Extracurricular activities - year 6

Harry skipped breakfast the next morning and stayed in the common room and left for Potions a little early to beat the crowds of students in the halls. He was first to class and found Fleur already there. "Ah. There's our seeker. Another lesson tonight? They'll be an announcement next week about the balls 'Arry. I'm so excited," Fleur said and then came closer. "You're name came up when the teachers were talking about the ball. May I ask you about something?" Fleur's face looked serious.

Having never seen Fleur look serious since she came to Hogwarts, Harry was a bit concerned. "Of course, anything you want."

Fleur wasn't looking at Harry when she asked, "Did you really bring a vampire to the ball last year?"

"Yes, I really did," Harry replied breathing a sigh of relief. "I took a potion to make me look like a vampire also so that the other student's wouldn't know she was real. We dated until the end of the term."

"That is what I heard. Did you love this vampire?"

Harry got a sad look and answered, "Yes, I loved her."

"You didn't mind that most people are afraid of them?" she asked hesitantly.

"That didn't matter to me at all," said Harry so quickly that Fleur kind of snapped back. "I knew what she was like and she was one of the best people I've ever known. I learned so much from her."

"I'm impressed someone so young could see people for what they are inside. You are full of surprises."

Other students finally started coming in. As usual, Fleur's class was interesting and she made the time go by quickly. At lunch, Cho called Harry over to make sure he was still coming to the Ravenclaw house that evening.

Harry was looking forward to Defense class but this time Snape was in rare form. "So Mr. Potter. The fame of being Co-Tri-Wizard Champion wasn't enough. You had to become an international Quidditch celebrity as well. We're just not challenging you enough here I see. Why don't you come up here so I can demonstrate a few other spells we will be working on?" The smirk on the Professor's face made Harry start to worry.

"Since you don't seem to have trouble with the little pain spells so we'll try something different." Snape pointed his wand at Harry and said a curse. Suddenly, Harry felt a familiar feeling. One the brought back very bad memories. He was bending in the middle, bowing to Snape.

When Snape released the spell, Harry snapped, "What did you do? That's exactly what Voldemort did to me." Harry's mind was flashing back to being forced to bow to Voldemort after the Tri-Wizard Tournament.

The class gasped, especially the Ravenclaws. Snape just smiled a little and said, "It's actually a simple spell, with an easy way to block it. Most people would never have the reason to block it though since it is used for medical rehabilitation, for people who have lost some mobility. It causes the muscles to contract, in this case simulating a bow. I imagine the Dark Lord had a good laugh using it on you."

Harry spoke up intently, "How can I block that? Umm... Sir," hoping the Professor would teach him.

"Simple Mr. Potter," Snape said slowly making Harry wait. "Whatever you feel your muscles wanting to do, try to make them do it yourself. If you feel them trying to make you bow, attempt to bow. If your arm tries to go up, try to raise your arm. The signals from the brain get cancelled out that way. Would you like to try again?"

"Yes sir, please." Harry was very eager to see if he could block it.

It took two times before he really let go and attempted to do what the spell was forcing him to do. Strangely enough, that caused the spell to be broken. After that, Snape tried it on most of the rest of the class. Both Ron and Hermione were able to block it quickly.

After class Snape said, "A word Mr. Potter. I've been making acceptable progress with the technique you mentioned. I'm to the point where the pain is tolerable. You mentioned something about a surprise."

Harry still hadn't fully become comfortable with Snape treating him as a human being, but was very grateful for the Professor teaching him how to block that last curse. "Oh, yes sir. The spell is 'Totilla Desissa'. The trick is you can't be blocking all the pain to use it. The more pain you let through, the more powerful the offensive spell will be. Be careful sir, the first time I was able to do it, I destroyed a wall. That's what I did to Voldemort in the forest. I don't know how he lived."

Snape again looked at Harry like he couldn't quite figure him out. "Thank you Potter. I'll have to arrange someplace to practice."

"Professor, thank you for teaching me how to block that one spell. I never really got over having to bow to him," Harry said honestly. All Snape did was nod back.

Harry met Fleur for his dancing lesson. "Good, you're here. I am anxious to begin dancing. Please, try something. Try picturing me as your friend from the ball last year. I know you're getting friendly with another now, but try to think back if you can. Think about how you felt about her when you were alone. Close your eyes and don't talk this time, just dance with her."

This seemed strange but Harry closed his eyes and really tried to think back. Fleur came to him and he started dancing, picturing himself with R.J. and remembering how good she felt. After a few moments, he instinctively pulled Fleur tighter than he had been and they moved perfectly together. He was able to picture exactly how R.J. felt in his arms and even how she smelled.

After the song, Harry stepped back with a tear in his eye. Fleur smiled warmly at him and said, "That is the way to dance Harry. Now, can you do that picturing me? Or your new friend? The memories of the ones we've loved never leave. They can either torment us or strengthen us. Ready?"

More music came on and Harry began dancing again. He held Fleur like before but he still pictured her as Fleur, enjoying her company and the movements. The couple talked, laughed and danced for quite a few songs in a row until Fleur said, "You are really getting good Harry. I would be happy dancing with you anytime. Do not worry about dancing with anyone at the ball." They were just finishing talking when 'pop Dobby appeared. Fleur seemed startled and exclaimed, "What are you doing here?"

"Forgive me Professor. I am Harry Potter's house-elf and have brought him something he requested. I'm sorry Harry Potter sir if I came at a bad time."

"No, of course not Dobby. And remember, you're not my house-elf. You're my friend who happens to work for me. There's a difference. Thank you for bringing me the sweets. See you Saturday." Dobby left without another word.

"You have a house-elf?" Fleur asked surprised.

"First, these are for you," he gave her the small plate of sweets, "to thank you for teaching me how to dance. Dobby and Winky work for me but come to the school when I'm here instead of staying at my home alone. They're both free elves, they can leave any time."

"Free house-elves? I've never heard such a thing," the young Professor again shook her head at how much she didn't know about her friend and student. "My family has a house-elf. I've never given them much thought."

"Dobby is really my friend. He tried to protect me a few times. When I got my home last year I asked them to work for me. I live alone and don't know how to do many things."

"You live alone? With two house-elves? I have much to learn about you," Fleur said amused and noticed the other tray. "What is this other tray of sweets for?"

"I'm invited to the Ravenclaw common room and wanted to make a good impression. This always worked for friends of mine."

"You will visit their house? That is good. You will make a good impression. See you next week."

Harry took the tray and went to the hall where the Ravenclaw house was. Cho was there waiting. "You're later than I thought. Let me guess, dance lessons went long," the dark haired girl said and then noticed the tray Harry was carrying. "Hey, what have you got there?"

"Well, they were going to be sweets for your house but I don't know with the greeting you just gave me." He smiled and she came over and gave him a kiss. She gave the password and their portrait swung open.

Inside Cho announced, "We have a guest tonight so everyone be on your best behavior." Harry looked around. There were quite a few students in the common area and they were mostly girls. The Ravenclaw common room seemed so much nicer and more formal than the Gryffindor room. Their furniture was in better shape and it was just decorated better.

"This is really nice," Harry said after taking it in. They walked over to a group of chairs where Harry recognized some of Cho's friends were sitting.

"For those of you who haven't met him, this is Harry Potter, a Gryffindor," Cho said and there were a few 'boos' in jest.

The girls all greeted him and then Harry presented the sweets. "I didn't want to come empty-handed so a friend arranged these for me to bring to you." He sat the tray down on the table. The girls really seemed to appreciate this gesture. The group just talked about school and the differences in the houses. Harry told them the Gryffindor common room wasn't as nice and was almost never this quite. "Remember we used to have Fred and George Weasley in ours. It's was not uncommon for one of us to turn into some weird animal for a while after eating one of their inventions."

Harry was grateful that no one mentioned his new Quidditch position. He assumed Cho made them promise not to talk about it. The only comment that came close was when another girl on the Ravenclaw team said, "I wish you were still playing this year so when we beat you we could have said we beat Harry Potter."

"You know, that's the real reason I quit the team. You're team was getting so good last year that I knew we wouldn't win anymore. I think Ginny Weasley will be as good a seeker as I ever was. Cho you'll have to have a really good game to beat her."

"Harry, would you mind me asking for a favor?" A girl named Kelly asked.

Cho quickly spoke up and said, "Kelly, you promised!"

"It's ok Cho. What is it Kelly?" Harry said wondering what the girl wanted.

"It's just most of us weren't there when you spoke to that snake in the dueling club. It would be really interesting for us to actually see you do that. I'm thinking of writing a paper for my N.E.W.Ts which covers the history of Parslemouths. A fourth-year student has a snake as a pet. Kind of creeps me out actually, but if he would bring it down would you mind talking to it?"

"You don't have to if it bothers you Harry," Cho said still angry.

"Not at all. Just don't get freaked out when I do it. Ron and Hermione say it sounds really creepy. To me, it's just like I'm speaking English. I can't even tell I'm doing it."

Kelly ran up the stairs and came back a minute later with a boy carrying a box about the size of two shoe boxes. "This is Bill."

"Hi Bill, I'm Harry. I've heard you have a snake. Would you mind if I talked to it?"

Bill was kind of nervous and protective of his snake. "You won't hurt her or anything will you? Most people don't like me having her here."

"Not at all. I can talk to snakes and want to try with yours. What's her name?"

Kelly asked quickly, "It has a name?"

"It has to have a name now doesn't it?" Harry smiled thinking of Hagrid saying the same thing.

"Her name's Sally. You have to be careful; she has bitten some people who are too rough with her. It doesn't hurt, she has really small teeth," Bill said.

"That's ok; I've been bitten by a really big snake before. I would have died if it hadn't been for Fawkes."

"Who's Fawkes?" Cho asked.

"Dumbledore's Phoenix. Amazing bird." Harry turned back to the boy. "Is it ok if I see her now Bill?" Bill opened the box and Harry saw the snake curled up in the corner. It looked like a common garden snake and he could tell it was kind of scared.

"Don't hurt me please. Stay back," the snake was saying.

Harry said, "Don't worry Sally, I wouldn't hurt you. I like snakes, really." The snake's posture changed immediately; she straightened out towards the end closest to Harry.

"How are you talking to me? I've never talked to a human before?" The snake hissed

"Just a little gift I have. Is it ok if I hold you so that these girls can see you are really friendly? I'll put you back if you just ask. You know Bill really likes you and tries to protect you."

"You can hold me. Please don't let them hurt me. The boy is my friend but he has friends who scare me."

Harry picked up the snake gently and she coiled around his fingers with her head resting on the back of his hand. He held her out so the girls could get a look. "Sally said she is afraid of you girls and is worried you would hurt her. She's just really scared of people. Not you Bill, she likes you."

"She really talked to you? All I heard was hissing," Bill said excitedly.

Harry thought for a second and then turned back to the snake. "Sally, what kind of pajamas does Bill wear?"

"Blue ones with stars."

"Bill, do you wear blue pajamas with stars on them?"

"She told you that!" Bill blushed bright red. The girls laughed and then had Harry ask the snake some questions and then he put her back. "Thanks for letting me hold you Sally. I don't think the girls are so afraid of you now."

"And I'm not so afraid of them either. Thank you."

Harry put the snake back and told Bill. "Bill, she's really afraid of some of your friends. I'll tell you what. You tell them that I'm going to come back and talk to Sally sometimes and if I find out they've been mean to her, I'll hex them. Ok."

Bill seemed really happy and said, "Ok" and ran back upstairs.

Cho was beaming at him. "That was really nice of you."

"Thanks Harry, that was really interesting," Kelly commented, "kind of creepy, but interesting."

Cho walked Harry out. "Thanks for coming Harry. My friends really seem to like you."

"It was fun. I liked being around all of you. See you later." Harry turned to walk away.

Cho quickly said, "Um Harry, aren't you forgetting something?" He looked confused but she stepped to him and gave him a nice kiss on the lips.

"Oh, how could I forget that?" Harry said afterwards.

That Saturday, Harry arrived at Professor McGonagall's office with his new broom, ready to go to his first practice. "Where's Dobby?" Harry asked.

"He's gone ahead Harry. Do your best and we'll see you back here this afternoon." His Professor looked nervous. "Good luck," she added.

Harry threw the powder into the fire and stepped in. Within seconds he was coming out of the fireplace at the team's practice facilities. Winky and a man Harry had never seen were standing there. "Harry Potter? I'm Tom, the trainer. Let's get you some your practice robes and out to the field. You're right on time. You're house-elf friend gave me quite a start earlier."

"Hello sir. Sorry about Dobby. I didn't know he would be coming before me. The school thinks it's necessary," Harry said getting a little embarrassed. "Dobby, would you mind helping Tom if he needs anything while I'm practicing? That would give you something to do and could maybe help Tom out. Would that be ok with you Tom?"

"I may need some things fetched from containers and such. It would be fine by me."

"Dobby is liking helping out sir. Please sir, just ask when sir wants Dobby to help."

Harry got some practice robes and went out. He wasn't the last one to show up. "Harry. Good, you made it. Not all of the team is here but let me introduce you to those who are. This is Tim Williams, he is the keeper and team captain. This is Keith Timms and Kevin Shively, beaters. This is Kristi Belig, chaser. Our other chaser isn't here yet." Kristi was a tall, slender, powerful looking girl with platinum hair and a cold set of eyes that seemed to bore into him.

Harry said hello to all of them and got the feeling they weren't excited about him being there. He took the opportunity to fly around the pitch since he hadn't been on the broom after it was delivered to him. He was still really amazed with how quickly it accelerated and turned. After a few minutes he noticed another player had arrived and went back to the group.

"This is our final team member, Harry. Jacque Dubois, chaser," Coach announced.

"Somehow, I thought you'd be bigger," Jacque said in a heavy French accent.

"Decent flying up there. Can you do it in front of a crowd while dodging bludgers?" Kristi asked rather coldly.

They started practicing and Harry quickly realized how much he didn't know. They moved so well together and they were expecting him to do more than just wait around to catch the snitch. "Potter! You need to consider yourself a bludger until you see the snitch. Do anything you can to disrupt the other team, or to distract the other seeker without getting penalties or missing the snitch. If you can intimidate one of the other players, that will be a huge advantage for us. We play fair, but not nice. Let's go again."

This time Harry really tried to figure out what to do. He was able to break up some scoring runs by flying close in front of them. He seemed to be spending most of the time dodging bludgers though. A few had come really close to hitting him and only by rolling or looping had he been able to avoid them. He got the feeling that the beaters weren't trying to protect him at all. He felt better towards the end of practice. He felt more comfortable heading straight into an oncoming chaser to disrupt him and it even seemed the beaters started watching out a little for him. Back on the ground with the team Jacque spoke up first, "Think you'll hold up for a full season? Real teams won't be as nice as our practice squad."

"Get off it Jacque. He's already better than Martin was," Kristi snapped. Jacque gave her a really evil look.

"Come on now. It's fair to say this was one of our better early season practices," the coach interrupted before an argument broke out. "There is still a lot to work on and Harry has a long way to go before we face Wales in the opener. That's my job to make sure he's ready. Everybody work out as much as you can and I'll see you next week. Harry can you stay a moment please."

Most of the other members patted Harry on the back telling him he did a good job today. Kristi said, "Don't let Jacque get to you, you did ok."

"Harry, you did pretty good today, better than I expected for your first day. You need to get comfortable being part of the action for the entire match instead of just the run for the snitch, but I think you're seeing that. Also, I think you could stand some training on seeker diversionary techniques. Luckily our trainer Tom is a technical expert. Doesn't really want to play or fly much, but he really knows techniques. He can explain and diagram what he's saying, but he won't show you. Why don't you work with him another hour before heading back?"

Harry was already really tired but wanted to learn as much as he could so he went over to Tom. "Good flying today Harry. You're really a natural," the trainer said walking over to his chest. "Coach wants me to show you some technical moves that come in very handy. The first is a difficult move to pull off, but if done correctly can really cause the other seeker some problems. It's called the Wronski Feint."

"I saw Krum do that. I think I can already do it but would still like to see it drawn out." Harry said excitedly. Tom drew out maneuvers in the air with his wand. They were also being written down by a magic pen so that Harry could study them later.

After the time was up Tom seemed pleased by how quick Harry picked up the technical parts of the maneuvers. "Oh, and Harry. You can bring Dobby back any time. He was really helpful today."

Dobby was beaming when Harry said, "Dobby. Obviously you made a good impression today. Do you want to keep coming back with me?"

"Oh yes sir! Dobby is liking this very much. Being treated as a friend of Harry Potter is even greater than Dobby imagined."

They headed inside to the fireplace. "I'll see you back at Hogwarts. Thanks for coming with me," Harry said before stepping into the fire.

Professor McGonagall was there waiting when he got back. "A little later than we expected Mr. Potter. Did everything go well?"

"Yes professor. I had to stay after to learn some seeker technical moves. It is very different than playing here. I'm not sure the rest of the team likes me much though."

"It's good you're learning those moves. Natural talent is fine here, but can't compensate for everything." She looked at him differently. "Does it surprise you that they don't act like they like you? Here you've had years to build up friendships and respect. There, they probably see you as a schoolboy who thinks he can play at their professional level. You just have to work extra hard and show them you are dedicated and can play at their level. I doubt they will be friendly to you until you've earned their respect. This is their job and until they realize you can help them and not hurt them, they will have their doubts."

"Thanks Professor. I'm going to go lie down and rest for a while." Harry walked slowly along the corridor. He hadn't been paying attention to where he was going or walking and almost walked right into Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle.

"Watch where you're going Potter! Where's your fan club? You're never alone," Malfoy spat. Crabbe and Goyle laughed, but they would laugh at anything Draco said.

"Not in the mood today Malfoy," said Harry, turning to go back in the correct direction.

"Potter. I want to talk a minute," Malfoy said with less hate. He came over and left his two bodyguards standing alone. "Over here," Malfoy motioned and the two walked to a corner away from anyone.

"For the next few minutes, I'd like to call a truce. Something's been bothering me since last year and I want to ask you about it," Malfoy asked almost sheepishly.

"Why should I want to talk to you about your problems?" Harry said not believing Malfoy.

"You don't have to, but I'm asking you to."

"What is it Malfoy?" Harry wanted him to get on with it.

"I want to know what really happened between you and my father at the end of last year. He just acted strangely over the summer and said I should make sure I'm never alone with you," Malfoy said softly. Harry really got the impression Draco was telling the truth.

"If you really want, I'll tell you the truth but I'm not going to leave anything out. You'll hear everything that had to do with him that day," Harry said. Malfoy nodded. Harry went on to tell him everything about how Lucius had asked Voldemort if he could take care of me instead of letting Voldemort do it. Then he told Draco about cursing his father and Voldemort just laughing at him. Then about Voldemort using the Cruciatus curse on Lucius. Harry mentioned that he thought Lucius was in the cave that he collapsed and Harry didn't know if Lucius had lived or not.

"That kind of fits with the little pieces I've heard him mention. What's this spell you put on him. What would have stopped him like that if it wasn't an unforgivable curse?" Draco asked.

"You really want to know?" Harry raised his wand and did the constriction curse on Draco's throat. Suddenly Malfoy started gasping and clutching his throat. Harry quickly released the spell and saw Malfoy stop his friends from coming over.

"What was that? You could have killed my dad with that?"

"I'm not telling what it was and I didn't kill your father with it. I just stopped him from attacking Cho or me. Remember, they were going to kill her, and they did kill R.J."

Draco looked at him for a minute and said, "I meant what I said about being sorry about R.J. We can go back to normal now."

"Thanks for the comments about R.J." Harry replied and then headed to his common room still in shock about that conversation. So, Lucius Malfoy is afraid of him. He wondered if any of the Death Eaters felt this way. Maybe they were having doubts about Voldemort. He was able to get up to his bed without any of his good friends spotting him and lied down before falling asleep quickly.

He could have slept more but woke up with Ron shaking him. "Wake up, get down here and tell us what happened. When did you get back?"

Harry put on his glasses, rolled out of bed and went down to the common room to sit with Ron and Hermione. Before he started the story about practice he asked, "So, how did tryouts go, did you find good players?"

"Yeah, they went really well. A couple of the ones who tried out last year made it. Then your fan Colin Creevy made it. He's gotten really good. We should have a pretty good team this year. No offense Harry," Ron replied hoping he hadn't hurt Harry's feelings.

"None taken Ron," Harry replied honestly happy for the team. "My practice was hard. I'm not very good compared to them. I'll probably get booted before the first match and then I won't be playing at all this year. Wait, I forgot to tell you something. You should hear what Malfoy said to me." Harry went on to tell them the story.

"So old Malfoy's afraid of you. Should be too," Ron said relishing the thought.

"Even so, it's strange Draco asked Harry about it," Hermione said. Just then Hedwig came in. She had been gone for a long time.

Harry

I don't like the idea of you playing professional Quidditch right now. You're a big enough target at school and now you'll be going to places we can't protect you. Knowing you I imagine you've already accepted and started so what I want won't make much difference. I'll have to talk to Dumbledore to find out how you can be protected. Things are starting to happen out here. Nothing major but things aren't quiet. Make sure you tell me if anything seems strange to you, no matter how small. I can't come back for a while and notes don't get to me very quickly.

Why can't you just be happy being a student? I already know the answer to that so I wasn't really asking.

Tell Ron and Hermione I'm expecting them to keep an eye on you.

S.

"Oh, he doesn't think I should be playing does he. How often have I been attacked here where I'm being protected? It can't be much worse out in the real world," Harry said angrily.

"Harry. You know he's just worried about you. I'm sure he's really proud that you made the team but he'd rather have you safe," Hermione added making sure Harry realized Sirius' point of view.

"They'll be people around all the time Hermione. At practice there's the rest of the team and staff and then at matches they'll be thousands. Nobody's going to try anything there," Ron added.

"Ron's right and you know it," Harry said finally.

"Hogsmeade tomorrow Harry, you coming?" Ron asked changing the subject.

"Can't Ron," Harry said sounding depressed. "I really need to practice some moves. I'm going to go to the pitch and try them out."

"That's the right thing to do Harry. We'll bring you back some stuff," Hermione offered.

Harry was sitting quietly at the end of the Gryffindor table eating and going over the parchments of seeker maneuvers he needed to learn. He didn't notice a group of four girls around until Cho said, "Earth to Harry. What's so interesting?"

"Oh, Hi. Sorry, I'm just trying to learn some stuff. What are you four doing?" Harry asked.

"Wondering if you want to go to Hogsmeade with us tomorrow?" Cho said.

Harry looked suddenly unhappy. "I'd really like to but I have to learn these seeker moves before next weeks practice. I'm really behind the rest of the team."

"So, finally you have to work at Quidditch," Kelly said with a smile.

"I understand Harry. I'll try to find you when we get back. Bye," Cho said and they left. Harry really wanted to spend time with her but was worried about being good enough for the team. He just went back up to the common room to do some schoolwork and study the parchments.

He got up early and went down to the Quidditch pitch ready to try out what he had been studying. Fundamentally, they all involved either heading for something really fast and veering away at the last minute trying to make the other seeker think you were after the snitch, or some rolling/looping maneuver to dodge a bludger. He had been going over them until early afternoon. He felt pleased with his feinting moves now. He could dive toward the ground full speed and swerve off in almost any direction and feel the grass blades beneath him. That had to be good enough, any lower and he would be in the dirt. Going toward an object that wasn't the ground was harder at first to get close to before veering off. After more practice, he had gotten really good at his favorite which was going full speed toward the tower of the stands and pulling straight up feeling his toes brush the banners hanging down. Racing back and forth from one end of the pitch to the other either he practiced feinting into the tower or diving down to the ground and heading back over and over. He was getting really tired and decided to quit for the day when he saw Cho and her friends standing in the entrance to the field. He flew over to them and dismounted his broom.

"That was really amazing flying Harry! Teach Cho some of that," Kelly said.

"That was really good. How do you think it is going?" Cho asked.

"I'm better than this morning, but it's hard to tell without seeing if the other seeker is following you. How was Hogsmeade?"

"It was fun but Cho would have been happier if you were there," Kelly joked.

"And, what's wrong with that?" Cho asked. "Want to come up to eat with us?"

"I really need to go clean up, but I'll hurry and meet you there. Don't wait on me; I don't want to sit with a bunch of hungry girls," he joked and they headed toward the castle.

After cleaning up, Harry came into the dining hall and saw Ron and Hermione calling him over. He quickly went over but just said, "I'm going to go eat with Cho. That's ok isn't it?"

Ron seemed a bit hurt but Hermione said quickly, "Of course, we understand. We'll talk later."

Harry hurried over to the Ravenclaw table and found that Cho had saved him a spot next to her. The girls had eaten almost everything when Harry got his food so he just listened to them talking while he ate. They were discussing their N.E.W.Ts coming up and sometimes their plans after school. Hearing these discussions made Harry nervous about what would happen between him and Cho after this year since she wouldn't be coming back. He didn't want to think about that now.

When he finished eating, one of the girls asked him if he thought about what he was going to do after school but Kelly jumped in, "Well he's already doing it. Professional Quidditch. Why would he do anything else?"

"If it works out, that's what I'll probably do. Otherwise, I'm going to be an Unspeakable." He saw the look of confusion on their faces. He thought all wizards knew about them.

"What's an Unspeakable?" Kelly asked obviously never having heard of them.

"Well, it's a special department in the Ministry of Magic, the official name is Department of Mysteries. They don't really report to the Minister and no one really knows what all they do. They even have special entrances with security floo's to get into their department." Harry thought that with Ron knowing all of this, it was public knowledge.

"How do you know so much about them?" One of the other girls asked.

Now he was getting trapped. He hadn't told Cho about the training so he wasn't going to bring it up in front of all her friends. "Oh, you know. I got a tour once and hear things. It just seemed like an interesting place to work, that's all."

Cho gave him an interesting look but Kelly said, "Oh yeah, like you'd pick working for the Ministry over playing Quidditch." They all went on talking and Harry found out that Cho was either going to work with her father's business or work in the Ministry in the financial department since she was so good with numbers.

That evening Harry thought about the Unspeakables and what Fletch had said about coming to work for them. In their sixth years, the students needed to start thinking about their career path so they could choose seventh-year classes correctly. Harry decided to write to Fletch to thank him for the previous training and to ask him his opinion on classes.

Fletch

I wanted to finally write and thank you again for training me the previous summer. Without that training, I wouldn't have survived the end of last term. I hope you were able to quickly figure out who the unspeakable was that was with Voldemort and that he didn't get too much information. I really thought about asking if I could come back this last summer but for most of it, I really wasn't in the mood to even think about magic. I don't know how much you heard but I lost someone close to me and it took a while to get over.

I have another question. We're supposed to be picking our career paths and if Quidditch doesn't work out, I would really like to work in your department. What classes would you suggest I take that could help my chance for getting in?

Thanks again, and tell everyone that without their help, I wouldn't have made it.

Harry Potter.

He went up and gave the note to Hedwig to deliver. Walking back, he saw some Slytherin girls coming down the corridor towards him. This was something he didn't want to deal with so he slipped down a side corridor and ended up running into Professor Snape. "Watch where you're going Potter."

"Sorry sir, I was trying to avoid someone."

"Who could you be trying to avoid? A crazed group of fans?"

"Not even close sir. Slytherins."

"Well not everyone likes seeing how easy things come for you Potter. And I do know some people in my house who try to blame all their problems on you."

The next week was going well. He had another dance lesson with Fleur and she was happy with his progress and told him again about the announcement this week. At the end of the week during meal time, Professor Dumbledore got everyone's attention and stated, "I have an announcement to make that I'm sure will be of interest to you all. Some of you will remember after the Tri-Wizard Tournament that I invited the students from the other schools back anytime. Finally we have made some progress in getting more interaction between the schools. We are going to hold two balls this year, one here at Hogwarts and the other at Beauxbatons. Unfortunately Durmstrang wasn't able to participate in this but perhaps in the future. Our ball will be held the second Saturday in November and the Beauxbatons will be held the first Saturday in February. Now for the bad part. Only fifth-year students will be traveling from one school to the other. All students may participate in their own school's ball. I hope everyone eligible will take part in this wonderful opportunity to interact with our friends at Beauxbatons."

Everyone started talking about this and Harry saw Cho looking at him with a smile. She realized he had known this was going to be announced. He just smiled back at her. Hermione leaned over, "You knew didn't you? You knew and didn't tell us."

"Well yes, I kind of found out. That's why I've been learning to dance," he said. "You two can practice with each other, I needed to learn."

Hermione was really excited. "Oh, it'll be wonderful to see their school. I can't wait. Ron, aren't you excited about going?"

"Does this mean you're asking me to the ball?" Ron said with a laugh.

"It really means I'm telling you that we're going," Hermione said confidently.

"I have to do something, I'll be right back." Harry got up and went to the Ravenclaw table. He greeted them all and leaned into Cho. "Cho, before someone beats me too it and I'm left out in the cold, would you please be me date for both of the balls?"

She smiled up at him and said, "This time, I would have waited until the last day. I'd love to go. Good thing for me you're learning how to dance, huh?"