Harry Potter and the Time of Shadows

- Chapter Thirteen-

Quidditch Season

The first thing Harry saw upon returning to Hogwarts castle, was Ron and Hermione standing in front of the front doors. As soon as the carriage was in their sight, they both rushed forward to meet it.

Harry stepped out of it, his legs feeling hardly strong enough to support him.

"How did it go?" asked Ron.

Harry did not feel able to actually say the words, to he merely shook his head.

"No," Ron breathed.

Hermione threw her arms around Harry.

"It's going to be OK," she said.

Harry wished that people would stop saying that. It was not going to be OK, not now that Sirius was gone.

"So they --" Ron said, but trailed off.

"No, but he's in Azkaban," said Harry weakly.

"Well, that's OK then," said Ron. "Can't he escape again then?"

"I'm afraid not," said Dumbledore. "He will be sharing his Azkaban cell with a Dementor. He will not have the strength to transform. Also, Fudge now knows that he is an Animagus."

"What?" said Ron. "How did they find out?"

"Sirius told everyone," said Harry. "He was trying to prove that Wormtail's still alive."

"I'm guessing that they didn't believe him," said Hermione.

Harry shook his head again.

"But he's innocent," said Ron.

Harry had had that running through his mind ever since Sirius had been captured. He's innocent, he's innocent, he's innocent.

But it was no use. No one believed it.

"I think it is best if Harry is not disturbed by having to relive the experience for you," said Dumbledore.

"Yes Professor," said Hermione.

"OK," said Ron.

"Harry," Dumbledore said, turning to him. "Would you prefer to spend tonight alone?"

"No," Harry replied. He did not like the idea of having the whole night with nothing to do but think of Sirius. "I want to go back to Gryffindor Tower."

Dumbledore nodded, and walked past the three of them, into the castle.

"Are you alright Harry?" Hermione asked.

"No," Harry replied shortly.

"You will be though," said Ron kindly.

"Maybe," said Harry.

"Listen, I hate to even bring this up," said Ron. "But it's the first Quidditch match of the season on the day after tomorrow. If you don't want to play, we'll understand."

"No," said Harry. "I want to play. Who knows, maybe it'll even help take my mind off Sirius."

"Good," said Ron. "Because I still want to beat Malfoy and his team."

"Ron!" said Hermione. "Is that all you can think of at a time like this? You just want a chance to show up Malfoy!"

"No, it's OK Hermione," said Harry. "I want to beat Malfoy too."

"Boys," he heard her mutter under her breath.

"Come on, let's get you inside, it's freezing out here," said Ron, holding the door open for Harry, and then for Hermione.

They made their way up to Gryffindor Tower, and Harry slumped down in an armchair, and thought off all the people he had lost.

*

The first lesson the next day, History of Magic, was not nearly enough to distract him from the troubles in his life. He spent the whole lesson with his head to the desk, trying not to picture Sirius, having all of his happiness drained out of him by a Dementor every hour of the day. But the image flooded his mind, until he could not think of anything else.

To make matters worse, the headline at the top of that day's edition of the Daily Prophet read: BLACK JAILED FOR LIFE. Harry had not read the article when he saw the front page of Hermione's paper at breakfast. He had just finished his food in silence, barely able to keep it down.

When they got out of the lesson, Harry was not looking forwards to his next lesson: Divination.

"My dear," said Professor Trelawney the second that Harry sat down. "I sense that you are dealing with many troubles. You are consumed with worry for a loved one."

Harry thought for a moment, that was quite accurate.

"I would be surprised if you did not have more heavy losses in the near future," she said, gazing out of the window in a dreamy way.

"I see she's her usual bubbly self," Ron commented sarcastically. "I wonder what this other loss is gonna be."

"I don't even want to think about more bad stuff happening," said Harry.

"Me neither," said Ron. "You've been though enough."

"Thanks for being here for me Ron."

"Of course I'm here for you. What are friends for?"

"Still, you and Hermione have been so great through all of this."

Ron looked uncomfortable for a moment.

"Yes, well we're trying to put what happened behind us. She's with Krum, I'll be fine."

Ron and Hermione! Harry had completely forgotten about what had happened with them. Since Sirius had been captured, he had never sensed any awkwardness between them. But he was not sure if that had been because there was no tension, or because Harry was so wrapped up in his own problems, he had taken no notice of anything else.

"I'm sorry Ron," he said, uncomfortably aware that Professor Trelawney was less than six feet away. "I hadn't even thought about you two."

"It's fine," said Ron, waving his hand dismissively.

"Harry," said Lavender, who had come over to his table with Parvati. "Be careful."

"Yes, we don't want you to have any more losses, especially with the first Quidditch match coming up," agreed Parvati.

"Thanks girls," said Harry.

"Don't tell me that you're starting to believe Trelawney's a real Seer," Ron muttered when they had gone.

But Harry started to wonder, how much did she really know?

*

The next day, the entire school was buzzing with excitement over the first Quidditch match of the season. Harry on the other hand, was miserable. Whilst he had approached virtually every other Quidditch match with a feeling of anxiety, it was the first time that he was facing a game of Quidditch in low spirits.

He and Ron made their way to the changing rooms, followed by Fred, George, and the girls. He took out his Quidditch robes, and saw black bands on the sleeves. He remembered that they were a mark of respect for Oliver Wood.

The others, who were not suffering depression over the loss of their godfathers, were all very nervous. They all sat in the changing rooms waiting for Harry to give his first pre-match talk.

"I can't do this," he whispered to Ron. "You say something."

Ron nodded, and stood at the front of the changing room.

"Alright people," he said. "I know I'm not your captain, I'm just the new guy here. But Harry's feeling a little under the weather, and he's asked me to give the speech. Simply, we're going to win. Slytherin have never beaten us, and they never will. I'm sure you'll all agree that this is the best team that Hogwarts has seen in a while. We are going to win that Quidditch Cup again this year. And even more, we're gonna have some fun, and we're gonna look damn good doing it!"

The others cheered, Fred and George shot red and gold sparks from their wands, and they walked out onto the pitch.

Harry walked to the front of them, ready to face Malfoy and his team.

The Slytherins walked onto the pitch, dressed in green. Malfoy stood at the front, sneering. He turned behind him and gave a solemn nod to someone in the Slytherin stands. Harry looked past Malfoy to see who it was. Sitting at the very front of them, next to Snape, was none other than Lucius Malfoy.

Why was Malfoy's dad there? Harry thought.

Malfoy smiled, and whispered to Harry so quietly that he could not be heard by Madam Hooch, who was standing right next to them.

"That's right, my Father's here. Too bad yours isn't."

At that moment, Harry's hatred for Malfoy raised higher than petty schoolyard rivalry, to fully equal his hatred for Voldemort. The taunt echoed through his brain, pushing aside his sorrow for Sirius, and burning in his mind along with one other thought:

Win, we have to win.

"Captains, shake hands," said Madam Hooch.

Harry and Malfoy both held out their hands, and after a short hesitation, shook them. They both held on with a firm grip, Harry noticed that Malfoy's hand was cold, as if he had ice running through his veins. Malfoy was moving his lips strangely, as though he were fighting the temptation to spit in Harry's face.

"Mount your brooms," came Madam Hooch's voice.

Harry put a leg over his Firebolt, and Malfoy got onto his Firebolt Evolution. Harry had almost forgotten that Malfoy was riding a broomstick far superior to his.

"Welcome to the first Quidditch game of the season," said the twin's friend Lee Jordan through a magical megaphone. "And introducing Gryffindor's brand spanking new captain, who else but the Famous Harry Potter riding the Firebolt that we all know and love!"

Every Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw erupted in applause. The loud boos from the Slytherins were hardly audible.

"And for the Slytherins, the new captain Draco Muppet --"

"Jordan!" yelled Professor McGonagall.

"Sorry Professor, Draco Malfoy managed to buy his way onto the team with a load of Nimbus Pros. He himself begged daddy for a Firebolt Evolution."

Harry saw Lucius Malfoy shoot a venomous look up at the stand that Lee was in.

"If you are ready Jordan," Professor McGonagall interrupted. "We would like to start the game.

Madam Hooch blew into a whistle around her neck, and the game began.

"It's Warrington of Slytherin with the Quaffle, heading towards the goalposts, somebody stop him -- yes! Alicia Spinnet intercepts, she passes to Katie Bell, she's in the scoring area, she shoots -- damn! Saved by Slytherin Keeper Harper.

"Harper passes to Montague -- ouch! And he's hit hard in the chest by a Bludger sent by George Weasley!

"Gryffindor Johnson in possession, go Angelina! No, stopped by Dorny, passes to Warrington, he shoots -- wow! New Keeper Weasley pulls off an incredible save! God, it's bad enough having two identical Weasleys up there, now I've got another one!

"OK, Bell's got the Quaffle, all three Slytherin Chasers coming at her is that a Parkin's Pincer move? Warrington and Dorny coming in from the sides, Montague heading right for her. Foul! He just rammed straight into her!"

Madam Hooch blew her whistle.

"Penalty to Gryffindor."

Katie took the penalty, she feinted at the left hoop and shot for the right --

"Goal! Ten-zero to Gryffindor!"

Harry punched the air with victory, and noticed a golden glimmer beside the stadium barrier. He flew towards it at fast as he could, praying that Malfoy had not spotted him.

"Potter!" he heard Malfoy yell, and he was speeding in Harry's direction.

Harry tried to put on more speed, but he was going as fast as he could. Malfoy had overtaken him, he was closing on the Snitch --

"Aah!"

"Both Seekers are stopped in their tracks by a Bludger sent by Slytherin's Crabbe," said Lee.

"Crabbe you idiot," Malfoy yelled. "You aren't supposed to hit me!"

Harry laughed to himself, and searched around for the Snitch.

"Dorny has the Quaffle, passes to Warrington, back to Dorny. He shoots, come on Ron -- no! Slytherin score! Ten-ten."

Dorny gave a high-five to the other Chasers.

"The Keeper passes to Bell, passes to Spinnet. She flies high, passes down to Johnson. Johnson's going -- no, blocked by Montague, is he going to shoot? No, passes over the shoulder to Warrington, he shoots --" Lee swore so loudly that Professor McGonagall looked ready to slap him.

"Twenty-ten to Slytherin."

Harry had an idea, remembering Krum in the Quidditch World Cup, he faked a focused look, and sped past Malfoy as fast as he could. Malfoy, clearly thinking that Harry had seen the Snitch, followed and overtook him quickly. As soon as he was out of Malfoy's sight, Harry turned in the opposite direction. He saw Malfoy look over his shoulder at Harry and say "What the hell?". But when he looked back, he saw that the stadium barrier was right in front of his face. He had no time to stop, he crashed.

"Ha, ha! Potter's excellent use of the Wronski Feint sends Seeker Malfoy into the wall. Too bad."

Professor McGonagall actually laughed at Malfoy quietly, but as she was less than ten feet away from the megaphone, her mocking was amplified for everyone to hear. Most of the crowd burst out laughing.

"Just goes to show," Lee called. "Money isn't everything."

During the time that Harry had been distracting Malfoy, Slytherin had scored again. Lee had only just realised.

"Oh, OK. Thirty-ten to Slytherin. Damn!"

Ron held onto the Quaffle for a while, looking out to the Chasers.

"Weasley passes to Spinnet, look at her go! She's really holding onto that ball, none of the Slytherins can get it off her. No! She's stopped by a Bludger. And it's Warrington -- Dorny, he takes it down low, scraping the grass. He shoots -- Weasley dives, he's saved it!

"Bell brings the Quaffle up, the other Chasers beside her. Looks like a Hawkshead Attacking Formation. Can she score? No, Harper saves, passes to Montague -- oh, narrowly misses a Bludger, ducks under Beater Goyle, passes to Dorny. Dorny shoots -- No! Forty-ten to Slytherin."

Malfoy shot upwards in front of Harry. Harry followed, squinting to see if the Snitch was near. He could not see it, but followed anyway, worried it might be another Wronski Feint. Malfoy stopped suddenly, and Harry crashed into him before he could stop. Malfoy was holding onto his broomsticks tightly, but Harry was knocked off his and was left holding on with one hand.

"Isn't that a foul?" Lee yelled as the rest of the Gryffindors screamed abuse.

Madam Hooch flew high to address the crowd.

"The Slytherin Seeker has not violated any rules. He stopped, he did not fly into another player. No penalty."

"What?" Lee continued to protest. "No foul? That dirty son of a --"

"Jordan!"

"Sorry, after that blatant rule-breaking, which our referee chooses to ignore --"

"I'm warning you Jordan!"

"Fine, whatever, Gryffindor in possession..."

Harry managed to get back on his broomstick, and resumed his hunt for the Snitch.

"Spinnet, stopped by a Bludger. Dorny catches the Quaffle. He passes over the shoulder to Warrington. Warrington shoots, he feints. Ah! Slytherin score again. Fifty-ten."

Harry once again saw the Snitch. It was in the opposite direction from him to Malfoy, he could just fly to get it without Malfoy noticing, it was much closer to him. He turned to go for it.

"...Montague shoots, he misses completely! No -- Warrington puts it in on a rebound. Sixty-ten."

But the score did not matter to Harry, if he caught the Snitch he would get a hundred and fifty points and win the game. He was getting closer to it, he was going to catch it and Malfoy was nowhere near him --

Harry swore out loud. The Snitch had actually been knocked away by a Bludger! Harry suspected that they had been aiming for him but missed.

"Bell in possession, she passes to Johnson, back to Bell. She dives, passes to Spinnet, She climbs back up, interesting tactic.

"Intercepted by Warrington -- he passes to Montague. Keeper Weasley stops it, gives it to Johnson. She's bringing it up -- no, taken by Montague. Montague shoots down the pitch, is he going to shoot? Yes, he shoots -- crap!"

"Watch your language!" yelled Professor McGonagall.

"Actually I did. You should hear what I was thinking!" retorted Lee. "Seventy-ten."

The Slytherins were cheering louder than ever. Harry caught a glimpse of Malfoy's gleeful face. He looked back at Harry, and gave a quick smug look. Harry wanted nothing more than to simply knock him off his broomstick.

"Spinnet takes the ball -- taken by Warrington -- stopped by Bell. She passes back to Spinnet. Alicia shoots -- no, Harper saves it. Harper to Dorny -- Johnson gets it -- ouch! Hit by a Bludger and drops the Quaffle. Caught by Montague --"

Madam Hooch blew her whistle.

"What?" said Lee, confused. "Where's the foul?"

Everyone stopped briefly to look around.

"Oh," Lee suddenly said. "Penalty to Gryffindor for a Snitchnip by Beater Goyle."

Harry looked at Goyle. His podgy face had a huge triumphant smile on it; he was holding the Golden Snitch in his hand, and waving both arms around, thinking he had just won the game.

Virtually everyone in the stands erupted with laughter (even a lot of Slytherins).

"Ha, Spinnet takes the penalty -- she puts it away no problem. Seventy-twenty. Come on Gryffindors! We've got a lot of catching up to do!"

The Gryffindor Chasers were definitely not performing as well as they usually did, and Ron seemed completely off of his game.

Harry was not sure how long they had been playing, but in what seemed like half an hour, the Slytherins had scored five more goals, while Gryffindor had only scored one.

"One hundred and twenty points to thirty!" Lee yelled with disgust. "What the hell are you guys playing at? Those slimy toads are beating us by ninety points!"

Harry could not take it anymore. He signalled to Madam Hooch, who blew her whistle.

"Harry Potter calls for a time out. About time too. They need a good talking to!"

They huddled at one edge of the pitch, while Malfoy talked to his team on the other.

"What's going on?" Harry asked them.

"Sorry Harry," said Katie Bell. "I hurt my wrist when Montague hit me."

Harry nodded as the other Chasers apologised.

"I'm sorry too mate," said Ron. "I've got a lot of things on my mind."

He cast a look up at the stands, specifically to where Hermione was sitting with Ginny.

"Yeah, well so do I," said Harry, thinking again of Sirius in an Azkaban cell, with a Dementor standing by him, draining his life away. "We can't let anything distract us though. We have to rise above it, we can't just give up! We're going to fight, and we will win!"

The twins clapped, and they all turned to face the Slytherins, who had already finished their talk. Malfoy walked over to Harry.

"Ready for another beating?" Malfoy taunted. "Or do you just want to quit now? It should save you from more humiliation."

Harry frowned. "No way. Unless you're losing your nerve?"

Malfoy turned away and marched back to his team. They all mounted their brooms and took flight once more.

"And we're back!" Lee boomed out over the crowd. "Hopefully the Gryffindors are recharged and raring to go!"

"Slytherin take the Quaffle -- Warrington stopped by Johnson. Bell takes it and shoots -- YES! Thank God! One hundred and twenty--forty. Is this the start of a comeback?

"Montague passes to Dorny -- he's hit by a Bludger -- Spinnet catches it! Go! Go! Go! No! Harper saves."

Harry spotted the Snitch again. It was less then ten feet to the left of Malfoy. There was no way he could get to it without him seeing. He tried to sneak up on it, but Malfoy saw. The Snitch moved quickly upwards, and Harry chased it, followed by Malfoy. They reached the point where they were level with the highest row of stands when the Snitch started to move sideways again. Malfoy was far in front of Harry, he was close enough to touch it with his fingertips. Malfoy stretched as far forwards as he could, and Harry's heart fell. Slytherin was going to beat them for the first time --

"OH MY GOD!" Lee shouted.

Harry stared, not daring to believe what had just happened. Both Bludgers had been hit towards Malfoy. One had hit him hard in the face, the other had slammed into his Firebolt Evolution. The wonderful broomstick had cracked slightly, and was flying in strange directions. Malfoy himself had fallen from as high up as he could be, but was caught by Harper, the Slytherin Keeper.

"Like I said," Lee chuckled. "Money isn't everything."

Harry suddenly came to his senses, and flew to the Snitch, plucking it out of the sky with ease.

"YEAH! GRYFFINDOR WIN ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY TO ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY!" Lee repeated again and again to the whole crowd.

"Gryffindor, Gryffindor, Gryffindor!" the crowd chanted.

Snape and Lucius Malfoy had rushed to see if Draco was alright. He appeared to be unconscious, and blood was pouring freely from his nose. There was a nasty looking bruise on his forehead, but no serious damage seemed to have been done.

The Firebolt Evolution was still flying through the air. The handle was very bent and small splinters were sticking out of it. A number of twigs had fallen out of the tail end, and the rest were all at different angles.

"Accio!" Lucius Malfoy yelled, pointing his wand up at the broomstick. It made its way back down to the ground, and Mr Malfoy caught it, examining it as best as he could. Harry hoped very much that it was beyond repair.

Professor McGonagall was clapping enthusiastically, and Dumbledore was giving a polite applause.

Harry's spirits could not help but raise. As the other players all congratulated him, he felt the first true smile come across his face in a long time.

As they changed out of their Quidditch robes, Harry decided to talk to them all.

"Well done everyone. This is a great achievement for us all. Fred and George, this is your victory. If you two hadn't sent those Bludgers to Malfoy, he would definitely have caught the Snitch."

George laughed.

"What?" said Harry.

"I hit Malfoy in the face. But Fred didn't ruin his broom. He has his own Beaters to thank for that!"

"Really?" said Harry. "Which one?"

George shrugged. "The taller one."

"Crabbe?" Ron asked.

"That's the one. I'm pretty sure he was aiming for you Harry. He couldn't possibly have hit his own Seeker on purpose. I mean, no one's that dumb."

"You obviously don't know Crabbe very well," Ron laughed.

The team burst into laughter. They were still laughing after they had finished changing, and when they were coming out of the changing room to face the rest of the school.

There was a sea of Gryffindor supporters ready to cheer their team. The one person at the front of the crowd was clapping the hardest. She ran up to Ron, kissed him on the cheek, and gave him a big hug.

"You were great," she said to him.

"Ginny!" said Ron as he hugged her back. "Thanks."

She then hugged the twins, and finally gave Harry a big hug. She seemed to hold onto him for longer than with any of her brothers. It was only when Fred started to laugh that she let go.

"Easy Gin," he said. "Don't want to break Harry's ribs. The he'd never go out with you!"

"Shut up Fred," said Ginny.

"Come on Ginny," said Ron, putting his arm around her shoulder. "Let's get something to eat."

"What?" said Ginny. "But dinner isn't for an hour and a half."

"I know a place where we can get some food," Ron grinned as he led his sister in the direction of the kitchens.

Harry and the twins laughed, while everyone else looked puzzled.

"Great game guys," said Lee Jordan after they had gone. "For a minute I thought we might've lost it though."

"That's funny," said Angelina Johnson. "For almost the whole match I thought we'd lost it."

Lee took the rest of the team back to Gryffindor Tower. No one seemed to have noticed that Harry was not with them. Except for one person, someone who definitely was not in Gryffindor.

"Cho!" said Harry, feeling his face turn red. His guilt over Cedric did not make her any less attractive.

"Nice catch Harry. Lucky that the Slytherins are so stupid," she said smiling.

"Well, I'm sure I'll catch the Snitch just as well against Ravenclaw," Harry joked.

"Careful Potter, those are fighting words."

They both laughed, and started to walk back to the castle together.

"I wasn't surprised to hear that you were the captain," said Cho, pushing some hair out of her face.

"Thanks, are you the Ravenclaw captain now?" Harry would be glad for a friendly face on the other side of a match.

"No, Roger Davies still has another year left."

"Really? I thought he was in seventh year last year."

"No, he's just freakishly tall," Cho said.

Harry laughed. He remembered Roger Davies take Fleur Delacour to the Yule Ball. He was very tall.

"What position does Roger play?" Harry asked, never really paying attention to him in Quidditch matches.

"He's a Beater. He's pretty strong, and he's got great aim."

"Oh, really," said Harry, starting to lose interest in the conversation.

"But why are we talking about Quidditch?" Cho said suddenly. "We could be talking about other things."

"Like what?"

"Like --"

But Harry never got to hear exactly what Cho had wanted to talk about. They had reached the castle doors, and the "freakishly tall" form of Roger Davies was standing in the doorway.

"Chang! There you are!" he said. He looked slightly annoyed and his face was going red.

"What?" she said to him.

"I've been looking everywhere for you! We've got practice!"

"But the first match of the season has just ended," said Cho, with a disbelieving expression.

"So?" Davies snapped. "We have to practise. We can't just let Gryffindor beat us!"

"We don't play Gryffindor until the end of the year. We don't even play Hufflepuff for another month."

"Don't get smart with me Chang! I don't appreciate any attitude from my Seeker."

"Hey!" said Harry, stepping forward. "Don't talk to her like that!"

Davies sneered. "Harry Potter. Consorting with the enemy are you Chang?"

"We're friends Davies," said Harry. "Ever heard of friends?"

"Quiet Potter!" he said, taking out his wand.

"What are you going to do with that? Poke me in the eye?"

"I can think of something much worse than that to do to you."

"Careful," Cho interrupted. "You don't want to get on the wrong side of Harry Potter."

"Why? Because he's mental? I read the Daily Prophet. I know all about him."

"Oh give it a rest. D'you really believe all that garbage? Do you believe everything you read? I suppose you think that aliens are stealing your brainwaves, and Elvis is alive."

"Who the hell is Elvis?" said Davies.

"Never mind. Now, d'you want to do something with that wand besides wave it around?"

Davies grumbled under his breath, then said "Never mind."

Then he walked off. Cho laughed.

"Thanks Harry," she said.

"Don't mention it. I don't know what came over me."

"You were great. Kind of 'knight in shining armour' thing."

"Still," said Harry. "I shouldn't've been so rude. The last thing I need right now is more enemies."

"I guess you're right," Cho admitted. "I should get to practice," she added.

"OK. I'll see you around." Harry felt an awkward pause. "Bye."

He opened the castle door and walked through.

"Wait!" he heard Cho say. He turned back to look at her.

She walked up to him and gave him a soft peck on the cheek. She then turned his head and gave him an equally light kiss on the lips.

"Thanks," she said. "By the way, who is Elvis?"

Harry laughed, and walked back to Gryffindor Tower.

*

"Wow, you and Cho Chang!" Ron said when Harry told him about it. "You've finally done something with her!"

"Oh for goodness sake!" said Hermione, who was sitting opposite them at the dinner table. "It's wasn't even a proper kiss, right Harry?"

"Yeah, it was just a little peck," Harry replied.

"See?" Hermione continued, her voice full of superiority. "Perfectly innocent."

"Yeah, sure it was," Ron chuckled. "And I can't believe that you took on Roger Davies! He's huge! He could've snapped your neck like a twig!"

"Shut it Ron," Harry sighed.

"Sorry, why are you in such a mood today?" Ron asked.

"I've just made another enemy," Harry explained. "Think about it, he's not the nicest bloke, he could get recruited as a Death Eater next year. He could go after me. There are enough people out there who want my blood, I don't really need to add more people to that list!"

Ron stayed silent for a moment. "Maybe you're right," he said finally.

"I should apologise to him. Is he here?" Harry said, looking over at the Ravenclaw table.

"I don't think so," said Hermione. "I'm quite sure I saw him leave a few minutes ago. He's most likely gone back to his common room."

"Oh, I'll have to talk to him later."

"No," said Ron. "Talk to him now. Get it out of the way."

Harry thought. "How can I talk to him? I don't know where the Ravenclaw common room is. How am I supposed to find out?"

"Well," said Ron, looking down the table at a certain pair of red-headed boys eating their food. "I think I know just the guys to help you."

*