Harry Potter and the Ancient Order

Chpt. 25. The Vindictiveness of Draco Malfoy

The Quidditch bug struck once again as April began, signaling the beginning of the second round of the tournament. Germany won a very close and hard-fought match over Russia, culminating in five players ending up in the hospital wing overnight due to the fierce bludger work done by both teams. The American team absolutely flattened Australia, 450-60, giving them the automatic spot into the finals. Vick and Bryant were every bit as good as Xander said, and then some. J.D. Drew and Phil Nevin, the baseball playing beaters, grew bored early and put on a show with the bludgers, clocking them hundreds of feet away. They would shout out such things as "Touch 'em all!" and "That's a four-bagger!", utterly confusing most of the crowd. Hogwarts had to face Germany the first week of April.

Malfoy was once again becoming increasingly irritating, bragging about his previous performance and predicting nothing less than spectacular for the second round. According to Xander's scouting report, the German seeker was small and very uncoordinated. Malfoy used nearly every opportunity to promote himself, and mockingly signed autographs to add to Harry's ire. He didn't seem worried in the least about Germany's bruising beaters.

"They'll knock you so far back you'll have to go through puberty again," Xander snapped at him one day. "Do not take them lightly. It won't be like the Canadians. Germany's beaters are their best players and they prove it every time. Weren't you watching their first match?"

Malfoy ignored everything Xander said as if he weren't there. It was his own immature way of protesting Xander's presence at Hogwarts, but he had no bones about talking behind his back. He ignored the fact that Kirkum knocked a goalpost completely off with a bludger in practice.

"If we're lucky, we'll see Malfoy knocked out cold on Saturday," Ron kept saying hopefully during Care of Magical Creatures Hagrid was talking about the occamy that Dumbledore had allowed him to keep (occamies fed on rats and birds) to guard the area around the Forbidden Forest. Xander was too busy imitating the Crocodile Hunter to listen to Ron.

"The Occamy is very aggressive to all who approach it, particularly in defense of its eggs, whose shells are made of pure silver! Here we have a nesting motha! I'm gonna go grab its tail!" He started to sneak around behind the Occamy, who noticed Xander and began to ruffle its wing feathers in challenge. "Oh, Crickey! We've found a live one here! We're gonna have to tag and release this one!"

Even Hagrid had to laugh a little, though he assigned the class to research as many XXXXX-level creatures as they could find for their O.W.L.'s. For once, Harry didn't mind, as he had already faced several of them on his own, including a basilisk, a dragon, and Aragog's nest of giant spiders.

The night before the semi-final match, Xander sat in the Common Room with Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Alicia. They were watching an American movie called "Dumb and Dumber" on Xander's enchanted VCR, and couldn't stop laughing. Ron had really taken to Muggle movies and vowed to watch as many as he could in the future. Hermione teased him that he was becoming more like his father every day.

They talked about to upcoming match while Xander added extra padding to his protective gear. "I'm pretty much the decoy this week," he told them. "Krum wants me to draw as many bludgers as possible to open up Davies." He shook his head. "I'm gonna get my ass kicked tomorrow," he sighed.

"He wants you to get hit by bludgers hit by those two monsters?" Alicia asked incredulously.

"Well, not hit. I'm supposed to dodge them," he said with a chuckle. "Davies was supposed to, but he couldn't dodge a cotton ball thrown at him with a weeks notice."

"Can't say I envy you, mate," said Ron as Hermione used her fingers to try and brush his hair. They usually withheld overly visible displays of affection in Harry's presence, breaking apart when they saw him. Harry scolded them for this, saying he didn't mind anything short of dry-humping, causing Hermione to punch him in the arm.

Alicia's family owl flew in the window, resulting in a minor distraction. She tore the note off, and grinned as she read it. "My family wants to come watch you play tomorrow," she told Xander.

"Great, they get to see me have my ass handed to me," he said sarcastically.

"Here," she said, handing Xander a homemade card. "This is for you."

Xander opened it, and turned slightly red as he read the card. "It's a good-luck card from your sister," he said sheepishly. Hermione failed to hide her giggles.

"Oh, so I've got competition?" Alicia teased.

"Well, I know it's the last thing a woman wants to hear, but I'll have to tell her that I'm in love with her sister," said Xander with a sly grin. Alicia kissed him.

Harry, feeling rather lonely being the only single one present, joked, "Always the bridesmaid, never the bride," as he thought of Cho. Hermione and Alicia both sat on Harry's lap and simultaneously kissed him on either cheek. His face turned nearly purple when the whole Common Room catcalled, but he went to bed in a much better mood.

"Hey, Handsome!" Cho said brightly at the breakfast table.

Harry felt the heat rise to his face. "Hello," he said, unable to look up.

"I have a bone to pick with you," said Cho seriously. Harry looked up, wondering what he possibly could have done. "Rumor has it you had a little three-way action going on last night," she said, pouting her lips. "Why wasn't I invited?"

Harry laughed out loud, rather pleased that their conversations were now moving into the flirtation stages. "I would have if I knew I was in a three-way," he said with a wolfish grin (or what would have been a wolfish grin if he knew how to make one). "Tell me, since you know more than I do about my sex life, did I enjoy myself last night?"

"Well, you seem happy this morning," Cho teased. "Besides, since when did you have a sex life?"

"Oof," Xander piped up. "That punch was a bit low. Keep the gloves up please."

They spent an enjoyable breakfast picking on everyone, but always ending up goofing on Malfoy in the end. By the time Xander had to make his way down to the Quidditch pitch, Harry's cheeks ached from smiling and laughing so much. They were surprised to find reporters from the Daily Prophet enter the Great Hall and begin to interview the Hogwarts players. Xander ducked out before he could be questioned.

"Welcome to the Semi-finals of the International Scholastic Quidditch Cup!" Lee Jordan's voice exclaimed as Harry took his seat. "The winner of today's match-up, England vs. Germany, earns the right to face America in the finals! Please welcome, doing color commentary today, the beaters for the Quidditch Cup winning team from Gryffindor, Fred and George Weasley!"

"Fred and George?" Harry asked no one in particular.

"Thank you Lee," said Fred, "and I gotta admit, I haven't been this excited since I dreamt that I died and came back as a leotard!" The whole stadium laughed despite Professor McGonagall reprimanding him in the background. They carried on with their jokes, lightening the mood of all until the match started.

Immediately, Kirkum and Waldron pummeled bludgers at Xander. He managed to dodge one, but the other hit him square in the chest, almost knocking him off his broomstick.

"And that had to hurt!" cried Lee. "Majere manages to stay on his broom despite a bludger hit by the monstrous Kirkum."

"That's right, Lee," said George. "I haven't seen anyone take a blow like that since Hugh Grant!" Thankfully, Professor McGonagall didn't get the joke.

"The Germans in possession of the quaffle now, and the big story of the match is the heightened expectations of the English seeker, Draco Malfoy. He impressed many in the last match, and has been quoted as saying that he expects nothing less than a victory today for England. A bold prediction to make in my opinion, but his confidence is soaring after out-performing Paul Kariya, the Canadian who was widely regarded as the best seeker in the tournament."

"I have heard word that Malfoy's capture of the snitch was more luck than skill, Lee," said George. "I haven't seen anyone get that lucky since Diana agreed to marry Prince Charles!"

Harry enjoyed listening to the twins' commentary as he watched the match, which was no bore itself. Xander was taking quite a beating even though he managed to dodge most of the bludgers. Even from this distance, he could see Xander's nose sticking out at a weird angle and blood covering almost the entire front of his robes. Krum's strategy was working, though, as Roger Davies scored five quick goals for an early 50-20 advantage. Kirkum, in a fit of frustration, threw his club across the pitch, and it ended up hitting Xander right above the eye, resulting in a large cut that streamed blood down his face. Davies was forced to call a timeout so Xander could get cleaned up.

"Majere really getting pounded out there today," said Lee. "The Germans appear to be trying to take him out of the match, but are ignoring the other English chasers."

"That's right, Lee," said Fred. "I haven't seen anyone take a pounding like that since Pamela Anderson!" Again, Professor McGonagall didn't understand the joke, though most of the crowd, especially the Americans, hooted and catcalled loudly.

Malfoy became bored and was now flying circles around the German seeker, much to the delight of the Slytherins. Ron moaned loudly.

"Does he really think that much of himself?" he complained.

"Malfoy using the time out to, erm... relieve some of the pressure he must surely be feeling with so much at stake," Lee said sarcastically.

"That's right, Lee," said Fred. Every time one of the twins said this line, the crowd cheered madly. "I haven't seen anything so ridiculous since the Spice Girls!" Malfoy heard this comment and made a rude gesture towards Fred. "Is that your I.Q. or number of inches?" Fred retorted, and McGonagall tore the microphone away from Fred.

"That's Okay, Fred, we all know you're number one anyway," said Lee. "And the match continues as Majere takes to the air again..."

Xander finally scored his first goal of the match (on his only shot on goal so far) on the ensuing penalty shot to give England a 60-20 lead. The German beaters became even more ruthless towards Xander for daring to score a goal, and he didn't even touch the quaffle for the next twenty minutes as they tailed him around the entire pitch. Essentially short one chaser, England fell behind, 80-70.

Xander continued his battle with Kirkum and Waldron, who were constantly throwing elbows when they weren't hitting bludgers at him. Harry had never seen such a violent Quidditch match. Xander began to fly at any German chaser who had the quaffle, and since Kirkum and Waldron were tailing him so close, the Germans had virtually no offense anymore. The two beaters took turns flying into Xander, who shouted at Madame Hooch for not calling a penalty.

"Majere very upset with the official, and I can't say I blame him," said Lee. "The German beaters blatantly flying into Majere, who has been taken out of the offensive equation by the cheat- I mean, the tactics of the Germans," he finished quickly as Professor McGonagall scolded him for his words.

"That's right, Lee," said George, who remained after Fred was kicked out. "I haven't seen such bad leadership since Napoleon Bonaparte!"

Finally frustrated, Xander threw a punch that landed squarely on Waldron's jaw, nearly knocking him out cold. Kirkum grabbed Xander and tried to throw him off his broom, and would have succeeded if Xander hadn't taken Kirkum's club and beaten him over the head with it.

"I can't believe they're cheating so bad!" Harry cried. "Why is Madame Hooch letting them get away with it?"

Madame Hooch had reached her breaking point. She awarded Xander a penalty shot for Kirkum's action, but awarded Germany two shots for Xander's antics. "If any of you three so much as talk each other, I'll call the match!" she was shouting. Krum was threatening to pull Xander out of the game if he didn't clean up his play.

"I remember Majere saying he never broke the rules," Angelina was saying behind Harry.

"How can you criticize him for that?" Ron snapped at her. "It's about time he retaliated!"

The crowd agreed with Ron, and cheered madly as Xander scored on his penalty shot. The keeper from Slytherin pulled off two amazing saves to keep the score even at 80 points each.

Harry heard Malfoy, who was hovering very near where Harry was sitting, say, "I've had enough of this bullshit." Malfoy shot down the pitch as play resumed, and seven seconds later held his hand in the air, the snitch firmly grasped in his fist. He flew back to where Harry was sitting, and pointed directly at him. "That's how it's done, Potter," he taunted.

Harry was in a very bad mood the rest of the day. Malfoy seemed to be able to get under his skin quite easily these days, and taunting Harry in front of five thousand people was no exception. Ron had to physically restrain Harry from cursing Malfoy. It didn't help that Malfoy's bragging was beyond bearable; he certainly thought he was the next great seeker, and even brought up the idea that people would forget all about Krum.

Xander wasn't in any better mood. It had taken Madame Pomfrey several hours to patch him up, and Harry didn't see him again until he limped his way through the Great Hall at dinnertime. His face looked like one large bruise, and his eye was swollen almost closed due to the shot in the head from Kirkum's club. The other three houses cheered his entrance (he had, after all, been the one most responsible for the victory by drawing the beaters off the chasers), but the Slytherins shouted out several degrading insults.

"You look terrible," observed Hermione.

"Thanks, Hermione. The bags under your eyes look quite lovely today," said Xander sarcastically. Alicia had to make a plate of food for Xander, as he still didn't have full use of his left arm, and winced visibly whenever he tried to move it.

"Yeah, but your in the finals now," said Ron. "Just think if we win! I hear another party calling..." He held his hand behind his ear and pretended to be listening to something only he could hear.

Brandy had decided to join Alicia for dinner, since they hadn't spoken much recently due to the extra practices Brandy had and the demands of their studies. She took one look at Xander and began to unload a variety of Muggle painkillers, which Xander refused to take.

"If I take all those, I won't know who the hell I am in an hour," he said stubbornly.

In the end, Alicia's insistence convinced him to take at least a portion of Brandy's prescription (Alicia planned to study medicine upon graduation). "Peer pressure sucks," he joked. "You just want me unconscious so you can take advantage of me." Alicia blushed furiously despite her denial.

But Harry wasn't very much interested in this conversation. He noticed Roger Davies trying to talk to Cho again, who was sitting near Harry, but at her own house's table. Cho grew more irritated the longer he stood there, and said quite loudly that she wanted to be left alone. Malfoy decided to saunter over and apparently said some rude comments, as Cho's face grew very red and she looked over to Harry with a pleading look in her eye. Harry was on his feet and at Cho's side in an instant.

"Have a problem?" he growled at Malfoy and Davies. Ron was right behind Harry, and it took several seconds for Xander to limp over as well. Malfoy only smiled wickedly, but Davies continues on as if Harry wasn't there.

"C'mon, Cho, you know you want this. I'm an international star now. You go for Quidditch players. It fits. Just quit denying it and you'll be happier. Well, happier than you are with that scrawny little runt," he said, indicated Harry with a nod of his head.

"It's time for you to go," Harry said sternly. "She doesn't want to talk to you." He was trying his best to keep his anger in check and not create a scene, but half the school was looking over anyway.

"C'mon, Roger," said Malfoy, putting a hand on Davies's shoulder. "It's not worth it. Remember what happened the last time someone stole her from Potter?"

"Screw you," Harry almost whispered. He felt his anger quickly growing out of control, and his face felt like it was on fire. He could no longer hear what was going on around him, and a glass goblet shattered on its own.

"See?" said Malfoy. "Back off before we end up like Diggory."

"Piss off Malfoy!" Ron said angrily. He tried to grab Harry's shoulder, but Harry shrugged him off violently.

"No. Say what you have to say. I dare you," he told Malfoy. When he refused to answer, Harry shoved him violently. "C'mon. I fuckin' dare you." Another shove. Malfoy's silence only further angered Harry, and he no longer had any thought of what he was doing. He only knew that he wanted nothing more than Malfoy's blood on his hands. Malfoy's constant smile should've warned Harry, but he was no longer thinking sanely.

"You gonna kill me, Potter?" goaded Malfoy. "You gonna kill me like you did Diggory?" He said this last part loudly, and a deafening quiet hit the Great Hall as all heads turned, including the teachers' heads at the Head Table.

Harry whipped out his wand without thinking and pointed it directly at Malfoy's heart. Malfoy paled, but did not move. "Do it, Potter," he said, his voice shaking slightly. "Do it. You've already proven yourself capable. Show everyone that you are a murderer."

Harry's eyes fogged over in his rage, and when he could begin to see again, he was surprised to find himself face-down on the floor, which only added to his anger. The candles in the Great Hall had all blown out, dishes cracked without being touched, pitchers of pumpkin juice spilled, and every piece of glass shattered. Harry's anger had completely gotten out of his control, and anything that could break did.

"You're a goddamn murderer!" Malfoy kept shouting over and over again. "You bloody murderer, you wanna kill me too! Get off him! Let him try! I'll kill you first, Potter!"

Malfoy's words began to sink in, bringing Harry almost back to reality. He was now aware that both Ron and Xander had him pinned to the floor, which explained why he couldn't permanently shut Malfoy's mouth. The more Malfoy shouted "Murderer!" the more he saw visions of Cedric.

He looked over to Cho, and saw that she had her hands over her face, her fingers digging into her flesh, and she was crying. Someone was sitting next to her, but he couldn't quite make out whom it was. The person came into focus more and more until he was finally distinguishable, but stopped coming into focus just before he became solid. Among the tears of anger clouding his vision, he could make out Cedric sitting next to Cho, his arm around her.

"I'd be sitting here right now if it weren't for you," said Cedric with a sad look in his eyes, almost as if he didn't want to say it. Harry lost all will to fight and gave up on his attempts to free himself from Ron and Xander. The less he fought and the more his will was sucked out of him, the foggier and more obscure Cedric became until he was no longer there. Only Cho sat there now, looking terrified. She was pleading, "Please stop, Harry! Please! Don't listen to him!"

If the reality of the situation was cruel, Harry's state of unreality was even harsher. He had only images of what was going on. Professor McGonagall was purple in the face, scolding Malfoy so furiously that he looked scared for the first time. Snape was dragging Malfoy away. Cho was crying. Ron was trying to whisper soothing thoughts to Harry, but he could no longer hear him. Xander's voice was all that filled his head, saying "Come back, Harry. Open your mind. Come back to us," over and over again. Harry wished he would shut up and let him drift off into oblivion, into a place where he no longer had to think or feel, into a place where nothing could hurt him anymore, and he could hurt no one else.