Harry Potter and the Ancient Order

Chpt. 9. The New Gryffindor Keeper

Ron met Harry at the Common Room door with an expectant look on his face. "Well?" Ron said in an impatient tone.

"Angelina will post her decision tomorrow," Harry said, finding it hard to hold back a smile. "She wants a night to decide between... everyone who tried out," he finished evasively.

"Tomorrow?" Ron complained. "Why not today? Is it that hard to pick one?"

"It's a short season, Ron," Harry tried to console. "She wants to make sure she gets it right for the Tournament."

Ron grumbled something unintelligible before leaving to change. Hermione promptly began to quiz Harry about the new Keeper.

"I can't say," Harry said, holding up his hands. "I've been threatened with dismissal from the team. You'll find out tomorrow with everyone else."

Seamus thankfully arrived then, cutting off any more questions from any other Gryffindor, all anxious to know how well their chances at a repeat were. Harry snuck off to the staircase that led to the boys' dormitory in an attempt to escape, but stopped when Seamus stood on a table.

"Our winner for the Most Original Death Pool Prediction," he began, pausing in an attempt to add drama to the announcement. He soured when nobody questioned him. "With a guess of 'Growing Man-Boobs and dying of embarrassment'," He was forced to pause again when most of the Common Room doubled over in laughter. Fred and George began to fondle Harry's chest, which annoyed Harry, but he took it all in good fun. "Congratulations to the Palone Twins, since they both wrote their names down on their entry!"

Everyone turned to find the Palone twins, who were standing against the wall. Marvin was studying something in his hand, which he promptly hid behind his back when his name was called. Mervin took a running start toward Marvin, jumped in the air, and twisted his body around.

"Flying Butt-Cheeks!" cried Mervin. Marvin barely had time to look up when Mervin's rear collided with Marvin's chest, knocking the wind out of him. As Marvin lay on the ground searching for breath, Mervin stood over him, waving his rear in Marvin's face.

"And a Stink-Face to hammer it home!" Mervin shouted. Marvin found a stray quill and attempted to insert it somewhere very uncomfortable, causing Mervin to jump three feet in the air.

"Enough!" Hermione shouted. "Enough both of you! Five points each! Anymore today and it'll be detention!"

Harry didn't care that Gryffindor had just lost ten points, he was laughing so hard. He couldn't help but enjoy the twins' antics; it was a nice relief from the rigors of class. Hermione grabbed Mervin by the ear and continued to scold him, which only made everyone laugh harder. Harry retreated with Ron to the dormitories to clean up in high spirits when they met Xander standing outside the door.

"Missed the show, mate," Ron said, and told him about the Palone twins. Xander laughed harder than anyone and slipped on the cuff of his jeans, causing Harry and Ron to giggle all the harder.

"Why do you wear such baggy jeans?" Harry asked. Many had noticed that Xander forsook his school robes at every opportunity in favor of Muggle clothes. Harry found Xander's style of dress most peculiar: a baseball hat worn backwards, a variety of large shirts always worn un-tucked (some unadorned, some with odd slogans of which 'Coed Naked Football' was a personal favorite of Harry's), very baggy jeans (Xander said that Americans called them 'Cargo Jeans'), and always sneakers. Malfoy always seemed to take great offense to the way he dressed.

"They're comfortable," shrugged Xander. "It's just better if you have enough room for your junk to breath." Ron snorted and shook his head, hiding a smile. "I gotta go, got some reading to do in the library. Plus three extra essays to do by Monday," Xander said, staring pointedly at Harry.

"Oh... yeah, I forgot about those," said Harry, feeling guilty. "I guess we'll see you there." Xander waved goodbye and Harry gathered his books to complete his essays. Ron was still hounding him about the Keeper position, trying to get Harry to give the slightest hint. When ignoring the questions didn't work, Harry simply answered, "I'm off the team if I tell. Wait for tomorrow," in a rather snippy voice. Ron apparently took the hint and didn't bother him about it the rest of the day.

As they walked into the library, Ron's eyes lit up when he saw a Galleon coin lying on the floor near a table. Stooping down to pick it up, he was surprised to find it didn't move. Prying at it with his fingernails didn't help, either. Ron began to kick at it, but stopped when he heard Malfoy cackling in a corner of the library.

"Something wrong, Weasley?" he asked in mock innocence. Malfoy held up a tube of Greta's Ever-Bond Super Adhesion and grinned wickedly. "No wonder your poor," he said in an airy tone. "Money refuses to come to you."

Ron pulled out his wand and pointed it at Malfoy. Harry barely had time to grab Ron's hand before Madam Pince, the librarian who closely resembled a withered vulture, came over. "Quiet, boys, people are working," she hissed. "You," she said, pointing at Malfoy, "you're private study booth is ready. Go. The rest of you, find a table and get to work."

Ron grumbled a few choice words which Madam Pince thankfully didn't catch as he sat down at a table, banging his books loudly and drawing a mean look from several students. Malfoy closed the door to his study room, but not without one last snigger aimed at Ron. Ron started to get up when Xander came over and put his hand on Ron's shoulder.

"Don't worry, I got this," he said. "Gimmie a sheet of parchment." Ron stared dumbfoundedly at Xander for a moment before handing it over. Xander scribbled something on it, which Harry couldn't catch before walking over to Madam Pince's desk.

"What's he playing at?" Ron asked. Harry shrugged, watching what Xander was doing. Madam Pince had given him a roll of Spellotape and waved him back to his seat. Xander noticed Harry's questioning look, but only answered with a wink before starting work. Harry shrugged and began working on his Charms essay. After about half an hour and many books later, he threw down is quill in frustration. Much of the library had suddenly broken out into roaring laughter.

"Silence!" crowed Madam Pince. "Majere! Detention! We will go and see McGonagall immediately!"

Harry knew she must be very upset if she addressed another teacher in such a manner. Looking quickly in the direction she was walking, Harry saw what had her so mad. There was a sign hanging on the door of Malfoy's study quarters, and Harry recognized it as the sign Xander had written on Ron's parchment. It said:

Do Not Disturb: Masturbating Intensely

Malfoy stuck his head out the door with an annoyed look on his face at the disturbance. He ran his hand through his hair, messing it up, which only added humor to the situation. Noticing the sign before Madam Pince ripped it off, he stared daggers at Xander, who tossed a box of tissues at Malfoy. Xander walked behind Madam Pince and winked again at Ron, who was laughing so hard, he fell off his chair.

"You know, I could get used to having that guy around," Ron said as he wiped the tears from his eyes. Apparently in a much better mood now, the two retreated back to the Common Room where the story had already spread. Fred and George laughed in a mixture of admiration and jealousy that they hadn't thought of it first. Hermione just tutted and shook her head. Harry and Ron spent the rest of the afternoon playing chess, in which Ron set a personal best by checkmating Harry in five moves.

Xander entered the Common Room after dinner to a great round of applause. Alicia walked up to him with a disapproving air, worried that he wasn't going to be allowed to take her on their date that night. After many minutes of reassuring her that they were still going, she calmed down and announced that she was going to get changed.

"So what'd McGonagall say?" Ron asked immediately.

"I'm on a week-long detention the last week of October," Xander said grinning. "I have to build living quarters for the other schools for the International Tournament. I had to snigger when she said I wasn't allowed to use magic and she almost made it two weeks until she realized why I giggled."

"I never got the chance to say thanks," Ron said, holding out his hand.

"Eh, no big deal," said Xander, accepting Ron's hand. "Quidditch players can't afford to get themselves in trouble this year," he added with a grin.

"Huh? Wha-? You mean-" Ron stammered.

Xander leaned over and whispered softly "It's between you and Dean."

"You're not supposed to say anything," said Harry irritably.

"I'm not on the team, am I?" said Xander. "She can't very well kick me off. Just try and act surprised," he added to Ron before walking upstairs.

"He still shouldn't have said anything," Harry mumbled again. "She's still not definite on anything."

Alicia ended the conversation by coming down the stairs just then, looking quite stunning and dressed in more or less Muggle clothes (she still had a cloak draped over her arm). Many a head turned as she walked over to sit down with her friends wearing a very broad grin. She wore a white sweater with a loose neckline, a red skirt that some would consider a tad too short but most boys considered a tad too long, and her hair was dolled up in such a way that reminded Harry of pictures he had seen of old Hollywood starlets. All in all, Harry couldn't help but stare. Hermione reached over to mockingly close his mouth.

"I wasn't staring," Harry lied quickly. Hermione grinned in a manner that told Harry he was a bad liar. "Okay, well, at least my mouth wasn't open," he restated, nodding towards the Creevey brothers who had just fallen off their chairs.

"Think she's looking forward to this?" Ron said grinning. Alicia and her friends were continually smiling and casting sidelong glances at the staircase that led to the boys' dorms. Harry could hear all of them asking Alicia where they were going over and over. For one weird, fleeting moment, Harry wished he was going somewhere with someone.

"Oh, my," Hermione gasped, interrupting Harry's thoughts. He turned to see Xander crossing the room, finding it funny that every female head turned to follow as he walked by. Xander wore a blue and white flannel-type shirt with the top four buttons left open, showing a very form-fitting white t-shirt underneath. He tied his hair back into a ponytail at the base of his neck, which framed his face and made him look much older than eighteen. He still wore rather baggy pants, just not as loose as his jeans and more of a dressy beige color. If Harry didn't already know who it was, he never would have recognized Xander.

"Cleans up rather well, doesn't he," Parvati Patil whispered to Hermione, Parvati unable to take her eyes off Xander. Ron made a sour face, but held his tongue in check.

"Wonder where they're going?" Lavender thought aloud.

"We'll find out in the morning," Parvati said confidently, and the two went to a different are of the Common Room to continue their discussion, much to the relief of Harry. Not that he disliked Xander; in fact he thought very well of him judging by what he had learned of him in the one week of term. He simply did not desire to hear gossiping girls.

Harry woke on Sunday morning feeling very miserable. He had had another of his 'Cedric Dreams' as he had come to refer to them. Dreaming of a shadowy form of a teenager asking you to take his body back to his parents had quite the negative affect on your mood. Both Ron and Hermione noticed Harry's less-than-stellar mood.

"Another dream, mate?" Ron asked cautiously.

Harry nodded slightly, but answered with a curt, "I don't wanna talk about it." Noting his sourness on the topic, his friends quickly dropped the subject before discussing their plans for the afternoon. They hadn't seen Hagrid since class on Monday morning and very much desired to visit their large friend, eager to try and find out what task Dumbledore had appointed him, and whether or not he was successful.

As the trio walked through the Entrance Hall, Peeves took the opportunity to further sour Harry with the terrible yet impeccable timing only the mean poltergeist possessed. Having seen Harry trip over the edge of a carpet while he was lost in thought, Peeves took the initiative and helped Harry finish his fall by pulling the carpet completely from under his feet before flying off cackling wickedly.

"Dammit," Harry muttered in frustration, rubbing the sore wrist he used to break his fall. "One of these days..." he trailed off, staring in the direction he had last seen Peeves.

Hagrid happily opened his door for the three young wizards, a cheery smile on his face. Harry looked questioningly at Ron and Hermione, who only shrugged.

"Why the smile, Hagrid?" Ron asked.

"Bin findin' more out about the griffon," he answered happily. "Xander brought Alicia over las' night, an' Tasslehoff le t the both of 'em ride. 'Mazin, really. They usually on'y fly humans if it's life an' death."

"Then how did Xander and Alicia get to fly him?" Hermione asked.

"Dunno fer sure," Hagrid shrugged. "Said sumthin' about trust in the rider, an' tha' Tas knew he had no bad feelins. Says Tas wants a bit 'o privacy, so we're movin' on in class and checkin' back with 'im in October."

Harry had a very nice afternoon visiting Hagrid, even though he would not embellish on his summer at all. He told Harry that Dumbledore wanted it kept a secret and was going to respect his wishes. Having tasted Hagrid's home cooking many times in the past, they talked him into cooking hamburgers outside over a fire that Hermione conjured. Over lunch, the conversation turned to Quidditch.

"Heard yeh had a good tryout," Hagrid said to Ron with a large grin under his shaggy beard.

"I find out today if I make the team or not, since Harry won't tell me," Ron said with a smirk and a sidelong glance at Harry. Hermione giggled when Harry scowled.

"Even if I did know whether or not you made it, I couldn't tell you. I'd be thrown off the team," Harry snapped at Ron. "Last I knew Angelina hadn't made up her mind yet."

"Well, if yeh don' make it, yeh can always go fer the International team," Hagrid told Ron. "Either way, I think yeh'll be playin' somewhere this year."

Ron's mood brightened even more, and it stuck for the rest of the afternoon. Around dinnertime, they decided to make their way back to Gryffindor Tower to see if the tryout results were posted. The cluster of students around the bulletin board told them that they were.

"Ernie Macmillan is Hufflepuff's new Seeker," Ginny told them when she saw them. Ginny had many friends in Hufflepuff House, and could always be relied on to pass on the latest gossip around Hogwarts.

"Forget Ernie, what about me?" Ron said impatiently.

Ginny paused a moment before speaking, and Ron easily picked up on the hint before Ginny even told him. "Dean's made it," she said softly. "I'm sorry, Ron," she added with a pat on the arm. Before Ron could fully react, Angelina was calling Ron over to her table.

"Ron, I need to talk to you about the team," she said.

"I already know, Dean was your choice," Ron returned rather sharply.

"I assumed as much," Angelina snapped back, "but I still want to talk to you. I picked Dean over you for a reason. We play Slytherin first. They have both of their beaters returning, but all three of their chasers are new. You had more trouble than Dean on handling bludgers, but Dean had trouble from close range. Do you see where I'm going?"

"Yeah," Ron said dejectedly. "I understand. It's what you think is best for the team."

"Thanks for understanding," Angelina said, losing her terse tone. "It was really a close call, Ron. Had we been playing anybody else first, you would've made it over Dean. But I want you to be ready. If Dean slips up, you're in."

This made Ron feel slightly better, but he was still depressed over dinner. Harry was a little dejected as well, disappointed that his best friend hadn't made the team. Hermione kept telling Ron that this left Ron free to play for the Hogwarts All-Stars, which was for higher stakes than the Inter-house Quidditch Cup. Harry knew that Hermione was only trying to help, but she didn't understand sports the way boys did. Gryffindor was nearly all but assured of the Cup this year since they had the most experienced team. Ron very much wanted to start equaling his brothers' accomplish-ments. Winning a Quidditch Cup would be a very good start.

Dean was nearly unbearable in his bragging; only adding to Ron's sour mood. Even Harry was losing his patience, thinking Dean should show a bit of sportsmanship and to not rub it in to Ron so deeply and told him so after dinner. Dean only said that he had waited five years to play Quidditch and had every right to be happy, but thankfully agreed to tone it down in Ron's presence as Fred and George had begun threatening Dean with some new invention of theirs if he didn't shut up. The twins' support of Ron did more to cheer him up than anything Harry or Hermione could possibly have done.

They spent the evening in the Common Room finishing up their homework for the weekend (they still had their essay for Charms to write, and Harry couldn't help but smile even though it was for punishment). Hermione read aloud from her book, "Charming a magical language requires foreknowledge of whatever language you wish to speak, as the word 'speak' (which is the first word in the incantation) must be spoken in said language. For this reason, not many wizards take the time to learn magical languages, as they can use this to speak with magical creatures." Harry quickly started writing before he forgot what Hermione dictated when Dennis Creevey spoke above the chatter in the Common Room.

"Look at that!" he cried, pointing to the open window. There was a raven sitting on the windowsill, and if Harry hadn't known it was impossible, he would have sworn it was looking for something. Xander became very irritated at the sight of the raven.

"Get the hell outta here!" he shouted, and threw a large Rune dictionary at it. The raven flew off into the night before the dictionary could hit it, and the book shattered the window.

"Xander!" Hermione scolded, "Watch what you're doing!" Pointing her wand at the window, she muttered "Repario" and the window magically repaired itself.

Alicia, who was sitting next to Xander by the fire, was staring at him with open eyes. "What'd you do that for?" she asked.

Xander's voice was calm, although his eyes still showed his anger. "A raven on a windowsill is bad luck," he said, and refused to answer any more questions about it. The only thing Harry heard Xander say the rest of the night was his usual muttering as he wrote and read from his journal as everyone else drifted off into sleep.