Harry Potter and the Heart of Regenesis

Chapter Seventeen

The Big Surprise

When he woke up the next morning Harry rubbed his head, which wasn't so much sore as 'muggy', drank twice as much water as he usually did then went down for his daily run. Afterwards he bathed (this big, old fashioned bath he had was wonderful, he thought - so much more luxurious than a shower) and dressed then walked down to the Great Hall for breakfast.

When the pupils were all sat in their four houses Dumbledore stood and spoke. Harry found this strange, when he thought about it. Pupils usually staggered in for breakfast whenever they felt like it - they always had done. He remembered how certain pupils were often late because they couldn't get up in the mornings without having buckets of water sloshed over them! Yet, he remembered, whenever Dumbledore had an important announcement to make everyone seemed to get there on time and be seated together. Very strange!

"Good morning everyone!" the headmaster began in the hushed, almost reverent silence which always greeted his speeches. "This morning I have some very exciting news. This weekend we are going to be privileged to see - and, indeed, be part of - a most important and unique sporting event!"

A murmur of excited anticipation began to trickle around the Great Hall. Judging by the faces of the other staff Harry was the only one of them who knew what was coming next.

"You will all know, of course, that our Care of Magical Creatures Professor, Charlie Weasley, was once one of the finest seekers in British Quidditch history!" A ripple of applause spread around the hall and Charlie, beckoned by Dumbledore stood, rather embarrassed, to acknowledge it.

"What is less known is that six of his brothers and sisters also represented Gryffindor in their time at school - several of those with great distinction I might add. Some even went on to play for England! Another who may well have done was Professor Weasley's younger brother Fred, who sadly, died in the war against Voldemort. Many of you will have heard of the Fred Weasley Foundation - a wizarding charity, which may well enable some of you to become aurors one day. This weekend's activities will raise money for this worthy cause and I am sure you will give it your full support.

"Hogwarts has not had a 'school team' since 1953!* I don't know why - we just seem to play as houses. But this weekend we have a unique opportunity. We are to be visited by the Under-15 team from the United States Quidditch Foundation to play a special match against a united Hogwarts School team."

A thunderous applause now spread around the Great Hall, along with hollering, whooping, whistling and cheering. Dumbledore raised his hand again and silence fell almost immediately.

"Immediately after this meal I will be asking your four Heads of House to nominate players - from any year - who they believe should be part of our squad and I will then pass those names to Professor Weasley, who will be our team manager for this game. This means, of course, that the USQF have allowed us to field players up to the age of eighteen - even though their team is, as I said, made up of Under 15s. As they expect all of their players to eventually become professional Quidditch players they deem that to be a fair concession."

This seemed to produce nods of agreement from the members of staff at the top table but more whoops and hollers from the pupils who obviously felt confident Hogwarts might be capable of pulling of a surprise result!

"One more thing. The pupils in our squad will be excused classes all day today, as they will need to practice. Because Professor Weasley will be leading that practice all Care of Magical Creatures classes are also cancelled today. This produced a mixed reaction - about half of those who might have had that lesson today cheered a free period, others moaned out loud that they would be missing their 'favourite lesson'!

As Dumbledore sat down the tables filled with the usual breakfast foodstuffs, porridge, corn flakes, bacon and eggs (with all the trimmings - that was fried tomatoes, mushrooms, black pudding and, to Harry Potter's delight, laverbread), kippers, toast, orange juice and good, strong, freshly-brewed coffee and tea. There was also fresh bread (sliced and rolls), some sausages, scrambled eggs and cheese (there was always a good vegetarian option for those who preferred it either for personal or religious reasons).

At the end of the meal the headmaster and four heads or house left the Great Hall for the ante-room and, ten minutes after that a list of pupils who had been nominated for the Hogwarts Quidditch Squad was posted in the Entrance Hall. Crowds of eager pupils gathered round for a look...

The Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Combined School Team Squad v USQF U-15

Keepers: Fabian TANNER (G) Rowena ACKERLEY (R)

Beaters: Grendel CHAMBERS (S) Sergei VISSA (S) Valeri VISSA (S) Yakubu AKINWANDE (G)

Chasers: Everton REIFER (R) Begail DHILLON (H) Li-LI LEUNG (R) Lara JAMES (G) Cardew BLETCHLEY (S) Delilah BRANSTONE (H)

Seekers: Ezra FORSYTH (G) Verity MINTON (G)

It didn't take long before shouts of joy and derision started going up and down the packed staircases.

"Tanner's got goalie!"

"Marley's in!"

"The 'Slytherin Sloggers' are all picked - all three of 'em!"

"Li-Li and Lara! Get your omnioculars out, chaps!!!"

But mostly it was:

"Who the hell's Verity Minton?" or none too subtle variations on it?

Verity herself was already back in the Gryffindor Common Room. As only one Hogwarts 1^st Year had played competitive Quidditch in the last century - and that wasn't her - why should she have had any reason to check the list? Everybody knew Verity was a great flyer - Madam Hooch had awarded her 20 House Points before Christmas for a particularly spectacular manoeuvre involving five balloons, a ladder and an unconscious house-elf and, of course, Quidditch was 'in her blood' but the question of her playing was null and void - Gryffindor had Ezra Forsyth, now a 5^th Year and the best Gryffindor seeker, in most people's opinion, since Harry Potter.

Verity sat reading her Standard Book of Spells, revising for next week's exams, when the door behind the portrait opened and what seemed like hundreds of excited Gryffindors piled in - and ran in her direction.

"Verity, you're in!"

"Looks like you're Reserve Seeker!"

"I can't believe it, Verity!"

...and so many more equally high pitched and animated shouts hit her at once she became rather bewildered and taken aback.

When Chris Creevey, beaming like an electrocuted Cheshire Cat, finally got through to her that she had been picked in the whole school Quidditch Team for the match against America her mouth opened so wide you could have dropped litter into it! Then a look of utter horror crossed her face as the full implication of what she had just been told hit her.

"But...but I..." she half only mouthed and half managed to voice. "I can't...I...but..."

As the noise died down and Verity went so white that several gawkers thought she was about to faint the familiar tones of Professor McGonagall, Transfiguration teacher and Head of Gryffindor House, could be heard behind the throng.

"Excuse me! Give the poor wee lass some air will you?" The group parted like the Red Sea and there stood Minerva McGonagall, in front of Verity Minton, wearing her usual dark green tweed suit beneath her similarly coloured robes and with what looked like a brand new set of the smallest red and gold Quidditch Robes most of the pupils had ever seen.

"Congratulations, Miss Minton. You'll be needing these, I think. You have to be down at the Quidditch Changing Rooms in...

She pulled from her waistcoat pocket a small gold and emerald pocket-watch, raised her eyebrows and nodded towards Verity.

"...ten minutes!" she added opening her eyes wide in a gesture for the 'wee lass' to 'get a move on!' "Come on, hurry up!" she encouraged.

"But professor," Verity began.

"Oh, now...none of your nonsense, Verity. When you soared across the front courtyard on your broomstick and caught that poor house-elf - Plopsy wasn't it?" She looked around for help and a few older students nodded in agreement before continuing, "who'd fainted with vertigo putting up Christmas decorations - everyone knew you would be a fine, fine seeker. Now's your chance to prove it! Go on with you...quick!"

Verity blushed - at least the colour had returned to her cheeks - and grabbed the robes from her professor with a mumbled 'thanks' and she hurried away towards the portrait hole before anyone else could make a fuss of her.

McGonagall clapped her hands and shouted. "Away with you all! Come on, get to your first classes - they begin in five!"

The group dispersed and McGonagall smiled to herself. That had put the cat amongst the pigeons, she knew. And if that was the reaction the news had made in Gryffindor Tower - it was nothing compared to the reactions in the houses of the other three first choice seekers!

*******************

"Who won the bloody Quidditch Cup this year anyway?" spat an irate Ahab Chambers, who had missed out on selection as a chaser to three girls. "Anyone'd think we hadn't thrashed stupid bloody Gryffindor in the final match. Two hundred and eighty to ninety! I scored seventy points on my own past that idiot Tanner!" He continued muttering under his breath, occasionally stopping for air then starting again.

His brother rubbed his chin - which was small, pointed and clean-shaven. His eyebrows were furrowed and was still smarting from the rebuke he'd received from Severus Snape when he had marched into his office in the Potions room uninvited and lambasted his Housemaster for not insisting to Dumbledore that, as current champions, the entire Slytherin team should have had the right to take on the 'bloody Yanks'. He now scratched his ear as if there really were a 'flea in it' and held up a hand to stop the endless chuntering that continued to fill the murky air in the low-ceilinged environs of the Slytherin Common Room where this extraordinary meeting of the House Quidditch Team was taking place.

"The way I see it is this. At best we can have only three players in the game at once. Valeri can't get on unless his brother or me come off. Only Dumbledore's pets have got the chance to have four on at once - and that's very unlikely because Akinwande's a useless wanker - so we're going to be as well represented as anyone.

"I don't bloody care!" interrupted Ramona Kaye. I was the best keeper this season by miles! The quaffle only passed me in two matches. And I don't even make the fucking squad!

"I move we boycott the whole game in protest," she added with fire in her stone grey eyes.

"Calm down!" shouted Grendel Chambers. "Where would a bloody stupid boycott get us?" he asked. An almost equal mix of nods and shakes of the head greeted his question.

"Seconded," grunted the angry voice of Ahab, pointing and nodding at Ramona as if his brother had not just spoken.

"Right," said Grendel. "A vote it is." He shook his own head with exasperation. For the motion to boycott the most important Quidditch match in Hogwart's recent history and deprive four of us of the chance to play in it. All in favour say 'aye'."

Three hands were raised and three voices firmly said 'aye'.

"All against?"

Three more hands and 'ayes'.

"Well?" Chambers looked at Cardew Bletchley. "You appear to have the casting vote. Are we playing or not."

Bletchley and Ramona Kaye were an 'item'. They had been seeing each other since 4^th Year and, although there were similar charms preventing boys getting into the girls' dormitories in Slytherin just as there were in all the other houses, it was less of a problem for 'courting couples' in Slytherin than anywhere else in the castle.

Whereas, elsewhere inside Hogwarts, clandestine meetings had to take place in the Trophy Room, Prefects Bathrooms and the like there were so many spare rooms in the Slytherin Dungeons - whose existences were very 'open secrets' - no Slytherin ever had to go to much trouble if they wanted to arrange a quickie - or even virtually move in together, which is what Bletchley and Kaye had done almost three years ago. Their 'official' beds in the respective dormitories hadn't been slept in at all since the start of the current school year. (It is interesting to note that 'Fluffy's Lair' as Harry and Hermione had nicknamed their own particular 'room of convenience' had never 'had its floor cushioned' by any other students in the ensuing years. In fact no-one but Filch and Mrs Norris had even been there in all that time.)

Ramona Kaye and Grendel Chambers both stared at Cardew Bletchley - and both stares, Cardew felt, were equally frightening. After what seemed like an age he looked, crestfallen, at his girlfriend and said to her quietly,

"I'm sorry, Mona. I can't bear the thought of a team going out there representing the school with no Slytherins. I vote we play."

Ramona got up and looked as though she were about to slap his face. She turned to run from the room giving him a look like daggers and then stopped and in a voice devoid of the love, usually inherent when she addressed him, she shouted,

"You callous bastard!" and left.

"Thank you, Cardew," Grendel spoke in all sincerity. Bletchley nodded his head sadly and then forced a small smile as he said,

"Better clear all the rubbish of my old bed. I think I might be back in it tonight." Grendel walked over to his fellow 7^th Year, put his arm around his shoulder and they stood together before picking up their green robes and heading off for squad practice.

******************

If Verity hadn't been mentioned in the Slytherin deliberations she most certainly had in Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. Shockwaves at her inclusion rippled towards her as she walked down the staircases with Lara, Ezra, Fabian and Yak. Many other pupils lined the corridors and galleries clapping and cheering the team as they made their way towards the Entrance Hall and the large wooden doors to the castle. The players from the three 'upstairs' houses met each other for the last two flights down and they walked together amidst the cheering; their red, yellow and blue robes over their arms and broomsticks held aloft. All were smiling - except little Verity who was rather overwhelmed and walked down the steps mouth gaping and face a bright, raspberry red. The Slytherins hadn't waited for the rest. As the wooden door opened for them they saw the four tall boys carrying green robes about a hundred yards ahead - already walking down to the stadium.

****************

It was hard for most of the other pupils left inside the castle to concentrate on their classes. Barely half a mile from where they sat the 'elite' squad was being prepared for a match no-one wanted to miss.

In Charms, with Professor Flitwick, Bally Booth sat with his mind torn in three directions:

Firstly, he was trying to pay attention as the diminutive teacher tried to help them with last minute revision; which Charms they had learned that year - Wingardium Leviosa, Alohomora and the several others - that they would have to demonstrate in a few days time to prove their progress over the last ten months. He was confident he could manage most of them without too much difficulty. Having never held a wand before his first visit to Diagon Alley with his flabbergasted parents the year before he was surprised how 'natural' it now felt to just be able to 'make things happen'. He thought about how strange it would feel to have to open his bedroom door with the knob when he returned to Portsnorth in two weeks time. He had been told (along with all the other muggle-borns) on several occasions that they were not, under any circumstances, to use magic outside of school. This was a basic school rule for all pupils but Hogwarts was very aware that the temptation, particularly for muggle-born children, to feel the need to demonstrate a few quick spells for their parents was almost overwhelming.

Secondly, he was getting ever more excited about his summer trombone recitals. He was going to play a brand new trombone concerto, written especially for him by a student of the Paris Conservatoire, in concerts in Paris, Rome, Barcelona and London. He was especially excited about the last of the foreign venues, as Bally was very keen on football**.

Portsnorth were an English Premier League side and he had had a season ticket to go to all their home matches since he was eight. Since coming to Hogwarts football was the thing he missed most - he didn't even seem to find being away from his parents as bad as not knowing the score at five o'clock on a Saturday afternoon! Fortunately he now had an owl, Edwards - named after his favourite model of trombone, and the flurry of his wings was normally there by half past five with the score and scorers. He was desperately hoping to get a tour round the Nou Kamp, Barcelona's magnificent football stadium - it was more exciting to think of than the concerts! However, he reminded himself - there was still a lot of practice to be done if he was to master those arpeggio passages and the cadenzas!

Then there was tomorrow's game...how could he not think about that? It was hard to imagine that a year ago he didn't even know Quidditch existed. He was already a big fan even before he started going out with Darla. Darla, of course, was absolutely mad on the game - she couldn't wait to try out for the Hufflepuff team in September. No less than five of their starting seven were leaving this term, including seeker, which she had her eye on, being nearly as good a flyer as her friend Verity. 'Wow!' he thought - 'Verity'. It had been all any of them could talk about all morning, her getting in the squad! He hoped he could sit next to Darla tomorrow (even better with Chris and the twins) and watch them play.

Finally, the thought of Darla herself was another major distraction. Between them, his distractions that morning had meant he'd heard hardly anything Flitwick had said. He knew he was the envy of at least half the 1^st Year boys to be going out with the best looking girl in the year. His heart made a little leap as he thought about it now. How he'd love to kiss her on the lips and...touch her more than just holding hands, he thought. Then, he reminded himself, they were only twelve and they had lots of time for 'all that sort of thing' later! At least I'm better off than Chris, he thought, his girlfriend's still eleven! It had become instinctive now for him to lightly touch the end of his nose when he thought of Darla. He had washed it, of course, but it still felt electric when he thought of her and touched it!

Over in History of Magic it was even worse for Darla. She was feeling just a bit jealous of her friend Verity who was 'out there' flying while she had to listen to Binns droning on and on and on! To make it worse, Darla was sitting next to the window and she could see the squad flying around the pitch as silhouettes against the late-morning sun. Back and forth they flew, sometimes in formation - they must be rehearsing how they would enter the stadium at the team announcements and pre-match ritual - then in what seemed like random patterns - which probably meant they were having a practice match.

Darla's mother had not been keen on her becoming a fan of Quidditch. It was Quidditch, Darla discovered at the age of nine, which was responsible for her being there at all...

The party was in full swing. Anna Svensson had already had a little too much to drink - she knew that - before the English boys arrived. She left the dance floor where she'd been dancing to Duran Duran with Leo Strauβ the Durmstrang Head Boy and now, her blonde hair a little sweaty she sat down for a break. Someone had smuggled some cigarettes into the party and Natalia, Anna's best friend, offered her a draw on one now. The smoke from the almost exhausted packet of twenty made the air thick as she reached out her hand to take the small, white stick. She had never smoked before - very few witches and wizards ever did, even at Durmstrang - and she was inquisitive to see what it was like. Before she could put it to her lips, however, she was nudged in the back and her glass of vodka and coke spilt all over her yellow T-shirt.

When Anna turned around to complain at the idiot who had soaked her she was faced by two unfamiliar boys.

"Oh, hi there!" she heard Natalia welcome them. "Titus, com seet here - next to me!" Titus Bole duly obliged and helped himself to her three-quarters full glass of beer, without further invitation. He reached into the pocket of his denim jacket and pulled out a new half-bottle of vodka, from which he immediately poured a measure into the now empty tumbler.

"Anna, zis is Titus - from Eengland - ant his friend...er...Marc-oos," she remembered, having to think, obviously to remember his name. "Come on Marcus, seet down - Anna get heem a chair! Zese are ze boys from Hog-farts!" Anna remembered not being particularly impressed with the surly 'Marc-oos' whose plain features and swarthy skin did not immediately strike the girls as attractive - he had had to learn to live with this and usually relied on his 'bad-boy' image or status as one of the 'best young Quidditch keepers in the game' reputation to get him dates. Anna was asking herself if he was the best Natalia could come up with as a 'blind date' for the party!

She tried to polite - to ask him how he was enjoying the trip, that sort of thing. He was nervous, she noticed. The thought crossed her mind that he probably didn't get to go out with girls quite as good looking as Anna Svensson every day! Natalia had replaced Anna's spilt drink and Titus had topped it up with an extra couple of measures of vodka. Two beers arrived for the boys and...she couldn't remember much after that!

She knew they had danced because she had, apparently, decided that it would be better to dance in just her bra rather than in a brown-stained, wet, yellow T-shirt. She remembered the music slowing down and Marcus's hands...

Six weeks later both Anna and Natalia visited the Durmstrang School nurse to be told that they were pregnant. It was a struggle for both of them to finish school with babies but the two girls relied on each other's support and help to do it. After school Anna had been a part-time wizard librarian back in Stockholm. Natalia married a fellow-Georgian named Ivor Kalinski and they had lost touch with each other after Anna found out that Ivor was a dark wizard who had been involved in some ethnic cleansing in Bosnia. Only since Darla had come to Hogwarts had she had a chance discussion with Bartholomew Bole and discovered a) - who he was and b) - that Natalia and Ivor had both been killed by aurors in Sarajevo.

He had then been brought back to England and brought up by what was left of the Bole family. (His real forename had also been Ivor but the Boles had renamed him, after adoption in memory of their good friend Barty Crouch Jr.)

Anna Svensson had never married and moved to England when Darla was four to work in 'Flourish and Blotts'. When Darla first learned her 'history' she had tried to find her father and had been devastated to learn that he was dead - killed by his own father after refusing to become a Death Eater. It was after this discovery she had informed her mother that, from now on, she wished to use her father's surname. Anna had been upset at first but agreed in the end.

Over the course of her first year at Hogwarts Darla had been able to learn quite a bit more about her father and had even seen him play - using the 'Omniocular Section' of the library where all Hogwarts Quidditch matches from the past forty years (since the invention of omnioculars) were archived. She had also discovered that he had worked hard in school despite finding the work difficult and he had gained excellent OWL and NEWT results. This, she now believed, alongside his later refusal to join Voldemort, - even if the decision had been largely fuelled by loyalty to his Quidditch team rather than a desire to do the right thing - was probably the reason the Sorting Hat had placed her in Hufflepuff, rather than his house back in the Autumn. Maybe, she wondered, he had been in the wrong house in the first place...

*****************

When the Charms lesson finally ended Bally ran from his classroom all the way to History of Magic and got there in time to greet Darla as she came out. They smiled at each other and held hands and thought life was just wonderful.

*****************

* in 1953 Hogwarts took part in a series of matches against schools from Australia and Canada organised to mark the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Both Australia and Canada have several Wizarding Schools so their teams were chosen using the best players form each school. Hogwarts, as the only British Wizarding School, was therefore, effectively solely responsible for the 'National Team'. Happily, Hogwarts School Team won the tournament and the Trophy is in the Hogwarts Trophy Room to this day.

**Quick note to American readers. We Brits invented the game (I know some of you blame us for that anyway!) and its proper name is Association Football, not 'soccer'!

Chapter Eighteen

The Match

A hot, sunny day in the middle of June was the ideal setting for an important Quidditch match. The sky was that wonderful, bright blue, which only 'real' skies could be - even wizard painters had not managed to perfectly reproduce it yet - and the sense of excitement grew all morning as spectators Apparated and flooed into Hogsmeade then walked to the castle. Scarves and banners with Union Jacks, St George Crosses, Welsh Dragons and St Andrews Crosses met the Stars and Stripes of ex-pat Americans and brand new Hogwarts Team banners were given away at breakfast to any pupils who wanted them so they could be waved from the stands.

The stands themselves had been magically enlarged, almost tripling the capacity of the venue so that, once the spectators had all arrived, there would still be plenty of room for the Hogwarts pupils, staff and house-elves, who had all decided to take the day off to watch.

Harry was walking with Professor Vector down to the stand where staff had been told to sit. They were talking about the latter's love for Quidditch statistics (he had written several books on the subject under the pseudonym Billy Quaffle - Harry had seen several of them in Ron's bedroom when they had been growing up). Harry was just starting to get a bit bored with a lengthy comparison of the goals per game ratio of the Harpies in 1984 with the Cannons great 1998 side when he saw the outstretched arms of Molly Weasley heading directly for him.

Quickly making his excuses to Vector Harry almost ran to Molly and they embraced warmly. It was something of a relief to him - he had wondered if this fiercely protective mother would 'take sides' and that this would spoil the excellent relationship he had always had with his mother-in-law. He needn't have worried. It became apparent to him from their first greeting that if Molly had taken sides at all then it was not with her daughter!

"Oh, hello Harry dear! It's lovely to see you. Isn't it Arthur?"

Arthur stretched out his hand and Harry shook it. Harry was surprised just how much hair Arthur had now lost. The sun was beating down on top of his head, already turning it quite red and shiny. Harry hoped his father-in-law had brought a hat!

"We came up with Bill, Percy and Katie. Have you seen them yet?" Harry shook his head. "Oh well, never mind," she smiled, shaking her own head quickly so that her hair (of which there was as much as ever) flew abstractly around her head like an eleven-year-old Hermione!

"Ginny's down in the changing rooms," she said quite sadly. She had absolutely no idea, of course, of the effect this news would have on Harry. Ginny and 'those' changing rooms meant rather more to him than she would ever know. He suddenly felt the big hole that was in his heart and went cold, almost as if there were a Dementor nearby. Molly must have noticed his face drop and body freeze.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Harry realised that she was apologising for simply mentioning Ginny (and not for the 'changing rooms thing') and she continued. "I'm so sorry about...well, about all of it, I suppose. I really thought I'd brought Ginny up better than that." Then she looked Harry directly in the eyes and suddenly became as scary as she ever could be as she said.

"Don't think I'm happy with her about all this nonsense!" Harry knew she meant it! "I've told her exactly what I think of her and that...Jerry!" She said his name as if it was something she'd trodden in.

"If ever there was a couple I thought would be together for good it was you and Ginny," she said rather more wistfully. Harry thought he detected a hint of a tear in her eye. "To be honest," she half whispered, as if there was any chance at all of anyone but Arthur and Harry hearing her with all the hustle and bustle of twenty thousand spectators arriving for an International Quidditch match, "I didn't expect George and Angelina to last this long - but I'm obviously wrong - they seem to be more in love than ever. Bill's settled and Percy...well he and Katie are just as happy as can be. Peggy and Annie have done alright. Only Charlie - you know I don't think he'll ever settle down with a nice girl," she shrugged with a little smile. Arthur shifted rather uncomfortably and Harry tried not to laugh.

"But you and Ginny - oh, it breaks my heart!" she wailed rather over-dramatically.

'You and me both,' Harry thought without saying it. He just smiled again and said he'd see them later.

Molly 'bossed' Arthur over to the stairs that led up to a stand mid-way between the two sets of rings. They, obviously, had tickets for the VIP area. Harry felt pleased for them - they deserved a bit of attention; after all, their son was the home Team Manager and their daughter a high-ranking official for the opposition! The Hogwarts student's stand, behind the West Goals, was still empty; the four House Heads had announced at breakfast that all pupils would be escorted down to the pitch half an hour before the game started by prefects - and they must not try to meet parents or visiting friends until after the match.

Harry stood still again and looked around him. The atmosphere reminded him a bit of when he had attended the World Cup final in his 4^th Year. That was the day he first saw Viktor Krum, the Heir of Slytherin and Voldemort's loyal servant. Poor Viktor had thought he had no option but to do as the Dark Lord told him and he had lost his life, like so many others had, as a result of the wars.

Harry also remembered the Dark Mark that had risen into the sky on the day of that final. It seemed a long, long time ago.

He then thought to himself that the pre-match atmosphere was also, quite probably, very similar to the day he played his one and only International game for Wales. He didn't remember it, however, as he had been sitting nervously down in the changing rooms at the time.

Changing Rooms...

Harry now turned around and faced them, on the other side of the lawns where the 1^st Year students were taken by Rolanda Hooch each September to learn how to fly (those who had not learnt how to fly before they came to school, anyway!).

She was down there. If he walked for about a minute he would see her face to face for the first time since the week after the last World Cup. He felt that strange mixture of longing and resentment. Half of him would have loved to go straight down there, find her, take her in his arms and twirl her round like the little girl he had twirled when he got off the Knight Bus at The Burrow - the other half of him feared making a scene; was scared in case she just told him to go away or, worse, asked a security guard to deny him entrance. There was even an element of fear that, if he did get there and saw her he might just need to shout his frustrations at her. There was no way he could go down the hill.

But those Changing Rooms...she was in their Changing Rooms. His mind flew back again to the day he plucked her freezing body, almost lifeless, from the lake and snow. Her lips had been purple and he had not been able to see, staggering with her body in his arms towards what he thought had been the castle. He had taken off her freezing, wet clothes with no lustful thoughts at all, merely the intention of saving her life. He had tried, unsuccessfully, to put her in the hot showers but the pipes were frozen. Then he had removed his own clothes as well and they had lay-in, wrapped in towels and banners, sharing what body heat they had left...

After some awkward manoeuvring, they found a comfortable position; Harry lay prone, and Ginny, wedged between him and the back of the couch, lay on him half-way, one arm and one leg thrown across him. Her limbs still felt quite cold to him, but where her chest was pressed against his, there was a definite warmth. He wrapped his arms around her back, putting his cheek against her hair. Pulling the towels and banners up over them more securely, he began to feel some blood moving in his own body again (although he was worried about his toes).

I can do this, he thought. I can just hold her and we'll keep each other warm and wait out the storm and that's all that will happen.

But that was before he felt her lips on his neck and her hand stroking his arm, moving in lazy circles. And her knee...her knee was awfully close to....*

Harry shook himself back to today.

"That world didn't even exist!" he told himself firmly. But his mind wouldn't listen...

And then he opened his eyes and looked straight into hers; she had also woken up and was gazing at him with an unmistakable expression on her face that made it difficult for him to remember to breathe. He had no idea how long they'd slept. She put her left arm on his other side and raised herself over him, brought her face closer so that it was hovering not an inch from his. He moved his eyes down for a split second; her body was above his now, rather than being pressed against it, and he could see her quite clearly. He moved his eyes up to hers again, unable or unwilling, he didn't know which, to resist any longer. Framing her face with his hands, he pulled her mouth down to his, feeling her cold lips begin to warm, opening his mouth and hearing her inarticulate whimper of delight.

They kissed languidly while Harry caressed her back lightly, feeling her shiver under his touch; he moved his hands down to her waist, amazed by how thin she was. Had she been eating properly? He felt like he could count her ribs if he tried....

But then that thought subsided as she gently ended the kiss and softly moved her lips down his jaw to his throat. He brushed his fingers down her thighs under the towels and banners; her flesh there still felt cold, but it was at least dry. He traced the outside of her legs with his fingers while she moved her lips down his chest; he felt a tide rising in him that he fought against, but then she moved her body further down, and further--

"Earth calling Potter. EARTH CALLING POTTER!" heard Harry. Right in front of him, unseen until that moment, stood Dean Thomas his old Gryffindor roommate. Under his arm he carried an easel and over his back was a rucksack with paintbrushes poking from the flaps.

"Dean!" Harry replied, delighted to see his old friend for the first time since they had bade each other farewell at Kings Cross Station after disembarking for the last time from the Hogwarts Express.

"I've been commissioned to do a painting of the match," Dean informed him. "For the Ministry of Magic! They're going to mount it in the corridor outside the office that runs the 'Fred Weasley Foundation'.

"Sorry to dash but I have to be set up in plenty of time. I'm trying something new today - a multi-angle action painting. I've been inventing it with my fiancée - I'm setting up four pairs of omnioculars then I'll create a painting using the recordings as well so you should be able to see all the best action from the best angles. It's complicated," he added with a smile.

"I should introduce you...she's around somewhere..." Dean looked around then saw a tall, slim woman with very long, shiny hair that was almost black. He beckoned her over and she ended her conversation with two Indian-looking girls and ran across to them.

"Ayshea! Meet Harry Potter!" The girl, who was absolutely gorgeous, ('Dean always got good looking girls', Harry thought) looked up suddenly and her deep brown eyes met Harry's green ones. 'Wow!' Harry thought. 'She was the kind of girl who took your breath away!' He swallowed and said,

"Hi! Pleased to meet you."

She answered in a voice, obviously fresh from the Caribbean,

"Harry Potter. You won't believe how much Dean talks about you. You'll be glad to know your fame has spread to Jamaica. Some friends and I did a project about you in our 4^th Year." If it was possible for her dark skin to show signs of blushing then Ayshea blushed - or perhaps Harry just read it in her expression.

Harry had no idea what the wizarding schools were like in the West Indies but he suddenly got a vision of more girls, like Jem Stone, gazing at posters of him on the dormitory walls. It made him feel a bit creepy, to be honest! He hoped the posters were 'magically charmed' in some way to stop him 'seeing out' - the thought of a 'poster version' of himself watching all those teenage girls undressing in front of him night after night was a very weird scenario indeed! He couldn't help looking at Ayshea and wondering, though! 'Lucky Dean', he thought as the good-looking pair made their way over to the VIP entrance.

Harry decided to buy himself a pumpkin pasty and some ice cold pumpkin juice from a nearby refreshment stall and he ate and drank as he walked around the perimeter of the stadium. He enjoyed bumping into a few more old friends he had either known or been at school with but there were also many others who simply looked and pointed, obviously recognising him and not expecting the experience to be mutual. He arrived at the staff grandstand and climbed the steps to find a seat. He got to the top and was immediately invited to go over and sit with Maggie and Snape. Somehow, they'd managed to get a double buggy up the stairs and the twins, well protected from the sun by a large, umbrella-like canopy, sat smiling and eating big, white ice creams. Severus Snape had his arms covered with a lightweight jacket and he had a baseball cap (of all things) on his head. Harry looked at it but doubted Snape had any idea at all who the Miami Dolphins were or even what game they played! He also had in his hand the usual tube of skin-salve.

Harry sat down next to Snape and they began to chat, rather friendlily, about Quidditch and how Harry thought he'd cope watching the game today. Harry realised he hadn't watched a whole game of Quidditch since he had left school. He knew he was looking forward to it - and said so - but did admit that he missed being able to fly around on a stick and feel the rush of the wind in his hair, the excitement of a steep dive in search of a glistening snitch. Snape nodded - he could imagine how deprived Harry must feel, having been so good at it. Harry drifted briefly back to that 'other life' again and remembered happy games of Quidditch with his step-father and Draco Malfoy, who had been a close childhood friend in 'that' lifetime. Then Snape spoke and brought him out of his latest daydream.

"I miss playing as well, you know?" Harry was surprised to hear him say. "I hope my creaky old bones will still be able to cope with the odd game when Savannah and Stuart are old enough to be able to play," he smiled. Harry already knew fatherhood suited Severus Snape and he had no doubt at all that those games would take place one day. As Harry looked at his colleague he noted - as he had done before - that, rather bizarrely, the Snape of today looked a full ten years younger than the Snape of a decade ago!

By the time the conversation came to a close (Snape rose to go and talk to Irma Pince about something or other) Harry felt as though things were definitely improving between them and really ought to start thinking of him as 'Severus' rather than 'Snape' all the time.

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A great cheer arose and filled the stadium as a magical fanfare (well, Harry could see no trumpets) sounded and the familiar tones of the commentator rose above the noisy throng - Harry looked over to the other side of the stadium. 'Yes,' he thought. 'I was right! It is Lee Jordan! How appropriate, to have one of Fred's best friends back in his old job for the day!'

Then the USA team flew out in their special formation. That was spectacular in itself - the broomstick technique they displayed just entering the arena gave a taste of just how good this team was going to be. Then Harry remembered why their technique was so good - they had a good teacher! The best teacher, he corrected himself. At this thought he looked down to where the US Team officials were gathered at ground level - and there she was.

Wearing the red, white and blue robes Ginny was clapping and waving with the rest of the American support (and there was a surprising amount of that considering they were so far from home).

When the visiting side had made their way to the East Goal area the reason for the colour and design of the Hogwarts banners given out at breakfast became apparent. The home team flew out in their own (less spectacular) formation wearing brand-new robes of rich purple with shimmering golden crescent moons and stars, a large, decorated H for Hogwarts over the heart. The purple-and-gold banners lifted into the air and a deafening crescendo from the rest of the crowd (largely high-pitched, which made it sound even louder, coming from the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd Year supporters) made Harry cover his ears. He thought it was, quite possibly, the loudest noise he had ever heard in his whole life!

Madam Hooch held the quaffle firmly and then threw it into the air. Six chasers dived for it and the American announced as Jim 'Brushtail' Fox came out with it. Straightaway a bludger flew towards him from the powerful club of Sergei Vissa - the hardest hitting of the three 'Slytherin Sloggers'. Although he could fly brilliantly the bludger still exploded into the twigs of his broom, causing him to drop the ball. It fell about forty feet before a great dive from Li-Li Leung let her take possession. To the surprise of the two American beaters, Tony Cross and Franklin Furniss, she continued her dive towards the ground. They had been trying to intercept Li-Li and had anticipated an immediate swing in an upward direction. Her prolonged descent surprised them and they did well to avoid an embarrassing mid-air collision. All this meant, however that Li-Li had a fairly free passage to the American hoops. She pretended to shoot at the right hoop, dummying the keeper and, seeing Lara James speeding into her eyeline on the left, she passed and Lara had an easy shot to open the scoring.

"Ten - nil to Hogwarts, Lee's voice announced as the crowd erupted again. Tiffany Squeers, the American keeper, threw a look at Li-Li, which would have been equally appropriate had she just discovered the little Chinese girl snogging Tang Yip. Tang was Tiffany's boyfriend and the American team's seeker! He flew high above the action, completely unaware of the exchange of glances, however. His eyes were already scouring the sky above him and the game below for a glint of gold. About thirty yards away from him but at a similar altitude his Hogwarts counterpart glided gently in a circular path doing the same thing. Then, seeing a bludger hurtling towards him ('a bit early in the game to be targeting the seeker,' he thought) he arced gracefully away from its course and sped down towards Grendel Chambers.

"Watch them," he bellowed, pointing at the American beaters. At that very moment a bludger came towards Chambers and with great elegance and power he bent his body and unleashed a wild smash with his club. The bludger zoomed away towards Jenna Babcock, a tall, wiry girl with long, wavy chestnut hair and a pale face who was one of two girl chasers on her team. She ducked beneath the bludger then passed the ball swiftly to the other, Maria Velasquez. The American team's passing was fast and accurate; their anticipation of each other's positions seemed almost telepathic. It was impressive to watch. Velasquez easily flew past the advance of Sergei Vissa, making him look rather silly as he threw a heavy shoulder towards empty space. She was one-on-one with Fabian Tanner now and, fooling him twice with feints she place the quaffle through the centre ring for an equalizing goal.

The game continued to be an entertaining and exciting spectacle. The Americans discovered why the Hogwarts beaters were known as the 'Sloggers' - the bludger came off their clubs very fast and only the speed and flying skill of the three American chasers helped them avoid injury. -Then, with the score at 60 - 40 to the visitors Charlie made a couple of team changes - he had promised to give as many of his squad as he could a reasonable time 'in the game' rather than watching from the sidelines and, this being a friendly match, it had been agreed beforehand to allow unlimited substitutions. The Americans only had two other players available in addition to the starting seven but, Charlie expected, they could probably all play in other positions should the need arise.

Valeri Vissa came on for his brother and Cardew Bletchley replaced Lara James. He immediately scored - it felt quite strange for all the Gryffindor pupils in the crowd to be cheering a Slytherin scoring at Quidditch but they were gradually getting the hang of 'all being on the same team' - for today!

However, Valeri lacked some of the power of his brother (who was two years older than him, after all) and 'Brushtail' Fox took advantage of this to score three times in fairly quick succession to stretch the lead.

Once again Ezra was narrowly missed by a bludger whacked towards him by Tony Cross. He reminded himself not to relax, to concentrate on his own safety as well as looking for the snitch but another bludger soon whizzed past his nose as he thought and he quickly changed his altitude and position - it felt like hiding. Grendel Chambers had seen the double-pronged attack on the seeker, though, and he suddenly sent a bludger flying directly into Tony Cross's solar plexus from fairly close range. It was all the American could do to stay on his broomstick; he was very winded and looked barely able to catch a breath for quite some time. His two nearest teammates flew to his aid - and, as they were Tiffany Squeers and Franklin Furniss, this gave Hogwarts the easiest goal of the match.

Even so, Marley played to the crowd and made the most of his celebrations. Cross was obviously in some discomfort for a few minutes, however, for both Li-Li and Cardew were able to add to the Hogwarts score without return to bring the scores closer together.

Fabian Tanner made three excellent, acrobatic saves before acknowledging the crowd's cheers as he took a breather and Rowena Ackerley, the Ravenclaw keeper, took his place for a while. Grendel Chambers left the match as well, to his very obvious displeasure and Yakubu Akinwande showed he had plenty of skill himself by using the bludger to dispossess Jenna Babcock twice, the second time leading to Li-Li's fifth goal. She bowed and left too, to be replaced by Delilah Branstone, which prompted a chorus of wolf-whistles from the 5^th, 6^th and 7^th Year Hufflepuffs - most of whom fancied her something rotten. (Sadly for them she was engaged to a 19 year-old trainee auror - who also happened to be last year's Hogwarts Head-Boy and Sirius Black's nephew: Orion Pierson!)

By the time the game had been in progress for nearly an hour the score was 120 - 90 to the Americans. 'Brushtail' Fox had been, as expected, the star - although he was only just fifteen the word in Quidditch circles was that he was already earmarked for a full professional contract at the New York Libertines and it had been rumoured that he might even gain a place in the American B Squad for their summer training camp. Fox had scored eighty of the one hundred and twenty points and even Charlie Weasley conceded that it was an honour just to be playing against someone with that class and potential.

Charlie noticed that several players were tiring rather badly - the Americans scored three more times in less than four minutes - and he made a mass change, returning to the starting seven. Chambers and Vissa reminded Fox and Velasquez what they had been missing with some more fearsome 'bludgering', managing to chip splinters out of Fox's broomstick and, to Sergei's evil-grinned delight, he thought he had caused Maria to chip a tooth - he saw her spit out something small and white (along with some reddish saliva) after she lurched her head forward to avoid his attack and she cracked her mouth on her broom's handle. He and Grendel both laughed and Sergei took his right thumbnail and notched a mark on his own Blazon XL2. Closer inspection would confirm - to his pride - that there were now seventeen notches. Twenty injuries and he had been promised a new broom, although he was unwilling to name his mystery benefactor (guessers were split fairly evenly between Snape, Grendel Chambers and his own father, a wealthy Russian banker who had worked in the Kremlin before the downfall of the Soviet Union).

With the score at 170 - 130 there was a sudden excitement in the corner of the stadium. Tang Yip was diving vertically from about a hundred and fifty feet. A swirl of red, white and blue soared through the sky and was quickly joined by a streak of purple as Ezra Forsyth joined the chase.

Harry looked down from the stand - he could see the snitch clearly. It was no more than six inches off the grass about two feet in front of the left goalpost at the West end of the stadium. Time seemed to stand still as the two seekers threw themselves at their target - Harry thought that if Tang didn't slow his descent soon his head would hit the turf - or even go through it. Forsyth was about ten yards behind in the chase but at least he had a better trajectory. Then, as if it knew it had become the centre of attention, the snitch flittered its wings and moved horizontally between the left and centre goalposts. Tang stopped about two feet from the floor and waved his fist in annoyance, trying to maintain his balance well enough to change the direction he was facing and go after the snitch again. Ezra had been distracted for a split second by the cumulative effect of seeing Tang's sudden stop and the snitch's change of course. He instinctively veered to his right to avoid a direct collision with the American and rode straight into the centre goalpost. As ten players immediately crowded around the stricken Hogwarts seeker Grendel Chambers calmly caught the quaffle and literally handed it to Cardew Bletchley (back on while Marley had his first rest) and pushed him away towards the American goal.

Hardly anyone noticed these Hogwarts ten points. The sight of an unconscious Ezra Forsyth, blood pouring from a deep cut on his forehead, being carefully lifted towards the edge of the pitch then out through the players' entrance tunnel and away to the castle infirmary was rather more compelling. The only other person in the stadium not captivated by this drama was Verity Minton. She sat, her face as white as the whitest ghost, throughout he whole two or three minutes before the game could restart.

Lee Jordan finally announced the ten points and there was a small cheer and Madam Hooch recovered the quaffle to recommence the proceedings. Suddenly, the stunned 1^st Year felt Charlie's hand on her shoulder.

"Oh, my G-GOOOD!" she managed to squeal in a tiny, almost inaudible voice. When Charlie had told the players that he would 'try to get them 'on' for at least a few minutes each' Verity had been very serious when she had replied, 'that's OK, sir - the experience and the training session yesterday are enough. I've learned so much. I - I don't actually need to play...' Charlie had smiled and tried to reassure her that just flying out there for a few minutes would be a great experience, 'one that she'd never forget' he'd said...

Well now she wouldn't forget it! Rowena and Delilah patted her on the back and smiled at her, wishing her luck and saying things like 'just go and do your best' but Verity just felt sick. She could feel her stomach turning somersaults as she took her broom. How could she stop her hands from shaking?

The virtual silence, which had filled the air since the accident, now turned into a rippling hum as the tiny figure of Verity rose into the air. A small voice shouted from the pupil's end,

"Go, Verity!" It was Chris Creevey feeling proud as punch and almost as nervous as his girlfriend. Then, as if his voice had lit a touchpaper, shouts and whistles of encouragement came from all four sides of the stadium. A mighty roar had developed and by the time Madam Hooch once again got the game into motion Verity was forty feet or so above the action. She felt as if she were not really in her own body and certainly not as if she was actually playing a game of Quidditch right at this minute! Tang Yip flew past her and smiled at her.

"Don't worry," he said to her with a smile. "You'll be OK!"

Verity now felt her insides go all 'warm'. It was not only her own team-mates who were encouraging her - everyone was being nice.

Then Tang smiled again and winked as he said,

"When I get the snitch in a minute it'll be all over."

Down below them Begail Dhillon was becoming something of a Hogwarts hero. He formed an instant affinity with Li-Li Leung and, between them they clawed back five goals in the next period of the match. Li-Li had now scored a hundred points and the gap between the two sides was now just twenty. The game had been going for almost two hours and there was a fresh breeze blowing across the stadium to accompany the late-afternoon sun.

Verity had been riding around looking for the snitch for almost an hour - she had occasionally seen Tang, who had continued to be nice, but she had not spent much time down at the 'action' level - when she did she found that some of her own team were not as friendly as she might have hoped. The Slytherin beaters not only treated her like an annoying 'little girl' but also with what they felt was justified anger at her inclusion ahead of Ramona. She thought for a while they might aim the bludger at her, what with the way they were looking at her, and she reached the conclusion that discretion was the better part of valour and kept well out of their way.

Apart from the near miss that had led to the accident neither seeker had yet seen the snitch and when Tang stopped for another friendly 'chat' Verity was quite glad of the 'company'. Then, after a few seconds of piffling nothingness Tang pointed and yelled,

"Over there!" And without a moment's thought he headed off in a direction somewhere behind Verity. Somehow, she suspected he was just pretending to see the snitch although she did turn and look in the direction he was heading. Then, sure that she was right, she turned around again and smiled at his good-natured teasing. She was just about to start flying off on another circuit when she saw it.

There was the snitch! It was stock still, about twenty feet below her and almost directly in front. Tang Yip was another thirty feet behind her and still facing the wrong way after his bluff, she guessed. Verity made the instant decision to head slowly and nonchalantly in the direction of her objective - and it nearly worked. She was less than ten feet away from the snitch when she heard the sound of Tang's approach from behind her. The crowd had spotted the action too and their noise - which had been pretty constant anyway - became a frenzy as the end of the game became apparent.

Verity zigzagged the last few feet in an attempt to block Tang's route to the golden ball; all he succeeded in doing was knocking her away from it too and her desperate lunge missed by a matter of inches. The snitch moved as if on a stick - from his face to hers and back, teasing the contestants. The rather comical scene lasted a good fifteen seconds and everyone, including the players down at 'action level' was watching it play out.

Finally Verity used an instinct she didn't know she had. After the quite embarrassing exchange of 'missed grabs' she pre-empted the ball's path, ignoring the 'tease' in front of her own face and moving 'with it' rather than against it. Next time the snitch dived for Tang's face it flew straight into her hand. Hogwarts had beaten the Americans.

*******************

Verity was carried from the pitch on shoulders like the heroine she was. Even the Slytherins had to join in the celebrations and a beaming Molly presented 'The Fred Weasley Trophy' to the winning captain Everton 'Marley' Reifer. Dumbledore announced that it was the 'best game of Quidditch Hogwarts had seen in many years' and the celebrations went on in Common Rooms up and down Hogwarts Castle.

Marley and Li-Li kept the Ravenclaw party going for many hours - Li-Li had been named 'man of the match' for her hundred and twenty points and had been searched out after the match by a very interested London Overgrounds Head Coach. Over in Hufflepuff the celebrations were just as intense but less lengthy and in Gryffindor Tower they didn't stop until someone discovered Verity asleep in an armchair after two in the morning!

Down in the Slytherin dungeons all the bad feeling had gone too and most of the house stayed up late eating and drinking and talking over the finer points of the game. Only two were missing. Ramona had greeted the victorious player to the party with an enormous hug and kiss for Cardew and they had stayed only five minutes or so before surreptitiously slipping away to catch up on the time they'd wasted...

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* The excerpts in italics in this chapter are direct quotations from 'Harry Potter and the Time of Good Intentions' by BL Purdom. (If you haven't read that and the other books in the Psychic Serpent series - how does any of this book make sense?)

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