Christmas was quickly approaching, and Harry was excited. Sirius had promised a trip to his family vault to see if there was anything of his parents that Harry would want. Draco had mentioned that there would probably be a portrait there, if not of his parents of one of his ancestors. Harry just hoped there was something in the vaults for him to remember his parents by in some way.
There was one final game before break, Slytherin vs Hufflepuff. Harry and Draco met the rest of the team in the locker room for Flint's pregame speech.
"Alright, team, Hufflepuff isn't as good a team as Gryffindor, but Diggory is better than Chang. Bludger, you keep one eye on Diggory, one eye on the score board, and one eye looking for the Snitch. Our Chasers are better than theirs, so wait for a bit to let us score as much as we can. Clearwater, Bearbuck, focus your Bludgers on Diggory. Bletchley, keep the damn Quaffles out of the goals. Pucey, Malfoy, we're gonna make some goals. Don't get hit, and don't let them steal. Anyone who gets the Quaffle stolen from them is doing one on one drills with me every day for two weeks when we get back from break. Everyone clear?" The team all nodded confidently and mounted their brooms. On cue, they all flew out to meet the other team.
Half an hour later, the Slytherins were ahead 80-30. Harry had seen the Snitch a couple of times out of the corner of his eye, but Diggory had always been closer to it, so he didn't go for it. Harry kept looking, and Slytherin made another score to cheers from the Slytherin and Ravenclaw sections of the stands. Fifteen minutes later, Slytherin made another score and Harry saw Flint's hand twitch in the signal to actively go for the Snitch now. Harry glanced around, saw it right behind Diggory's head, and dove. He vaguely heard the Lee Jordan, one of the twins' friends, shout, "And it looks like Mayonnaise has seen the Snitch!" As Diggory dove after him, Harry made it look like he was struggling to stay ahead. Just as Diggory passed him, Harry pulled up on his broom and shot after the Snitch, which had only moved a couple of inches in the last few seconds. He shot passed it, reaching out and catching it as he did. Just as the Snitch landed in his palm, his momentum drove his fist right into his face as the Snitch tried to fly down as he flew up. Harry grunted as his nose began to bleed but held up the Snitch proudly. He landed on the grass with the rest of his team and Draco grabbed his arm, jumping up and down in celebration. Harry grinned and joined in with a laugh.
Five minutes later the celebrations had moved to the locker room, but Draco dragged Harry to the infirmary.
"You should get your nose checked. I hope it's not broken."
On the way, Harry caught sight of someone standing in the middle of the hallway. From the looks of their robes, it was a Hufflepuff. Harry thought his name was Steve. He remembered Neville mentioning him when Mrs. Norris was found petrified. Harry started to go around the large seventh year but paused when he noticed the water on the floor around him. He looked at the older student's face and gave a longsuffering sigh at the look of absolute terror on his face.
"Come on, Draco. We can't just leave him here."
"Yes, we can!"
"Draco, we're literally going to the Hospital Wing. We might as well bring him with us."
Draco sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fine. Let's get going."
Harry carefully maneuvered the older student to be lying down, then grabbed under his arms and began to drag him. Draco grabbed the cuff of his shirt and halfheartedly helped Harry while somehow managing to not do much at all. Thankfully, they were only a few hallways away from the Hospital Wing and they only had to rest a couple of times. A few first years had terrified looks on their faced as Harry and Draco passed with the petrified body, and Harry just knew there would be rumors of him dragging a dead body around the school by supper time. He suspected the exasperated look he was probably sporting wouldn't help the rumors any.
They finally reached the infirmary and Draco went ahead to call Madam Pomphrey. She bustled out of her office and froze at the sight of Harry dragging a rather well built older Hufflepuff. She shook her head after a moment and hurried over, levitating the stiff form into one of the beds.
"Mr. Potter, are you aware that you are covered in blood? What on earth happened?"
Harry looked down at himself and winced. That would definitely not help the rumors that were probably spreading about him being a murderer.
"Sorry, Madam Pomphrey. I forgot about my nosebleed. We were heading here after I accidentally punched myself in the face when I caught the Snitch when we ran into him and decided to bring him along." For a moment Madam Pomphrey looked like she was regretting ever working at a school, but she quickly pulled out of it and muttered something under her breath and waved her wand, making the blood disappear. She then looked at his nose and muttered something else under her breath. His nose popped painlessly and stopped bleeding.
"There you are Mr. Potter. Your nose is no longer broken. Thank you for bringing Mr. Jackson in. You had better head off to supper now. Goodnight, and I'm sure you'll take no offense if I say I hope I don't see you in here for a while." She was smiling slightly at the end and Harry shot a grin back at her.
"Thanks, Madam Pomphrey. I'm sure I'll see you sooner than either of us hopes."