Harry Potter and the Orb of Power

Chapter 20: Harry's Crush

    Harry raged through the halls of Hogwarts, not knowing where he was going. He felt his blood boiling, he wanted to break something, he wanted to run, to get all of this excess energy out of his system. He was angry, seething, and yet he didn't really know why. It was natural for Ron and Hermione to be going out, they've been flirting for who knows how long. He should have been expecting this, expecting Ron and Hermione to push their insecurities away and finally realize they like each other. But why was it bothering Harry so much? Harry took a corner, and gripped his wand tightly. Was it because they had kept it from him? That might be part of it. Pansy Parkinson had known before him that they were going out. Was it that obvious, and was he, Harry, just thick? Even so, they should have told him! He was their best friend, there was no way they could not tell him! If they told him, he wouldn't be feeling so betrayed! If they had told him, he wouldn't have had to find out from a Slytherin! If they had told him, he wouldn't have started to like Hermione!

    That was it. He liked Hermione.

    But how did that happen? How could Harry have let himself like the girl he knew his best friend had liked for years? It was always unspoken, of course, but Ron always wore his emotions on his sleeve. When did this happen? Was it when Hermione kissed him on the cheek last year, after Voldemort's return? Or when Hermione sent him the book on being an Animagus? Or could it have been there all along, and Harry didn't notice? It was all jumbled in his mind, he leaned against the wall, and sank to the floor. He rubbed his emerald eyes, and took a deep breath. He liked Hermione. And it couldn't have happened at a worse time. He took another breath. It was getting late, if he was caught in the halls after hours he'd lose points for Gryffindor. He stood up, brushed off his robes and headed back to Gryffindor Tower. He would have to push his feelings for Hermione down, where it wouldn't affect Ron and Hermione. Harry should try to be happy for them. He reached the Fat Lady, gave the password, and entered into the tower. He saw Ron and Hermione still holding hands, and they didn't notice Harry had entered into the tower. Harry paused, not wanting to interrupt their moment together. With a piercing feeling in his heart, he walked past them quickly, trying not to be noticed. He hit the first step, and the stair creaked, causing Hermione to turn.

    "Harry!" she gasped, and looked panic stricken. Ron turned and blushed furiously, his ears reddening madly. He broke from Hermione and stood up quickly.

    "Hey..erm...how are you?" Ron asked awkwardly, looking nervously at Harry. Harry felt a twinge of guilt as he watched his friends squirm uncomfortably. Harry wanted nothing more than to want this day to be over.

    "What's going on?" Harry asked weakly, looking at his two best friends. They looked at each other nervously, and Harry couldn't quite tell who was blushing more, Hermione, Ron, or even him. There was a heavy silence that seemed to be screaming in Harry's ear.

    "Well," Hermione started to say slowly. "It was...,"

    "It was nothing," Ron blurted out quickly. Harry saw Hermione turn to Ron as if she was slapped in the face. Harry winced, and almost predicted what was to come.

    "Nothing? You say this is nothing?!" Hermione shrieked, rounding on Ron.

    "Wait...what...that's not what I meant," Ron stammered, looking helplessly at Harry, who was staring at the two of them in a mingled expression of shock and apprehension. This was not what he expected to happen.

    "You think that what we have is nothing?" Hermione shrieked again, her face filled with fury.

    "That's not what I meant!" Ron yelled back, growing angry himself.

    "Then why can't we tell Harry that we've been going out?" Hermione yelled back. Ron balled his fists, shaking with fury.

    "I didn't want him to feel left out that's why! It has nothing to do with what I thought we had!"

    "Really? Then why didn't you tell anyone? No one knows that we go out. And those that do only know because I told them!" Hermione bellowed, rounding on Ron, who took a few steps back in the wake of Hermione's fury. Harry felt more and more guilty as the two of them argued. He sat on the step and ran his hands through his hair, feeling as if he was going to be sick.

    "I...I...," Ron sputtered, searching for words to help him.

    "Are you ashamed, Ronald Weasley?" Hermione hissed, her eyes demanding an answer from Ron. "Are you ashamed that you go out with the booky girl? The girl that gets the good grades? The nerd? Are you ashamed of me?"

    "NO! How can you even ask that?" Ron yelled back, clearly more upset than angry.

    "I should probably leave you guys alone," Harry said thickly, but no one heard him.

    "Then why all the secrecy, Ron?" Hermione pleaded, her eyes stinging with tears.

    "I'm sorry, ok? I didn't know I was supposed to tell people, I didn't think it was that big of a deal!" Ron said back. Hermione's eyes grew cold as they widened. Ron moved closer, but Hermione stepped back. The look of bewilderment on Ron's face was almost too much to bear. Harry looked at both of them, saw the pain in their eyes, and felt that it was all his fault.

    "Not a big deal? Fine. Fine," Hermione hissed through her teeth. "If it's not a big deal, then it's over with. Good night, Harry," she said, heading for the Girls' Dormitory. She turned and looked at Ron. "I should have known you'd never grow up!"

    "And I should have known you'd never stop overreacting!" Ron spat back, his eyes watering too. Hermione gave Ron a cold look and then slammed the door to the dormitory shut. Ron swept pass Harry, clearly upset. Harry sat in his favorite chair next to the fire, and felt as bad as he had ever felt in his entire life.

* * * * *

    The next couple of days were almost impossible to endure. There was always a frosty silence between Ron and Hermione that Harry found intolerable. He always tried to force some conversation between them, but any progress he made was always cut short. They insisted that they not talk to one another, each feeling that the other had wronged them in a way that made the damage irreparable. By the time Gryffindor had its first Quidditch match, they had still not worked out their problems. The weather had grown steadily colder in November, which Harry found fitting considering the way things were going between the three of them. Harry was walking with Hermione up to Gryffindor Tower, to fetch his broom for the game between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. It was rather chilly in the halls.

    "I wouldn't worry too much, Harry, you're bound to win," Hermione said as they climbed a staircase.

    "It's not Quidditch I'm worried about," Harry said.

    "I know what you're going to say-" Hermione started to say, but Harry cut her off.

    "You guys are best friends, you can't let this ruin your friendship!"

    "If he wasn't so immature, we wouldn't be having this problem!" Hermione muttered.

    "You miss him, at least as a friend," Harry insisted. He had taken it upon himself to fix this problem, feeling that he owed it to both Hermione and Ron. He looked at Hermione, and hated that right now, when he was trying to fix things between her and Ron, that he liked her in more than a friendly way. Hermione looked down at the floor.

    "All right, so I do. But that doesn't mean I like him...like that...anymore, and it doesn't mean I'm going to just go up to him and talk to him. I'm expecting an apology." Harry sighed, and they spent the next couple of minutes in silence. They reached the Fat Lady, and entered into the Gryffindor Common Room. Hermione saw Ron coming downstairs, and bolted up to the Girl's Dormitory before Ron could say anything. Ron, however, pretended he didn't notice Hermione, but by the redness of his face, Harry could tell that he did.

    "Ready?" Harry asked Ron.

    "As I'll ever be. Dean's letting me borrow his broom for the game," Ron added, holding up the Cleansweep model. He looked rather gloomy.

    "Look Ron, you and Hermione should just make up. At least resign to being friends for the time being," Harry said, looking at his best friend's sad face. Ron's face reddened and he looked rather angry.

    "Why should we? If she's going to accuse me of being immature, then I at least should earn it," Ron said scathingly. "I've given up on her, nothing is ever good enough."

    "But you guys are best friends," Harry insisted, feeling like a broken record no one was paying attention to.

    "Well, if she apologizes for treating me like dirt, then things would be ok. We should go down to the pitch now," Ron said, ending the discussion. Harry sighed, retrieved his Firebolt, and headed down to the pitch.

* * * * *

    "All right team, you know the drill. Standard playing strategies. There's no reason why we shouldn't win. Let's show them that Gryffindor is as good as it ever was!" Harry said, the rest of the team cheering, except Ron. Ron mumbled in agreement, and left the tent. As he exited, Angelina pulled Harry aside.

    "Is he going to do well? He looks upset," Angelina said nervously.

    "Don't worry about it, he'll do fine," Harry said, looking nervously at his Keeper. Ron was very good when on top of his game, but he always let his emotions get away from him. Harry hoped he kept his cool. He walked outside and onto the field with the rest of the team. He shook hands with the Ravenclaw captain, Roger Davies, and with a blow of the whistle, the game was on.

    "And both teams are in the air," Lee Jordan said in his announcing role, as the teams kicked off and began to fly. "Potter, the new Gryffindor Captain, has inherited a proven team, with the exception of his new Keeper, Ronald Weasley, of Weasley fame. The Ravenclaw team remains relatively the same. Davies has put together a superb program that will test the returning champions." Harry saw no sign of the Snitch, and saw Cho Chang flying not too far away. Harry forgot all about Cho during his recent problems and suddenly felt very flustered. Cho turned her head and looked at Harry, but she was too far away for him to read her reaction.

    "...Spinnet has the Quaffle, she weaves, she shoots...and saved by the Ravenclaw Keeper, and the score remains zero to zero. Davies is moving up the field fast, he dodges a Bludger sent by one of the Weasley twins, he shoots, DIVE RON - and ten points to Ravenclaw!" Lee moaned. Ron had just missed the Quaffle, and the score was now 10 to zero. Harry looked back at Cho, looking for any sign that she saw the Snitch, but no sign was given. Harry flew up a bit higher, to get a better look at the field. He noticed Cho follow his move, but remained at a distance.

    "Angelina Johnson has the Quaffle, she moves up the field, she passes to Katie Bell, Bell swerves, and she approaches the hoop, and she drops the Quaffle, thanks to a Ravenclaw bludger, and the Quaffle is in Davies' hands yet again. He streaks up the field, he shoots - and another ten points to Ravenclaw!" Harry looked at Ron, who had pounded the broom in frustration. Behind the Keeper stands, Harry noticed, was Hermione, who looked very upset. He peered at her, and looked back at Cho, feeling very confused, and very distracted.

    The game got steadily worse for Gryffindor. Ron managed to make some good saves, but the Gryffindor offense was not producing. The Ravenclaw team was putting a chill on the Gryffindor Chasers, meaning that a lot of the pressure was on Ron, not the Ravenclaw Keeper. Harry called for a timeout, and the Gryffindor team rallied on the field.

    "We're getting creamed," Harry said, to everyone. He looked at the scoreboard. It was now 100-0, and if they didn't start scoring soon, even the Snitch wouldn't save them from defeat.

    "I need some support! I can't stop them all!" Ron yelled frustrated.

    "We're trying, but we can't seem to get the Quaffle in!" Katie yelled in protest. "Every time the Quaffle gets close to the hoops it soars right by them, every time! There's no wind, I can't explain it!"

    "She's right!" Alicia chimed in. "Even when the hoop we aim for is in the middle, it always veers off!" Harry frowned, it sounded like something was wrong with the Quaffle.    

    "Fred, George, keep the Bludgers on Davies, he seems to be the head scorer. Keep him away from Ron, I'll grab the Snitch," Harry said.

    "Let's go, team," Madame Hooch called over. The Gryffindor team kicked back into the air, and the game continued. Fred and George increased the pressure on Davies, but only managed to slow him down a little bit. Going exceedingly fast, he managed to streak right by the bludgers. Harry watched in anger as Davies swooped past a bludger and took a shot at Ron. Ron looked like he was bound to intercept, until the tail end of the broom flipped upwards, sending Ron sliding downwards off the tip. Ron managed to hang on, but the Quaffle soared through the hoop, scoring another ten points for Ravenclaw. Harry swooped by Ron.

    "There's something wrong with the broom, it tried to tip me off!" Ron yelled. Harry swore with frustration, and flew back up. Things were getting very serious for the team. Harry swooped around, looking desperately for the Snitch. He saw Angelina with the Quaffle, trying to make her way down the pitch, but she was going exceedingly slow, as if she was fighting a lot of wind resistance. She was nailed with a bludger, and she lost the Quaffle to Davies, who scored yet again. Davies scored several more times, making the score 140 - 0. Harry swore again, and looked at Cho, who too hadn't seen the Snitch. Harry saw Katie trying to move down the field, but her broom too seemed to be going very slow. She too was nailed by a bludger, and Davies streaked for Ron. There was no way he could score again, the Snitch would only get Gryffindor a tie. Harry saw Ron's broom bucking again, and Harry leaned forward on the Firebolt and zoomed down. He cut off Davies, who swerved to avoid a collision, and lost the Quaffle. Harry then saw a glimpse of gold, the Snitch, and Cho was already speeding after it. It was on the other side of the pitch. Harry felt his skin prickle in anxiety, and he leaned flat on the broom.

    "GO! GO!" Harry yelled at his broom, which shot like a javelin. He was gaining on Cho, who almost had the Snitch. Angelina, seeing the desperate situation, streaked forward and almost nailed Cho, who swerved out of the way, but kept on track with the Snitch. Harry had gained on her and was passing her. Angelina shot forward again, and this time Cho was put off track indefinitely. Harry was oblivious to the game around him, he sped for the Snitch. He had almost caught it, when he felt blasted back by wind. He tried to fight it, but it was slowing him down, and the Snitch sped away. In the wind, Harry lost sight of it, and the wind died down. Harry stopped his broom, and looked around in frustration. What was that?

    "See?" Angelina shouted, noticing what had happened to Harry. The score was now 150-20. "While you were being stopped, we had a clear field to score." Harry looked around in the stands. He saw a patch of green in the crowd, and noticed Draco Malfoy as one of them. Was this what Malfoy meant, when he was blabbering about the "power of his name"? Harry looked at Cho, who was flying around, looking for the Snitch again. The pressure was once again on Ron, who had let in another goal, making the score 160-20. Harry still needed to get the Snitch, it was imperative. Harry flew up high, looking for the Snitch. He looked to the right, and then felt something brush by him. It was like a gust of wind, a short one, that felt much like the wind that was blowing against him on the field. Harry looked around, but couldn't see a thing. Harry lowered himself, skimming the ground at around twenty feet. He then saw the Snitch, it flew directly in front of him. Harry leaned forward, but, much to his horror, his broom stopped moving.

    "GO! GO!" Harry screamed, but the broom jerked forward, but was yanked back, as if something was holding it. He felt wind beating around him. The Snitch was so close, but his broom wasn't moving. The score was still 160-20, but Davies was heading towards the goal again, not as fast as he was, but he dodged the bludger. Cho was swerving around, heading for the Snitch. Harry reached forward, but the Snitch was just out of reach. With a quick look down, he leaped from his broom, grabbed the snitch, and then fell. He heard the gasps from the crowd as he saw the ground rushing up to meet him. His legs hit the ground hard, and he felt a sharp pain rush up his legs and through his spine. Harry felt dizzy, and he then passed out.

* * * * *

    Harry awoke in the hospital wing. Hermione and Ron were standing around him, looking very worried.

    "Harry? You alright, mate?" Ron asked. "That was quite a jump you made."

    "You broke your legs, and nearly did damage to your spine! Madame Pomfrey was able to mend your legs, but they'll be a bit shaky, and there won't be any permanent damage," Hermione said.

"Why did you jump like that anyways?" Harry explained to Ron and Hermione the whole story, the wind and the problems with his broom.

    "Well, we recovered your Firebolt, and it's as good as new," Ron said slowly. "What do you reckon happened?"

    "I have no idea," Harry said. He was thinking that whatever it was, he suspected Malfoy.

    "Well, it's almost the ending of the visiting hours," Hermione said. She kissed Harry on the cheek and swept out of the hospital wing quickly, without a word to Ron. Ron watched her leave, and then turned to Harry.

    "I'm sorry about you two," Harry said quickly, before Ron could say anything. Ron looked back at the doorway for a moment, and then looked back at Harry.

    "It's not your fault, mate. I reckon I probably should have told you."

    "Why didn't you?" Harry asked, perhaps too quickly than he should have. Ron didn't seem to notice this.

    "I'm not really sure," Ron said slowly. "I didn't want you to feel like you couldn't still talk to us." Harry looked at Ron, and got a feeling that Ron wasn't telling him the complete truth. "Besides," Ron said, standing up quickly. "It didn't last that long anyways. I guess it was bound to fail. We don't seem to get along very well." Madame Pomfrey came in and ushered Ron out of the room before he could say anything more.

    "Come now dear, get some rest. You don't want to be awake when you feel the pain in your legs," Madame Pomfrey said impatiently. Harry laid down, and feigned sleep. The hours ticked away, and Harry found himself lost in thought. His thoughts drifted from the events at the Quidditch pitch, to Hermione and Ron. He still felt guilty for the events between the two of them, and didn't want to cause such discord between them. To make it worse, Harry still had feelings for Hermione that he couldn't pack away. He didn't understand why he couldn't stop feeling for Hermione. His feelings for her would only get in the way of his friendships with Ron and Hermione -

    "Hello, Harry," a voice said from above him. His eyes snapped open, and he saw Cho Chang standing over him.

    "Cho...erm...what are you doing here?"

    "I snuck in, so keep it down," she said. Even in the dark, Harry could see how beautiful she was. Cho looked around, and then back at Harry.

    "So...what are you doing here?" Harry asked quietly.

    "I had to talk to you. It's been bothering me for months, but I can't hold it in anymore." Harry looked at Cho, completely bewildered. What was bothering her?

    "Yes?"

    "I...I feel awful about last year. Having to turn you down at the Ball and all," she said quickly.

    "It's ok, really," Harry started to say, but the expression on Cho's face silenced him. She was fighting to hold back her tears, but they were flowing freely down her cheeks.     

    "And I'm sorry that you had to see...to see..." She wiped her tears away, but it was in vain. Harry sat up in his bed, and looked at her.

    "Don't do this to yourself," Harry said uncertainly. He should hug her, or comfort her in some way, but he had never even spoken to her before.

    "No...it's just...I'm sorry for never speaking to you. But...I can't. I just can't." She wiped her tears away and then fled out of the hospital wing, leaving Harry feeling like things couldn't have gotten worse.