The Temple of Le Fay

Chapter Eleven: The First Argument

It was an extremely difficult first week back at school for Harry. Dumbledore's new policy of mixing students from different houses when they were in classes together kept everyone on their toes. Harry couldn't rely on Hermione to keep him in touch with the classes as they went by, and he found himself struggling badly in Potions and Herbology without her. It didn't help that Crabbe or Goyle seemed to make a beeline for him whenever they were in class together. It was almost as though they were under orders. When Harry mentioned it after Potions on Wednesday, Hermione looked at him in surprise.

"Harry, you of all people should know what their Dads are," she said.

It took Harry several seconds before his mind flashed back to the graveyard he'd visited at the end of the Triwizard Tournament, and to Death Eaters named Crabbe and Goyle taking oaths of loyalty to Voldemort.

"I guess I never really made the connection," he said slowly. He felt rather stupid.

"It's understandable," Hermione said. "If I were you, I wouldn't want to think about that night very much either. I wouldn't have thought that our Crabbe and Goyle have anything to do with it, but maybe their Dads have told them to keep an eye on you, maybe try and make an accident happen."

"Yeah, well, they managed that bit okay," Harry scowled. Goyle had managed to melt Harry's cauldron during Potions, flooding the classroom with a Dissolving Potion that taken the soles off of a lot of people's shoes before they could scramble on to their desks. Snape had sneered at Harry and taken twenty points from Gryffindor. Goyle, who had stupidly stood still as the potion removed his shoes, socks, and several layers of skin, got away without points being deducted, but had had to be taken to the hospital wing where he would be staying for several days while Madam Pomfrey healed him.

It was several days before Harry got a chance to catch up with Ginny. They had kept missing one another. Harry had been dragged out to the Quidditch pitch by Katie and Ron while Ginny was coming down to breakfast on Tuesday. On Thursday, Ginny had arrived in the common room late in the evening, just as Hermione was bullying Harry into studying obscure potion recipes that she freely admitted probably wouldn't even come up on the Potions N.E.W.Ts.

On Friday afternoon, Harry saw Ginny and Hermione together outside the library as he and Ron made their way to Charms. Harry wanted to go over and speak to the girls, as Ginny in particular didn't look very happy, but Ron dragged him off to Flitwick's classroom.

"C'mon," he said. "Whatever's going on, let them sort it out. If we need to pick up the pieces, I'd rather not do it in the middle of the corridor."

When Hermione arrived in Charms, she took a seat with Pansy Parkinson and Ravenclaw's Lisa Turpin. Harry didn't get a chance to talk to her, and when the end of the lesson came, she stayed behind to talk to Professor Flitwick. She didn't arrive at Potions until Snape was stalking toward the class from the opposite end of the corridor, so Harry and Ron didn't have a chance to say anything. They filed into the classroom and automatically divided themselves randomly among the tables. Snape scowled at them.

"As your practical session on Wednesday afternoon showed, the concept of mixing competent students with the rest of you dullards is seemingly futile. Nonetheless, we shall continue with Professor Dumbledore's scheme, if only to ensure that those among you who lack any skill in Potions have ample opportunity to accept your dismal fate, and drop this class to save my time."

He scowled at Harry, and then snapped his wand up and pointed it at the blackboard.

"This is the potion we shall be making next lesson. There is the first part of the instructions, the next two parts are in your textbooks, and the final part can be found in the library. You know full well that this is not an easy course, so I won't be sugarcoating it for you. Start working!"

Harry struggled through the class, ignoring Crabbe as the brutish Slytherin spattered ink all over the desk. A Shield Charm blocked the worst of it, but Harry was dreading the practical session on the following Wednesday. He trudged to dinner behind Ron and Hermione, who seemed pleased enough with their partners. Ron had once more ended up paired off with Blaise Zabini, and Harry couldn't help but smile at Ron's description of the Slytherin as "the only decent thing to have come out of that house since Fred and George stole Marcus Flint's mum's homemade chocolate fudge brownies."

Dinner wasn't as pleasurable an experience as it could have been, either. Hermione mentioned S.P.E.W. for the first time in a long time. It apparently hadn't been long enough for Ron, however, as he immediately dropped his fork and slapped his hands over his ears. Undeterred, Hermione continued her speech, accompanied in the background by Ron's increasingly loud rendition of the Hogwarts school song.

"-I mean, it's dreadful really-"

"-whether we be old and bald-"

"-I spent most of last year researching-"

"-could do with filling-"

"-talked to Dobby and Winky, of course-"

"-some interesting stuff-"

"-freedom is a basic right-"

"-dead flies-"

"-have a really good case-"

"-we've forgot. Just do-"

"-hoping for some new converts-"

"-our brains all rot."

"-really go places!"

Harry nodded in what he hoped was an encouraging manner, but his eyes had glazed over as Ron entered the second stanza of the song. He was sure that Ron had deliberately sung it far worse than was absolutely necessary, but Hermione had ignored him completely. The same couldn't be said of the rest of the school, however, many of whom had been laughing at Ron's tone-deaf butchering of the tune. Professor Dumbledore had watched from the teacher's table with an amused glint in his eyes, and had applauded loudly when the song came to an end.

"Simply wonderful, Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore had said. "I do hope that you will be serenading us again at this year's first meeting of the school Duelling Club. It will be held tomorrow evening, here in the Great Hall after dinner."

Hermione had laughed at the look on Ron's face, but had ignored him for the rest of the meal. As soon as the last of the food disappeared from the plates, she stood up and hurried from the Hall, headed, Harry was sure, for the library. What with one thing and another, he hadn't had the chance to talk to her about Ginny, he realised with a sigh.

"Hermione's a nutter, isn't she?" Ron asked as they walked up the stairs towards Gryffindor Tower.

"She's very committed," Harry said.

"She should be committed, you mean," Ron laughed. "When's she going to give up all this spew stuff?"

"It's important to her," Harry replied. "She's doing something she thinks is right."

"But house elves like the way they have things now," Ron said. "Okay, in the past, things weren't great for them, but it's not like they have to feed off scraps, or sleep outside, or anything like that anymore. All that went out ages ago."

"You know Hermione thinks that's not enough."

"Yeah, I know that. But elves are happy with what they get."

"They were probably happy with what they had when they were treated like dirt, though."

"Of course they weren't. Things are better now."

"And Hermione wants to make them even better."

"You're going nuts, too," Ron said irritably

"I'm just saying, you and Hermione wouldn't argue half as much-"

"Harry," Ron cut him off. "Arguing with Hermione is fun. Making up is fun. Haven't you and Ginny had an argument yet?"

"No," Harry replied.

"You'll see what I mean when you do, mate."

Harry followed his friend through the portrait hole. He was thankful that Ginny and he had a much quieter relationship than Ron and Hermione. All that arguing might be fun, as Ron claimed, but it all seemed very tiring.

It must be pretty stressful as well,

Harry thought. I can't imagine fighting that much with someone and still liking them. I guess Ron and Hermione are very different from me. I wonder what it is about arguing that Ron likes so much. Apart from the making up, of course. How can he -they- enjoy not knowing whether or not they're going to be together after the next time they talk?

Harry was just about to ask his friend what the appeal in existing in a state of constant uncertainty was, when Ginny clambered though the portrait hole.

She was munching on an apple as she came through the portrait hole with two of her friends. Harry was pleased to see she didn't have her Arrowhead with her. He waved to her, and she came over to him, a big smile on her face.

I don't want to do this.

"Hey Ginny, how are you?" he asked

"I'm okay. How are you two? I feel like I haven't seen you all week." Ginny grinned, and took a seat between Harry and Ron.

"We're okay," Harry replied. "Listen, did you miss lunch today?"

The smile vanished from Ginny's face as though she'd just swallowed a gobletful of Wolfsbane potion. Ron looked at Harry in amazement.

"Why are you asking?" she said.

"Because we don't want you missing meals," Harry said evenly.

"Why not? Everyone does it sometimes. I know Hermione's worked through meals before now. I know you've skipped meals before matches because you were too nervous, and I worried about you because of it."

"Then you should understand why we're worried if that's what you're doing."

"We're worried? You're the only one talking here, Harry. And no, I don't understand. Why is it okay for me you to do something, but not me? You know how important it is for me to make the team this year, Harry. You helped buy me my broom, so you should understand."

"Maybe buying you the broom was a mistake," Harry said. He regretted it almost instantly, but it was too late. Ginny's face contorted into a scowl that Harry had never seen before.

"So Ron and you can obsess about Quidditch but not me?" she said quietly

"I still get my work done," Harry laboured on, even as he wondered if he was arguing from the right side.

"And so do I," Ginny scowled. "Thanks to you, and Ron, and Hermione, I'm well caught up. What do you think I've been doing all week?"

"I. . ." Harry stammered. She's been working, not flying. Oh, Merlin. "We won't always be able to help," he said quietly.

"Then I'll have to learn to cope by myself, won't I? Stop treating me like I'm six years old, Harry. I get enough of that from my family."

Ginny stormed off. A chess match between Katie Bell and Dennis Creevey was terminally interrupted when the board leapt ten feet into the air as she passed. Harry winced. Most fifteen-year old witches had enough control over their magical powers that wandless telekinesis only occurred when they were truly upset. The chessmen ricocheted around the room as Ginny disappeared up the stairs towards her dormitory. There was the sound of a door slamming.

"That's why we don't get Ginny angry," Ron said evenly as he ducked in his seat to avoid a ricocheting rook. "Filthy temper, really."

"I believe you," Harry said. "Now what do I do?"

"Dunno mate," Ron said, his voice muffled as he ducked under the table to avoid the rook as it came back the other way. "Petrificus Totalus!"

He clambered out from under the table, the rook frozen in one hand.

"Normally I'd say wait for her to get over it," he said. "But you're her boyfriend. You may have to apologise in front of everyone. And I mean everyone. She may want Mum and Dad and Charlie and everyone around to hear it."

Harry sat in his chair, scowling at nothing much. He looked up to see Hermione coming through the portrait hole, laden down with books. Ron dashed over to help her, earning a grateful look from his girlfriend, who seemed to have forgotten their earlier disagreement. She slumped into a chair next to Harry and smiled wearily at him.

"I managed to get all the books on our extended reading lists for this year. Even the Care of Magical Creatures books for you two. We can really get working now."

Harry smiled slightly as Ron staggered up to the table. His friend looked exhausted just from carrying the stack of books across the common room.

How on earth did Hermione manage?

Then he saw the wand in her hand, and knew that Hermione had put a Feather Light charm on the books, which had immediately been broken by her handing them over to Ron. He got up and took some of the books from Ron while Hermione chattered happily away about all the extra points that they could earn from the additional reading.

"Hermione, shut up a moment will you," Ron said. His voice was muffled once more by the stack of books that were piled up to his eyebrows, even with Harry's help in reducing them.

"What is it now, Ron?" Hermione said.

"It's Ginny," Harry began, as Ron staggered backwards under the weight of the books.

"Oh, is that all? It's fine, Harry, don't worry."

"It is?" Harry asked. How does Hermione know? She hasn't seen Ginny yet. Hang on a second. . .

"What's fine, Hermione?"

"Ginny. She's not been flying all this time."

"Oh."

"She's been in the library, getting caught up on her work, and getting ahead in some subjects as well. She wanted to borrow my Potions notes from last year, and I gave them to her at lunchtime. That's when I talked to her." Hermione smiled, and took a Transfiguration text from the tower of books beside her.

Behind Hermione, Ron was teetering under the weight of the books. Every pupil in the common room seemed to be watching him expectantly.

"Er. . ."

Hermione looked up from the book she had opened.

"Yes, Harry?"

"We, er, that is I talked to Ginny just before you came in."

"What happened?"

"Well, I say talked. . ."

"Did you have an argument?"

Harry nodded morosely, his gaze settling unseeingly on Ron's continuing problems with Hermione's private library.

"Well, I'm afraid it was only a matter of time before you had your first one," Hermione said gently.

"We're not like you and Ron, though," Harry said, turning back to face her. "What if she decides to break up with me?"

"What did you say to her?"

"I said I was concerned she was missing meals because she was flying," Harry admitted. "It must have seemed like I didn't trust her to keep her word."

"I'm sure Ginny doesn't really think that," Hermione said. "You could certainly have been a bit more tactful, but she'll realise that you were just being concerned about her. You have to realise, Harry, that Ginny is really intelligent-"

"I know," Harry cut in. "She seems a lot smarter than me, most of the time."

"Yes, well, taking that into account, she'll work out that you weren't trying to be rude to her. You'll have to apologise, of course."

"Yeah, I know," Harry said. "Ron already pointed that bit out to me. Any ideas?"

There was a crash behind them as Ron's balance finally went and he fell to the ground, scattering books far and wide as he went. The Gryffindors who had been watching screamed and yelled as they deflected the unleashed books that were flying towards them. One book, Levitation for the Lightheaded, made its way up to the ceiling of the common room, where it hovered gently.

Hermione looked at Ron with a mixture of amusement and frustration.

"You could start by getting her a picture of all this," she suggested.

*

Harry didn't have the first clue how to apologise effectively. Hermione wouldn't help. She said that whatever he did, he had to learn how to undo himself. The only suggestion she would give was that he made sure that any apology came from his heart.

With that in mind, he stayed up half the night by the common room fire. Dobby the house elf came and went, wisely ignoring Harry as he tidied up the detritus of a busy day in the tower.

By three o'clock, Harry had a roll of parchment full of suggestions that he had scribbled down excitedly and then crossed off in frustration. The Marauders' Manual lay open on one knee but, while it had turned out to be full of helpful hints for how to apologise to your girlfriend, nothing really struck Harry as being right. He glanced over his list again, willing to consider anything.

Give her my broom? No, that's stupid, I still don't want her getting too worked up about Quidditch, and I don't want to get stuck with her broom in return.

Flowers are nice, I suppose, but not exactly from the heart.

I could fly up to her window, and whisk her away from a moonlit picnic, but she needs her sleep for tomorrow. She'd probably chuck me off the broom when we got over the lake anyway.

Poems? Does she even like poetry? What girl doesn't like poetry. I can't write poetry. Okay, waste of time.

It's too late to get the Weasleys together for a big party. Ron would say that I should learn to plan my arguments in advance. How about I don't have any more. Ever. From now on I just say 'Yes' to whatever Ginny wants.

What would Fred and George do? They'd take their girlfriends off to the Prefect's bathroom. Bad idea. Bad, bad idea. One Weasley mad at me is enough.

Blimey, she's got a temper on her. Okay, from now on, I listen when Ron says stuff like that.

Okay, what would Ron do? He'd do something kind and simple. He'd help Hermione with something she was finding difficult. Oh. . .

*

Hermione was the first one down to the Common Room the next day. She gave a small jump when she saw the slumped figure lying at one of the tables. The figure grunted slightly, shifting in what Hermione knew from experience was a sleeping position that would lead to backache and stiffness unless this figure -Harry, she realised- was awakened fairly soon.

"Harry?" she poked him in the ribs. "Wake up, Harry."

Harry's head rose slowly from his arms. He groaned loudly as he straightened up, and Hermione winced in sympathy as she heard his joints and spine popping and cracking.

"Have you been down here all night?" she asked.

"No," he sighed. "I went for a walk about half-three." He pointed at the table, on which a sleek, highly polished broom was lying.

"Is that. . ."

"Ginny's," he said. "I had to fetch it out of the broom shed. I nearly ran into Filch."

"Good job you had the Invisibility Cloak," Hermione said. Harry coloured slightly in the early morning sunshine, and Hermione looked closer at him.

"You did have the Cloak, didn't you?"

"I, er, didn't think to get it," Harry admitted.

"Harry! You heard what Professor McGonagall said. Anyone out of bounds this year will lose points. Lots of points. I can't believe-"

"It was worth it, Hermione," Harry said. "At least, it will be, if Ginny likes it."

Hermione's expression softened. "I should take points off you just for being out of bounds," she said. "Even if you are a Prefect, I imagine Professor McGonagall would agree with me."

"You won't, will you?" Harry asked.

"Oh, of course not Harry, but honestly, next time think before you act, okay?"

"There won't be a next time," he said. "No more arguments. I'll always think carefully before I act, I'll make sure I get my facts straight, no more meddling in things that aren't my concern."

"You said that after the trouble we had with Norbert," Hermione reminded him.

"Yeah, I know. Worked, didn't it?" For the first time since Hermione had come down, Harry smiled slightly.

"Yes, well, what have you done to Ginny's broom?" she asked.

"I've been using the polishing kit you got me for my birthday a few years back," Harry said. "I trimmed one or two of the bristles, polished the handle, topped up the cushioning charm, and I rewound the handgrip. Oh, and I polished it, of course."

"It looks very nice," Hermione said. "Do you think Ginny will like it?"

"I hope so," he replied, looking nervous. "I know she liked it before, she liked it the way Alicia left it, but this way it'll perform better. I got her these, too," he said, holding up a pair of dragon hide gloves. "These were Alicia's as well, and she's about the same size as Ginny. I fixed the rips, everything."

"You've put in a lot of effort," Hermione said with a smile. "I'm sure Ginny will approve."

"I hope so," Harry repeated. "What time is it?"

"Just after seven, why?"

"I need your help. I need to do something else. . ."

"What?"

"Brighten this place up a bit."

*

Over the next hour, every one who came down to the Gryffindor common room was dragooned into helping. Harry promised he would repay everyone in whatever way they wished, something he hoped he wouldn't end up regretting. By the time Ginny came down, dressed severely in a black sweatshirt, black jeans and with her hair pulled back into a tight bun, he was putting the finishing touches to his scheme.

The sight that greeted the still-furious Ginny was one of vibrant, magnificent colour. Harry, Hermione, everyone who had chipped in had created a botanical gardens in the Gryffindor common room. Every flat surface was covered in plants and flowers, all various shades of red, yellow and orange. Ginny turned in a circle, an expression of wonder on her face that Harry hoped boded well for what he would do next.

"Ginny?" She turned to face him.

"Did. . . did you do this?" He nodded.

"I wanted to say sorry for not trusting you," he said. "I also did this. Accio Arrowhead!"

Ginny's broom leapt off the table and into Harry's hand. He held it out to her and watched her eyes grow wide.

"Is that mine?" she asked. He nodded cautiously.

"Do you like it? I know you liked it the way it was, but you said it had a slight list and the hand grip was a bit scratchy and I got you these gloves as well and. . ."

Ginny didn't hear what Harry was saying. She reached out a hand and took the broom from him. It felt right. It felt more than right. It felt better than it had done before. The balance was perfect. The broom vibrated slightly in her hands, not much, but just enough to tell her that the magic was fully charged and that it was ready to fly.

"Do you like it?" Harry asked anxiously.

She smiled at him, and he beamed in sheer relief. He didn't need to hear her say it to know that he'd got it right.

*

Madam Hooch and Lee Jordan were waiting in the stands when Harry, Ron and Katie took to the Quidditch pitch for the team tryouts. They had a list of everyone who had put their names down for the different positions, and were trying to work out the best way of putting everyone through their paces. Katie suggested that Harry act as a Beater while she flew with potential Chasers against Ron.

"I'm no good at playing Beater," Harry said. "Why not try out the Beaters at the same time. I can fly interference like I would in a normal match."

"Okay. You haven't told anyone to go easy on Ginny, have you?" Katie asked.

"No," Harry replied.

Ron shook his head. "She'd kill us if we did that," he said.

"Good. Had to be sure," she said. Harry and Ron nodded their understanding. The three of them turned to face the expectant crowd, which seemed to be made up of most of Gryffindor. Harry could see the Creevey brothers standing right at the front, Dennis Creevey in particular looking, as Ron would put it, "like he'd make a good Seeker." Harry hoped they weren't there to try out for Beater. He couldn't see any way they could counter the momentum a rampaging Bludger would pick up.

Shaking his head, he mounted his Firebolt. He felt someone watching him and, scanning the crowd, he caught the eye of the American, Josh Cochran who seemed to be looking at the Firebolt hungrily. Harry shook his head, used to the broom being admired by most Quidditch fans.

"Right," Ron bellowed. "Here's the plan. Pairs of Beaters will try and knock Katie and one other Chaser out of the sky. Harry will be flying interference. Double points if you hit him."

Harry threw Ron a withering glance, which Ron shrugged off.

"Chasers, it's nice and easy for you. You get to team up with one of the best Chasers Hogwarts has ever seen. If you're anywhere near as good as her, you might fly well enough to get past the Beaters and Harry, who will also be flying interference against you as well as for you. That's how good he is. After that, all you have to do is try and score past me which, I assure you isn't as easy as you might think."

Harry grinned as his friend formed the potential Chasers and Beaters into lines. Ron had really taken to captaincy with a flourish this year. Harry half-wondered if there was any point in his staying on as co-captain.

Katie flew over to Lee and handed him the list of candidates. Under Hooch's watchful eye they didn't kiss, but Harry was certain he saw Lee squeeze Katie's hand. Harry grinned slightly, hoping that Lee didn't count as enough of a staff member for them to have problems with their relationship.

Madam Hooch called the first contenders forward. A fourth year named Vickie Boyd kicked off on what looked to Harry to be a Cleansweep Ten. He knew that Katie flew on the same broom, and hoped that it was a good omen. The first Beaters to step forward were second year Susanne Angel and Josh Cochran, who Harry realised was carrying a Nimbus 2001. Susanne got up to flight level quickly, and looked competent on her -Harry squinted- Cleansweep Ten. Briefly he wondered if Quality Quidditch Supplies had had a clearout on that particular model over the summer.

Madam Hooch blew her whistle and Lee threw the Quaffle into the air. Katie caught it and Vickie paced her up the Quidditch pitch and back again, passing the Quaffle as they went. As they approached the centre circle on their way back, Lee unleashed the Bludgers, which had been enchanted for the practise to return to the Beaters. The heavy balls flew up in the air, and settled perfectly in front of Josh and Susanne while Harry waited for Vickie and Katie to pass by beneath him. When they did so, Harry blew on a whistle, and the tryouts began in earnest.

Susanne hammered her Bludger right at Katie, who deftly avoided it, catching a pass from Vickie at the last second. The two Chasers split up, looping outwards to make sure one Bludger couldn't take out both of them. Harry was impressed at Vickie's familiarity with the complex move, which had taken Katie several practises to get right with Alicia and Angelina.

Josh Cochran, meanwhile, sat waiting behind his Bludger. His bat was held loosely in one hand, ready to strike the heavy ball. Harry could tell that the American was gauging his opposition, ready to take his best chance as the moment arose.

It arose as Harry pitched forwards, ready to run interference on the Chasers behalf. Josh swung, sending the Bludger forward on a path that not only made Harry pull up but that knocked the Quaffle from Katie's hands. Harry was impressed.

Moments later he was impressed again as Vickie sped forward and snatched the Quaffle out of mid-air. She ducked under Susanne's second Bludger shot of the day and feinted left to shoot right as she came in range of Ron's goal.

Ron, however, wasn't fooled. He threw himself the right way, catching the Quaffle easily before pitching it back into play. Katie took it and she and Vickie made their way back out to try again. The three team members had agreed on a two minute limit for each tryout, which they felt would weed out the worst cases early on.

With only a few seconds left on the clock, Katie and Vickie swung back into the attack. Katie used a daring tactic when she blocked Susanne's Bludger with the Quaffle. She barely stayed seated on her broom, and all her forward momentum was cut off by the impact, but she had enough control to pitch the Quaffle forward to Vickie, who took it and sped onwards. Josh Cochran eyed her carefully, his bat now held in both hands. With a hard swipe, he sent the Bludger forward. Harry watched carefully. It seemed to be going slightly too low to be of any danger to the fourth year Chaser, and then it clipped Vickie's foot, throwing her badly off balance. The Quaffle flew from her hands and cannoned into Ron's left-hand goalpost, making the wood shudder violently.

"Time!"

Vickie, Susanne and Josh sunk to the ground on their brooms. Unsurprisingly, Vickie was favouring the leg she'd been hit on. She limped towards Lee, who quickly removed her padding and, under the watchful eye of Madam Hooch, strapped up the bruised limb. Harry was glad to see it wasn't broken.

The next group up featured Seamus as one of the Beaters. Harry nodded to his friend, and watched as Colin Creevey -without his camera for once- took his place alongside Katie. Although he fumbled the first pass Katie made to him, he otherwise performed well on the out-and-back run that Katie had settled on as a way of calming candidates nerves.

As soon as they crossed the centre line, however, and the whistle blew, Colin's nerves seemed to go. He nearly dropped the Quaffle in surprise, and when Seamus sent the Bludger his way, he slipped on his broom, only hanging on by one hooked leg. Harry dived down to help Katie bring him back on board.

The rest of the tryouts were an interesting mix of good, bad and very bad. The most embarrassing moment came when a third year Beater candidate somehow managed to hit the Bludger behind himself, catching Harry hard on the shoulder. Harry had to land to be checked out and Madam Hooch grounded him for the rest of the day, stressing that a Seeker needed his shoulders in full working order to fly properly. Harry scowled, but gave his Firebolt to Ron for him to take over as Seeker. Reserve Keeper James Staunton took over from Ron. Harry knew that there wasn't much to choose between the two Keepers, but he missed being up on his Firebolt. A feeling of discomfort that had nothing to do with his shoulder washed over him as he watched Ron revel in the Firebolt's perfectly balanced turning.

"Hi Harry," came a voice from behind him. Harry turned -wincing slightly as he twisted his shoulder- and smiled at Cho Chang as she took a seat beside him.

"Hi," he replied. "Should you be here? I mean, you're the enemy," he added with a grin.

"Not according to the Sorting Hat," she said. "Besides, it's your tryout, not a practise."

"Well, okay. You can stay. You have my permission."

"Very kind," she said, bowing gracefully. "Shouldn't you be flying, though?"

"Took a Bludger to the shoulder," Harry admitted.

"Ouch. I guess you won't be picking that Beater for your team."

"I dunno. I think Ron's quite keen. Probably thinks it'll keep me in line around Ginny now that Fred and George have graduated."

"And will it?"

"No. But knowing that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley are only an owl away certainly will," Harry grinned. He hadn't really spoken to Cho the previous year, hadn't even really spoken to her at all, in fact. In truth, he'd been rather scared about having a private conversation with her, in case she wanted to talk about Cedric. He supposed it was only fair if she did. Harry had, after all, been the only person present when Cedric Diggory, Cho's boyfriend, had been murdered. Looking at Cho now, Harry felt rather cowardly for not talking to her before now.

Harry looked up at the tryouts. Dean Thomas was playing as one of the Beaters, and Harry willed his friend to a good performance. As he watched, however, Dean swung wildly at a returning Bludger before it was in range and missed. He nearly slipped from his broom. Harry winced in sympathy.

"That wasn't very good," Cho said beside him. Harry shook his head.

"Dean's better than that. I guess it must be nerv- There you go!"

This time Dean's aim was true. The Bludger flew directly at the Chaser candidate, who Harry realised belatedly was Ginny. He coloured slightly as he realised he'd been too caught up in thinking of Cho to notice Ginny being called forward.

At least they were innocent thoughts.

"She's very good," Cho said. "Do you think she'll make it?"

"Not for me to say," Harry replied, his eyes now fixed on Ginny as she flew. He was glad he'd spent the night working on her broom. Once or twice she just barely escaped being hit a Bludger. In the end she finally broke through Dean's frantic defence and slotted the Quaffle neatly through the centre goal hoop, after faking a pass to Katie.

Harry applauded warmly as Ginny pulled up by him on her Arrowhead.

"You were wonderful!" he said. She beamed at him.

"Did you see that bit where I deflected the Bludger with the Quaffle?" she asked excitedly. "As soon as I saw Katie do it, I knew I had to try it."

"Ah, sorry, I missed that." Harry looked over his shoulder to where Cho was talking to Lee and Madam Hooch. Ginny followed his gaze.

"Oh," she said neutrally. "You were talking to Cho?"

"Yeah. I think I'm going to have to have that talk with her soon," he said soberly.

Ginny grimaced in sympathy. She knew that Harry was dreading 'that talk'.

"I saw most of your tryout, though," he added, a lot happier. "You looked great. All that practise paid off, I guess."

She grinned.

"What did you think of the Beaters?" she asked. Madam Hooch blew on her whistle again, and the tryouts were over. As far as Harry was concerned, there were three candidates for the Beater posts. Seamus, Dean, and Josh had outperformed their competitors by some distance, mainly because the three boys were much larger than their fellow candidates and had a lot more strength at their disposal.

"I'll have to check with Ron, but I think it's going to be all boys again," he said. Ginny rolled her eyes, but didn't look surprised. She kicked off and headed over to Katie, who was running over the Chasers performances with the help of Madam Hooch and, unsurprisingly, Lee.

Harry set off for the goals where Ron was still hanging around with the Beater candidates. Dean and Seamus were playing Bludger Tennis, a very dangerous game Fred and George had come up with, while the other candidates cheered them on. Harry and Ron slipped around to the other side of the goalposts, where they kept a wary eye on the Bludger, just in case.

"Two from three?" Ron asked. Harry nodded.

"Yeah, Dean, Seamus and Josh Cochran. What do you reckon?"

"Well, Seamus proved he can play last year. I think he's got to be in. I dunno about the other two."

"I saw Dean swing a bit early on one of his shots," Harry commented, feeling a bit treacherous for passing judgement on such a small incident.

"True. Not much to go on, though. I dunno, what d'you reckon we ask Katie?"

"Yeah, good idea."

With the responsibility of making the decision safely postponed for the next few minutes, they made their way over to where Katie was standing alongside Lee and Madam Hooch. The three of them looked up at Harry and Ron's approach, and Katie beckoned them closer.

"You'll be pleased to know that Ginny was the best one out there," Lee said. "It's down to one from two others."

"Same here," Ron said. "We're agreed on one, we wanted your opinion on the other spot."

"Who've you picked?" Katie asked.

"Seamus Finnegan. He played against Hufflepuff last year, remember?"

"Sure. He's very good, and he was the best one out there today. Who's the other two you're considering?"

"Dean Thomas and Josh Cochran," Harry said. "Any suggestions?"

"Very close. Not much to choose, to be honest. Any chance of Dean and Seamus having the same kind of understanding Fred and George did?"

"Well, they're good friends, but I don't know," Harry said.

"Oliver always used to say that he preferred to pick people who weren't best friends before they came on the team," Katie said. "That way when they got to be friends, Quidditch was the thing that was most important. Friends who happened to be on the team together could fall out."

"Sounds like Oliver," Harry grinned. "You're saying we should pick Josh, then?"

"I'm not saying anything," Katie said. "Beaters are your responsibility. You're not offering to pick the last Chaser, I notice."

"We don't even know who you've got it down to," Ron protested.

"Fine. It's between Vickie Boyd and Dennis Creevey. Opinions?"

"Well, Vickie seemed to be reading your mind out there," Harry said.

"Yeah, but Creevey was really quick," Ron said thoughtfully.

"Either way, you can have them both next year when I'm gone," Katie said.

"Well, in that case, I'd say go with Vickie," Harry said. "Dennis is quick, but he might be a bit lightweight, especially if Crabbe and Goyle are playing for Slytherin again. I know Vickie comes to some of the Duelling Clubs. Dennis can have a year to fill out a bit."

"In that case, go with Cochran," Katie grinned. "Agreed?"

Ron nodded. "Yeah. We can fill out the reserves with the rest."

"May I register your choices now?" Madam Hooch asked, brandishing a sheet with the house teams names spread across the top. Harry and Ron nodded, and she filled in the Gryffindor column.

Gryffindor

Keeper: R. Weasley - Yr. 6

(Reserve: J. Staunton - Yr. 4)

Beater: S. Finnegan - Yr. 6

Beater: J. Cochran - Yr. 5

(Reserve: D. Thomas - Yr. 6)

Chaser: K. Bell - Yr. 7

Chaser: V. Boyd - Yr. 4

Chaser: G. Weasley - Yr. 5

(Reserve: D. Creevey - Yr. 3)

Seeker: H. Potter - Yr. 6

(Reserve: None)

"No reserve Seeker?" she asked. Katie and Ron shook their heads.

"Who'd want to have to deputise for Harry?" Lee asked. "Fred had to, years ago. He still hasn't really got over it."

"There must be someone," Harry said. He looked over the crowds of hopeful candidates.

"Nah," Ron said. "It's like Lee says. You're a bit too good, Harry. There's no chance of you getting dropped. Even when you get injured you still catch the Snitch, so why bother with a reserve?"

"Well, okay," Harry said. "I'll try not to get attacked by Death Eaters this year."

"Good man," Ron said. "Might want to make sure you don't upset Ginny again, either."

"Yeah, well, I decided that last night," Harry said. The three team members mounted their brooms and flew over to the crowd, ready to deliver the results of their tryouts.

To be continued...