermione Granger/Viktor Krum Original Female Witch/Ron Weasley
Characters:
Harry Potter
Genres:
Action Suspense
Era:
The Harry Potter at Hogwarts Years
Spoilers:
Philosopher's Stone Chamber of Secrets Prizoner of Azkaban Goblet of Fire
Stats:
Published: 02/06/2003
Updated: 02/18/2003
Words: 264,404
Chapters: 34
Hits: 87,813

Harry Potter and the Flying Squad

Horst Pollmann

Story Summary:
Fifth year in Hogwarts. Even before terms start, Harry is involved in the defence against an evil attack from the Dark Forces, something which ``later will be called 'The Hogwarts Express Accident' ...``In Hogwarts, many things are different - most of all, the joining of all four``Quidditch teams in the 'Flying Squad', for patrol and exploration services.``For Harry, this looks like a path toward Cho Chang, except that - well, ``maybe this should really be left to the story itself ...``At any rate, expect Giants, Goblins, and house-elves to play their roles in ``this fic - as well as some new characters.

Chapter 18 - Friends to Help

Chapter Summary:
In a few days, Harry will do his patrol exam with Cho as his partner. And the teachers will present a very serious trial. This needs preparation, so Harry uses all his friends to get help ...
Posted:
02/12/2003
Hits:
2,166
Author's Note:
If this fic is truly English, then it's thanks to the efforts of two people:

18 - Friends to Help

Christmas was over. Harry, who'd been counting backwards when everybody else had been numbering the days until the feast, now had reason to count forward. It was Exam Day minus three.

He gritted his teeth at the thought, swaying between fierce determination and wild despair.

You'll come back, Cho had said ... But she'd been thinking of his duel with Voldemort, from which he'd come back all right - with a dead Cedric. Her last words had made it clear. He wanted to come back, no question about that, but with her, with Cho on her Steel Wing. He needed help, all the help he could get.

Lupin wasn't at Hogwarts, which meant that his favourite teacher couldn't help him. On the other hand, it also meant that no werewolf was going to be part of the opposition. That was some relief.

Lupin had taught him how to prepare for a fight. Harry had to do some meditation - if not for the ease of mind, then at least for clear thinking. Where was a good place for that? Not in the hall for sure, not in Gryffindor Tower, either ... his dormitory? He would be interrupted there, too. Then he knew: the room where they'd had dance lessons and milestone meetings.

He reached the room unnoticed, and sat down on the floor, and began to let his mind drift through Lupin's teachings.

Was he willing to fight? Yes, absolutely. Was he ready for the fight? Not quite, that was why he was sitting here. Then what was missing?

Activating all the power he could muster - that would be a natural reaction once in the air. Collecting all the help he could find was something he had to do in advance. He'd have to ask just about everyone. Three days left - that meant he had to set up a project plan. Each day would be a milestone in itself.

What was the strength of the ... no, not enemy ... the opposition? Their magical power, of course. What could he do against it? Withstand curses, avoid curses, counteract curses - yes, and prevent curses. Preventing meant disarming them; he would do a practice session with Ron for the Disarming spell. And what if they did the same to him? He would tie his wand to his arm; that would have to be tested with Ron in the same session.

What else could they do to him?

The Imperius curse was no problem, he could withstand it. Maybe another session with Snape was due, or Viktor. The Cruciatus - would they do that? Harry wondered. A real Death Eater wouldn't hesitate, so the teachers in his exam weren't likely to shy off either. Then how could he defend himself? Jump aside, fly fast enough ... Snape's painkillers crossed his mind. Was there a protecting potion? He would ask around.

What were the others' weaknesses? None ... no, that couldn't be, so try again.

They wouldn't kill him. They wouldn't perform attacks that carried such a risk. Did that mean flying high was safe? Then Harry remembered that his safety belt allowed them to stun him in mid-air. But the Steel Wing would carry him out of the combat zone.

He almost missed the obvious weakness: he knew that they were waiting for him. Where would they be? Simple answer - all along the course. Even plain ground wasn't secure; they might use Invisibility Cloaks. He had one, too ... He wouldn't wear it, but he'd have it ready.


His mind flew along the course. There'd be the take-off at Hogwarts, then he'd cross the lake, careful at the other lakeside - that was a good place for an attack ... across plain ground and some trees ... the Giants' camp came next, and after that, more trees. Excellent cover.

Somebody was speaking. To him?

"... doing here?"

He opened his eyes. It was Myrtle, floating some yards away.

"Hello, Myrtle. I didn't hear you, I've been far away."

"I found you just by accident." Myrtle looked curious. "Have you been dreaming?"

"No, I was flying patrol in my mind. You know, I'll have my exam three days from now. Myrtle, I need all help I can get. Do you know something that could help me?"

"Hmm ..." Myrtle giggled. "I could listen to the teachers."

For a moment, the thought was extremely tempting.

"No," decided Harry, "that would be cheating, I'd turn red whenever I thought of it. And besides, I know that they'll be there, and I can well imagine what they'll do."

"Shall I come with you?" Myrtle's face showed hope, a glimmer of some deep longing.

A thought struck Harry - Myrtle as the third teammate! What would Cho say to that? Then he realized that it was technically impossible.

"Are you fast enough for a Steel Wing?"

Myrtle shook her head sadly.

"And you can't hold yourself on the broomstick. What a pity, you could have been our third teammate."

Not having dismissed the idea at once seemed a weak comfort from Harry's perspective, but Myrtle looked pleased.

"I was thinking of some clever ghost trick I could use," explained Harry. "For example, do you know something that helps against the Cruciatus curse?"

"No," said Myrtle, "it's not a problem for ghosts. Why don't you ask Dobby?"

Yes, indeed. Dobby had saved him in the second contest of the tournament, and he, Harry, had omitted to set him on the list of people to ask!

"You're right," he said, "Dobby might know something. Then what about invisibility? I mean, is there a way I can see wizards under Invisibility Cloaks?"

"I know that powerful wizards can see through them, but I don't know how they do it. Otherwise ..." Myrtle shrugged. "All that comes to my mind is fairy dust."

"Fairy dust?"

"Yes. It's just a means of marking an invisible wizard. You throw it, some of the dust sticks, and you see a shape. Of course, you have to know where to throw - "

"Then what's so different from normal dust?" asked Harry.

"Oh, lots of differences." Suddenly, Myrtle sounded very much like Hermione. "Fairy dust sticks. Fairy dust sparkles, so you really can see it. Believe me, it's much better for that purpose."

"Sounds promising," said Harry, more enthusiastically than he really felt. "So where can I find some fairy dust?"

"Same as before," replied Myrtle, "ask Dobby. I'm sure he can give you some."

Though Harry continued to question her, she didn't know of anything else that might be helpful in the task. Almost none of the expected attacks would have caused a problem for her, or any other ghost. They had, Harry realized, a lot of advantages, but still it didn't feel as if changing roles would be an improvement.


He decided to see Dobby. He'd had enough meditation.

Dobby was there, Dobby was pleased to see Harry, Dobby was delighted to hear Harry needed his help.

After all, thought Harry, it seemed nearly impossible to overrate the usefulness of house-elves. He explained his need for all kinds of tricks in general, something against the Cruciatus curse in particular and, most especially, fairy dust.

"Harry Potter needs fairy dust, sir?" asked Dobby, astonished. "Please, sir, would his great wizard explain to Dobby what Harry Potter wants do to with that?"

Harry explained that he planned to throw it from his broomstick to mark invisible wizards.

Dobby looked horrified. "Oh no, sir, no - Harry Potter must not do this, my-oh-my ... This is a very bad idea, believe this your house-elf ..." Dobby's wailing stopped, and a suspicious expression appeared on his face. "Sir, who gave this bad advice to Harry Potter?"

"Myrtle."

Dobby's arms flung in the air. "Myrtle! Moaning Myrtle, stupid Myrtle, to tell Harry Potter such a nonsense. Oh that unlucky girl, she has been a ghost for so long but is still not wiser than the day she was killed - "

"She sent me to you."

Dobby calmed down. "This was the only good advice Harry Potter did have got from Moaning Myrtle, sir, so Dobby can help his wizard not to make a mistake ..."

Once more, Harry realized that discussions with house-elves tended to be somewhat time-consuming. "Dobby," he cut in, "what's wrong with the idea?"

"Harry Potter will need him all his senses for the frightening patrol," explained Dobby. "Fairy dust makes dreams - so, if Harry Potter catches a tiny bit, his will do all the wrong things, Harry Potter will dream, not watch ... Dobby is grateful, him, to save Harry Potter from that mistake!"

For a moment, Harry couldn't help thinking there was a little disappointment in Dobby's voice that the great Harry Potter did not know such simple facts of life.

"Dobby, provided I'll not catch some dust, does it do what Myrtle said? Stick, sparkle, and outline the invisible wizard?"

Reluctantly, Dobby confirmed that yes, it did, except that Harry Potter -

"Okay," said Harry, "I'll find a way to protect myself, and you'll find some fairy dust for me."

Dobby agreed, delighted of this obvious proof that Harry Potter was truly a great wizard, greater than Dobby had known only moments ago.

"And what about the Cruciatus curse?"

No, there was no plant, brew, or powder which could protect against that, explained Dobby. His delight was gone; however, as it was a known fact that this spell had no counter-cure, he found the spirit to manage his sorrow.

* * *

How to throw fairy dust without dusting yourself? Harry could imagine several techniques on a fast Steel Wing, but all of them had a significant weakness: he didn't know in which situation he would need it, and the manoeuvers might turn out impossible. He had to throw the dust, and he had to be somewhere else when doing that - it sounded like a contradiction in itself.

Really? Throwing and ... Suddenly, he had an idea.

The Great Hall showed no sign of who he was looking for. Up to Ron's office - no, not on patrol either. Down again, up into Gryffindor Tower. Nothing. Back into the hall - over there!

He ran to the other side. "Fred, George - I need your help."

"Sure, Harry, any time. What's up?"

The twins didn't even hesitate. True, this was Harry who'd won their start-up capital in a tournament, but more importantly, this was the same Harry who had to be navigated through a tricky patrol exam; no doubt it had to do with that.

"Let's find a quiet place," said Harry.

They found an empty classroom. When the door was closed, Harry explained that he intended to arm himself with fairy dust.

"Why?" asked George. "Sleeplessness? I wouldn't be surprised these days - "

"No," said Harry, "to mark an invisible wizard."

"You'll see him for just a second," argued Fred, "then you'll both fall asleep."

"Not if I use your trick."

They didn't understand. "What trick?"

"Firecrackers."

Fred and George looked at each other, then said, almost in unison, "Why didn't we ever think of that?"

Fred turned to Harry. "Have you got some dust?"

"Not yet - tomorrow." He hoped.

"Okay. Harry, leave the production to us. Deliver the stuff as soon as you've got it. Ask Viktor about getting a short practice on the Quidditch pitch, day after tomorrow."

Which meant the day before the exam.

George said, "We're going to build a collection of crackers for your patrol, some with and some without coating. And what's more, we should do a few with sugar powder coating - you know, for the training on the pitch. Harry, consider it done."

The twins left, while Harry still sat a moment in the empty classroom to figure out what to do next. A training session for the Disarming Spell? No - first he had to prepare his wand with a sling that would tie it to his arm. What might hold best? Tape? Cord?

When in doubt, ask Hermione.


He found her in the library. "Hermione - do you have time for me?"

She looked up expectantly. "To do what?"

Harry explained his problem.

At his first words, Hermione seemed a bit disappointed; Harry suspected that she'd hoped for a private conversation about puzzles and other interesting problems. Then the challenge of the task caught her spirit.

"I'll see you in our meeting room. Give me ten minutes."

She returned ten minutes later armed with various cords, spellotape, and other utensils. They prepared a first sling, using cord like for a parcel.

Hermione stood up. "Get ready."

Harry walked to a spot ten yards away and turned.

Hermione pointed her wand at Harry. "EXPELLIARMUS!"

Harry's wand flew out of his hand and up into the air, carrying his arm with it. There was a sharp yank, and suddenly his arm was no longer being pulled. The wand flew into Hermione's hand, the broken sling dangling from it.

They tried a thicker cord. Harry walked back to his spot.

"EXPELLIARMUS!"

Harry's grip was broken. The wand flew up, his arm, too. A gentle yank, then the wand was off. The sling, unbroken but no longer holding a wand hung around Harry's wist.

He stared at the failure. "How can we fix the cord so the wand doesn't slip?"

"Let's try spellotape," said Hermione.

They prepared a sling out of multipe pieces of tape. It was a sticky mess. But if it held ...

Harry moved to his spot.

"EXPELLIARMUS!"

The wand jerked upwards. For an instant, there was a pull on Harry's arm, not as hard as before, while the spellotape stretched, then it broke.

"Gah!" said Hermione, tearing the remnants off Harry's wand.

"Something elastic that doesn't break, that would be best. If the sling doesn't stretch, the shock on the arm's too hard."

Hermione was thinking aloud. "Serpent skin - no, too dry. Dragon skin - except we haven't any." She looked at Harry, suddenly excited. "Wait here."

Harry waited. Five minutes, nothing. Ten minutes, no Hermione. When he was ready to believe that she'd walked to the dragons' nests for some skin, Hermione came back with something long, thin, and dark over her hands. Coming closer, he saw that it looked like hair.

"What's this?"

"Hair from the mane of a Bulgarian bronco," explained Hermione. "Viktor had it on the ship."

"Looks a little thin."

"Really?" Hermione was already sitting down. "That's why we have to plait it - three thin plaits first, then a thicker one from the thin ones. Here, hold that. I'll plait, Harry, and you - aside from holding, maybe you can tell me stories."

Harry stared at her.

Hermione didn't look up, but kept her hands busy with the first three strands of fine hair, which quickly developed into a thin plait. Her voice was sweet. "One little story, Harry."

He had the strong feeling that he was the target of a blackmailing in progress. "About what?"

"Oooh - maybe a fairy tale ..."

Probably not.

"... or a story about dwarfs."

One last try. "House-elves?"

Hermione's hands wheeled as she plaited; he saw her smile. "No, more like - er, Goblin size."

Alarmed, Harry looked around. The room was of course empty, except for himself and Hermione. "That's a story I'm not supposed to tell."

"I know, Harry." This time she looked up, her face happy. "That's why you were suspended from the Squad. Because you know about the Goblins and their role in the game."

Her expression shifted from joyful to malicious. "All I know so far is kind of a wild guess, let's say, something that might be discussed with others during lunch. On the other hand, if I knew all details, I'd have to keep the secret."

He was beaten. "From everybody, including Viktor."

"And Ron, and whoever - yes." She hadn't flinched, hadn't hesitated.

Harry took a deep breath and told her everything, from the evening with the Goblins, to the letter, to his answer, to the arrival of the Steel Wings. It was something of a relief to be able to finally tell someone.


Hermione listened, her hands not slowing, interrupting only to start the next plait. She hadn't known as much about Goblin Requests as Cho; when hearing about his Privileged request, a slight whistle came from her lips.

When he'd finished, Hermione asked, "Does Cho know?"

"She found out, like you. Most of the meeting with Dumbledore was her telling what she'd figured out."

"Clever girl ..." Hermione wasn't disappointed to be second. "Of course, she has some advantages."

Harry decided not to discuss this aspect in more detail.

"What I don't understand completely," said Hermione, "is why you'll be allowed to fly again, provided you pass the exam."

"Dumbledore says the Goblins are warriors. He says that's just another challenge - using the Steel Wings without losing the secret, or me."

Ron would have jumped at that opportunity for a bad joke. Hermione just nodded. "What do you think? Will Dumbledore try to beat you in the exam?"

Harry had asked that question himself. "Dunno ... My feeling is, it's an open issue. He'll play fair, but seriously. The challenge is on me to come through."

"I guess you're right. You know, I would bid money on you, except there's no one to hold the other side."

"Thank you." Harry felt slightly better, until he remembered that it was up to him to make the odds come true.

"All right, here we go." Hermione had finished the triple plait. "Now let's fix it." She arranged the sling around the wand. "Does it feel okay?"

He waved his wand around. "Seems okay."

Hermione seized a small flask from the pile of utensils. "Muggle stuff - it's used in dental laboratories, the best glue I know."

She extracted a miniature cauldron and poured some rosy powder into it. Then she added liquid from the flask and started to stir with a small stick. Within seconds, the stuff was pasty. Using the stick, Hermione smeared it around the wand, along the edges of the plait.

"Give it ten minutes, Harry."

Waiting for the glue to dry, they discussed the attacks that might be expected from the teachers.

"Remember the traps that protected the Philosopher's Stone," said Hermione at one point, "and expect another collection of that kind ... For example, McGonagall would do something with Transfiguration."

When the glue had dried, it looked funny - a gum-coloured ring on a holly wand with a dark plait of hairs. The plait felt worlds better than cord or tape - smooth, nice to touch. It only had to hold.

Harry took his wand, tested how he would hold it at the moment of the attack, in order not to lose the sling from around his wrist. Then he went to stand at the same spot as before.

Hermione had her wand up. "Ready?"

"Yes."

"EXPELLIARMUS!"

The grip broke. The wand flew up, pulling his arm. Reflexively, Harry's hand grabbed the sling. It hardened, stretched - and held! An instant later, the wand dropped, caught by the sling, so Harry could grab it easily.

"IT WORKS!" Harry felt a wild joy. "Hermione, you're a genius!"

"True." She grinned. "If I weren't paid already with a nice story, I'd let you quote that every breakfast till Easter."

* * *

It was Exam Day minus two. At breakfast, Hermione asked Harry whether she could help him. He said yes, with a practice session of the Disarming spell, this time with her as the target. But before that, he needed time for another item of business that might take no longer than a quarter of an hour.

He went into the kitchen.

Dobby had the stuff ready and handed him a small flask, reminding him that this dust was really strong and that Harry Potter could put half of Hogwarts to sleep.

Harry promised to be careful and to tell the kitchen elves all the details of his patrol afterwards, then hurried back to the table, where the twins were sitting and waiting for him.

"Here," said Harry, "that's what I've got."

George examined the flask. "Should be good for a few of those pills. Okay, Harry - see you later."

As eager as the twins were to help, they had no intention of showing him the finer tricks of the firecracker trade. Which was just fine, Harry had enough to do even so.

He turned to Hermione. "I'm ready."

They headed for the practice room. When they were out of the hall and alone in the corridor, Hermione asked, "What was that?"

"Fairy dust."

Rather than asking him, she tried to come up with an obvious, or at least reasonable, usage by herself, but was apparently unsuccessfully. "I give up. What are you going to do with fairy dust? Or the twins?"

"They're going to build a few dust bombs for me, with firecrackers."

Hermione giggled. "Maybe you should tell Viktor. That might become standard equipment for the entire Squad."

"Once the exam's over," said Harry, "I'm open for any kind of discussion. Until then, let's keep it quiet."

They practised the disarming spell. As expected, Harry had no trouble disarming Hermione at leisure - provided he was fast enough. The wizard who placed his command first was invariably the winner.

That rule encountered a dramatic change, however, when Harry started to hold his wand with his hand in the bronco hair sling. Even with Hermione's spell coming first, he could disarm her as soon as he'd grabbed his wand again. It changed once more, as dramatically as before, when Hermione used first the disarming spell and then, before Harry had his wand ready again, a stunning charm.

The lesson was obvious: if the sling didn't come as a surprise, it offered no help. Careful not to stress the bronco hair too much, Harry ended the practice with this result.

He visited Viktor in his office because he wanted to have tomorrow's practice on the in the Quidditch pitch settled.

Viktor had no objections - provided Harry could find two Squad teams as guards.

Harry didn't expect a problem. The twins and Lee would be the first team, the girls the second - after all, Cho should practise with him. There was just one more aspect that had to be clarified.

"Viktor, can you make sure that there aren't any teachers hanging around the pitch?"

Viktor examined him. "What do you haff in mind, Harry? Secret weapons?"

"Not exactly, but - okay, let's say it's secret weapons."

"Sounds only fair," said Viktor, "the others don't tell you what they're planning to do, either. What I can offer is, I join your training, then I can declare it as Squad-only. Is that okay with you?"

Harry looked at Viktor. "Do you know what the teachers are planning?"

"Harry," answered Viktor, his eyebrows up, "if you want to know on which side I am, the answer is yours. If you want to know what to expect, don't ask me. They don't tell me. And if I know something, I'm not telling you."

Harry grinned. "I didn't really doubt it, but I just wanted to hear it. No, I was going to ask you for an Imperius training session, and for that - er, I don't want to cheat, so if you know something, we can't practise together."

"No problem, Harry, we can do that; the others know which side I'm on."

They agreed to exercise in the afternoon, before supper.


Harry proceeded to the next office, which was Fleur's. She looked pleased to have a visitor, for a change.

"Fleur, I'm collecting help," he said. "You know - tips and tricks, useful little charms to disarm teachers, stuff like that."

Fleur laughed. "Why are you asking me for that, 'arry?" Her smile was teasing. "You know, Veela 'ave a built-in disarming charm."

Harry could smile back without blushing. "Yeah, at close distance, but not from one end of a room to the other."

"Shall I try?" She looked challenging.

"NO! ... Please." He didn't know whether it was possible, and at any rate, this didn't feel like the right time to find out.

Fleur was thinking aloud. "There's just one thing that comes to my mind. It's not here. Tomorrow I'll be at Beauxbatons - if I can find it, I'll give it to you day after tomorrow."

"What is it?"

"First let me find it, 'arry." It sounded as if Fleur had a large and unorderly collection of things in Beauxbatons, or maybe at home.

"Do I need practice to use it?"

"No, not at all." She smiled again. "It works by itself."

Fleur had been the last on Harry's list. He descended the staircase into the hall, hoping he could find Cho to discuss tomorrow's agenda with her.

She wasn't there.

He would have asked Almyra to notify Cho, except Almyra wasn't seen either, not surprising when Cho wasn't around. He saw other Ravenclaw students but decided to wait until lunch.

During the meal, he asked Katie and Alicia if they'd play guard for him on the Quidditch pitch. They agreed immediately, then wanted to know what he had in mind. "Some exercises," answered Harry evasively, raising their interest even more. But he didn't give them the slightest hint, and the twins weren't there to be asked.

The twins weren't there?? That was disquieting. Until the end of the meal, it was very disquieting.

Harry asked Lee, but Lee didn't know.

He climbed up to Gryffindor Tower and asked Ron. Nothing - nobody had seen them since breakfast.

Well, manufacturing dust bombs was probably a complicated task, and he, Harry, wouldn't even know where to start. But still, not even lunch for the twins?

From all the searching for the twins, he'd forgotten to ask Cho. So he went into the hall again: of course, nothing. He'd do it at supper; anyway, as long as the twins didn't come over with some firecrackers, there was no sense in wheezing through the pitch.

What to do with the afternoon until his exercise with Viktor was due? When in doubt, read a book ... The Cruciatus curse was still a weak spot, a real surprise, wasn't it?

He went to the library, where he found Cho and Almyra.

He walked over. "Hi there."

Cho looked up, surprise on her face, and an expression as if she'd been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

Almyra - what was with Almyra? Turning deep red, she rested her arms on the book they'd been reading together.

Harry looked at Cho. "I wanted to talk about tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? Let's take a walk."

For once, Harry wouldn't have objected discussing the issue while Almyra was listening, and now it was Cho who seemed to prefer privacy. Fine with him ...


"What about tomorrow?" Cho asked when they were alone in the corridor, after having left a quickly recovering Almyra alone in the library.

"I arranged a practice on the Quidditch pitch with Viktor, without teachers around. Oh, right, you don't know yet: the twins are building a few dust bombs for - for us. Fairy dust."

Cho looked at him, a glance not quite incredulous but not far off either. "Shall I wear my dragon-hide coat?"

"Sure, why not?"

Only her reaction told him that she'd been teasing him. Well, how would he know what those Chinese tailors could offer?

"At first, I just wanted to have something to use against invisible wizards," he began to explain. "Myrtle told me that fairy dust sticks and glitters, so you can mark them nicely - if you throw it in the right direction, that is. Then Dobby told me about the dream effect, and I realized that I had to be out of the way when it hits. Yes, and then I had the idea with the firecrackers, and talked with the twins."

"Dobby, eh?"

"Yes, he's the one who gave me the fairy dust."

"Quite a resourceful guy," said Cho. "I really should make his acquaintance ... So we're going to zoom through the pitch and throw dust bombs, right?"

"Yep. Except that, for the training, we're going to use sugar powder - fairy dust's a bit expensive."

"Oh, really? So even Dobby's resources are limited? Tsk, tsk."

"I like it when you have fun." Which was the truth. "It's far better than ... I thought about what you said in Dumbledore's office ... It's my ... I'm not going to come back alone."

"My brave knight."

Her voice hadn't been teasing at all, which made it impossible for him to find a reply.

After a moment of silence, Cho said, "I like to hear that, although it's against Squad policy. Okay, we'll give them hell with fairy dust. For now, I have to go back to the library."

It certainly would have been interesting to hear what she and Almyra were working on - the scene in the library had looked strange. But why ask questions that weren't going to be answered at all?

Only then did he remember that he'd gone to the library for a little research on the Cruciatus curse. Going back now didn't feel right. Anyway, he trusted Dobby's knowledge; all considered, it had been just an attempt to kill time.

The Imperius practice with Viktor didn't yield any surprises. Harry could shake off Viktor's spell easily. Still, another question would be how the first moment of paralysed willpower might be on a Steel Wing at high speed.

Viktor, on the other hand, had difficulties breaking Harry's curse. Without Harry giving him some command, he couldn't manage to break it at all.

On the surface, the exercise was about breaking the Imperius curse. For Harry, though, the more important aspect was to practise it. Dumbledore had announced to play hard; well then, he wouldn't fall short on that.

Coming to the supper table, Harry was deeply relieved to see Fred and George. When they noticed him, they came over to his place.

"Where have you been?" he asked. "It worried me a lot."

"Well," said Fred, "we had - er, a little accident."

"Are you hurt?"

"No, no, nothing serious," said George. "Guess what happens if you're fumbling with firecrackers and fairy dust the wrong way?

Harry groaned.

"Right, you fall asleep."

* * *

It was Exam Day minus one.

The twins had delivered. Harry was now the proud owner of two fairy dust bombs, four exercise bombs with sugar powder, and a bunch of simple firecrackers considerably heavier than the usual size.

Dust bombs, as it had turned out, required a remarkble quantity of fairy dust. Of course - without the twins' accident, Dobby's supply might have been good for another one or two bombs, but then, as Harry knew not only from Ron's droning on about organization and project management, a certain loss was inevitable. As long as it was limited to fairy dust, rather than Squad members ...

The group that wandered to the Quidditch pitch consisted of Harry, the two teams, and Viktor. They could have used the broomsticks, only the twins were busy explaining how to ignite a firecracker single-handedly while, at the same time, Katie and Alicia tried to provide a crash course in Chaser techniques for throwing an item onto a target.

"It's the thumbnail that rips the fuse," said George, "so make sure not to break your nail before tomorrow."

"From then on, you have two seconds," explained Fred. "If you hit your target, the last second doesn't matter; nobody's going to catch a thrown firecracker that quickly. If you miss, or if you throw alongside, the two seconds must have passed just when the cracker's closest to the target."

Suddenly, the twins' attack against the Giants looked still more impressive, even if they'd had years of experience in exploding firecrackers.

"Throwing something," said Katie, "isn't that complicated at all. The tricky part is that your body movement affects your broomstick. So when your arm is throwing, the rest of your body has to compensate in order to keep the broomstick on course."

"You don't have to catch," instructed Alicia, "you just have to throw, that makes life a lot easier. Keep in mind that the Quaffle - er, the cracker is flying at the same speed as you are. That means, not throwing at all, just letting go, can do the job as well."

"Right," said Katie, "that's Alicia's specialty. It drives the goalkeepers mad."

"A firecracker's light, in comparison," reminded Fred, "and that's why it's going to lose speed quickly. If you want to use Alicia's trick, make sure that you're fast - and I mean fast."

Ground drill came first, which - in their case - meant igniting firecrackers with a thumbnail.

Cho managed almost immediately: her nails were longer than Harry's, and sharper.

Harry had trouble. According to Fred and George, he had to snip his thumb up, away from the hand. But that way it didn't work at all. He could ignite a cracker when snipping into the hand - with the effect that the complete motion was too awkward.

Viktor came closer, sitting on his Steel Wing. "Look," he said.

They watched as Viktor took a firecracker and, leaning slightly backward to tense his security belt, scratched the fuse over the fabric and then threw the cracker. A second later, it blew up with a remarkable bang.

"Clever guys, those Bulgarians," said George. "That'll do, Harry. If you're not on your Steel Wing, you have two hands for it."

Harry felt grateful, for Viktor's trick as well as for the fact that the next step would be less noisy. Some more blows, he thought, and the first students would arrive soon to watch the spectacle.


Phase two was a demo, presented by Katie, Alicia, and the twins. Harry and Cho stood on the ground and watched as the others were closing in on them with frightening speed, throwing firecrackers - without igniting them, of course. Harry and Cho were ordered to watch for body stance, arm motion, and clear-off manoeuvering.

Then it was their own turn.

Harry started badly, his crackers landing anywhere but on Viktor, the target. Cho's first attempts were somewhere close.

Harry improved a bit, Cho improved rapidly. Harry threw firecrackers somewhere around Viktor when Cho had mastered the art of passing them into Viktor's hand - after two seconds of air travel. It was frustrating.

Viktor stopped him. "Harry, do you want to use these bombs?"

"What a stupid question - "

He was interrupted by a fierce-looking Viktor. "Okay, you stupid snitch-catcher, you haff three more chances." Viktor handed him three firecrackers. "I'll curse you on your first attack, I'll curse you worse on your second, and I'll stun you in mid-air if the third one doesn't hit. Up with you!"

Harry was furious. "I'd like to see you try!"

Shocked silence among the others, but then, they hadn't witnessed the Imperius training with Snape.

Harry jumped up, held the firecracker ready, and dived.

Ahead and below him was a figure, pointing a wand at him. His face started burning. When he ducked behind the windshield, his face calmed but his legs started hurting. Harry ignored the pain and concentrated on his attack.

Arm ready, ignore the burning that's getting worse, aim, and - now!

An instant too early; he knew it already just when the cracker had left his hand.

Passing Viktor, Harry turned in an arc and felt a blow hit his back, burning on his head, painfully steady through the full arc while his unprotected flank was exposed to Viktor's curse.

Second run.

He closed in lying flat behind the windshield. Nice broomstick, this, very protective, did its job better than he did. His legs were hurting as if in a Giant's grip; Viktor was crazy, he would teach him. Arm ready - ouch, that didn't feel good at all, aim, aim - now!

Dammit, too far!!

His body crooked from the pain, relaxed, almost cramped from the white-hot burning. That bloody Bulgarian would pay for what he was doing, stunning would feel like heaven but THAT PIECE OF MUD WASN'T GOING TO WIN!

The seconds to the turning point grew to a painful eternity, then he could stall and come around - aaahh, protection, that was the run.

He pushed, pushed, more than ever before, just one thought in his mind: HIT THAT FACE! Pain somewhere ... arm out ... surprising how much more pain, but he was coming, was there, there - yes!

There was an instant during which he stared into the hated face, jaws clenched; in the last split second before passing over he saw the cracker trundling through the air, right into the visage of that jerk ... No blow came, the pain was fading ...

Turning around, he saw an arm in the air, holding something: Viktor had caught the cracker!

He swerved down, stalled, and dismounted. Viktor was walking to him, now wait just a second ...

"Harry - your cracker." Viktor's hand were just in front of him.

Trembling, Harry grabbed for it, but took Viktor's fist instead and nudged it. "Don't expect my thanks, you - you - cracker-catcher."

The others came closer, quite carefully, and examined him, unsure what to expect. His face still looked red, but the pain was fading quickly now.

Alicia glared furiously at Viktor. "Are you mad? Look at him, how do you think does that feel?"

Harry laughed, almost hysterically. "He knows how that feels - and more."

Alicia's expression made it clear that for her, Harry and Viktor were two of a kind, to be avoided.

Cho hadn't said anything. Now she looked at him. "You okay?"

"Yes." Well, almost.

"Why did it work now?"

"Beforehand, I was too slow. Then I really wanted that thing see right in his face."


The rest was easy play, compared to the previous attempts. Harry flew some more attacks, uncursed, hitting two times out of three while Viktor's wand was pointing at him, stirring the memory by the picture.

The final tests were the attacks with the powder bombs. For them, a tree was selected as target. Viktor would have been ready to serve as target, arms protecting his face, only Harry didn't want him seen with any trace of something a sharp brain might identify as a projectile.

Cho powdered the tree in her first run - and herself too, she had been too close.

Harry powdered the tree a bit, but at least he himself was clean.

Before using the last powder bombs, one for each of them, they performed some more tests to practise the earliest side-turn possible. Then came the second serious test, after a little charm from Viktor's wand had cleaned the tree as well as Cho's coat.

Cho's bomb powdered the tree at front, Harry's did the same at the side, passing the tree but exploding at the right moment. Their own coats were clean.

After lunch, Fleur came to the Gryffindor table. "'arry, can you come with me for a minute?"

He followed into her office.

Fleur opened a drawer and extracted something that looked like a shawl, silvery, almost perfectly matching her hair.

"What's that?"

Fleur smoothed the fabric. "It's a Veela scarf. That's a kind of tranquilizer because it 'as Veela power knitted in. You can use it for various purposes, when you're 'urt, for example. But be careful, 'arry, it affects your thinking. When wearing it, you may find it difficult to take a decision."

Harry stared at the silvery thing. "You mean, that's some emergency kit?"

"It's not a band-aid." Fleur smiled. "It wasn't designed for a specific use. It wasn't designed for patrol exams at all, but that's the only thing I could think of. At least, it doesn't make your mind powerless, so - if it 'ampers more than it 'elps, take it off."

Could it smooth a Cruciatus curse? Harry would prefer an exam in which he didn't have to find out.

"Thank you, Fleur. I hope I won't need it."

Fleur wrapped the scarf in a plain cloth. "So do I, my little 'unter. Please bring it back, if that's possible."

* * *

It was Exam Day, patrol time minus five hours - breakfast time. Harry ate mechanically to chew some tasteless stuff, and gulp some hot liquid.

Glancing over to the teachers' table, seeing the other team, he caught himself feeling anger when he heard them laughing. True, they laughed on other days too, except today it felt personal.

Glancing at the Ravenclaw table, he saw the rest of his own team, talking with Almyra. Cho looked up, noticed him, made a gesture as if he should eat as much as he could. Well, he'd done it already.

Cho came over. "Harry, it's a special day, right?"

What a team partner, only thinking of her cake. "Now?"

"No, a few minutes before we start."

"That's great. I'll have trouble moving my tongue, and you - "

"Dummy!" Her voice wasn't too gentle. "Did nobody tell you that a sugar shot speeds up your brain? Make sure it's ready."

Patrol time minus four hours and a bit - time to do what?

Hermione came and grabbed him. "Harry, before your mind burns out, come with me."

She led him to the practice room. "Okay. Giants O.W.L., a review. Mr Potter, please start your presentation."

No doubt his ears were playing jokes with him. "Come again?"

"You heard me all right. Talk!"

It was unbelievable. Hermione seemed serious, waiting for him to summarize their Giants' paper, or papers.

Ten minutes later, Harry felt grateful, registering how the patrol faded to the background of his mind. It worked surprisingly well, Hermione called it chasing a devil with a demon, replacing one exam with another.

By the time they'd finished, Hermione looked quite pleased about his performance. Checking the time, Harry realized that it was already patrol time minus two hours.

Lunch was something for the others. He couldn't eat. Hermione said he needed his strength. She was probably right, but still it didn't work.

Ron said, "Harry, if someone can do it, it's you. You know it, don't you?"

Did he? He nodded anyway.

Angelina came over with Bob at her side. She said, "Harry, you have to come through. I've got a bid running says ten Galleons you'll make it."

"Against whom?"

Bob's finger was touching his chestbone. "Me."

"You??"

"It's just insurance, Harry. I really hope you'll make it, but - if not, at least I win ten Galleons."

Slytherins ...

Viktor came over. "Harry - haff a minute?"

They walked aside. "Some news?"

"No. I want to giff you something. Maybe it's useful, but even if not, think of it as a lucky charm." Viktor presented a small bundle.

Examining it, Harry recognized a thin rope, several yards long, with a ring at one end. "What's this?"

"That's the second thing a Bulgarian shepherd never forgets when going out, besides a sling. It's a family piece, Harry, and it always brought me luck."

Harry took the rope. It felt thin, strong, flexible, and smooth.

"Thank you, Viktor. I really hope I can bring it back to you."

Suddenly he was armed with a lot of family inheritances, plus some other pieces that hadn't existed only two days earlier. He went into the kitchen for Cho's cake. Looking around, he suddenly felt hungry, so he asked the elves to double it.

In the entrance hall, he found Cho with Almyra at her side.

"Here ... Save something for me, I'll be back soon."

He hurried upstairs to get packed and armed. No - first the toilet, it would be terrible, being caught on the ground just for that ... Garments, scarf, rope, Invisibility Cloak, bombs ... Everything within reach? Harry grabbed his Steel Wing and went downstairs again.

Cho was eating. She chewed slowly, swallowing tiny pieces.

"Sugar buzz, huh?" He took a piece, then quickly realized that it really had taste.

"Yup." Cho's wiggling finger pointed from Almyra to Harry. "Tell him."

Almyra rattled, "Sugar's a quick-burning energizer. Doesn't hold long, but it's good for efforts of a limited time span."

Her nervousness calmed Harry down. "That's good," he said, reaching for another piece, "'cause I'm a quick-eating patrolizer."

Cho glanced at him. "Did you take lessons with Ron?"

"Lessons yes, with everybody and his uncle, but not with Ron. Speak of the devil - "

Ron arrived. "Harry, Cho - it's time. Good luck!"

Harry mounted and jumped up. Should he hold his wand through the sling? Not yet ...

Cho was at his side.

He said, "I'm head first, okay?"

Cho nodded.

He turned, accelerated, looked back, saw Cho following, and felt a fierce determination: either that, or him flying tail. He wasn't going to come back without her.