Extracurricular activities - year 6

Quidditch practice went pretty well on Saturday. Harry spent most of the time working with Tom, demonstrating the moves he had been practicing and getting some more tips. Tom seemed quite pleased with the progress. Finally the coach called him over for some full team practice. Harry played with more confidence and was able to use some of the moves Tom had taught him. One time the other seeker ploughed right into one of the stands following Harry's feint. Even the beaters seemed to be trying much harder to keep the bludgers away from him. When it was over, everyone but Jacque seemed happy.

"Make sure you can do that when it counts," Jacque said before leaving for the day.

Kristi came by mussed up his hair and said, "Not bad schoolboy." Even though she only ever said a few words to Harry, and those weren't in a nice tone of voice, he felt some kind of connection to the chaser. And, he had to admit that she was dead gorgeous as well.

Tom had given him a few more things to work on before Harry and Dobby went back to Hogwarts. He had gotten a letter while he was at practice.

Harry

Good to hear from you. We were all worried about you when Mrs. Figg filled us in on what she knew at the end of term. She hadn't heard the story from you, only from that student you saved. We really appreciate you having her inform Dumbledore that an unspeakable was there. It was an easy process to track down who it was since we found out so quickly. Luckily it wasn't a current member, but one who had left but still had some contacts. We think that he found out you were here that summer and had informed Voldemort. Dumbledore filled us in after you woke up. We would all like to hear it from you at some point.

You would have been welcome to come back over the summer. We were hoping that you would actually. I can understand wanting some time alone after losing a good friend like you did. Maybe this coming summer will be a more appropriate time; just let me know.

I saw in the paper that you are playing seeker for France. Too bad for us it couldn't be England, but that's quite an accomplishment. I couldn't suggest anything for you to concentrate on that would help you fit in our department. As I've said before, you can be assured of a spot with us if you want it. More than schooling, we base our choices on meeting the person and finding out their special talents. We know enough of yours already to be confident that you would fit in.

I'll tell everyone you said hello, and if some free time comes up, we should try to get together so you can tell us the real story from last year.

Fletch

So, what was he to suggest when asked about his career path. "Well, I'm playing professional Quidditch now, but if something happens there, I'm assured a job in a secret Ministry department." That would go over well with his professors.

Back in the common room, Harry remembered he had wanted a way to send messages to Cho since he couldn't get into her common room at any time. Remembering something Dumbledore had done once, he needed some information. He quickly went outside and found Ron and Hermione studying on the steps. "Hermione, can I ask you something? Have you ever read of a way that I could get a quick message to someone without using an owl? Say that Ron was down here and I was up in my room. What's the quickest way to get a short message to him?"

She thought for a minute and said, "I don't know Harry. That doesn't seem like something I've come across before. Why do you want to know?"

"To send messages to Cho of course," Ron added smugly. "I mean he just can't go walking into the Ravenclaw room looking for her. At least I don't think you can, can you?"

"No Ron I can't. I'm going to ask Professor McGonagall," Harry said and headed back into the castle, but before he got there he saw Cho and her friends coming down the stairs and then heard "Harry, a moment please." It was Professor Dumbledore coming out of one of the side rooms. Cho and her friends stopped before reaching Harry.

"I haven't congratulated you on you seeker position. Quite an accomplishment. I understand from Professor McGonagall that you did well in the tryouts. She's a very big fan of the game you know. She also informs me that you haven't had any points taken away, haven't broken any rules, and haven't visited Madame Pomphrey this year. Is everything all right? This seems out of character for you," the Headmaster said with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Everything is fine sir. I've been really busy with learning new techniques and classes."

"Not to mention trying to get some time alone with Miss Chang, correct?" he said with his eyes twinkling again. "I approve of the priorities you've set for yourself this year more so than I did last year. However if you had followed my wishes last year you may not be here now," the Headmaster said and looked lost in thought.

"Sir. May I ask you something? Is there a way to get a message to someone without using normal post or an owl?" Harry thought the Headmaster looked a bit confused so he explained. "Say someone like Ron was down here and I was in my room, is there any way to get a short message to him. I seem to remember you shooting something silvery out of your wand to get Hagrid after Krum was attacked."

"Very good memory Harry. Yes, there is a way. Although it is not really something that we teach, however I will give you a quick lesson if you'd like. Concentrate on a thought. Not actually a message, a thought. For instance, when I wanted Hagrid, I thought of Hagrid coming to where we were. While concentrating, say 'Fliari Memeori'. Once you master it, a type of bird will deliver the thought. The exact type of bird is specific to the person casting the spell. Kind of like the Patrons. Excuse me a moment Harry." Dumbledore raised his voice and said, "Miss Chang. You and your friends are welcome to join us. No sense waiting over there for me to leave."

Harry looked over at the group of girls and they seemed embarrassed but walked over to where Harry and Professor Dumbledore were.

"It warms my heart to see students from rival houses becoming friends. I've always felt that is one thing this school needed more of. I appreciate that you ladies have seen fit to keep Harry here firmly grounded. Make sure you put that spell to good use Harry. Good day students," Dumbledore said and then left.

"Why didn't you guys just come on over? We were just talking," Harry asked.

"We don't just talk to the headmaster," Kelly said. "I don't think any of us other than Cho have talked to him personally."

"Really?" Harry asked confused. He thought it was natural to speak to the Headmaster. "You should see his office, it's really nice. Why don't you talk to him more?"

"Harry. Like I told you before, you and your friends aren't normal students. Just going up and talking to the headmaster isn't something most students would do," said Cho giving him a stern look.

"Oh," was all Harry could say, having never given it a thought before. "I imagine he would like talking to you. If you ask him a question, you usually end up answering your own questions by the time he's done."

"What were you two talking about?" Kelly asked.

"Kelly!" Cho complained, "Don't ask him things like that?"

"Why not, I don't mind," Harry replied which caused Kelly to smile, "We were just talking about me being a seeker." Then Harry laughed a bit. "He said that he was surprised that I hadn't had any points taken away or been in any trouble so far this year and wondered if everything was all right with me."

"He did not!" Kelly said not thinking the Headmaster would say things like that to a student.

"Really he did. I told you we weren't talking about anything important and you should have come on over. If you're coming to see me and I'm ever talking to him, just come on over. He would like talking to you." Harry remembered the real reason he was talking to Dumbledore. "Then I asked him how to do a spell I've been wondering about."

"You just asked the headmaster how to do a spell? How did he take that request?" Kelly asked.

"He told me how to do it. I asked Hermione earlier but she didn't know."

"So, what's this spell?" Cho asked.

"I'll surprise you with it once I've learned it well. Did you want something earlier?" asked Harry, remembering the girls had come over to him.

"We just wanted to see how practice went. You seem in a better mood than last time," said Cho.

"It went pretty good. I've got some new things to learn but it went good. This one chaser who's been really cold to me said 'Good job schoolboy'. That's the nicest thing she's said to me so far. Jacque still doesn't like me though." Harry thought for a minute and said, "Cho, want to have a picnic near the lake tomorrow afternoon? I can probably nick some food and a basket from the kitchen."

"That sounds nice. Are you inviting my friends too?"

"They are welcome to come if you really don't want to be alone with me," Harry said trying to sound hurt.

"How about lunch with friends and us alone later? I'm sure you can find someplace private," she said with a knowing smile.

"Deal. Is that ok with the rest of you?" said Harry turning to the rest of Cho's friends.

"Sure. We can live on candy for lunch once in a while," one of the other girls said.

"Hey, I can do more then sweets," Harry protested, "I think," he added the last part as a joke.

Harry went back to the common room in a very good mood and found Ginny studying. "Ginny. Can I practice a spell with you?" She looked at him warily but he quickly added, "It won't hurt. You shouldn't feel a thing."

Seeing Harry with the pleading look in his eyes, Ginny would have given him anything. "Ok Harry, I'll trust you. What do you want me to do?"

"If the spell works, you'll know. I'm going over here to try it." He went to the far side of the room, leaving Ginny still feeling a bit confused. Concentrating on 'Ginny smiling' he said 'Fliari Memeori'. There was a small puff from his wand but nothing. He tried again taking extra care in the pronunciation. Something that looked like a bird popped out and quickly vanished. He could see Ginny's eyes getting wide, obviously wondering what was going to happen.

This time Harry concentrated really hard and though of 'Ginny smiling' and carefully said 'Fliari Memeori'. A vision of a phoenix came out of his wand and flew right threw Ginny and then disappeared. Ginny looked and him and then changed her shocked expression into a big smile. Harry held up one finger to signal one more time. He concentrated on another thought and said the spell. The phoenix went to Ginny again. She looked at him, shaking her head and stuck out her tongue at him. It had worked exactly like he wanted.

"What was that spell? That was really neat," Ginny exclaimed. Harry explained it to her and told her how to do it. He asked that she not show anyone because he wanted it to be special. "How far will the spell go?" she asked. Harry didn't know since he just learned it.

As an experiment he ran up to his room and tried it from there. Running back down she was holding up two fingers, which is what he had thought of.

"Let me try something," Harry said. He concentrated on 'Hermione coming to the common room' and said the spell. The phoenix vanished into the wall. "I wonder if it will work," he said.

Ginny was able to get a dove to come out of her wand but it quickly evaporated. Before she could try again Hermione and Ron came bursting into the room. "What was that thing? It made me think you were asking me to come up here," Hermione was asking confused.

"It worked Harry!" Ginny exclaimed.

"It's the spell I was asking you about Hermione. The one about getting a message to someone. Obviously there is a way," Harry said happy to find something that Hermione didn't know about.

"You figured it out. Did you find it in the library?" Hermione asked proudly.

Harry rolled his eyes and glanced at Ginny. "Yeah, right, me look it up in the library? I asked Dumbledore," Harry said laughing at the thought of him actually looking something up.

"Show us how to do it," Ron demanded.

"Ok, but this stays between us. It's a neat spell but not if everybody knows it." Harry went on to explain how to do it. By the time they were ready for bed, Ginny had mastered it and Hermione and Ron were getting small puffs out of their wands. Hermione was upset that Ginny could do it and she couldn't. Harry concentrated on 'Harry kissing Cho,' and said the spell. The phoenix dashed off through the walls. Harry hoped it delivered the message.

Harry got up extra early and snuck down to the kitchens to work on his lunch plans. "Harry Potter sir, what can Dobby do for you?" the house-elf said upon seeing Harry.

"I need a favor again Dobby. I want to have lunch near the lake with Cho and her friends. Can you please make us a basket for the four of them and me with something nice for lunch and some juice please?"

"Of course sir. Dobby is having no problem with this. Dobby will bring it to Harry Potter when he is by the lake with his friends. Don't worry sir."

"Thanks Dobby," Harry said thinking it was really nice having a house-elf for a friend. Harry left and met Ron and Hermione in the common room and together they all went down to breakfast. The trio was sitting down eating when Harry saw Cho and her friends trying to get his attention and realized they were calling him over. Quickly finishing his toast, Harry went to their table.

"Ok, what did you do last night?" Cho demanded while they were all smiling.

"What do you mean Cho? I was either in my common room or bed all night," said Harry trying to make them think he didn't know what she was talking about.

"C'mon Harry we know it was you. This silvery bird flew right into Cho last night. We all screamed, but she got this happy look on her face and started blushing. She said that she had the thought of you kissing her."

"Dreaming of me kissing you are you Cho? That's good to know," Harry teased.

"Tell us what you did? Please?" Cho pleaded.

After a bit more teasing, Harry said, "That was the spell I asked Professor Dumbledore about. I wanted to be able to send you little messages sometimes. I didn't know if it would work with you so far away. I guess it did."

"You asked the headmaster how to send love notes? No way!" Kelly exclaimed.

"Who said anything about love notes? What if I was lying hurt somewhere and needed help. Now I can try to get help even if I can't get up," Harry said trying to sound very serious. "See, there's a very practical reason for asking," he smiled while saying this. "Are we still on for lunch? I need to go find some candy or bread so you don't starve."

"We're still on. See you down here at noon," Cho said.

Harry went and got his broom to go practice. Working on his turns and going around in circles, he tried not to get dizzy. He was about done and just caught site of a silvery dove before it went into him. The feeling of Ginny asking him to smile suddenly came to him, so he obliged and looked around to see her waving from the grounds near the castle. This was a good spell he thought.

It was time to head back to the castle to clean up and get ready for lunch. He was waiting by the door when Cho and her friends came down. "Where's lunch, in your pockets?" Kelly asked noticing he wasn't carrying anything. "Maybe we should eat first."

"Have some faith in me! C'mon, down to the lake," Harry said. They walked down to the lake and Harry led them around to the far side closest to the forest. This is where he felt the most comfortable.

"We don't normally get near this side," one of the girls said, unsure about being so close to the forest.

"Technically we're not out of bounds. We're not in the forest so we won't get into trouble," Harry said trying to reassure the group.

"So, where's lunch? If you make us walk all the way back without eating, you're in trouble," Cho said trying to look angry.

Just as she finished saying this, there was a 'pop' and Dobby appeared with a large blanket and picnic basket. "Dobby, you have perfect timing," said Harry still amazed at how house-elves seemed so efficient.

"Thank you sir. Dobby was watching for the right time. Hello Miss Cho. It is good to see you again. Dobby hasn't seen you since the summer."

"Thank you Dobby, I really appreciate this," Harry leaned in and whispered to him. "Can you tell Winky that I'm going to try and spend some time alone with Cho this evening?"

Dobby looked like he blushed and said, "Dobby will tell Winky sir." 'pop' and he was gone.

"What was that?" one of the girls asked.

"That was Dobby. Harry's house-elf friend," Cho said knowing all about Dobby. They opened the basked and saw that there were salads, fruit, a few slices of cake and juice. "Now, this is a picnic," added Cho

They were all eating when Kelly said, "Cho. That house-elf said he saw you this summer. What haven't you told us?"

"Yeah Cho," came from another girl.

Cho blushed but said, "Harry sent my father a letter inviting us to a diner party he had over the summer. I met Dobby at Harry's house."

"You went to Harry's house this summer?" another girl asked hoping for some information.

"Long story, for another time," Cho said, wanting to change the subject.

Noticing some ripples in the water and Harry said, "Watch this." He took out his wand and dispatched a rock from the beach to near where the ripples were. The rock splashed in and within a couple seconds, a tentacle came out and threw the rock back toward the group. Harry stopped the rock with magic and threw it back. The tentacle came up again and threw it back. Harry dropped the rock on the shore. "That's the giant squid. Sometimes I come here to think and play catch with it."

"You need more real friends," Kelly said with some honesty.

Suddenly they heard a rustle from behind them in the forest. Harry jumped up and pulled out his wand. Out of the path came a head and then a body he recognized. "Firenze! It's good to see you."

"Harry Potter. I can't tell you how good it is to see you as well."

"Firenze, I can't thank you enough for getting Cho out of the forest last year."

"I did as you asked. We never thought we would see you again Harry. You have proven the stars wrong yet again."

"Cho, do you remember Firenze? He's the one who brought you out of the forest."

"Of course I remember Harry. I don't think I ever thanked you Firenze. I really appreciate you saving me."

"I thought it was the last request of a member of my clan miss. Normally we don't get involved in such things."

"Firenze, these are friends of Cho's"

"Yes I see. I should go now."

"Thanks again Firenze. Bye," Harry yelled. He went back to the girls who were standing in shock of what just happened. "Um... Girls are you ok?"

"That's what brought you out of the forest?" Kelly asked Cho. "I would have died of fright."

"Kelly! Firenze was very nice. He saved me," Cho said surprised at Kelly's comments.

"What did he mean about that being the last request of a member of his clan? Who was he talking about?" Another girl asked.

"He was talking about Harry. Those centaurs kind of adopted him last year," Cho said.

"So, now you have all met my family. I say they're better than the Dursley's," Harry joked and then added, "Let's get back to lunch."

"I'd like to know more about this," Kelly asked wanting to hear the whole story.

Harry really didn't want to get into it. "Cho knows the story, she can tell you sometime."

"Slowly they got back to talking about unimportant things, but Harry could tell the girls kept looking toward the forest once in a while. Harry packed up the basket and carried it back to the castle with them. When they got to the castle, Harry said, "Thanks for having lunch with me. I hope Firenze didn't scare you too much. He's really nice."

"Thank you for lunch. Tell your friend Dobby that it was great. Firenze didn't scare us, just shocked us." Kelly said sounding happy about the lunch.

"They'll get used to your strange friends," Cho said and then added, "I'm looking forward to tonight."

Harry went to the common room and studied with Ron and Hermione for a while. Ron was talking about their first Quidditch match coming up in a few weeks and was happy with their team and thought they would do well. This made Harry kind of jealous of his friend since Harry couldn't play with them anymore. After a while, Harry went up to his room to get his invisibility cloak and came back down to tell Ron and Hermione he was going to meet Cho.

Hermione looked at him skeptically. "If you're just going to meet Cho, why do you need the cloak?" Hermione asked in her head girl voice.

"I'm not leaving the castle, I promise. No need to worry about me losing points," Harry assured his friends. He concentrated on a thought of meeting Cho outside her room and sent a message.

As he was starting to walk away, he heard Ron say, "Good idea taking the cloak, you can't see what's happening under it at all," then "Ow" as Hermione hit him.

Harry hurried to the Ravenclaw hall and got there just as Cho was coming out of the common room and said, "That message spell is really weird. It's like I get a picture in my mind all of a sudden. Will you teach it to me?"

"As long as you promise not to tell anyone else. Ready to go?" They walked down the corridor until they got to the area where the secret stairs were. When no one else was around they quickly pulled on the cloak and started up the stairs. The room was setup just like last time with a pitcher of water and some glasses. The couple sat on the floor in front of the fireplace talking.

Cho seemed to hesitate and then said, "My friends said they were sorry about how they reacted to Firenze today. They're not used to things like that. Tell the truth, neither am I."

Harry felt bad because he didn't want Cho to be uncomfortable. "Is it something you want to get used to or do you think it's going to cause us problems?"

"I think I can get used to it. We just won't let it cause us any problems. You know by now, Ravenclaws are just more..."

"Normal," Harry finished for her. "I'll try to be more normal. This year's already way more normal than last year so I'm making progress."

Cho laughed and leaned over to kiss him. This was the longest kiss yet. Harry looked at her and went to kiss her again but she backed up smiling. "Tell me how to do the message spell first."

"Blackmail!" Harry said sitting up straight. "Let's see, keeping the spell to myself or being able to kiss you, hum, which one should I choose?" Harry said acting like he was weighing the choices in each hand. Cho hit him quite hard on the arm and gave him an evil look. "Just kidding, I'd give up any spell."

Harry explained how to do it and she tried it a few times until an indistinct falcon came out of her wand and lasted for a second. Cho seemed pleased so Harry said, "There, you've got it, now you just have to concentrate more and practice. Now for my payment," said Harry and raised one eyebrow.

Cho pushed him down on the couch and gave him the best kiss yet. Harry held her tight during the kiss and when she pulled back, she looked at him and said, "You're pretty good at this. The question is: Just a natural or practice?"

"Cho! I would have to say that you probably just bring out the best in me," Harry whispered back.

"Good answer to keep me quiet. I'll leave it at that for now. We should get back."

When Harry got to the common, he thought it would be empty but when he walked in, he saw Ron and Hermione acting strangely and looking guilty. Harry realized had interrupted them. "Sorry, I should have stayed out later," he said upset with himself for interrupting his friends.

"Um... We were just practicing spells," Ron said hastily.

"Really. Then I'd like to learn those spells," Harry said with a smile.

Hermione was blushing badly when she said, "I'm going up to bed. Goodnight you two."

"Ron, I'm really sorry. If I would have known, I could have stayed out later." Harry felt bad.

"No problem. Better you than McGonagall or Ginny walking in," said his friend less upset than Harry expected

"So, things seem to be going ok with you two. We should come up with a signal when you can tell me to leave or stay away," Harry said while they were walking to their room.

"If I ever master that message spell, I can use that," Ron suggested.

Things went well over the next couple weeks. Harry saw Cho as much as he could and continued with dancing lessons from Fleur. Dancing with Fleur seemed to help more than his dancing. He was just feeling more comfortable being close to really pretty girls. Fleur also seemed to enjoy the dancing so she wasn't in any hurry to end the lessons. Practice with the French team was going good also. During the training they weren't treating him like a little kid; only after practice was over did they ever tease him. Jacque didn't talk to him much and Kristi just gave him a hard time about being young but she didn't seem mean about it. The rest of the team treated him pretty normally, even the captain.

Harry wanted to hurry back to Hogwarts after practice on the third week to watch Cho play in her first Quidditch match. He cleaned up and went to sit on the Ravenclaw side. Ron came to scout out how any weaknesses they had. Hermione decided to come with them as well. Harry hadn't seen Cho before the match but while she was flying around before the whistle started he was able to get her attention and wave to her so that she would know he was there rooting for her. Cho wasn't a risk-taking seeker but she flew very smart. The Ravenclaw team was better than Harry remembered. He hadn't ever really gone to watch them before and noticed they were dominating the Hufflepuff team. Suddenly he saw Cho dart off and he knew she saw the snitch. Straining, he saw what she was chasing and also noticed she had a good head start over the other seeker. He thought she missed a couple opportunities to grab it but ended up getting it a few seconds later.

Harry stood up clapping and yelling for her and heard Ron say, "They're pretty good. You're not going to give her any pointers are you Harry?"

"Of course not Ron. You should know that," Harry replied forcefully.

"Well you know girls can get you to do all kinds of things," Ron said looking at Hermione who just smiled slyly.

Harry headed down to congratulate the team. They were all coming out together and Harry told them all how well he thought they played. The team members said things like it was too bad Harry wasn't playing this year since they were going to beat Gryffindor. The Ravenclaw's even asked Harry if he wanted to come to Hogsmeade the next day to celebrate. Harry told them he would like to but needed to practice since his first match was the next weekend as well. Cho had seemed disappointed but said she understood.

They met later that night for some private time. "You flew really well today Cho. I liked coming to watch you. I had never come to just watch you play before."

"I liked having you there; it made me feel more confident. I can't believe that next week you'll be playing in a professional Quidditch match," she said snuggled into his side.

"Oh, don't talk about it. I'm really worried about making a fool of myself."

"Haven't you realized by now that's not going to happen? You said yourself the team is treating you better, they must have confidence in you," Cho said pulling back to look at him.

"No more talk about my match. Did I tell you how good you looked today?"

"I think you did, but I wouldn't mind hearing it again," Cho said leaning into Harry. They spent more time kissing than they had before. Their hair was quite messy by the time they decided to go back to their rooms. When Harry was saying goodnight, Cho said, "I'm really glad you know about that place."

Harry told Fleur that he was going to skip their second lesson this week, saying he was just too nervous to think about dance lessons. "I understand 'Arry. Did I tell you that I would be at your match?"

Harry was surprised for a second and then realized that Fleur would probably have gone to any French National match. "Great, both you and Professor McGonagall can see me make a stupid mistake."

"'Arry! Don't ever talk like that. When you get there, no matter how you feel you have to act like you are certain that you will win. You can't let your teammates and especially the other team think you have any doubts. Like dancing, even if you don't like the person you are dancing with, you need to make them feel special. Even if you have doubts about your ability, you need to make sure everyone else thinks you intend to do anything necessary to win. Getting them to have doubts is a big part of the battle."

Harry thought about that for a moment and understood what she meant. The times he stood up to Lucius Malfoy and Voldemort, he was worried inside but he focused on trying to stand up to them and it did seem to have an impact. "Thanks Fleur. That's some of the best advice I've gotten yet."

Fleur seemed please with his thanks. "One more thing. If you ever talk to a French reporter, make sure you speak as much French as you can. They will appreciate it and you want the French press to be on your side."

Harry tried to avoid everyone the night before his match and had gone to bed really early, which caused him to wake up really early. Once awake, he went to sit in Professor McGonagall's classroom to make sure he would be close to her office when it was time to go. The Professor was coming back from breakfast and noticed him. "Mr. Potter. What are you doing in my classroom? I didn't see you at breakfast."

"I've been here all morning Professor. I didn't want to talk to anyone. I'll be here whenever you're ready to go," said Harry trying to hide his nervousness.

Professor McGonagall came in a while later to say it was time to go. The two of them went to a different location this time. Harry had never seen the real French stadium before. They arrived in the setting area for the team. Professor McGonagall left him at this point to go find her seat. The match was against Wales so Harry didn't feel bad that he had gotten her a seat on the French side. She was given a pass to be able to return back here after the match. Only Tim the captain and Kristi were in the team area right now. Tim spoke first, "How are you feeling Harry?"

Harry remembered what Fleur said and tried to sound confident, "Kind of like my first match at school; nervous but really ready to get going."

"Well, how did that match turn out?" Tim asked.

"We won. I caught the snitch. Just about swallowed it but still caught it."

Kristi laughed, "Sit over here schoolboy. I don't care how you catch it today as long as you get it before they do."

The rest of the team showed up soon. They all had different ways of passing the time. The beaters paced around not looking happy. Jacque seemed to complain about everything. Tim just stood against a wall watching the others. Kristi sat next to him twirling a bracelet. "Do you mind me asking what that is?" Harry asked noticing the bracelet.

She looked at him and said, "Just my good luck charm. A really good friend of mine gave it to me."

Harry pulled out the necklace he wore all the time and said, "This is mine. A centaur gave it to me."

Kristi looked at him differently and said, "Centaurs are warriors. It says a lot that one would give you a gift. I hope it brings you luck today."

The time came for them to head to the entrance ramp. Wales would be announced and come out first. Harry listened to the crowed clapping for their team members and remembered back to when he watched the announcements at the World Cup. This was no where close to as big but would be the most ever people watching him play. "Here we go!" Coach announced.

"And now for our French National Team." The crowd was very loud. "Team Captain and keeper Tim Williams." The announcer had to wait between each name for the crowd to die down. "Beater Keith Timms", "Beater Kevin Shively", "Chaser Jacque Dubois". Harry noticed there wasn't as much noise when Jacque was announced. "Chaser Kristi Belig". The noise was very loud again. "And our newest member seeker Harry Potter." The crowd seemed better than for Jacque but not as loud as for the rest. Ok, Harry was feeling better now. This was just another match, the crowd doesn't matter, only the match. Harry tried to think about everything he was supposed to do. Break up scoring runs, confuse their seeker, and catch the snitch!

The whistle blew and instantly things started moving really fast. It didn't seem as bad as watching from the stands at the World Cup but still fast. Harry tried to follow the quaffle while keeping an eye on the other seeker and trying to watch for the snitch. He heard a rushing and quickly rolled, barely missing being hit by a snitch. He saw his chasers making a scoring run and their chasers coming in to block them. Harry dove toward them, narrowly missing their chaser's broom causing him to swerve off. Kristi was able to score a clean goal.

France was up by twenty and Harry had been playing a good match so far. He had broken up some runs and not been fooled by any move from the other seeker. That other seeker was marking him a bit too close so Harry decided to try a feint. Starting out he tried to look like he was going to block a run and knew the other seeker was close. Suddenly, he dove toward the ground, aiming for the corner of the stands. He only hoped the other seeker was close. If he turned around to look, the other seeker would know it was a feint. Just at the last second, he pulled up enough to level off and heard a loud THUD followed by many groans from the crowd. It had worked! Wales called time out.

Harry was to the ground first. "Amazing feint Harry!" the trainer said. "He'll think twice about marking you so close. You've just got to see the snitch before him now."

"Ok, we're playing well. Don't make any mistakes anyone. Potter! Catch the damn snitch. Get going," Coach yelled.

Harry was back up and saw the dirty looks the other seeker was giving him. Harry could tell he was in pain and that his head was bloody. When play restarted Harry quickly saw that the Wales' beaters were trying to get him back. They were sending everything his way. This made France's chasers have a little easier time of scoring and now France was up by sixty.

Harry was making another dive for a blocking run when he saw the flash directly below his own chaser. He dove straight toward Kristi who actually looked terrified and veered off at the last second, which was exactly what Harry had hoped. When she swerved, he grabbed the snitch. France won! Harry heard the crowd go wild and the rest of the team came over celebrating.

The team got back on the ground and into the private team area. He could still hear the crowd celebrating from here. "Excellent teamwork. You all played fantastic. I couldn't ask for more," Coach was saying still ecstatic form the win. "This is going to shock people. No one gave us much chance against Wales."

Kristi was the first one to Harry, "You scared the hell out of me schoolboy. What would you have done if I didn't swerve?" She didn't really seem mad.

"I hadn't figured that out yet. I'm glad you were smart enough to move," Harry said not able to hide his happiness.

Kristi just laughed. Harry thought this was just like winning his first ever Quidditch match and never wanted it to end. The team went in to clean up and suddenly Harry realized that there was only one set of showers. When he had come in before the match, Kristi was already in her playing robes. His confusion changed quickly to nervousness when he saw Kristi remove her clothes, wrap a towel around her and head straight for the showers as if this was perfectly normal. Harry had only seen R.J. naked before so he didn't really know what to think.

The other players didn't seem bothered by this as he saw them go into the showers as well. Harry didn't feel comfortable about this but didn't want to seem even more different from the rest of the team so he undressed and wrapped the towel tightly around his waist. Entering the large shower area, he felt better when he could get a shower a few away from the others. He couldn't help but glance over at Kristi a few times. She was in one a few away from the other teammates as well and not talking to anyone. Harry quickly washed up and left the area.

After they had all dressed, Coach caught up to Harry. "Harry. Great flying today. Looks like I won't get fired yet for picking you. The team is going out here to talk to the press for a minute."

Suddenly all Harry could picture was Rita Skeeter and the horrible lies she printed. "Sir, I've had bad experiences with the press. Do I have to do this?"

"Of course you do Potter. You have to do at least one. Jacque will stay around and talk to them all but Kristi is kind of like you, she does her one and then leaves."

The team walked out of the locker room area and there was a lot of clapping. Harry saw Professor McGonagall and Fleur standing off to the side. Their passes had gotten them back here to wait. Many reporters were yelling all of their names, trying to get an interview. Harry saw Fleur pointing at one female reporter so Harry made his way over to her ignoring the rest.

"Ah 'Aarry Potter. I'm Maxime Mishmas from the Daily Gazette. May I have a quick interview?" Harry thought she seemed nice, but then again so did Rita at first

"Of course Ms. Mishmas. I am not very good with your language but I will do my best," Harry replied in the best French he could muster.

The reporter's face beamed. "You speak French! Excellent. How does it feel to be the star of our National Team?"

She still asks leading questions, Harry thought. "I'm not the star of the team. I was just lucky enough to get to the snitch before the other seeker. If our beaters hadn't done such a good job keeping the bludgers away from me, I may not have had the chance. And, in a little while longer, our chasers and the great defensive work of our keeper would have given us the win even if I hadn't got the snitch."

Harry could see some of the other reporters listening in, writing down his comments. "You are too modest Harry. Is it ok if I call you Harry? How do you think your age comes into play, and how do you think your schoolmates will react to the win?"

"I don't think my age matters at all. The team just treats me like a player and wouldn't cut me any slack just because I'm young. My schoolmates will be like normal. They've got their own things to worry about. I really must go Ms. Mishmas.

Harry got over to where Fleur and Professor McGonagall were standing, both with big smiles on their faces. "You won 'Arry! You won for France," Fleur said and gave him a big hug. Harry enjoyed being hugged by Fleur but felt uncomfortable with all the other people around and he could tell Professor McGonagall wasn't sure about a teacher hugging a student like this either. Harry started to say something and then heard.

"Nice job today schoolboy." Turning around he saw Kristi standing behind him looking as confident as ever.

"Hi Kristi. Let me introduce my friends. This is Professor McGonagall, the headmistress of my house at Hogwarts. And this is Professor Delacour my charms teacher."

"And dance instructor," Fleur added drawing a strange look from Professor McGonagall. "Nice to meet you Miss. Belig. I am a big fan of the team."

Kristi nodded at the two women. "Kind of friendly with you teacher aren't you?" she said basically ignoring the two Professors. "There's a big celebration at a club in town tonight. Are you going to make it?" Kristi directed this question only to Harry.

"I have to get back to the school. I have lots of work to do. Thanks for telling me about it though," Harry answered and Kristi left with a wave over her shoulder.

"I didn't like the way she called you schoolboy," McGonagall said sharply.

"She is not a nice person. Great chaser but not nice," Fleur added.

"That's just Kristi. She's nice enough to me. C'mon let's go home." Harry said still on a high from winning.

"That reporter I pointed out isn't as bad as most. She'll still try to trap you into saying something you don't want to, but she won't lie like some others will," Fleur said.

"I didn't realize I'd have to talk to reporters. Ever since that Rita Skeeter, I don't trust them at all," Harry said coldly.

"You really played well today Harry. I'm proud of you," McGonagall said, which from her was very high praise. "Now, what's this about dance instructor?"