Hermione was as good as her word and she helped Harry get through his homework as fast as possible all week. Harry knew he owed her a lot because not only was she practically spoon-feeding him the method to solve the problems but he was barely even thanking her and giving her a quick kiss on the cheek before he left her behind and rushed out of the castle with his Firebolt to practise and run drills catching a practice snitch that had been a gift from Sirius.
He wasn't the only one practising this way, Ginny was out there every day as well practising just as hard. The only difference was she didn't have Hermione to help with her homework so Harry was always out there first. He spent the week ducking, diving and flying as fast as his Firebolt would allow.
Even with all of the prep he had done, by the time Saturday came and it was time for the tryouts he found he was nervous. At breakfast, Hermione was a little annoyed with him as she had been putting up with his obsession for the whole week but she still made sure to make him eat a substantial breakfast. She didn't want him to fail because he didn't have the energy.
When they eventually got down to the pitch, Hermione joined Harry and Ron to support her friends, it was an ordered chaos. Almost as soon as they got there Alicia put Harry, Ron, and Ginny, who was just tagging behind them, to work. All the people who had been on the team before were told to take a group of hopefuls and give them a basic flying test because there were a lot of people there and there was little point in having someone who couldn't even fly well try out for any position.
Unfortunately, this didn't get rid of as many people as Alicia had hoped so the next thing was to separate them into groups depending on what position they wanted to try out for. Including the people who were on the team before, eight people were looking to play chaser, four people looking to take the role of keeper and another four wanting to play seeker. For some reason, Harry chalked up to the twins' reputation they were the only ones who were looking to take the role of the beater.
"Okay, we are going to test out the keepers first using the chasers from last year, then once we have a keeper we can work out who is going to be the chasers this year. Fred, and George, can the two of you do some golf ball drills for the seekers? See if they are all up to snuff?"
Everyone had their assignments now so Harry joined Ginny and the other two hopefuls as they waited for Fred and George to grab a bucket of old golf balls.
The two third years that Harry knew by sight but didn't know the name of looked dejectedly at the twins as they walked away. It was clear they thought that now that the twins were involved in the testing and that one of the group was their sister there was no chance they would be able to get onto the team. Harry, however, knew that while the twins may favour their sister they wouldn't cheat like that.
When the twins got back the test was simple enough; they spelt the bucket of balls to spit out golf balls at random. The two who caught the most golf balls while flying around would get their recommendation to Alicia and the other two may as well go back up to the tower.
The two third years needn't have worried about the possibility of the twins cheating because Harry and Ginny caught about eighty percent of the balls themselves. So it was definitely a contest between just the two of them.
Once they were done with that they got to go see how the keepers had done. Mclaggen had tried out again and had matched Ron this time. He had tried to say that as he matched Ron then he should get to be a keeper as Ron had already had his shot but Alicia had shut that down fast. Harry hadn't had the opportunity to hear what was said but Hermione had as she had been supporting Ron for his actual try-out rather than Harry's for his preliminary and apparently Alicia had said that she was sticking with Ron because Ron was already established as a member of the team and knew how to be a team player and Mclaggen would need a lot of work to catch up in other areas and his skill just wasn't worth the extra effort it would take. Harry completely agreed with what others had said about Mclaggen last year when he tried out. Harry wasn't sure he would want him on the team even if was better than Ron.
Alicia decided to give the new keeper and the chasers a break and hold the seeker trial next. It was just Harry and Ginny and they were going to have a seeker duel. The rules were simple enough: Both Harry and Ginny would fly up to the goalposts like they were opposing keeper's, only they would be facing away from the pitch. Alicia would then release a snitch in the middle of the pitch, wait thirty seconds then blow a whistle. Once the whistle was blown both Harry and Ginny were free to look for the snitch like they would in a real game. The first one to catch the snitch would be the winner. It was as close to a fair contest as you could get. It tested every skill of a seeker except the ability to dodge bludgers. You had to both watch for the ball and watch to see if your opponent had spotted it. You had a head-to-head chase for the Snitch and lastly, your ability to actually catch it.
Harry took the left hoops while Ginny took the right and he waited for the whistle that said he could go. It seemed to take forever but eventually, there was a loud blast on a whistle behind him and he swung about his broom and started to search. Ginny was doing the same as him, two seekers circling the pitch watching for that glint of gold that would start the chase.
Harry saw it first but unfortunately, it was a lot closer to Ginny than it was to him. If Ginny was as good as she was last year, and considering the amount she had been practising he had no doubt she was better, then he was sure if he dove straight for it then she would have a good shot at closing the distance first. So he decided to keep an eye on the ball while still circling hoping to get into a more favourable position before he dove for the ball.
Unfortunately for Harry, Ginny may not have spotted the ball but she did see where Harry was looking and suddenly the chance was on both of the seekers diving for the flying golden walnut. Harry had the advantage of speed but Ginny had the advantage of distance. Harry laid himself flat on his broom to minimise air resistance and dive faster. The snitch was suddenly flying away from Ginny like prey trying to escape a predator and lucky for Harry it flew a little closer to him.
They were neck and neck now, both going to arrive at the snitch at the exact same moment. Harry reached out leaning forward on his broom. He felt something brush against the back of his hand. It was Ginny's hand reaching for the same snitch only Harry's hand had gotten over it first. He clenched his fist and the fluttering of the golden wings beating against his hand was enough to tell him he had caught the snitch and won their little duel.
Harry was elated but Ginny was devastated. Harry could understand over the last year she had made herself part of the team and was now losing her spot. But as much as Harry understood her frustration it was also true that this was his team. He had been on the team since his first year. He had been involved with the team last year as well right up until the Triwizard Tournament had ripped it away from him. This was his position, one he may have been given at first, but one he earned by virtue of hard work and dedication, as well as suffering through Wood's insane training schedule. So even though he had empathy for the girl he refused to feel guilty.
Alicia announced that Harry was returning as Gryffindors seeker but she did offer Ginny the consolation prize of being the reserve seeker. Considering how often they had lost the cup because Harry ended up in the hospital wing that seemed like a good idea to Harry and it would mean Harry had a seeker to train against during practice.
Still, Harry left Ginny to her brothers to console while he went over to where Hermione was standing watching and beaming a thousand-watt smile at him. Once she saw him coming over to her she ran over and immediately wrapped him in one of her hugs this time bouncing up and down in her excitement. "You did it Harry! You did it!"
Just as Hermione reached the peak of one of her bounces he tightened his arms around her so that he was holding her up off the floor slightly and spun her around for a few seconds before he kissed her. "Thank you." Kiss. "Thank you." Kiss. "Thank you." Kiss. "I couldn't have done it without your help. You have been so good to me this last week. Now I need to finish up here but after that, I'm yours to do whatever you want with." Then he kissed her again.
Hermione felt all warm and appreciated as she watched Harry jog back to his team, her lips still tingling from his kisses. If she was honest she hadn't felt grateful this last week even if she understood why, Harry's constant running off as soon as their work had finished hadn't left her feeling good. Not bad, just a little taken for granted. But it seems Harry had decided to fix that issue before she could talk to him about it. Now she just needed to work out what she wanted to do with Harry.
She watched as the chasers tried out trying to come up with a good plan
-ϟϟϟ-
Hermione's plan for how to spend some time together had turned out pretty simple. It involved a few snacks and an out-of-the-way spot in the castle. Hermione transfigured some furniture into a giant fluffy pillow that was almost as big as a mattress for a double bed and a few jars that she filled with her bluebell flames. Then with a little positioning of the cushion under the window for the best light, the two teens snuggled up together with Hermione using Harry's chest as a pillow. She then handed Harry a copy of Pride and Prejudice for him to read to her while she munched on the snacks, occasionally slipping one into Harry's mouth.
The two of them stayed like that for the rest of the day, even skipping lunch. It wasn't until just before dinner that they set the room right and went down to join everyone else. Dinner was pretty normal, just platters of roast chicken pieces, large serving bowls of *chips, tagines of mixed vegetables and large pots of dark brown gravy.
What was different was everyone at the staff table. They were agitated for some reason and there was an unsettled energy about them. Harry turned to Lavender and Pavarti who were seated next to him on the other side of Hermione and asked. "What's up with the professors?"
Lavender answered. "No one knows; we were hoping you did because you have been gone all day and your grandfather is the potions professor."
Harry shook his head. "No, Hermione and I were just spending some time together out of the way. I have needed Hermione a lot over the last week and didn't have much of an opportunity to show my appreciation so I had some making up to do."
"Oh, what did you do?" Pavarti asked, eager to hear more.
Harry should have known better than to mention potential gossip around these two. Hermione leaned past Harry and came to the rescue. "I was helping Harry with his homework so he could focus on getting back on the Quidditch team. Harry was just really focused. Now what do you know about the professors?" She nudged them back on track
"Oh right, not much. At around two this afternoon they were all suddenly called into a meeting with the curse breakers that have been poking around since we got back to school. After that, they were all rather agitated."
"Well, the curse breakers are here to deal with the curse on the Defence Against the Dark Arts position," Harry said only for the three girls to look at him like he had just revealed a classified document. "What?" He asked.
"How do you know that?" Lavender demanded.
"Because it's obvious. Why else would Headmaster Greengrass have curse breakers here? Also, I just happened to be there when the Headmaster told Grandfather at our home over the summer." Harry said. "Honestly, I thought it was obvious and everyone knew."
"Then perhaps they have found the source of the curse." Lavender speculated.
"They can be pretty nasty and something that has hung around this long must have had something pretty nasty to keep it powered," Hermione added.
"I'll just go ask Grandfather after dinner. Maybe he will tell me something." Harry said before tucking into his dinner.
As they ate Harry looked to see where Ron had gotten to, as he had expected to meet him at dinner but hadn't. He did spot Ron, he and his brothers were all still with Ginny, who was still looking a little put out at losing the seeker position.
-ϟϟϟ-
Going to see his grandfather was exactly what Harry did after dinner. Or more accurately, go wait in his grandfather's room until he turned up half an hour later. When Charlus walked into his room looking forward to collapsing into his favourite chair with a good glass of scotch, he found Harry already in said chair, quill and parchment in hand while he idly jotted down some thoughts.
"That's my chair," Charlus said as he went to the cabinet he kept locked and after a quick wave of his wand pulled out a tumbler and filled it with ice and a large measure of single malt scotch.
"And it's a very nice chair," Harry said cheekily without moving.
Charlus sighed. Sometimes Harry was a little too much like his father. Or too much like what Charlus was like at that age. "Come on kid, shift your arse. I have had a long day." Harry moved to one of the other chairs and Charlus sat down in his favourite seat. "So what brings you here?"
Harry looked over at his grandfather before asking. "What's going on?"
"What do you mean what's going on?" Charlus asked, already knowing the answer but feigning ignorance on the chance he was wrong and so he could have a few minutes to collect his thoughts.
"Why are you and all the other professors suddenly extremely agitated today?" Harry bluntly asked.
Charlus let out a sigh. Took a sip of his whisky and gave Harry a look. "If I tell you this it's not for public gossip, for now, agreed? I wouldn't tell you at all if you didn't have a habit of finding yourself in the middle of everything."
"Only Ron and Hermione." Harry agreed.
Charlus accepted that. Those two were always at the centre of everything with Harry, so keeping them in the dark wasn't a good idea. "Well, you know the curse breakers are here looking for the curse on the Defence Against the Dark Arts position." Harry nodded at Charlus's words. "Well, curse breakers have a number of tools to help them track dark and dangerous magic. They have been using them to track the source of the curse. They even think they have it narrowed down to the sixth or seventh floor. Only today their tools all suddenly detected a new dark magic signature. Some form of dark and probably dangerous magic came onto the grounds today and we don't know what it is, where it is, or who is responsible." Charlus finished.
"What are you doing about it?" Harry asked.
"We have asked the curse breakers to track it down and investigate it. They are the most qualified for this kind of work. The professors are now arguing if we should tell the students and potentially worry them over nothing." Charlus explained.
"Great, another bloody cover-up. Just like Dumbledore would do. Why would the students need to know that there is something to watch out for that might be about to kill them? Let's hide everything and pretend everything is normal until there are five students in the hospital wing and one has been kidnapped in an attempt to resurrect a dark Lord." Harry said his words thick with sarcastic vitriol.
"Harry." Charlus started to say but Harry cut him off.
"No Grandfather. The whole reason we got rid of Dumbledore was to stop bullshit like this. But here they are still trying to play from the same playbook. How many of them said something like, 'if we spook whoever did this then we may never discover the culprit?' how many of them nodded along agreeing that it's okay to potentially sacrifice students to try and catch a criminal?"
Charlus sighed and took a drink. Harry was right. Someone had suggested just that and a few professors had nodded along with it. What Harry didn't know was that he and the headmaster had shot that down hard.
"Harry, while you're not wrong that idea was proposed, both I and the headmaster shut it down hard. Most of the debate has been around how much to tell the students. Also how we tell the students. There is a balance to strike between caution and panic, especially as we don't know what we are dealing with right now. Cautious students reporting everything out of the ordinary is one thing, students panicking and firing a curse at someone who startled them is something else." Charlus explained.
"That's a load of crap." Charlus gave Harry a look. "I'm sorry Grandfather but it is. In the last four years at this school students have dealt with the Philosopher's Stone being hidden here, a great big bloody snake trying to kill everyone, dementors treating the school like their own personal bloody picnic, and a murder attempt dismissed as a blood sport. No one is going to panic, what's to panic over? It's just another bloody year at Hogwarts. Would probably reassure them to actually know what's being done about it for once, rather than being forced to play the mushroom game." Harry said.
"Mushroom game?" Charlus asked.
"Kept in the dark and fed on bullshit," Harry answered.
Charlus had to concede Harry had a point. The professors had been talking about all the students like they were little children, not like half of them are on the cusp of adulthood and had been around more in the last few years than anyone their age had any right to experience. The problem was he now knew what he had to do. He stood up. "Come on Harry I'll walk you back to the common room while I go speak to the Headmaster. You had some good points that I need to bring up with him." He finished the last of his drink and the two walked out together.
Charlus left Harry at the portrait entrance to his common room and then continued to the Headmaster's office. As Charlus was a professor the gargoyle leapt right aside and let him up the stairs to the old watchtower that had long ago been converted into the Headmaster's office. A quick knock on the door had him called in.
Inside the office, Charlus found that the Headmaster wasn't alone, both his wife and eldest daughter Daphne were in there. Charlus wasn't surprised to see either, the Lady Greengrass often spent the evening at the school with her husband, an arrangement many of the staff in the school had with their significant others. And if Charlus was right Daphne was there for the same reason he had just had a visit from Harry.
It was Daphne who spoke first. "Professor Potter. Let me guess, you just had a visit from your grandson making the same points I am making?"
"If your points are that the students of this school are used to unacceptable levels of danger and should be treated as such rather than, how did he put it, forced to play the mushroom game," Charlus said. Both the Greengrass women laughed though the Headmaster looked confused until his wife explained the term.
"Sounds like Potter, uh Harry." Said Daphne. Stumbling to switch from her family name for Harry to his first name to avoid confusion.
"Well what did Young Mr Potter say on the matter?" the Headmaster asked.
Charlus explained how Harry had seen how agitated the professors were and had come to see him to find out what was wrong. Then he told them how he had told Harry everything he knew, considering the Headmaster had just done the same with his own daughter there wasn't much he could say about how Charlus was meant to not tell the students. Then he explained Harry's points.
"Well, it seems to me like some of the professors here may be underestimating the students a little much. While I agree none of them should be involved with whatever it is that is going on. Even without anyone saying anything they know something is going on. The ones who can are already reaching out for more information. And it's not like you can't expect something to leak, the curse breakers have family among the students, a warning here and a heads up there and the rumours take over."
"Who knows what the students will end up believing? And if there is one thing about witches and wizards, they act on what they know or think they know. And if the students believe that once again the staff aren't doing anything to keep them safe, can you really blame them if they take matters into their own hands? However, if you disclose what we know and what is being done that gives you hundreds of pairs of eyes watching out for anything out of the ordinary that happens. Maybe if the staff give the students confidence that they are doing something then they will have the option to act rationally." Lady Greengrass said.
-ϟϟϟ-
The next day at dinner the Headmaster stood and told the whole school everything. He told them about what the curse breakers were looking for, he told them about the sudden appearance of unexplained dark magic, and he told them how he had tasked the curse breakers to look for the source and deal with it. He also told them what he expected of the students.
"As we don't yet know what this is we are asking all the students to keep their eyes open for anything unusual and to report it to either your head of house or if you feel it is time-sensitive the first member of staff or curse breakers you see. You may also use a school owl to anonymously send me any information you may know. This way you won't need to worry about being disbelieved or retaliated against."
"Now there is a possibility that a student is behind this. This may have been intentional like having smuggled a dark item into the school. However, it could also have been accidental, such as turning on an item that was already in the school. Either way, no students, staff or even pets have been harmed as of yet so I give you an offer of amnesty. If you were to hand in the source of this dark magic or to provide us with the location either openly or anonymously then as far as I am concerned that will be the end of the matter."
"However, I will give you this warning. If you are behind this dark magic of your own free will and this magic seriously harms another student then there will be no leniency, you will be expelled and the case will be referred to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. The days of what happens at Hogwarts stay at Hogwarts are over. That is all, please enjoy your dinner." The Headmaster said before sitting back down and serving himself from the dishes of food in front of him.
All the students immediately turned to those around them demanding answers and wanting to know what everyone else knew. Ron turned to Harry and said. "I bet it's a Slytherin. They are always up to their necks in dark magic. Ouch!" He ejected as he jerked back.
Ginny, who was sitting across from Ron had obviously just kicked him in the shin. "That's the kind of thinking that had me in trouble first year. It had to be a Slytherin in your head so you didn't even think to check on me."
"That was the second year," Ron said, glaring at his sister.
"My first year, dumbass," Ginny said.
"I don't know, in this case, Ron may be right." Said Harry causing Hermione and the two Weasleys to look at him quickly. "Think about it, most of the death eaters' kids have just lost their fathers. They now have a specific reason to hate me and my grandfather for either killing their fathers or having them sent to Azkaban. You can't get a much better motive to smuggle a dark and dangerous object into the school than getting revenge."
Harry finished and his friends were looking at him horrified. Hermione broke the silence first. "Harry, you need to tell your grandfather about this. If someone is targeting you both." She obviously found Harry's suspicion credible because she sounded worried.
He nodded. "I plan on it, even if they can't do anything because there is no evidence, I want grandfather on his guard," Harry said.
"I bet it's Malfoy." Said, Ron.
"Ron, you always think it's Malfoy." Said Hermione.
"Because he is a slimy git." Said Ron with conviction.
The outer three just shook their heads and started filling their plates. Harry would drag Hermione and Ron with him to speak to his grandfather after dinner.