Remember You

Remember You
Chapter Six
~~~~~

It was not until a few days after Harry spoke with Ron about the Quidditch captain issue that McGonagall came to speak with him. He was sitting in the Great Hall, eating dinner with Ron and Hermione on either side of him. "Potter, I would like to see you in my office right now if you are finished eating."

"Yes, Professor," Harry replied as he took one last drink of his pumpkin juice and stood up. The Gryffindor followed the stern professor to her office in silence and immediately sat down when Professor McGonagall closed the door.

"You're probably wondering if you're in trouble, Potter, but I can assure you that you have done nothing wrong... yet." A faint smile ghosted across her thin lips and Harry smiled a little. "This has to do with Quidditch. As I'm sure Mr. Weasley told you, we are in need of a new Captain. Madam Hooch and I have already discussed the issue as to whom we would like to select and I have already spoken to the other members of the team about whom they would like and it seems we have come to a unanimous decision. I feel that we don't need to wait to make the announcement until next week, so, congratulations, Mr. Potter. You're the new captain." Now McGonagall positively beamed. Harry was not very happy.

"But..."

"But what, Mr. Potter?"

"I... why me?" he asked weakly.

"Because you are the senior member of the Gryffindor Quidditch team and we all feel that you would be best fitted for the position with your experience and skills."

"Thank you for considering me, but I... I don't want to be Captain."

McGonagall blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Well, I've just always thought that Ron would make a better Captain than I would. He's so much better at strategizing. Besides, I have so many other things on my mind, Professor. I love Quidditch but it's not one of my priorities." Harry let out a breath. That was something that he would never have heard himself saying in a thousand years. But now that he had said it, it felt like the truth.

The Transfiguration teacher seemed to be at a loss for words. "You're still going to play, aren't you?" she finally asked.

"Of course! I just don't think I could handle the job. Thank you for even thinking that I might be good at--"

"Mr. Potter, if I might interrupt... I've just had an idea. Would you accept the position as Captain if you had Mr. Weasley as your co-Captain? Merlin knows you're both more than qualified for it and if you put your heads together, I believe Gryffindor would be unstoppable."

Harry grinned. "If I might say so, Professor... Gryffindor has always been unstoppable. Well at least since my third year, anyway."

McGonagall smiled. "You're right. But we want to keep up that tradition, now don't we?"

"Okay," Harry conceded. "But only if Ron agrees."

"Certainly. I'll leave it up to you to speak with him. Now, on with you. I believe Professor Black wanted to speak with you as well."

"Thank you, Professor," Harry grinned and hurried out the door, headed in the direction of Sirius' office. When he arrived, low voices were drifting from beneath the door, so Harry knocked and waited for Sirius to give him permission to enter. He opened the large door when he heard "Enter," and saw Remus sitting in one of the plush, scarlet chairs in front of Sirius' desk. "Remus!" he exclaimed. "Here already?"

The werewolf smiled and reached up to ruffle Harry's hair. "I sure am. How are you doing, Harry? I heard you collapsed in the Great Hall yesterday."

"Oh, yes, I did. I ran out of the potions that Snape makes me and I forgot to ask for more." Harry grimaced. "I'm never going to do that again. Waking up to him leaning over me with that scowl is not pleasant."

Sirius laughed. "Sit down, Harry. You don't have any classes this afternoon, right?"

"No."

He brightened up immediately and leaned across his desk, looking at Harry with shining eyes. "You've had an owl today. It came to my office."

Harry furrowed his brow. "Why would it come here and not find me?"

"It was told to, of course."

"I don't understand."

Sirius winked and stood up, striding to the window. He opened it and stuck his head out and whistled. He then stuck his arm out so that it was hidden by the wall. Harry saw a weight settle on it. Sirius turned his head and smiled at Harry. "Close your eyes. The package is a surprise."

Harry blinked in confusion but obliged his godfather. "Hold out your arm," Remus said quietly, a smile lacing his voice. Harry felt a rush of wind flutter through his hair and then an owl landed on his arm. "Open your eyes," Remus said.

Slowly, Harry obeyed and felt his mouth drop open. A beautiful snowy owl was perched on his arm, large amber eyes looking up at him. "Hedwig!" he exclaimed breathlessly. Without a thought, he hugged her with his free arm, burying his nose in her feathers around her neck. She hooted softly and nibbled his ear affectionately. Remus and Sirius were chuckling softly, but Harry did not bother with them. He lifted his head again and grinned, petting Hedwig between the eyes. "Where was she?" he asked quietly, letting the owl nibble at his finger.

"She was found a few kilometres from Smeltings. A Muggle found her and took her in," Sirius said, coming around the desk and petting Hedwig on the top of the head. "Hedwig was badly hurt with a broken wing, and a few internal injuries."

"How did you find her then?"

"Well, the Muggle took Hedwig to the Muggle vet a fair few times to fix her up. About a month ago, a wizard who was studying Muggle ways of healing animals and people was working at this particular clinic and saw Hedwig. He was a little suspicious, so he questioned the woman about how she found her. The woman said that Hedwig was lying in the woods, struggling to breathe. She of course thought it was a bit strange to find a torn piece of paper tied to her leg, so mentioned that as well."

"So, what did the wizard do?" Harry asked, moving his finger below Hedwig's beak and petting her there.

"Hedwig wasn't doing too well," Remus continued, "and they didn't think she'd recover at all. Well, Koski, he's the wizard, told them he knew of a place to take owls. Koski took Hedwig, healed her with magic, and got into contact with people to find out whose owl it was. You would have had Hedwig back sooner, but since she lived with her injuries for so long, the magic could only do so much, and she had to heal the rest of the way by herself. We decided to reunite you with her once she was in good health again."

Hedwig, apparently sick of the constant petting, flew to Harry's shoulder and perched there, ready for a small rest. She tucked her head under her wing. "I thought I would never see her again," Harry confessed, looking to Remus and Sirius.

Sirius nodded. "Yes, we were beginning to lose hope as well." They sat in silence for a few moments before Sirius clapped his hands together and his pale blue eyes began to glow with happiness again.

"Professor McGonagall already told me that you were made Quidditch captain! Congratulations!"

"Yes, that's great, Harry!" Remus said just as proudly as Sirius.

Harry smiled thinly. "Yeah, thanks. Well, at least dad will be happy though, right? I'm getting right sick of him insisting that I'm going to be Captain. Let's just hope that he doesn't start bragging to everybody now, eh?" Harry smiled and let his eyes fall onto Sirius' desk, oblivious to the confused look that Sirius sent Remus. Harry's green eyes widened considerably as he took in a red package of candy with a rainbow on the front. "Skittles!" he exclaimed. "Sirius, where did you get Skittles?" Harry looked up at his godfather, and the latter looked back and answered hesitantly as if unsure how Harry would interpret what he was about to say..

"Remus brought them for me. Your mother introduced me to them while we attended Hogwarts. I haven't had any for years." If anything Harry's smile became wider and he looked suggestively between the two.

"Really?" he asked slyly. "Isn't that... sweet? Draco would never have done something as thoughtful as that when we were together." The young Gryffindor looked at Sirius with a silly grin on his face. Sirius exchanged looks with Remus, and they both turned pink, making Harry grin even harder.

"Eh... excuse me?" Sirius stuttered.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Honestly. How long do you think you could hide this from me? I may be dense sometimes, but that doesn't mean that I never notice things."

"What are you talking about, Harry?" Remus asked.

"I saw you two on the platform before the train left. I was looking out the window and I saw how you, Remus, looked at Sirius. And I also saw that you made him blush, which is something that I've never seen Sirius do before."

Remus' eyes glazed over for a few moments and an indulgent smile crossed his face as a memory invaded his mind. Sirius, Harry noticed, was turning pink again. Remus shook his head clean and tried very unsuccessfully to wipe the grin off his face as he looked back to Harry. The werewolf cleared his throat, tried to stop smiling but it was to no avail. Meanwhile, Sirius was turning even redder. Harry chuckled a little and looked down. "I'm all right with it. I mean, obviously, since I'm gay as well, but I wish you guys would have trusted me enough to tell me."

Sirius finally found his voice. "Harry, it was never that we didn't trust you with the information. I told you on your birthday that I was in a new relationship that still needed to be smoothed out. We didn't say anything sooner because we wanted to work things out in private while people didn't know anything about us."

"In fact, Harry," Remus began. "This is another reason why Sirius wanted you here in his office now. We were going to tell you today because well..." Here Remus even turned a little pink. "I'm going to be living with Sirius in his quarters and we didn't want you to find out after I moved in. Plus, you are our family and you deserve to know."

Harry smiled. "Thanks. Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Sirius replied, smiling.

"Is this first time you two have been together? Or were you together before?"

Sirius sighed and leaned back in his chair. "We were together for a very short time before.... before your parents died..." Sirius seemed to be stressing this last statement. Harry blinked. His parents died? But he had just spoken to his mum the day before. Sirius paused for a couple moments, studying Harry's face before he continued. "Anyway, it was complicated back then, and now with everything that we've been through, it's even more so. We never got the chance to be together again until the beginning of the summer holidays."

"It's working out now, I hope?" Harry asked.

Sirius and Remus exchanged looks and they smiled fondly at each other. The look of undisguised love in their eyes made Harry's heart ache with the thought that Draco may never look at him that way ever again. "Yes, it is," the two men answered at the same time.

"Good. I'm glad for you," he said sincerely.

"Thank you, Harry," Remus replied.

Harry nodded in acknowledgement as he lowered his head so that he could look at his lap. He could feel a lump in his throat. He blinked furiously. "Harry," Sirius ventured quietly. "It'll work out between you and Draco. You couldn't have possibly done anything that bad."

"But I did!" Harry exclaimed as he looked up earnestly into his godfather's eyes. "I did," he said more quietly, looking down once more. "I wouldn't blame him if he never wanted to see my face ever again."

"What happened?" Sirius asked quietly.

"I... I... He saw me."

"Saw you doing what?"

Harry drew a shaky breath. "He saw me... saw me kissing Charlie."

"You cheated on him?" Remus gasped in surprise.

"I didn't mean for it to happen! Draco was pushing me away, and treating me like I meant nothing to him. I didn't know how to feel. I felt worthless and unwanted. And Charlie was so good to me, and I knew that he fancied me. I didn't know where Draco stood on his feelings for me anymore. Charlie was just there, and he was willing to be with me. Draco didn't ever want to be left alone with me and I don't know why."

The dark-haired boy looked up in trepidation at Sirius and was surprised at what he saw. Sirius had his jaw clenched and his eyes were flashing with anger. "Sirius?" Harry asked tentatively. "Are you angry with me or something?"

"No, Harry, I'm not. I'm mad as hell at Charlie. He's too damn old for you and I told him to stay away from you!"

"Sirius, don't do anything to him, please," Harry pleaded. "It was my fault just as much as it was his. I probably encouraged him, no matter how unintentional it was. I should have never sat next to him on the couch that day, but I needed to feel wanted and I knew he would. I don't think I realised that at the time, but that's why I sat next to him. Normally, I sat on a different couch or chair. Please don't do anything. Charlie is a good friend no matter what happened. He's been trying to write to Draco about what happened."

"If you insist on it, I won't do anything. But if he ever tries anything on you again, I won't be persuaded otherwise."

Harry smiled a little. "All right. Is it all right if I go now? I'm going to go do some homework in the Common Room with Ron and Hermione."

"Sure. Here..." Sirius paused as he opened a drawer on his desk. "Have some Skittles." He then threw three one-pound bags of the Muggle sweets to Harry. "Give a bag to Ron and Hermione."

"Don't you want these?"

"No," Sirius waved him off. "I have two drawers full of the bags. Remus is good to me," he grinned. Harry found it hard to keep the grin off his own face.

"Okay. Thanks. I'll see you later, then."

"Sure thing, Harry. Congratulations again on being made Captain."

Harry waved and left the office, Hedwig following behind him.

**

Neville Longbottom walked cheerfully through the front doors of Hogwarts castle. He had just come from an extra tutoring session with Professor Sprout and was in quite a good mood. The Gryffindor boy was having a rather good term at Hogwarts so far, even though it had just begun. He had decided to take an extra Herbology class so that he could prepare for a career in that field once he left Hogwarts the following June. Sprout had always been quite good to Neville since he had arrived in his first year. She claimed to have gained a soft spot for the boy, and though she would never have admitted it, she thought of him like the son she had never had. Neville had often thought of her as a mother figure as well, but he tried to stay away from those thoughts since his own mother was in St. Mungo's. It felt like a betrayal to his mother to pretend like somebody else was his mother. Besides, he had Gran, and she was good to Neville.

Neville whistled a happy tune as he climbed the steps, mindful for once of the trick steps. As he walked, he passed Hannah Abbot from Hufflepuff and immediately stopped whistling. Hannah waved. "Hey, Neville!" she called.

"Oh... hi, Hannah," he replied quietly, his cheeks flushing. The Hufflepuff approached him with a small smile.

"Where are you coming from?"

"I was with Professor Sprout. I'm taking an extra Herbology class, and I was just asking her some questions before I have the class."

"Oh, really? I'm taking Herbology as well!" Hannah smiled brightly. "Maybe we'll be together in that class as well as our normal class."

Neville flushed again, as was his habit whenever Hannah was around. He had begun fancying her in fifth year, but was never quite sure enough of himself to make anything of it. "That would be nice," he replied.

The two stared at each other for a few moments, before Hannah attempted to say something. "Neville... I... I was wondering if you would... er - if you would like to study with me later. I always like having somebody to work with in case I need to ask something.... so, would you want to?"

Neville was speechless for a moment. He opened his mouth to answer but something bumped into him. The Gryffindor turned his head towards the interruption but nothing was there. "Neville?" Hannah asked uncertainly.

"Sorry, I thought I felt something bump into me. Er - yes, I'd like that, Hann-- oomph." This time, both students knew that something had bumped into Neville when he stumbled back and almost lost his balance. He dropped his books as he grabbed onto the statue of the humpbacked witch. Both Hannah and Neville looked around to see what was causing it, but they could not find anything. The Gryffindor stood up uncertainly, cautiously looking around. "I wonder what that was," Neville wondered aloud.

"Yeah, that--" Hannah never finished her sentence because a bright blue light exploded between them and shot at Neville, hitting him square in the chest. His spine arched backwards, and he howled in pain as the light engulfed him, seeming to rip him apart from the inside. Hannah stood by in shock and watched helplessly as Neville absorbed the strange light. It stopped after about a minute but Neville was still arched back, panting in pain. Then, right before Hannah's eyes, Neville's body dissolved, like salt in water. The only sign that he had just been there were the Herbology books near the statue with Neville Longbottom scrawled on the front of the top book .

Hannah drew in a large breath, and screamed.

Five floors above Hannah, in the Gryffindor Common Room, Harry Potter felt a jolt go through his body.

**

A week later, Ron and Harry were walking to the Quidditch pitch, the trunk of balls suspended between the two of them. At first, the plan had been to have try-outs the day after informing Ron of his new position of co-Captain. But, then the news had come that Neville Longbottom had mysteriously disappeared. None of the teachers confirmed the rumour, but from Hannah Abbott's story that was circulating the school like wildfire, Neville was presumed dead. Gryffindor, along with the rest of the school went into a state of shock, and then mourning. The whole school was still feeling a bit numb with this recent loss, and now everybody was on the lookout for anything strange. If it had been up to Harry, he would have postponed Quidditch indefinitely. But as McGonagall, Sirius, Remus, and Dumbledore had put it, life must go on. Neville would not have wanted the whole school to stop just because he was gone.

Neville's grandmother had been called in immediately. Sirius had told Harry, Ron, and Hermione that Neville's Gran and the staff of Hogwarts were still holding onto some hope that Neville was around somewhere. His grandmother refused to hold a funeral because she firmly believed that he was alive, no matter how clumsy or forgetful the boy was. Hannah had told her story, and it had confirmed the elderly woman's belief that her grandson was still alive. Because of this, all the students, faculty, and Neville's grandmother had been sworn to secrecy of the entire event. It would do no good for a story like this to be printed in the Daily Prophet, not until there was reasonable doubt of Neville's survival. Until then, the Order of the Phoenix had been called upon to work on Neville's disappearance.

Ron and Harry were currently in the middle of a heated debate that had been going on from the time that Harry had informed Ron of his co-Captaincy. "Harry, how can you be so sure about this? I mean, don't you want to be the Captain by yourself?"

"Ron, for the last bloody time, I don't want to be Captain by myself and you're just the person I needed to at least get out of being full-time Captain. You're perfect for the job, and I honestly don't understand why you're making such a big deal out of this."

"Because this is your job! You're the one who is supposed to the Gryffindor Captain, not me!"

"Says who?" Harry shot back as they set the trunk of balls down. The darker boy put his hands on his hips and looked at his friend expectantly. "Huh, Ron? Who?"

"I... well, me."

"That's not good enough. Just because you say it, doesn't mean it's set in stone."

"I didn't say that."

"That's exactly what you're saying! Just drop it, Ron! Stop making such a big fuss. I know you want to help with the job, so just stop complaining."

Harry turned to the large crowd that was walking towards them and saw Austin heading the group, broom in hand. Harry smiled and waved at the younger boy who waved back. Oddly enough, the whole group hesitantly waved back. Harry shook his head in laughter. He was not even waving to any of them.

"Hello all!" Harry called out happily. He was beginning to suspect that Quidditch would be a nice reprieve from all his other worries, mainly Draco and Neville. He was already in a chipper mood. "Gather 'round Ron and me, please!" It took a few moments for the expectants to form a semi-circle around the two boys. When they did, Harry looked at them appraisingly, even winking at Austin. A girl with wavy brown hair behind Austin blushed and looked down. Ron elbowed him in the side.

"Stop winking at the girls, Harry. That's my job," he teased.

"What are you talking about? I was winking at Austin."

"Austin? Who's that?"

Harry stared disbelievingly. "Don't give me that, Ron. You know perfectly well who he is. In fact, I'm kind of offended that you don't know who he is, considering you've known him for just as long as you've known me."

"Um..." Ron articulately said. "Is he your boyfriend now or something?"

"Ron, that's disgusting. I can't even begin to tell you how many ways that would be wrong. Stop being a prat and be quiet." Harry turned to the crowd again and smiled, making the girl blush again. Shaking his head, he continued shouting out to them. "Welcome to Quidditch try-outs everybody!" The group cheered. "Now," Harry began again as they quieted down. "As you all know, we're looking for one chaser, and the seventh years have decided to train people for next year. So, we're looking for another Seeker, Keeper, and another Chaser for reserves. Divide yourselves up into groups. Chasers on my left, Seekers in front of me, and Keepers in front of Ron." Just then, Lavender Brown and Ginny came running onto the pitch and stopped in front of Harry, trying to catch their breath. He raised an eyebrow at them as they tried to speak.

"Sorry," Ginny puffed, "we're late. What's... going on?'

"Well, I was just telling them to divide into groups. You and Lavender will divide the Chasers to make two teams, I'll send all hopeful Seekers up at once, and Ron, you'll put one person on each end of the pitch. Alternate when one misses the Quaffle three times. Then, if Tom and Eric ever get here..." Harry looked up at the castle, straining his eyes against the bright midday sun and saw two figures hurrying down the sloping lawns of Hogwarts towards the pitch. Tom and Eric were two bulky sixth years that had made the team the previous year and Harry quite liked having them on the team. They gave the beaters on the other teams a run for their money. "Ah, here they come. We'll put Tom and Eric into the air and see how the hopefuls do against a couple of bludgers. Then we four will go in the stands and watch." Harry smiled brightly at them. "Well? Go tell your groups what's going on!" Ron shook his head, silently laughing. Harry frowned, but ignored him as he walked to the small group of three. The girl with wavy brown hair was in this group and she began to blush furiously as Harry drew near. Harry smiled kindly at her.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Melinda," she squeaked out nervously, daring not to meet Harry's eyes.

"Well, Melinda, I'm Harry. What year are you?"

"Fifth."

"Hmm, that's a good year. Trying out for Seeker, are you?" She nodded her head, still refusing to meet his eyes. Harry smiled and shook his head as he turned to the other two. There was a boy whom Harry thought to be a sixth year and another girl whom Harry had just started seeing around the Common Room, but had never really registered into his brain, and guessed her to be at least a fourth year. Harry only noticed now that she was quite beautiful, so he turned to the boy. "What are your names, then?" he asked.

The boy smiled brightly. He had hair as dark as Harry's, though he had recently shaved it and it was just starting to grow back. "I'm Xavier and I'm a sixth year." Harry nodded and turned to the other girl. She seemed to be a lot braver than Melinda and looked Harry defiantly in the eye.

"I'm Prestina," she said haughtily as she flung her silver-blond hair behind her head. Harry's eyes widened slightly as he felt the sudden urge to impress her.

Harry gulped and stepped back. "You're a Veela," he stated plainly.

"I'm half Veela."

"I've never seen you around before."

"I just transferred from Beauxbatons. My mother wanted me closer to home, so I came here."

"Oh, I hope you like it here so far."

"I can show you around if you want," Xavier offered, stepping closer to Prestina.

She blinked her long lashes at him and smiled. Harry coughed to rid himself of his feeling of attraction for her, and it effectively distracted Prestina from sending out her magic to Xavier. Xavier blinked and looked at Harry, though his eyes wandered over to the blonde girl every few seconds. Harry did not get a chance to say anything since Lavender and Ginny had just approached his group.

"Harry?" Lavender began. "We have five people trying out for Chasers. Did you want one of us to go up there with them?"

Harry looked over at the group and found Austin glaring angrily at the two girls and then angrily at the group of five a couple feet from him. "What on earth are you talking about, Lavender? Austin is over there and that makes six. There's no need for either one of you to go up there."

Both Lavender and Ginny glanced back over to the group, both of their eyes passing right over Austin. "Who?" Ginny asked."

"Austin. Oh, never mind! Austin, join the group with two. Never mind Ginny and Lavender."

"Thanks, Harry," Austin called with a grin.

Both of the Chasers stared at Harry and then back at the expectant group. "Honestly, Harry," Lavender said. "Who's Austin? I only see five people there, and I've never heard of anybody named Austin before. What year is he?"

"He's a fifth year! Merlin, why doesn't anybody know who he is? He's been here the entirety of his school career! Is he invisible to you people?" Harry turned back to his Seekers and smiled at Xavier and Melinda, deliberating not looking at Prestina. "Anyway, you three are going up at the same time. I know that there are only two teams, but this way is easier. Whoever catches the snitch first gets to be reserve and the Seeker next year. So, good luck." He then turned to the other groups and announced "Get up in the air, everybody and warm up. Ron will set out the snitch and toss the Quaffle when everyone has done five laps. You will play a normal game until the Snitch is caught. Then the team and I will decide which of you gets to be on the team." The bludgers were already racing around the pitch with the two beaters hot on their tail. Once all the hopefuls were in the air, he said to the team, "I'm going to the stands. Come on, Lavender, Ginny. Follow me." The two girls followed a bit moodily after being snapped at, but followed Harry anyway. By the time they got into their seats, the players had done their five laps and were in the normal starting positions for a real game with Ron acting as Madam Hooch. The redhead let the snitch go and Harry watched it until it disappeared from view, and then watched as Ron threw the Quaffle up into the air. Lavender squealed with obvious joy as a sixth year boy grabbed it and flew off towards a goal post.

"Oh, if we decide on him, I want to be the one to train him," she gushed to Ginny. "Did you see how dreamy he is?"

"Derek?" Ginny asked in disbelief. "I prefer Xavier myself. I like the dark and handsome sort of man." Harry snorted. Ginny looked at Harry with obvious amusement. "Except you of course, Harry," she teased. "Xavier has dark hair and dark eyes. Your eyes, Harry, are too green... too light." Ginny grinned as Harry childishly stuck his tongue out at her.

"I have to disagree with you, Ginny," Lavender said smartly. "I don't normally go for guys with dark hair. But since Harry does have light eyes, it makes up for his dark hair. Actually..." she said as she grabbed Harry's chin, forcing him to look at her. He stared wide-eyed at her contemplative face. "They aren't really that light. They're just pretty and I'm a sucker for pretty green eyes." Harry blushed crimson and turned his head so that he could watch the players. But he had seen a mischievous gleam in Ginny's eye and he held his breath.

"Care to share your opinion, Harry?" she asked slyly. "Who would you pick? Derek or Xavier - light or dark?"

"Don't be silly, Ginny," Lavender admonished. "Harry's a boy. Why would he say which out of the two is better looking?"

"I'm just saying in general. Does he prefer light or dark. I think I may have an idea, though."

Harry covered his mouth and coughed, hoping that Ron would come and save him. He turned and looked at the girls as they stared back expectantly. He sighed. "Light. I generally like blond hair, with grey eyes. I do know somebody with silver eyes though and they are..." Harry shivered, remembering Draco looking at him with love showing clearly in his silver eyes. "They are the most... lovely eyes that I've ever seen." He glanced at Ginny briefly and saw her looking at him sadly. His eyes passed over Lavender and he was somewhat frightened by what he saw. She was staring at him, looking like a hungry predator. "Er - Lavender? Are you feeling alright?"

"Yes. You know, Harry... I'm blonde. I don't have silver or grey eyes, but they are light blue." She fluttered her lashes.

"Oh. Um... actually, I'm sort of involved with somebody right now."

"Really? Then how come it hasn't been in the Daily Prophet?" she asked in all seriousness. Harry gaped.

"I... I... well we've wanted to keep it a secret. Besides, we've kind of hit a rough spot and we broke up a couple weeks ago. But I'm still hoping that we'll get back together, so I don't want to ruin those chances by being with somebody else."

"Ooh, who is it?" Lavender asked excitedly.

Ron chose that moment to climb to the top, panting. "Who chose these seats? I'm feeling very fat right now," he complained as he slumped next to his sister.

"Oh, but you are, dearest brother," Ginny laughed as she poked Ron's stomach. "Besides, you're the one who didn't fly up here, you utter idiot."

"I didn't bring my broom today. I didn't think I would need to fly, and if I did, I'd borrow somebody else's." He then half-heartedly swatted her hand away which was still poking him in the stomach and pretended to pass out. After that, all attention was turned away from Harry and his love life. Harry could not have thanked Ron enough for his excellent timing, something that the red head was becoming a pro at, whether he knew it or not.

A mere half an hour later, Harry was on his feet and shouting at the top of his lungs for one of his Seekers to catch the snitch. It had been spotted and all three were diving after the golden ball. Prestina was ahead of the other two, but as they neared the ground, she panicked and pulled up from the dive. Xavier and Melinda kept going. They were neck and neck and both reaching for the same point. Before Harry knew what happened, they both swiped at their target and then pulled up out of the dive. They came to a stop and stared at each other. Harry watched them in confusion for a few moments. "Well? This isn't a staring contest!" he yelled. Melinda held up her hand and Harry could just barely see the snitch's wings. Xavier scowled and flew to the ground. Melinda looked at Harry and, even from the distance, saw her blushing. She also flew to the ground and Ron called the other players to stop playing.

Ron pointed his wand at his throat and muttered, "Sonorus. You may go back to the castle. The new team members will be announced within the next week. Thank you for trying out and good luck!"

"I think Derek should be the new chaser," Ron said. "He scored five times."

"What about Austin?" Harry asked. "He was really good as well."

Ron closed his eyes briefly and then gave Ginny and Lavender a look. They took a hint and left down the stairs. "Harry," he began quietly. "I honestly don't know who you're talking about. I heard you yell to this Austin kid to go on the uneven team, but yet they were still playing with two people. Where'd he go?"

"Ron," Harry said exasperated. "He was there! Why does everybody refuse to see him? He's a really nice guy and he's really good at Quidditch. I think he deserves a spot on the team, and I'm not just saying that because I'm related to him."

Ron stared incredulous. "Related?" he finally asked faintly. "Er - not to be mean or anything... but Harry... you don't have any blood relatives left besides for your aunt and uncle."

Harry clenched his jaw. "Fine," he replied tightly. "Be that way." He stormed past his friend, pushing him to the side.

***

Despite Harry's arguments over the coming weeks, there was no one who acknowledged Austin's existence. Ron had refused to let Austin on the team because he claimed that Austin had skipped out on practice because he had never seen him play before. So, it was reluctantly announced by Harry a week after try-outs that Derek was the new chaser. Lavender, of course, was disappointed since that meant she could not actually train him. But, Ginny pointed out that she would get more one-on-one since Derek was not just a reserve. Lavender had been very happy after that. Harry was only really happy about the appointed person for seeker, Melinda. She was a natural Quidditch player and very quiet. She barely, if ever, spoke in Harry's presence and he was strongly reminded of Ginny when she had had a crush on him. He sincerely hoped it would pass for this girl as it had for Ginny, because there was no denying that she did not have a long shot... considering she was missing a certain, rather important appendage for Harry. September flew by quickly for the entire team as they practiced extremely hard for their first match against Ravenclaw in November. October blew in with the bitingly cold wind and people were hassling Madam Pomfrey every day for cold remedies, and lotion for chapped cheeks after Quidditch practices.

After a particularly trying practice, Harry dragged himself into the Common Room and dumped his bag at a table next to Hermione, making her blot her Charms essay. She glared angrily as she took the mistake off with her wand. He grinned sheepishly and sat, resting his head on his bag. "Long practice?" she asked as she flipped through a book.

"That's an understatement. Ron is still out there, training his keeper for next year. I don't know why. He's bloody crazy."

Hermione smiled but just pointed at a letter in front of her. "That's for you. I expect it's from Draco again." Harry smiled brightly and ripped it open. Sure enough, Draco's tidy handwriting stared up at him.

Potter,

I must remind you that you have broken one of Draco's laws. I sincerely hope you know that I have been delaying your punishment. I hope you realise what the punishment is.

Your attempts at insults make me laugh. If you insist on keeping up this letter war, think of something original. Until you do, I will not waste my breath, or rather ink.

Watch your back, Potter.

Draco Malfoy

Harry reread the letter three more times and sighed. Ever since that first letter that had been delivered by Wally, they had been sending rude letters to each other. But, Draco did have a point. Harry's insults had started out lame, and became gradually even lamer as time went on. But Harry needed this little contact with the Slytherin. It kept him sane. It kept him alive, if only to see Draco's handwriting once a day.

Hermione looked up from her work. "What'd he say this time?"

Harry folded up the letter and threw it aside. "Just that my insults are lame. And something about me breaking his law, or something and that he's been delaying my punishment. He didn't say what it was though."

Hermione pursed her lips to keep from smiling. "Did he say Draco's law by any chance?"

"Yeah. I'm kind of scared to tell you the truth. Who knows what he does in his spare time now. He's probably been thinking of new laws for himself and ways to punish people who break them - mainly me."

"I don't think he's making up laws by himself, Harry. He might have made up the law on cheating because I'm not sure if there ever was one, to be honest. But I believe he's referring to Draco, a Greek who codified the law. Death was the punishment for everybody who broke the law." Hermione bit her lip, trying to keep her smile from appearing.

"Oh, great. So he's going to try to kill me now?"

"I doubt it. He is probably just trying to get across to you how upset he is about this whole business. I wouldn't have put it past Draco before I knew him to kill somebody, but I know now that he wouldn't. You should know that as well, Harry. I don't think he could live with himself, especially if he did kill somebody he loves, and he loves you."

Harry bit his lip, sighed again, and decided to not write back. He would find another way to keep in touch with Draco. Bound to doing his homework now, he opened his bag and began pulling from it the things he needed. A stack of parchment fluttered out as he pulled out his Charms book and fell to the floor. He cursed and kneeled on the floor to pick them up, but he stopped as one of them caught his eye. They were all blank, except for one. On this piece that was particularly wrinkled, words began to appear and formed a short sentence. With a trembling hand, Harry picked it up and held it so close to his face that the words began to blur. He pulled it back again and stared, unable to believe what was happening. But how had this gotten into his bag? He did not remember putting it in there that morning.

"Harry?" Hermione asked curiously. "Why are you staring at that piece of parchment like that?"

The dark-haired boy let out a breath that he had not realised that he had been holding and held the parchment close to his chest. "Nothing. It's not important." Hermione shrugged and went back to her work. When Harry looked again, the words had disappeared as if they had never been there. But he knew what he had read. When he climbed into bed that night, the words were burned into his mind.

I miss you.

***

Over the next couple days, Harry began watching the orb more and more. He felt that he just had to always see his parents in the orb. This started to seem a bit silly to him since he could see his parents anytime he wanted. All he had to do was owl them and say that he wanted to see them. He was sure they would come.

The orb also helped him to cope and stay sane. The same message was popping up on the parchment every night now at the exact same time. Harry always made sure that he was there, watching it. When the words came, his heart would beat rapidly, and his stomach would flutter with excitement as possibilities raced in his mind. When the words disappeared, every good feeling disappeared and the urge to watch the orb to feel comforted became stronger than ever.

Harry awoke one morning, two weeks from Halloween, still feeling the side effects from the jet of red light. He was pleasantly surprised and happy by this since Draco's message had not appeared on the parchment the previous night. Harry had waited patiently, and had even held his quill over it, ready to write something, but every time he had lowered the tip, he had hastily pulled back, thinking that Draco would write any second. Because of his anticipation, Harry had not done his potions work for the class that morning. The calm brought by the red light, however, did not let him feel panic. He calmly dressed, grabbed his bag, and walked down to the Common Room to meet his friends.

Ron and Hermione were already sitting on the couch, in the middle of a subdued snogging session. Harry sniggered, which made Hermione jump away from her boyfriend with a flushed face. "Now, Hermione," Harry teased. "What kind of example are you setting as Head Girl for the young, impressionable minds around here, by snogging your boyfriend where everybody can see you?"

"Haaar-ry!" Ron whined. "Why'd you have to stop us? There was nobody else here but you!"

Harry heard a small giggle by the window and looked over to see Sierra, working on some last minute homework. "Not true. Look... Sierra is over there, trying to do her homework, like a good student should." Harry grinned as Hermione and Ron looked around him, trying to see the first year.

"Who?" Hermione asked. "Is she a first year?"

Harry sighed. "Yes. I don't know why you don't know that, Hermione."

"Well, I've honestly never seen her before.... I still don't, as a matter of fact. Where is she?"

"She's sitting by the window." Harry gestured tiredly and began walking towards the portrait hole. He inwardly growled when he heard Ron whisper to Hermione.

"There's nobody over there. Do you think Sierra is like Austin?"

"Quiet, Ron. You don't want to upset him again over this. Maybe there really are two students with those names. Just because we haven't seen them, doesn't mean they don't exist."

"I'm going to breakfast!" Harry announced so that they would quit talking about him like he wasn't there.

"We'll see you there, Harry," Hermione replied. "I have to get a book from my dorm." With that, Hermione hurried up the stairs, and Harry climbed out of the portrait hole. As he descended the stairs onto the sixth floor, he came upon Austin, who was standing still, looking over the railing.

"Hey, Austin. What are you doing?"

Austin looked over his shoulder and smiled at Harry. "Nothing. I opened my bag and my quill flew over the railing. I'm terrible at summoning charms."

"I'm decent at them. Maybe I can get it for you." Harry looked over the railing, searching for the quill. "I just need to know where it is, otherwise I'll end up summoning quills from everyone's bags."

"I didn't see where it fell. Oh, never mind. I have another one that I can use. Besides, I might find it on my way down." He forced a smile onto his face that looked more like a grimace.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Harry asked concerned, placing a hand on the younger boy's elbow.

"Oh, I've just been having a bad term so far, is all. Sirius summoned me into his office already this morning and told me that I need to get my grades up and if I didn't, McGonagall would have to speak with mum and dad. Plus, with not making the Quidditch team, and everybody thinking I don't exist. It's pretty depressing."

Harry sighed. "I don't know what everybody's problem is. Ron and Hermione just did it to Sierra a few moments ago. And I tried to talk them into putting you on the team because you were way better than Derek by a long shot. I'm not just saying that either. That's the honest truth."

Austin smiled a real smile this time. "Thanks, Harry. Coming from you, that means a lot."

"Oi, Harry!" Ron shouted from the stairs behind the two boys. "You sure are slow!" Harry turned warily, his hand gripping Austin's elbow tighter. Ron and Hermione stopped when they got a complete view of Harry. They moved forward cautiously, eyeing the two boys warily. "Who are you?" Ron asked Austin. Harry pulled Austin flush to his side protectively.

"Merlin, Ron! You know damn well who this is! It's Austin, for goodness sakes! Why do insist on being so rude?"

"Hey, Ron, Hermione," Austin nodded politely.

"Hello," Hermione said, quietly, eyeing him up and down.

"Bloody hell," Ron said faintly. "You two look exactly alike... I mean, except for the hair colour and glasses, and scar.... and Austin is shorter."

Harry rolled his eyes. "You act as if you've never seen him before. And it's like I said before... We're related, as in, we come from the same bloodline. Look, I have to talk to him about something. Just go on ahead to breakfast. I'll be right there." The two nodded their assent and walked slowly away, eyeing Austin curiously.

"Never mind, Harry," Austin said hastily when they finally got out of earshot. "I'm just going to go straight to Transfiguration. I'll see you later, all right?"

"Okay," Harry said quietly as the other boy pulled his arm out of Harry's grip and quickly walked away.

Harry went to breakfast, but did not register what he was eating. He was too preoccupied worrying about Austin's well-being. The younger Gryffindor really seemed to be depressed, and Harry really wanted to help. The dark-haired boy went to Potions in the same daze and did not wake up from it until he noticed that Professor Snape was standing in front of him, scowling heavily. "Potter, have you decided to wake up yet, or do we need to send you back to bed?" he sneered.

"Er - sorry, Professor. Were you asking me something?"

"I am collecting your assignments from last week. Do you have yours?"

Harry paused and suddenly felt a bit of panic rise up at the thought that he had been careless enough to not do it. "Er - no, Professor. I was distracted last night and I sort of forgot to finish it." Even without looking, Harry knew that Hermione was glaring at him.

"You sort of forgot to finish it?" Snape sneered. "Well, what would you think if I sort of forgot to pass you in my class?"

"I... I don't know, sir," Harry stuttered.

"I assume that you would probably be a little upset, would you not? I recommend keeping up with your studies, Potter. You have already been sliding this term, and if you are not careful, you might find yourself with a tutor, or Merlin forbid, extra work. But I think we would all agree that if it came to extra work, you would not have a chance in passing, as you cannot even do the work that everybody is assigned." Harry swallowed and fought off the urge to look away from Snape's cruel black eyes. "Twenty points from Gryffindor for your unwillingness to do your homework. Make that another ten for not paying attention in class. I expect that assignment on my desk before dinner."

With that, Snape swept away in a swirl of robes to the front of the classroom to begin his lecture for the day. Harry slumped in his seat, feeling very foolish. How could he have been so careless as to forget to do his homework? As Harry brought out his quill and began taking notes, he felt eyes boring into his head. The Gryffindor looked up and took in a sharp breath of air. Draco's intense silver eyes were holding Harry's eyes in their gaze. Harry tried to discern what kind of thoughts and emotions were flowing through the Slytherin's eyes, but they were shut off from the world. Harry swallowed thickly, wanting nothing more than the boy staring back at him.

"Mr. Malfoy," Snape interrupted their staring contest. Draco blinked, and licked his lips. "What are the main uses for thyme?" Harry immediately felt the loss of those eyes as Draco turned away and answered the question with complete accuracy. He was so busy staring at the back of Draco's head, that he did not even give himself room to seethe when Snape awarded ten points to Slytherin.

The rest of the morning passed by with no major incidents. Harry had to skip lunch so that he could finish his potions assignment, but he got it done and did not have time to hand it in until after the last class of the day. So, hurrying to the dungeons before dinner, Harry headed towards Snape's office and knocked on the door. "Enter," Snape's low voice said.

Harry walked in. "Professor, I have the..." His voice failed him as he took in the sight of Draco sitting in front of Snape's desk, staring back at Harry. The Gryffindor stopped walking and stared. "...the assignment," he finished quietly, still not able to tear his eyes away from Draco. Harry's heart constricted painfully as he absorbed Draco's features. Nothing had changed about him, except for slight bags under his eyes that had been present since Harry had seen him on the train. Draco licked his lips again, and Harry could not help but let his gaze move down and travel over the pink lips. The darker boy just managed to hold back a small whimper, as want, lust, and love travelled through his body. It was so thick that Harry could feel it in the air, and he hoped that Draco was feeling the same.

"Potter!" Snape barked suddenly, making the Gryffindor jump and look at the professor. "Either give me that assignment, or go to dinner!"

"Sorry," Harry muttered and quickly placed the assignment on his desk.

"Now get out of my office!"

Harry turned hastily and headed for the door. As he closed it behind himself, he caught sight of Draco looking back at him. Just before he snapped the door shut, Draco sent him a small smile, and winked. The Gryffindor stood in front of the office door for a few moments, unable to comprehend that Draco had acknowledged him in such a way. Taking a small step backwards, Harry let a small smile cross his face. Maybe Draco was almost ready to speak with him again. Harry let out a low chuckle and walked briskly towards the Great Hall, feeling better than he had in months.