Warning: Suggestive content
Bold letters are from the book
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Molly passed the book to Fleamont, who hid it from his son as he was hopping on his seat to have a look.
Fleamont opened the book successfully facing it away from his over excited son. "Quidditch," he read.
"Yay!" Sirius cheered. "Quidditch! Quidditch! Quidditch!"
Remus hid his face inside the table.
"Mr Black!" McGonagall said. "Sit down!"
As they entered November, the weather turned very cold. The mountains around the school became icy gray and the lake chilled steel. Every morning the ground was covers in frost. Hagrid could be seen from the upstairs windows defrosting broomsticks on the Quidditch field, bundled up in a long moleskin overcoat, rabbit fur gloves, and enormous beaverskin boots.
The Quidditch season had begun. On Saturday, Harry and Hermione would be playing in their first match after weeks if training: Gryffindor versus Slytherin. If Gryffindor won, they would move up into second place in the house championship.
"Of course Gryffindor will win," James scoffed. "My kids are in the team."
"No, Slytherin would be the one winning." Regulus said.
"Gryffindor!" James said firmly.
"Slytherin!"
"Gryffindor!"
"Slytherin!"
"Silence!" Dumbledore boomed.
James and Regulus glared at each other and reluctantly sat down on their respective seats.
Hardly anyone had seen the twins play because Wood had decided that, as their secret weapon, the twins should be kept, well, secret. But the news that they were playing had leaked out somehow, and they didn't know which was worse — people telling them that they'd be brilliant or people telling them that they'd be running around underneath them holding a mattress.
"Second one, perhaps?" Frank said, chuckling nervously.
Hermione had lent Harry Quidditch Through the Ages, which turned out to be a very interesting read.
Harry learnt that there were seven hundred ways of committing a Quidditch foul and that all of them had happened during a World Cup match in 1473; that Seekers were usually smallest and fastest players, and that most serious Quidditch accidents happened to them; that although people rarely died playing Quidditch, referees had been known to vanish and turn up months later in the Sahara Desert.
Hermione had become a bit more relaxed about breaking rules since the Halloween night, and had become much nicer for it.
"That's a relief," Sirius commented.
They day before her and Harry's first Quidditch maths the four of them were out in the freezing courtyard during break, and she had conjured them up a bright blue fire (self-taught) that could be carried around in a jam jar. They were standing with their backs to it, getting warm, when Snape crossed the yard.
The Marauders groaned.
Severus ignored them.
Harry noticed at once that Snape was limping. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Cassiopeia moved closer together to block the fire from view; they were dure that it wouldn't be allowed. Unfortunately, something about their guilty faces caught Snape's eye. He limped over. He hadn't seen the fire, but he seemed to be looking for a reason to tell them off anyway.
"What's that you've got there, Potter?" He asked Harry.
It was Quidditch Through the Ages. Harry showed him.
"Library books are not to be taken outside the school," Snape said.
"That's — that's not even a rule!" Remus cried.
"Give it to me. Five points from Gryffindor."
"He's just made that rule up," Harry muttered angrily as Snape limped away. "Wonder what's wrong with his leg?"
"Dunno, but I hope it's really hurting him," Ron said bitterly.
"Same, Ron. Same." James and Sirius said together.
The Gryffindor Common Room was very noisy that evening. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Cassiopeia sat next to a window. Hermione was checking their Charms homework for them while Cassiopeia was reading the Astronomy book. She would never let them copy, but by asking her to read it through they got the right answers anyway. Harry rolled his eyes. Really, how stupid she could be?
He felt restless. He wanted Quidditch Through the Ages back to take his mind off his nerves about tomorrow. Why should he be afraid of Snape?
"That's the spirit!" Sirius cheered.
Getting up, he told Ron, Hermione and Cassiopeia that he was going to ask Snape if he could have it.
"Better you than me," Ron and Cassiopeia said together.
Ted shook his head at his daughter.
He looked helplessly at Hermione and gave her a look that he knew she could never resist. "Fine!" She said, sighing in frustration and stood up.
Taking his hand, Hermione lead him towards staffroom and knocked. There was no answer. She looked at Harry curiously. He shrugged. So she knocked again. Nothing.
Perhaps Snape had left the book in there? It was worth a try. Harry pushed the door ajar and peered inside and a horrible scene met their eyes.
"Wonder what it could be?" Peter said thoughtfully.
Snape and Filch were inside, alone.
"My kids didn't need to see that." James said in disgust.
Severus, who was red in face, glowered at him and Sirius, who can't stop laughing.
"But I thought that Filch and Mrs Norris were married." Evans Rosier said.
"We all thought that." Barty Crouch Jr said.
"Either he is cheating on Mrs Norris with Snape," Regulus said, "or he is cheating on Snape with Mrs Norris. The first one seems to have more chances." He said nodding to himself.
"Hmmm. It could be possible," Barty said.
"Silence!" Dumbledore said. "Continue, Mr Potter." He said to Fleamont.
Snape was holding his robes above his knees. One of his legs was bloody and mangled. Filch was handing Snape bandages.
"See," Snape said furiously. "It wasn't what you all thought it was."
"Well it could be a possibility you know," Regulus said. "The way it was written you would think it was that."
"Blasted thing," Snape was saying. "How are you supposed to keep your eyes on all three heads at once?"
"He went to the forbidden corridor?" Lilly said.
"Shut the door, you idiot!" Hermione hissed quietly at Harry.
Harry tried to shut the door quietly, but
"POTTER!"
It seems like he only saw Harry.
Snape's face was twisted with fury as he dropped his robes quickly to hide his leg. Harry gulped and Hermione stayed hidden.
"I just wondered if I could have my book back."
"GET OUT! OUT!"
Harry and Hermione left before Snape could take any more points from Gryffindor. They sprinted back upstairs.
"Did you get it?" Ron asked as they joined him and Cassiopeia. "What's the matter?"
In a low whisper, Harry told them what he'd seen.
"You know what this means?" He finished breathlessly. "He tried to get past that three-headed dog at Halloween! That's where he was going when we saw him — he's after whatever it's guarding! And I'd bet my broomstick that he'd let that troll in, to create a diversion."
"It could be possible," James said thoughtfully.
"I didn't do anything," Severus shouted. Everyone ignored him.
Hermione was shaking her head.
"No, he wouldn't..." She said. "I know he is not very nice, but he wouldn't try and steal something Dumbledore was keeping safe."
"Honestly Hermione, you think all teachers are saint or something," Ron snapped. "I am with Harry on this. I wouldn't put anything past Snape."
"We also have to know the most important thing," Cassiopeia interjected. "The thing that dog's guarding."
Harry went to his bed thinking about the same question over and over again while Hermione had a question free night.
The next morning dawned very bright and cold. The Great Hall was full of the delicious smell of fired sausages and the cheerful chatter of everyone looking forward to a good Quidditch match.
"You've got to eat some breakfast."
"I don't want anything," the twins said tiredly.
"Just a bit of toast," Cassiopeia wheedled.
"Not hungry," they said together.
The twins felt terrible. In an hour's time they'd be walking onto the field.
"Hermione, you need your strength," Seamus said. "Seekers are always the ones who get clobbered by the other teams."
"Wow, it really helped," Lilly said sarcastically.
"Not helping, Seamus." Harry groaned as Hermione thanked Seamus.
By eleven o'clock the whole school seemed to be out in the stands around the Quidditch pitch. Many students had binoculars. The seats might be raised high in the air, but it was still difficult to see what was going on sometimes.
Ron and Cassiopeia joined Neville, Seamus, and Dean the West Ham fan up in the top row. As a surprise for the twins, they had painted a large banner on one of the sheets. It said Potters for President, and Dean, who was good at drawing, had done a large Gryffindor lion underneath. They had asked Fred and George to perform a tricky little charm so that the paints flashed different colours.
"They are really good friends," James said. Peter, Remus and Lilly smiled.
Meanwhile, in the locker room, the twins and the rest of their team were changing into their scarlet robes (Slytherin would be playing in green).
Wood cleared his throat for silence.
"Okay men," he said.
"And women," Angelina said.
"And women," Wood agreed. "This is it."
"The big one," Fred said.
"The one we've all been waiting for," George said.
"We know Oliver's speech by heart," Fred told Harry and Hermione. "We were on the team last year."
"Shut up you two," Wood said. "This is the best team Gryffindor's had in years. We're going to win I know it."
He glared at them all as if to say, "Or else."
"Right. It's time. Good luck all of you."
The twins followed Fred and George out of the locker room and walked onto the field to loud cheers.
Madam Hooch was refereeing. She stood in the middle of the field waiting for the two teams, her broom in her hand.
"Now, I want a nice fair game, all of you," she said, once they were all gathered around her. She seemd to be speaking particularly to the Slytherin captain, Marcus Flint, a sixth year.
"Slytherins are sly snakes," James muttered.
"Flint looks like he has some troll blood in him," Harry whispered to Hermione. They giggled.
Out of the corner of her eyes, Hermione saw the fluttering banner high above, flashing Potters for President over the crowd. She elbowed Harry and pointed towards the banner. He laughed quietly.
"Mount your broom, please." Madam Hooch said.
Harry and Hermione clambered onto their Nimbus Two Thousands.
Madam Hooch gave a loud blast on her silver whistle.
Fifteen brooms rose up, high, high into the air. They were off.
"And the Quaffle is taken immediately by Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor — what an excellent Chaser that girl is, and rather attractive, too —"
Everyone laughed.
"JORDAN!"
"Sorry, Professor."
The Weasley twins' friend, Lee Jordan, was doing the commentary for the match, closely watched by Professor McGonagall.
"And she's really belting up along there, a neat pass to Alicia Spinnet, a good find of Oliver Wood's, last year only a reserve — back to Johnson and — no, the Slytherins have taken the Quaffle, Slytherin captain Marcus Flint gains the Quaffle and off he goes — Flint flying like an eagle up there — he's going to sc- no, stopped by an excellent move by Gryffindor Keeper Wood and the Gryffindors take the Quaffle — that's Chaser Harry Potter of Gryffindor there, the youngest Chaser of Gryffindor, a clear field ahead and off he goes — he's really flying now — dodges a speeding Bludger — the goal posts are ahead — come on, now, Harry. Keeper Bletchley dives — misses — GRYFFINDOR SCORES!"
The Gryffindors cheered.
"That's my godson!" Sirius shouted.
"And my son!" James shouted too.
Harry, Angelina and Alicia high-fived each other. Hermione gave him a thumbs up and continued her search for the Snitch.
Gryffindor cheers filled the cold air, with howls and moans from the Slytherins.
"Budge up there, move along."
"Hagrid!"
Ron and Cassiopeia squeezed together to give Hagrid enough space to join them.
"Bin watchin' from me hut," Hagrid said, parting a large pair of binoculars around his neck. "But it isn't the same as bein' in the crowd. No sign of the Snitch yet, eh?"
"You could come an join us too, Hagrid," Remus offered with a smile.
Hagrid smiled in return and agreed.
"Nope," Ron said. "Hermione hasn't had much to do yet."
"Keep outta trouble, though, that's somethin'," Hagrid said, raising his binoculars and peering skyward at the speck that was Hermione.
Way up above them, Hermione was gliding over the game, squinting about for some sign of the Snitch. This was part of her and Wood's game plan.
"Keep out of the way until you catch sight of the Snitch," Wood had said. "We don't want you attacked before you have to be."
When Harry had scored, Hermione had congratulated him and had done a couple of loop-the-loops to let off her feelings. Now she was back to staring around for the Snitch. Once she caught sight of a flash of gold, but it was just a reflection from one of the Weasley's wristwatches, and once a Bludger decided to come pelting her way, more like a cannonball than anything, but Hermione dodged it and Fred Weasley came chasing after it.
"All right there, Hermione?" He had time to yell as he beat the Bludger furiously towards Marcus Flint.
"Slytherin in possession," Lee Jordan was saying. "Chaser Pucey ducks two Bludgers, two Weasleys and Chaser Johnson, and speeds toward the wait a moment — was that the Snitch?"
Everyone leaned forward in anticipation.
A murmur ran through the crowd as Adrian Pucey dropped the Quaffle, too busy looking over his shoulder at the flash of gold that had passed his left ear.
Hermione saw it. In a great rush of excitement she dived downward after the streak of gold. Slytherin Seeker Terrence Higgs had seen it too. Neck and neck they hurtled toward the Snitch — all the Chasers seemed to have forgotten what they were supposed to be doing as they hung in midair to watch.
Hermione was faster than Higgs — she could see the little round ball, wings fluttering, darting up ahead — she put on an extra spurt of speed —
WHAM! A roar of rage echoed from the Gryffindors below— Marcus Flint had tried to block Hermione on purpose, and Hermione's broom spun off course, Harry coming by her side in an instant to help her keep her balance.
"That sly, cheating troll-blooded snake!" James and Sirius shouted.
The twins glared at him.
"Foul!" Gryffindors screamed.
Madam Hooch spoke angrily to Flint and then ordered a free shot at the goal posts for Gryffindor. But in all the confusion, of course, the Golden Snitch had disappeared from the sight again.
Down in the stands, Dean Thomas was yelling, "Send him off, ref! Red card!"
"You will get to know," Fleamont said as everyone looked at the Muggleborns for explanation.
Cassiopeia sighed tiredly.
"It's not soccer, Dean." She said while Ron asked, "What are you talking about, Dean?"
"Red card!" Dean said furiously. "In soccer you get shown the red card and you're out of the game!"
"But this isn't soccer, Dean," Ron reminded him.
Hagrid, however, was on Dean's side.
"They oughta change the rules, Flint coulda knocked Hermione outta the air."
"Yes," Peter and Lilly insisted.
Lee Jordan was finding it difficult to not to choose the sides.
"After that obvious and disgusted bit of cheating—"
"Jordan!" Professor McGonagall growled.
"I mean, after that open and revolting foul..."
"Jordan, I am warning you..."
"But he is right," Sirius whined.
"All right, all right. Flint nearly kills the Gryffindor Seeker, which could happen to anyone, I am sure, so a penalty to Gryffindor, taken by Spinnet, who puts it away, no trouble, and we continue play, Gryffindor still in possession."
It was when Hermione was dodging another Bludger, it happened. Harry's broom gave a sudden frightening lurch. For a split second, he thought he was going to fall. He gripped the broom tightly with both his hands and knees. He'd never felt anything like that.
Lilly unconsciously gripped James's hand in worry.
It happened again. It was as though the broom was trying to buck him off but Nimbus Two Thousands did not suddenly decide to buck their riders off. Harry tried to turn back towards the Gryffindor goal-posts — he had half a mind to ask Wood to call a time out — and then he realised that his broom was out of control. He couldn't turn it. He looked around in panic as Flint scored.
No one seemed to have noticed that Harry's broom has been behaving strangely. It was carrying him higher, away from the game, jerking and twitching as it were.
"Dunno what Harry thinks he's doing," Hagrid mumbled. He stared through his binoculars. "If I didn' know better, I'd say he'd lost control of his broom... But he can't have..."
Hermione looked up as people pointed at Harry all over the stands. She flew towards him as his broom had started to roll over and over, with him only just managing to hold on. Then the whole crowd gasped. Harry's broom had given a wild jerk and Harry swung off it. He was now dangling from it, holding on with only one hand.
Lilly, Marlene and Alice gasped.
Hermione stuck out her hand at him to take it. But as his fingers touched hers, the broom jerked away. She tried again, but the broom jerked away everytime she went near it or Harry.
She looked around at the stands and gasped. Snape was muttering under his breath furiously, maintaining his eye contact with Harry's broom.
"You are jinxing his broom," Lilly accused.
Severus said nothing, instead, he shook his head tiredly.
Fred and George came over to help them.
"You both stay here with Harry," she said to them, and without waiting for a response went towards her friends.
"What are you doing here?" A grey-faced Ron asked her.
"Snape," she whispered, so that only Cassiopeia and Ron could hear. "Snape is jinxing Harry's broom. I want either of you to distract him."
Before Ron could say another word, Cassiopeia nodded and disappeared. Hermione went back to Harry, trying to get the broom back in control. The Weasley twins' had tried to pull Harry on either of their brooms but it was no good. Every time they got near him, the broom would jump higher still. They dropped lower and circled him, obviously hoping to catch him if he fell. Marcus Flint seized the Quaffle and scored five times without anyone noticing.
Cassiopeia had fought her way across to the stand where Professor Snape stood, and was now racing along the row behind him; she didn't even stop to say sorry as she knocked Professor Quirrell headfirst into the row in front. Reaching Snape, she crouched down, pulled out her wand, and whispered a few, well-chosen words that she had learnt from Hermione. Bright blue flames shot from her wand and onto the hem of Snape's robes.
Laughter spurted out of Sirius' throat.
"She - she - set Snivellus on f-fire," he gasped between his spurts of laughter.
"Sorry, Mr Snape," Andromeda and Ted said, red-faced.
He nodded tensely at them.
It took perhaps thirty seconds for Snape to realise that he was on fire. A sudden yelp told her that she had done her job. Scooping the fire off him into a little jar, she scrambled back along the row — Snape would never know what had happened.
"He knows," Severus whispered.
It was enough. Up in the air, Harry was suddenly able to clamber back on to his broom.
Hermione breathed a sigh of relief.
"Neville, you can look!" Ron said. Neville had been sobbing into Hagrid's jacket for the last five minutes.
Hermione was speeding toward the ground when the crowd saw her clap he thand to her mouth as though she was about to be sick — she hit the field on all fours — coughed — and something gold fell into her hands.
"I've got the Snitch!" She shouted, waving it above her head, and the game ended in complete confusion.
"How did she get the Snitch in her mouth?" A Hufflepuff asked.
"Dunno," a Slytherin replied.
"She didn't catch it. She nearly swallowed it." Flint was still howling twenty minutes later, but it made no difference — Hermione hadn't broke any rules and Lee Jordan was still happily shouting the results — Gryffindor had won by one hundred and seventy points to sixty. Hermione heard none of this, though as she was being swarmed in hugs one by one by her team members. And now, a few minutes later she and Harry were being made a cup of strong tea back in Hagrid's hut, with Ron and Cassiopeia.
"It was Snape," Ron was explaining. "Hermione saw him. He was cursing your broomstick, muttering, he wouldn't take his eyes off you."
"Rubbish," Hagrid said. "Why would Snape do somethin' like that?"
The four children looked at one another, wondering what to tell him. Harry decided on truth.
"I and Hermione found something about him," he told Hagrid. "He tried to get past that three-headed dog on Halloween. It bit him. We think he was trying to steal whatever it's guarding."
Hagrid dropped the teapot.
"How do you know about Fluffy?" He said.
"Fluffy? You call that monster Fluffy?" Narcissa said.
"Do yeh hear me calling him somethin' else?" Hagrid said hotly.
"Fluffy?"
"Yeah — he's mine — bought him off a Greek chapple I met in the pub las' year — I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the —"
"Yes?" Harry said eagerly.
"What is it guarding, Hagrid?" Hermione prodded.
"Now, don't ask anymore." Hagrid said gruffly. "That's top secret, that is."
"But Snape's trying to steal it." Cassiopeia insisted.
"Rubbish," Hagrid repeated. "Snape's a Hogwarts teacher, he'd do nothin' of the sort."
Severus sighed internally. At least someone trusted him.
"So why did he just try and kill Harry?" Hermione cried.
The afternoon's events certainly seemed to have change her mind about Snape.
"I know a jinx when I see one, Hagrid, I've read all abou them! You've got to keep eye contact, and Snape wasn't blinking at all. I saw him!"
"I'm tellin' yeh, yer wrong," Hagrid said hotly. "I don' know why Harry's broom acted like that, but Snape wouldn't try and kill a Hogwarts student! Now listen to me, all four of yeh — yer meddlin' in things that don' concern yeh, it's dangerous. You forget that dog, and yeh forget what it's guardin', that's between Professor Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel."
Hagrid groaned knowing what his future self had done.
"Aha!" Harry said. "So there's someone called Nicholas Flamel involved, isn't it?"
"Don't get involved!" Andromeda said furiously.
Hagrid looked furious with himself.
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