Shattered by moonterra

Chapter One: Grim Defeat

Halloween had always been a sore point for Harry, starting with the murder of his parents by a megalomanic and the last two years at Hogwarts had continued such a trend in his life. It was thus his most hated day of the year. First year had been the mountain troll that had been let into the school, resulting in the destruction of the girl's bathroom on the first floor and yet resulted in Harry and Ron making friends with Hermione, something he realized now that he should not have done and told a professor instead. Just last year, his second year at Hogwarts, he had not gone to the Halloween Feast for the simple reason that he had been invited to Sir Nick's 500th Deathday Party so had gone with Ron and Hermione who had decided to come with him instead of going to the Halloween Feast held every year. That had been something he'd regretted for two reasons; one being the fact that there was no food served for the living, given all the attendants were ghosts, and two was he had been accused of murdering Mrs. Norris, the cat of the caretaker Argus Filch. Last year had been a disaster, being shunned by his classmates and peers as they all thought he was the Heir of Slytherin for that was when Slytherin's monster had been set loose and he'd faced a shade of the Dark Lord for the second time in two years. That had been the year he had been ousted as a Parselmouth and Headmaster Dumbledore had said Voldemort had given him some of his powers on accident when trying to attack him that night in Godric's Hollow twelve years ago. Now Halloween had come again, and Harry should have known this year wouldn't be any different compared to his last two years at Hogwarts.

Chatter filled the Great Staircase as the students climbed the seven flights of stairs to the top of Gryffindor Tower, Ron and Hermione talking about their trip to Hogsmeade that had taken place that day and the fun they'd had before coming back to the castle for the Halloween Feast. Harry was glad they'd brought some candy for him back from Honeydukes since he wasn't allowed to go due to not having a signed permission slip from his guardians. The third year Gryffindor was currently munching on a chocolate frog when the students came to a halt, continuing down the familiar path to Gryffindor Tower until they found it jammed with students. "Why isn't anyone going in?" Harry stood on his tip toes to try to see but couldn't see much, however what he did see showed the portrait appeared to be closed. "Don't tell me the Fat Lady's gone off visiting again," Ron groaned.

"Let me through please," came Percy's voice as he pushed his way through the crowd of students on the stairs leading up the corridor leading to the Fat Lady's portrait. He pushed his way importantly through the crowd, telling the students to make way. "What's going on here? You can't all have forgotten the password."

"Where'd the Fat Lady go?"

"Are we in danger?" This comment came from a timid first year Harry didn't know but then he didn't interact with the younger students in his year or his house.

"What's going on?" Ginny's voice echoed beside him, and Harry jumped as Ron's sister appeared beside him.

"Dunno," said Harry with a shrug. "Portrait appears to be closed."

"Quick! Someone get Professor Dumbledore!" Percy's voice shouted down the corridor and a student pushed their way through the crowd to find Dumbledore or another staff member as Percy tried to keep order. Harry, Hermione, and Ron pushed their way forward to see what the problem was and there they came upon a horrifying sight.

"Oh my..." Hermione grabbed onto Harry's arm as they stared at the portrait guarding their common room. The Fat Lady had vanished, her portrait's canvas hanging off the frame in jagged strips, cuts deeply impressed into the wood. The portrait to the common room appeared to have been attacked by someone in a fit of rage.

"Move aside!" Professor Dumbledore came hurrying through the crowd suddenly and unexpectedly, the students parting like the red sea for Moses. Behind them, Professors McGonagall, Lupin and Snape were hurrying behind them, Professor McGonagall surveying her students before putting a hand to her mouth as she saw the damaged portrait. Strips of canvas littered the floor beneath the portrait and great chunks had been taken out of the portrait and the wooden frame behind the canvas. Professor Dumbledore looked at the canvas, lifting one of the torn canvas strips before turning somberly to see the three professors running towards him.

"What's Snape doing here?"

"We need to find her. Professor McGonagall I need you to send for Argus and have him search all the paintings for the Fat Lady. Severus, get the..."

"You'll be lucky!" Peeves appeared floating above their heads, cackling in delight about the chaos around the tower. The poltergeist always enjoyed the wreckage and mayhem of the castle.

"What do you mean Peeves?" Dumbeldore calmly questioned, looking up at Peeves and his grin faded a little. Peeves didn't dare taunt Dumbledore. "Have you seen the Fat Lady? Do you know what she said of what happened?"

"Ashamed Headmaster and doesn't want to be seen. Saw her running through portraits on the fourth floor between the trees. Crying something awful." Peeves floated down in front of Dumbledore. "Said it was something horrible. Nasty temper he's got, that Sirius Black!"

The students were all gathered into the Great Hall, the Gryffindors being sent there for their protection and soon were joined alongside the Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs and Slytherins who were all confused about what was going on. Professor Dumbledore had moved the house tables to the sides to one wall of the room and then had Filius lock down the castle doors. The House Ghosts and all the prefects as well as Percy and the Headgirl were put in charge of the students with a couple of teachers, Professors Sinistra and Burbage, while the rest of the staff and ghosts were told to make a search of the entire school for any signs of Sirius Black. Blankets and pillows were magicked to appear, the students lying down or sitting up and chatting quietly in hushed whispers with their friends. Word spread quickly that Sirius Black was on the loose and had attacked the Fat Lady when trying to get into the Gryffindor Common Room. Some of the older children assumed this was because he was trying to murder Harry Potter and there were quite a few glares in the third-year's direction.

"The staff and I need to conduct an extensive search of the Hogwarts castle," said Dumbledore as he surveyed the students under his command and protection. "Professors Sinistra and Burbage as well as the four House Ghosts, the prefects and Head Boy and Girl are in charge. Any student caught out of the Great Hall will be at risk of being punished and having privileges revoked or expelled at the worst. I must remind you all that no student here is able to take on Sirius Black." With that, he turned and left with the other staff except for those remaining behind to oversee the students, the doors to the Great Hall being locked behind them. Bars had extended down across all the windows and Percy soon told the students to go to sleep and not talk.

"Come on," said Harry and they grabbed three sleeping bags and headed into a corner of the Great Hall to sleep.

Harry found it hard to sleep, Ron and Hermione questioning him on why they thought Sirius Black would choose tonight of all nights to try to break into Gryffindor Tower. "Good thing you were at the feast with us Harry. Otherwise, you might have been..." She couldn't bring herself to say that Harry might have been hurt or killed.

"I reckon he's lost track of time," said Ron, "you know with being on the run and all. Otherwise, he would have waited until we were back in the dorms to attack."

All around them, the talk was the same no matter the house with the question on everyone's mind being one simple question that puzzled even the seventh years: "How did he get in?"

"Maybe he can apparate," said a Ravenclaw nearby. "Just appear out of nowhere you know?"

"Disguised himself probably," said a Hufflepuff first year.

"Maybe he flew in," said Dean Thomas.

"Honestly, am I the only one who reads Hogwarts a History?" Hermione's infuriated voice was heard easily by Ron and Harry.

"Probably," said Ron. "Why?"

"Because Hogwarts is protected by more than just stone walls," said Hermione. "There's wards and enchantments to stop people entering by stealth. You also cannot apparate in or out of the castle or grounds. I'd like to see the disguise that could fool the dementors. They're guarding every way in and out of the castle, including whatever passages there may be. They'd have seen him fly in too."

"Dementors don't have eyes stupid," came a sixth year Ravenclaw.

"And Filch knows all the secret passages so they'll be covered," said Hermione as if the Ravenclaw hadn't just insulted her.

"Alright that's enough! Lights are going out now. I want everyone in their sleeping bags and to sleep with no talking!" Percy shouted and flicked his wand. All the candles went out at once and the only light came from the silvery ghosts that conversed with the prefects and the moonlight shining in through the windows.

Harry didn't respond to his friends, turning over onto his left side and closing his eyes, pretending to be asleep so he wouldn't have to have this conversation with his friends. He didn't need Hermione asking if he were alright or pitying him, nor Ron showing concern. He was used to Voldemort being after him, the man responsible for killing his parents and making him an orphan. "Harry?" Ron questioned, tapping his friend's shoulder but Harry remained silent. Eventually Ron gave up and the others continued talking in hushed whispers until Percy told the students to quiet down and get to sleep. The ceiling overhead mirrored the starry sky outside of the school, something that had always fascinated Harry.

Azkaban...a place Harry had no clue of until starting his third year at Hogwarts. Harry sadly knew nothing of the wizarding world at large...wasn't even sure there was a wizarding world outside of the United Kingdom. To Harry, the wizarding world consisted of Diagon and Knockturn Alleys, Gringotts, the Leaky Cauldron, Hogwarts and Hogsmeade. Every hour, a professor walked in to make sure everything was alright and around three in the morning, Professor Dumbledore entered where he was immediately met by Percy and the Head Girl, a Hufflepuff seventh year. "Professor, the students finally got to sleep," said Percy as he approached.

"Thank you, Mister Weasley. Were there any problems?"

"None," said Percy.

"Good. There's no point moving them all now. I've found a temporary guardian for the Gryffindors. You'll be able to move them all back on November second."

"Where was the Fat Lady sir?"

"Hiding in a map of Argyllshire on the second floor. She refused to let Mister Black in without the password and he got mad and attacked. She's still frightened but once she has calmed down, I'll reinstate her."

"Headmaster? Did you find Sirius Black?"

"No Miss Fawley, we have not. I am glad though that nothing has happened here to interrupt the sleep of your fellow peers and the younger children."

"Professor, what happens if Sirius Black cannot be caught? Will the school shut down?"

"I am not sure," said Professor Dumbledore, "but I and the rest of the staff will do our best to ensure the school continues running. But it's nothing for the students to worry about," said Dumbledore. The Head girl, a youngster with a slim build and honey blond hair by the name of Gemini, and Percy, both nodded at the Headmaster's reassurances. Professor Burbage came up to the Headmaster when he was done speaking with the two seventh years.

"Headmaster...no word then?"

"I'm afraid not Charity," said Albus Dumbledore. "We're still searching the castle and the dementors have been made aware of the break in but while I am Headmaster of this school, no Dementor will enter the school to harm the students or staff under my care. Naturally, they are not pleased by this, but I made it clear." The Headmaster's eyes darkened and became cold, losing the familiar twinkle as he spoke.

"What will happen Albus, if Mister Black is not caught?"

"I fear we may have to send the students home and shut the school down until Mister Black."

"What about Mister Potter? Black is after him, is he not?"

Albus inclined his head, looking at his young staff member with worry. Charity and Remus were his newest staff members at Hogwarts this year, the previous Muggle Studies professor having retired at the end of the previous year. "Mister Potter should be safe with his family if it comes to it. If necessary, precautions will have to be taken to ensure Mister Potter's safety." Severus Snape soon came into the Great Hall to give a report, one of the doors of the Great Hall creaking open and Harry lay still, determined to hear all he could.

"Headmaster, a complete search has been made of the third floor and he's nowhere there. Argus did a complete sweep of the dungeons, and he isn't there either."

"What about the Astronomy Tower? The Owlery."

"All searched and all clear Headmaster," said Severus.

"Thank you, Severus," said Albus.

"Headmaster, do you remember my concerns about...before the start of term?"

"I do Severus," said Albus in a warning voice.

"Do you have any reason how he got in?"

"Many. Each as unlikely as the last."

"I did express concerns about a certain..."

"I do not believe anyone here would have helped Mister Black enter Hogwarts," said Albus. "Your prejudices blind you Severus." His voice became clipped, taking on a tone that said there was nothing more to be said and Severus fell silent.

"What of Potter? Should he be told of his relationship to Black?"

"No," said Dumbledore, "because it will only frighten him. For now, let him sleep and dream...and let his dreams take him away to the highest clouds in the sky or the deepest depths of the oceans. Now, I must go down to speak to the dementors. I did tell them I'd inform them when our search was complete."

"Didn't they want to help sir?" questioned Percy.

"Yes, but I'll not have them in my school terrifying the students or feeding off of their fears," said Dumbledore.

The next few days were miserable for Harry as nobody would leave him alone. Unlike last year, when he'd been thought of as the Heir of Slytherin and they avoided him like the plague, now he was being followed everywhere by professors who found excuses to escort him or his peers to their next class or Percy who followed him around like a guard dog. For a child that had grown up without friends or a loving family, who still had no loving family and no parents, he was in some ways still a private person but deeply cherished his friends. Unlike what Professor Snape or the Slytherins might think, Harry did not value his fame for being the Boy-Who-Lived...every Halloween being a reminder that while Voldemort had been defeated, he had lost his parents and become an orphan and therefore lost touch with the world he had been half born into. Now, he just wished to be left alone...to not be watched constantly by the adults that he couldn't bring himself to trust with his safety or wellbeing when so many had let him down before prior to being told he was a wizard on his eleventh birthday...a world that he felt sometimes was more difficult than the muggle one with the way they seemed to turn on him or praise him...always viewing him as a shadow of his father. Always his father...he was so much like James Potter yet bearing his mother's eyes. None ever really spoke to Harry about his mother and what she was like in school.

What were the aspirations of Lily Evans nee Potter? What had been her favorite subjects where she excelled? What were her worst classes? Did she find Professor Binns as tedious and doll as Harry and many other students minus Hermione did? Who were her friends in school and where were they now? All he knew was that his mother was a muggleborn witch and had been sorted into Gryffindor like his father. Was she like Hermione, eager to learn everything about the wizarding world?

The same could be applied to his father in some ways. James Potter had been good at Quidditch, a Chaser as he had learned from Hermione in first year when she'd shown him his chaser badge. Head Boy and Head Girl were his parents in their seventh year according to Hagrid. Professor McGonagall seemed to favor his father, speaking fondly of him, and saying he had been good at Transfiguration when he had asked her but where were his father's parents? Had they also been to Gryffindor like James? Why were his parents in hiding when he was born?

Why had they not fled the country if they or their unborn child was in danger instead of remaining within Britain? Who were his father's friends in school? Did James Potter also befriend a muggleborn like Harry had done in his first year, albeit through circumstances brought about by Ron? And his invisibility cloak. Professor Dumbledore said it belonged to his father and Ron said it was rare.

What was an invisibility cloak really and why had Professor Dumbledore had it? Why had his father given the heirloom to the Headmaster before his death instead of keeping it? How had the Potters or his father come across the cloak in the first place? Could his parents have escaped alive with Harry had they the invisibility cloak in their possession? Was it possible that Harry could have grown up with his parents in a loving home?

"Mister Potter, a word please," said Professor McGonagall as Harry got up to go down to the Quidditch Pitch after Oliver Wood had called a meeting of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Ron and Hermione got up to follow Harry, but their Head of House gave them a stern look. "This is for Mister Potter's ears only Mister Weasley and Miss Granger. You have your own classes to attend to and don't need to follow Mister Potter everywhere."

Ron's face turned red in anger while Hermione's cheeks-tinged pink in embarrassment, but she dragged Ron away from the table before he could say something that would cause them to lose house points. Harry followed Professor McGonagall to her office on the first floor, which was a small study off the first-floor corridor to the right of a staircase ascending to the Serpentine Corridor on the third floor. Each of the professors had an office, though Harry was not familiar with where all of them were. "Close the door Mister Potter," said Professor McGonagall as she entered her office, waving her wand at the empty hearth with a muttered ‘Incendio' and flames soon sprang up within. The fire felt warm and comforting, a stark contrast to the chilliness of the castle and Harry knew the castle would only become colder as it turned into winter.

"Have a seat Mister Potter. This will only take a few moments," said Professor McGonagall as she gestured for her young pupil to do just that. Harry looked around at the comfortable yet small study and took a seat in one of the armchairs by the fireplace, Professor McGonagall taking a seat in the one to his left and putting her wand away.

"What is this about Professor? Wood has a meeting down at the Quidditch Pitch concerning our next match before classes," said Harry.

"Quidditch Mister Potter is what I wished to speak with you about as well as your year so far," she said.

Harry stared at his Head of House. In his first year, Professor McGonagall had refused to believe him concerning the fact that someone was after the Sorcerer's Stone, resulting in Harry and his friends going to the third floor themselves. It had turned out to not be Professor Snape trying to steal the stone as Harry and Ron had been convinced but rather Professor Quirrell acting for Voldemort, the man who had murdered his parents. "What about it, Professor?"

"Mister Potter, I'm not sure if you aware but even if you had had a permission slip signed by your guardians, you likely wouldn't have been allowed to attend Hogsmeade trips."

"It's because of Sirius Black, isn't it? Mister Weasley mentioned him to me before getting on the train," said Harry. "I saw him in the Muggle news as well at the Dursleys."

Professor McGonagall was silent at this revelation. "Well, I did not expect you to be told this but that is mainly why you would not have been allowed to attend Hogsmeade visits this year even if you had a permission slip signed by your guardians. One thing about Hogsmeade trips is that staff patrol the village of Hogsmeade to keep the students safe for even the prefects and the Head Boy and Girl are given free reign if they have thus gained a permission slip signed by their parents or guardian. This is the reason that I am considering not allowing you to play Quidditch this year for your own safety. With the threat of Sirius Black possibly looking for you and the Dementors who are not kind creatures, it wouldn't be safe."

Harry's eyes widened as he heard that he might not be able to continue playing Quidditch this year. "But Professor! Gryffindor doesn't have a reserve seeker! We can't let Slytherin win the Quidditch Cup!"

"Mister Potter, loathe as I am to lose the Quidditch Cup to Severus, my love of Quidditch and desire to keep it in our house does not take paramount to a student's life. The old woman shook her head as she stared at Mister Potter in disappointment. "Never you mind about Gryffindor's chances at the Quidditch World Cup Mister Potter. I'm sure I can find another seeker."

"Professor please! Can't Madam Hooch watch our practices and matches instead?"

Professor McGonagall stared at the young student before her at this suggestion. "I will speak to Madam Hooch and the Headmaster concerning practices but for now you are not allowed to participate in any Hogwarts matches or practices."

"That's not fair!"

"Mister Potter, that attitude is going to get you nowhere with me," said Minerva as she sat forward in the chair next to the fire. "I suggest you watch yourself lest I not speak to Madam Hooch or the Headmaster at all. Doth not forget I be thy head of house."

Harry frowned at his Transfiguration professor, a woman who served in capacity as not only teacher but matron of Gryffindor and Deputy Headmistress. It wasn't fair! Why was he being treated in such a manner? How was it his fault some nutter was after him and had escaped from a prison, that according to many in the wizarding isles was impossible to break out of. Obviously not, otherwise I'd be allowed to go to Hogsmeade, thought Harry sourly.

"Mister Potter...Mister Potter!"

Harry turned his gaze towards his professor as she called his name, and he was surprised to see the painful expression on his professor's face as she looked at him. "You may go Mister Potter. Return to your common room. Please understand Harry that the staff does not wish anything bad to happen to you."

"Snape sure wouldn't care," muttered Harry.

"Professor Snape Mister Potter. I don't know what your issue is with Severus, but you would do well to treat him with respect befitting a professor."

"He doesn't deserve it! He does nothing but bully me since I set foot in Potions in my first year! He's always taking points from Gryffindor and lets the Slytherins, especially Malfoy, get away with sabotaging potions of other students in our combined Slytherin-Gryffindor class. He even picks on Neville and doesn't let me correct any mistakes, just vanishes it. He's also mean to Hermione...doesn't let her answer questions at all in class and says she's an ‘insufferable know-it-all,'" he said in a mocking tone.

"Miss Granger does have a problem with parroting from a textbook and writing more than is asked for in terms of homework assignments," said Minerva. "We have attempted to bring that up with Miss Granger but as for Severus's comment about her, that was uncalled for. However, Miss Granger needs to learn to restrain herself in class and allow other children to answer as well as learn not to parrot from a textbook and give her own opinions formulated by her own thoughts. However, we are here to discuss you Mister Potter, not Miss Granger or Severus's lack of teaching qualities. Until I can discuss this with the Headmaster and Madam Hooch you cannot take part in Quidditch practices or go outside except to your classes of Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures this semester. Any further comment about how it is unfair," she said as she pursed her lips, "will result in me not speaking to the Headmaster or Madam Hooch at all. Now, that is all I wanted to speak to you about today. Please return to your common room. "I I'll inform the other professors that you're excused from classes today and tomorrow."

"I'm capable of going to class Professor."

"I see," said Professor McGonagall. "Regardless Mr. Potter, I will excuse you from classes today and tomorrow to digest this information. Run along now to your common room Potter."

Instead of going back to his common room like Professor McGonagall had told him to, Harry instead headed outside to the Black Lake. There was a chill in the air due to it being mid-autumn and a drizzle was falling upon the grounds outside, bringing with it a haze upon the earth. He knew Ron would likely complain about Harry getting off classes for two days, but he also knew Hermione would say that wasn't fair. It wasn't his fault that the professor was giving him two days to ‘process' being potentially kicked off his house team. "It's not fair," said Harry, throwing a pebble into the Black Lake. What was McGonagall going to do if she caught him outside? Give him detention? Though, with the way Divination was going so far, Harry couldn't deny he was glad to be out of that class. The moment he stepped inside that classroom, Professor Trelawney said he was going to die. It was such a pointless class too come to think of it. Why did Dumbledore allow it as an elective?

"Alright there Harry?"

Harry turned his head to see Hagrid walking towards him, Fang following at his heels. Yet, as Fang approached him, the boarhound lunged towards him and Harry turned and fled, the dog chasing him. "Fang! C'mere Fang!" Hagrid's shout didn't dissuade the boarhound at all, and Harry was confused as to why Hagrid's beloved pet was suddenly barking at and chasing him, as well as feeling, for the first time when around Hagrid's dog, fear. Fear that which he had not truly felt these past two years at Hogwarts nor in front of Hagrid's pet Cerberus Fluffy. As Harry looked back over his shoulder, all he saw was a giant black dog running after him. Harry couldn't explain the fear he had as the dog chased him but it was like he had lost control of his instincts...his senses...as if he was possessed.

Out of fear, Harry pulled out his wand, firing a spell over his shoulder at the canine, gasping out a choked "Stupefy," and was rewarded with a yelp from the dog as the spell hit the canine. With the dog momentarily stunned, it allowed Hagrid to catch up with Fang and grab him before he could regain his senses and continue the pursuit.

"Sorry ‘bout that Harry. Don' know what got into him," said Hagrid. "Bad Fang...that's Harry. You know him," he scolded the dog who just growled. Hagrid sensed that Harry was frightened so told Harry he would see the boy later and took Fang back to his hut, leaving the adolescent alone and breathing hard, staring with wide eyes after Hagrid and Fang. Once Fang and Hagrid were out of sight, Harry exhaled and collapsed onto the ground, looking down at his hands and body to see them shaking.

What was that about? The question bounced around in his mind, yet Harry couldn't come up with an answer. Fang was usually a good dog who didn't mind being around Harry and was relatively friendly to everyone, so far as Harry knew. At least, the canine had been friendly to Harry since meeting each other in his first year as well as being relatively okay with Hermione and Ron. He sat there on the grass, clutching the wand in his hand as he tried to figure out why Fang had growled at and chased him, but his mind drew a blank. Harry didn't know much about animals. The Dursleys had never allowed a pet into their home, not even Dudley aside from that pet tortoise when they'd been younger. But other than that, there had been no pets in the home. Aunt Petunia hated to have fur in her home and muddy paw prints as much as she hated Harry tracking mud on the floors when he came in from working in the garden.

The autumn chill blew through his clothes and not for the first time did Harry curse the fact that he had to live with such ungrateful people all because his aunt was his mother's sister. All his life he had wished for someone to care for him, tried his best to please his aunt and uncle yet it was never enough. He'd thought things would be different when he came to Hogwarts but he'd discovered over his previous two years in the magical world that they could be just as finicky and prone to hate as any muggle when faced with something new or betrayal thrown in their faces. Even Herminone, a Muggleborn, seemed to know more about Harry than himself and it was disconcerting. Having everyone expecting him to be someone he was not, be something he was not, all because of something that he couldn't remember from twelve years ago. Harry could admit to himself that he wasn't the best student but he wasn't the worst either. Yes, he felt like he was woefully unprepared, even in his third year in the magical world to handle the magical wonder of the place but really the magical wonder had disappeared after his second year when he'd discovered just how cruel his fellow peers could be, even those among Gryffindor with the whole Chamber of Secrets and being accused of being the Heir of Slytherin just because he could speak Parsletongue.

Harry truthfully didn't consider the Dursleys his home, even if he knew they were his only family. Well, Uncle Vernon could probably take Dudley and leave whenever he wanted since Vernon Dursley was only his uncle through marriage and had no blood relation to Harry at all. Dudley certainly wouldn't miss him...no neither would his aunt and uncle if something happened to him. It was probably a miracle that his relatives hadn't hurt him much beyond throwing him in his cupboard without meals for days at a time or occasionally smacked him around. Sure, they were remiss in their duties of love which was not lost between them but there was still a part of Harry, deep down, that even though he knew it was a lost cause, wished for them to be proud of him and to hear that they loved him. He didn't say this to his friends as Ron wouldn't understand what it was like to grow up in the Muggle world and Hermione would tell him to tell a teacher but what could a teacher do? No matter how much he or his relatives hated it, they were the only family and home that Harry had until he turned eighteen and could leave finally. Yet even then, Harry knew no matter what he did, he would never gain their affection, their love or their approval. To the Dursleys, Harry was something dirty beneath their shoes...an orphan. It was that fear of losing his friends, fear of disobeying the Dursleys, that Harry did poorly in school and didn't take his classes seriously despite being entranced with the magical world when he had been introduced to it on his eleventh birthday by Hagrid.

Fear of losing his friends, mainly his first friend in Ron Weasley, was why Harry continued to do poorly in school. Ron, despite being born a wizard didn't seem to care much about grades. It was like he preferred to just skate through life on the most average and easy grades possible without putting in the effort. Whereas his other best friend, Hermione Granger, well he had to admit there were times when Professor Snape was right about her being a know-it-all and she was certainly bossy and a nag when it came to homework and studying. Hermione didn't seem to want to be beaten by anyone in their classes. Was that why she had spoken last year of taking all the electives she could their third year? Wanting an easy grade but also fear of losing Ron's friendship if he took any other class besides Divination was exactly why he had signed up for the class.

"Mister Potter. I thought I told you to go to your common room," said Professor McGonagall as she approached Potter, seeing him sitting down by the Black Lake. It was Thursday and their first game was on the sixth of November. The woman shuddered slightly as she felt the cold of the dementors though they knew better then to come onto the school grounds. Harry frowned as he saw his professor coming across the grounds towards him. He knew his friends were likely in Divination right now, it being the first class of the day along with Arithmancy and Muggle Studies electives. However, as she drew closer, she could see Harry was shaking. "Mister Potter, whatever is the matter?"

Harry found no words to respond to his professor and even if he had, would she have believed him? His Head of House had never believed him before when he had gone to her with something he felt was wrong...even if he had been wrong in the end like with thinking Professor Snape was the one after the Sorcerer's Stone in his first year when it turned out to be Professor Quirrel...or rather Voldemort who was harbored on the back of Professor Quirrel's head. Still, everyone said that Professor Snape had been a death eater, at least the Weasleys believed he had been so, so how trustful could his potions professor be in reality? "Nothing's the matter," said Harry. "You wouldn't believe me anyway."

"Mister Potter..."

"Fuck off," said Harry, getting to his feet and moving back towards the castle.

"Detention Mister Potter and fifty points from Gryffindor!" His professor's words seemed to float in one ear and out the other as Harry ignored his professor while continuing to stride across the grounds, still shaken up even if he tried not to let it show and hid it instead behind his anger. Crying never did him any good, not at the Dursleys and not here at Hogwarts where he was expected to be strong and couldn't show weakness to his peers. None of them understood what his life was like, not even Hermione and Ron truly and mainly that was because Harry didn't want them to know. It was bad enough to know that Ron and the twins knew about his family putting bars on his window during his second summer after the fiasco with Dobby showing up at the Dursleys. Nothing would change so what was the point of crying about it or telling someone when everyone...Dumbledore..said it was best for Harry to remain at the Dursleys?

Harry found himself running down to the dungeons on Friday morning, Wood's lecture on tactics for Saturday's game against Hufflepuff spilling over into the time the second bell rang singling the start of classes for the second period. They had only learned they were playing against Hufflepuff that morning when Oliver had gathered them out onto the Quidditch Pitch, saying they weren't taking the match seriously and that Cedric Diggory was captain and had put together a good team this year. Fred had insisted they were taking it very seriously, but Oliver hadn't believed them, this being his last year before he graduated from Hogwarts.

Harry had found himself avoiding Hagrid the next day at breakfast in the Great Hall and had yet to receive a slip detailing the incident of his detention from Professor McGonagall. His housemates had been upset that he had cost them fifty points though it was nothing compared to the one hundred fifty-point loss in his first year where the entire house had shunned him and been angry with him. Well, it had been him, Hermione and Neville that had each cost Gryffindor fifty points each for being out of bed after curfew in their first year but Harry had seemed to get the brunt of his house's shunning because of who he was and what he represented...both things that Harry didn't want but nobody cared at all. Even Ron couldn't believe what had happened. Now, they were facing Hufflepuff for their first match of the year all due to Draco pretending to still be injured from provoking Buckbeak instead of paying attention to Hagrid's lessons.

Harry had found himself avoiding Hagrid the next day at breakfast in the Great Hall and had yet to receive a slip detailing the incident of his detention from Professor McGonagall. His housemates had been upset that he had cost them fifty points though it was nothing compared to the one hundred fifty-point loss in his first year where the entire house had shunned him and been angry with him. Well, it had been him, Hermione and Neville that had each cost Gryffindor fifty points each for being out of bed after curfew in their first year, but Harry had seemed to get the brunt of his house's shunning because of who he was and what he represented...both things that Harry didn't want but nobody cared at all. Even Ron couldn't believe what had happened. Now, they were facing Hufflepuff for their first match of the year all due to Draco pretending to still be injured from provoking Buckbeak instead of paying attention to Hagrid's lessons.

Harry threw open the door of the Potions classroom, class having already started when he arrived for some students looked up from their cauldrons as others were finishing up finding ingredients or were coming back from the student storage cupboard where ingredients for Potions classes were kept. He didn't see Snape anywhere and breathed a sigh of relief, making his way over to his usual spot next to Ron at their table, hoping he could pretend he had been here all this time. Unfortunately for Harry, he didn't get very far when Professor Snape swooped down on him like an oversized bat. "Well Mister Potter. How nice of you to join us at last," said Snape. "Didn't bother deeming it prudent to come to class on time like the rest of your classmates?"

"No sir," said Harry. "I was at a Quidditch..."

"Yes and of course the Boy-Who-Lived can't be bothered to attend classes like a mundane student. Such a thing as being on time is far beneath you. Quidditch is not more important than your lessons Mister Potter," snapped Snape. "That will be fifty points arriving to class late," he said, and Harry scowled at his professor as he looked up to meet Snape's gaze. "I expect you to be on time like everyone else, regardless of missing important Quidditch tactics or not."

"Git," muttered Ron, causing a tightening of Severus's mouth.

"Detention Mister Weasley and five points from Gryffindor for insulting a professor," snapped Severus without looking at the Weasley brat. "As you can see Potter, we've already started our lesson for today. Get to work," he snapped at the class who were watching the exchange between Potter and Snape and the third years went back to concentrating on their potions. As Harry began walking to his place where Ron was, Snape spoke again. "Oh, Mister Potter, you won't be sitting with Weasley or near Granger. Granger would likely do all your work for you and Weasley can't make a potion to save his life," he said with a sneer, causing some of his Slytherin students to laugh. Ron's face turned red with anger while Hermione's cheeks became pink with embarrassment and she ducked her head, trying to avoid the snickers from the Slytherin side. "You'll be working with...let's see...Nott," he said, pointing to a weedy and stringy boy. "However, you will be responsible for making your own potion. Now go take your seat and get started unless you want to be here tonight to finish your potion. Oh, and Mister Potter...detention for arriving late to class. No talking in class," he said to the class before resuming his watch over them by sweeping around the classroom as Harry reluctantly made his way to the Slytherin side of the room, joining Theodore Nott who didn't glance up at him. Setting his bag on the floor, he pulled out a piece of parchment and his copy of Magical Drafts and Potions along with an ink bottle and quill.

Once these were set up on his side of the table, Harry sat down and began writing down the list of ingredients, discovering they were making the Girding Potion in class. He began writing down the ingredients so he could know what to gather when he went to the student supply cupboard, his quill scratching at the parchment. Anger clouded his vision as he wrote down the ingredients for the potion; dragonfly thoraxes, doxy eggs, flying seahorses, and fairy wings. He then opened his potions book and moved to the appendix to look up the Girding Potion before flipping to that page in his textbook and reading over the instructions. "Potter, you had best get yourself together before you lose your house more points," murmured Theodore without looking up from his own cauldron as he measured out the toasted dragonfly thoraxes, his potion turning pink.

Harry didn't respond to the Slytherin, instead setting his quill down and stomping off towards the student supply cupboard to gather his ingredients, hearing Snape shout "Fifteen points from Gryffindor for your temper tantrum Potter," but Harry didn't respond as he looked through the cupboard for ingredients, finding the flying seahorses easily enough as well as the bottle of doxy eggs. The dragonfly thoraxes and fairy wings were a bit more difficult to find, in fact there were no fairy wings left and Harry frowned to himself so attempted to climb the shelf, only to knock down a couple jars of ingredients he didn't know, their contents spilling onto the floor at his feet. As if he had bat hearing, Professor Snape swooped in on the child, seeing a foul liquid splashed onto Potter's robes. There was a sizzling sound as the potion began eating away at Harry's skin on his hands, some of the potion having splashed on his hands and face when he'd knocked the potion down. Immediately, the burning started, and a gasp of pain left him as he stared transfixed and in shock at the skin on his hands beginning to be eaten away, Harry desperately attempting to shield his hands against his body, his left cupping his right hand. His right hand was his wand hand, and he didn't want to lose the ability to practice magic. Not only that, but it was also beginning to eat through his robe and into his shirt.

Still, Harry did his best to keep his mouth shut and hide his pain, knowing that the Dursleys never wanted to hear his cries and he certainly didn't want or need Malfoy, Snape or any other Slytherins using this as another means of taunting him for being weak. Harry, even at thirteen, understood that most people, be they children or adults, expected him to be this strong person even though he was still a child himself. He huddled in on himself, stepping back and stepping onto some of the glass shards which created a crunching sound underfoot as they were stepped on, his breathing becoming heavy as he tried to hold in his cries, tried to hold in the pain he was feeling and hide it away from the world, or at least away from his classmates he was aware of outside the storage cupboard's three walls. Thankfully, though he bumped into the one of the lower shelves, he didn't knock anything else over to the floor. "Potter! Get that robe off now if you don't want to end up in the hospital wing!"

Snape ignored his other students as he rushed forward to the Potter boy who seemed hard of hearing, the child winching as his skin sizzled and began to be eaten away. It didn't take Severus long to see the burns appear on the child's skin nor the flames licking his hand and other exposed skin as the ingredient's secondary property began. The sigh of the smashed jar on the floor, their shards everywhere also caught his attention. Harry's gaze seemed transfixed on his flesh being eaten away and he banished the boy's robe and shirt away, until the boy began screaming as he was burned which caused some of his classmates to look towards the supply cupboard. Was the boy that daft that he didn't realize he should remove his clothing by getting potentially something corrosive on it? What was he thinking, of course the boy was daft. This was Potter after all, an annoying and arrogant brat with his head in the clouds and strutting through the school like he owned it, just like his father had done, always getting into trouble and being out after hours. Severus couldn't prove it, of course, but he just knew Potter took after his father.

In his rush to remove the offending clothing from Potter's body before he received any more damage, Severus didn't get a chance to see or inquire as to just what ingredient or ingredients had been knocked to the floor but had a guess and when the flames started on his hands, Potter again standing there like a great big lump of dung, Severus had a guess as to what it was. Perhaps he had been a bit hasty in banishing the child's robe and shirt, but he was sure that Albus and Minerva would have his head if anything happened to their precious golden boy. "Idiot boy! When you're told to do something, do it Potter or do you have no sense at all of self-preservation?!" Harry yelped as if suddenly feeling the cold of the dungeons against his bare skin, as if suddenly realizing he was naked to his waist. It was this cold air on his flesh that caused him to snap at Snape, lifting his furious tear-streaked gaze towards his hated professor. In his anger and pain, it didn't occur to Harry that Snape was attempting to help him, albeit not out of concern for the child's welfare but because he feared Minerva and Albus.

"Snape, you bastard! What did you do that for?!"

"Watch your tongue Mister Potter or I'll use it as another potions ingredient," snapped Snape. He knew Potter needed medical attention, but he also knew that if he left his class of third-year Gryffindors and Slytherins he might not have a Potions classroom to come back to. There were others of course for other years, but he'd be most displeased if any of his classrooms, let alone any part of the dungeons, were destroyed. He'd have to send the boy through the floo to Pomfrey for medical attention then since he had a class and inquire as to the potion used later though he had a suspicion that Potter had just cost him 200 galleons in a very rare potions ingredient, dragon stomach acid. "Come along Potter." When Potter didn't follow him out of the supply cupboard, Snape snarled and turned, grabbing the boy, and pulling him along by the arm.

Potter continued screaming in pain, screams that were interspersed by quiet whimpers, the sounds grating on Snape's nerves even if he understood logically the teenager was in pain, but it was his own fault for throwing a temper tantrum and not arriving at class on time with the rest of his peers. Harry slowed his steps, trying to avoid going anywhere with Snape, biting his lip until it turned red from blood due to the pressure of biting into the soft, thin flesh to keep from crying out or showing any weakness...discomfort or pain as he had learned to do when Uncle Vernon whacked him, his screams and whimpers subsiding. Even then, despite his pain, Potter resisted going anywhere with his professor, the man not loosening his grip, lest the boy make a run for it. He released the boy, only to pull out his wand and hold his arm out. "Diffindo," he said, severing some of his robe sleeve off which was then thrown onto the boy and pressed down, yet even the acid ate through this as well, however it served its purpose enough to smother the flames. He was lucky that he just had flames on his hand, the stupid boy. Severus then grabbed Potter again, dragging him once more down the dungeon corridors until he stopped in front of a woman reading a book with a dog at her feet. He whispered the password, the woman glancing up at Severus before the portrait swung open and dragged Potter inside. Pulling out his wand, Harry flinched but Snape just pointed it at the empty hearth and caused a fire to appear before marching over and grabbing some floo powder from the mantle, which was thrown in, turning the flames green.

His quarters were connected to the hospital wing, something that Albus had insisted on though he hadn't expected to ever use them with a student. Then again, Severus never had students come to his private quarters either. Perhaps he should have blinded Potter instead but could possibly remove the memory from the boy after he was healed. "Poppy," Severus shouted as he knelt and stuck his head into the flames, seeing the matron cataloguing some potions in a glass cupboard.

"Severus! One moment," Poppy said as she closed the cupboard and then rushed towards the hearth against one wall of the infirmary. "Now what is the matter? Did something happen?"

"Potter had an accident with a potion ingredient. I suspect it was Dragon stomach acid," said Severus, "given the flames on his body and that's one of the only potion ingredients I know that can do such a thing," he said. "I managed to smother the flames, but he'll need treatment and I have a class to go back and teach," he said.

"Heavens. Send him through Severus and I'll take care of it."

"Right. Oh, and Poppy, you may need to restrain the brat. He's been behaving like a toddler."

"I'm sure we'll be fine," said Poppy, allowing Severus to move away from the fire and grab Potter who was now crying from the pain of his skin being eaten away and his body burning. Severus grabbed Potter and threw him unceremoniously in the floo as he yelled, "Hogwarts Infirmary," and with a whoosh, Potter had been whisked away. Severus frowned at his missing sleeve but there was no time to get new robes on, he'd already spent too much time away from his students and hurried back.

Coming out onto the Quidditch Pitch, that Saturday morning, the weather was overcast and stormy with high winds that caused the players to sway as they staggered out onto the muddy pitch. Around them, the stands were filled with students and staff alike, all wearing raincoats and some having umbrellas as well. Above them, lightning broke through the thunderous overcast clouds as the two teams made their way onto the pitch and towards Madam Hooch. "I want a good game both of you," she said as Cedric and Oliver walked up and shook hands.

"We know Madam Hooch. We aren't playing Slytherin after all," said Fred or was it, George? This brought some laughter from both teams, both knowing how dirty Slytherin played.

"Mount your brooms," said Madam Hooch, having to shout above the wind and thunder. Already Harry's glasses were splattered with rain, already they were beginning to fog up and he knew it would get worse as the match wore on. Still, the two teams mounted their brooms, Wood and Diggory having released hands, and kicked off at the sound of Madam Hooch's whistle as a bolt of lightning appeared and rent the sky, the woman herself mounting her own broom and flying into the sky as she released not only the Quaffle but the Bludgers and Snitch as well. The sounds of the cheering crowd were swept away by the ferocious wind as the two teams soared into the air, Angelina Johnson getting the Quaffle and racing off with Heidi Macavoy, one of the Hufflepuff Chasers, on her tail. Harry took his place hovering over the rest of the players, trying to keep an eye on both Diggory and an eye out for the snitch. Yet, in the blinding wind and rain, he was not sure how he would manage such a task. Not with the way the rain lashed his face and fogged up his glasses.

As it turned out, the potions ingredient he had knocked to the floor and gotten on himself was dragon stomach acid, one of a handful of magical animal stomach acids, each having different properties yet all having a corrosive and acidic property to them. A rare and expensive potion ingredient that Snape had told Harry he was going to pay back, every two hundred gallons of it. Harry didn't know how he was able to get that money back or see why he had to pay back for an accident in the first place, but it was just another detention he was getting. The second ingredient that had been knocked down was a jar of powdered augrey feathers. Madam Pomfrey had bandaged his hand which she said shouldn't be used at all, meaning Harry couldn't attend classes. He'd begged her though to let him go to the Quidditch game and participate and against Poppy's better judgement she allowed it, having a feeling the boy would rush out even if he didn't have permission so had bandaged it and spelled the bandages to be resistant to water. Nevertheless, Harry was told to use that hand sparingly while it healed as the skin had to be regrown, but she'd told the boy that there didn't appear to be any nerve damage.

Harry found it was difficult for either team to stay on their brooms with the ferocious wind and the rain, rain that lashed his glasses and made it difficult for him to see. Within five minutes Harry was soaked to the skin, struggling to hold his broom straight as it was tossed about in the wind and frozen, hardly able to see anything through the rain let alone find the snitch. He couldn't hear the cheers of the crowd below him as goals were scored for both sides, could barely focus on his teammates at all due to the rain and the wind lashing about his ears. Soon Harry lost track of time as he struggled to fight the weather. The crowd below was hidden beneath a sea of soaked cloaks, coats and battered umbrellas and twice he nearly hit another player, whether it was a team mate or an opponent he couldn't tell. The sky began to get darker, as if night had come early. Unable to see with the rain lashing at his glasses, forcing Harry to try wiping at them with the sleeve of his quidditch robes, he felt a sharp pain in the side of his head as a bludger hit him square on, unable to dodge in time due to not seeing it. He felt a sharp crack against his skull and his eyesight went black, Harry unable barely dodging a second bludger sent his way by Michael McManus, one of the Hufflepuff reserve beaters, for Anthony Rickett was unable to play in the match.

With the first flash of lightning came the sound of Madam Hooch's whistle and Harry could glimpse Wood gesturing to him and the rest of the team to the ground. As one, the team of scarlet of and gold flew down to meet their captain, splashing down in the mud. "I called for time out! Here, under here," shouted Wood over the thunder and rain, over the wind that threatened to steal his voice as he led his team beneath the stands where they could get dry.

"Wood this is madness! We can barely keep flying straight," said Katie Bell, one of their chasers. The team huddled together beneath the stands, water dripping off their skin though it was somewhat dryer underneath the stands. Harry took his glasses off and hurriedly wiped them off on his robes, though it did no good.

"What's the score?"

"We're fifty points up," said Wood, "but unless we get the snitch caught soon, we'll be playing until midnight at this rate." In the darkness underneath the stands, none noticed the head injury that Harry had received and Harry ignored the blood dripping down the side of his head in his efforts to not be called out and Harry certainly wasn't going to be forced to sit out the rest of the game when it meant they would have to forfeit the match. He knew how important this match was to Wood, being the seventh year's last year at Hogwarts. He wasn't about to let his captain down. Who cared if he had a head injury?

"I've got no chance with these on," he said, holding up his glasses. In that moment, there was the light of a wand and Hermione hurried into the stands.

"Harry...you're bleeding!"

"No really, I'm fine Hermione," begged Harry, turning to her with pleading eyes to not say anything and wishing at the same time in that moment, that she would shut her mouth.

"Harry, are you injured?" questioned Wood, coming closer to peer at his seeker.

"It's fine Wood. It won't hinder my ability to get the snitch."

"Harry, perhaps you should sit this out," Wood said. "A head injury's nasty business, especially if you don't get it treated. Are you feeling..."

"Damnit Wood, I'm fine!" Harry shouted, causing Wood to frown at his seeker, the man casting his own lighting spell to see the injury for himself. Wood was no healer, but he could see that Harry's head was dripping blood from his temple and looked caved in.

"Harry, as your captain I'm going to have to..." But he didn't get to finish as Harry dashed out from underneath the bleachers and into the open again where he mounted his broom and kicked off hard into the air, rising fast as he hurriedly put his glasses on. As he rose into the sky, a flash of lightning revealed something within the stands and he squinted through the rain, a black dog sitting in the topmost empty stands, hunched down against the weather. His hands let go of his broom and it dropped a few feet but when he blinked and looked again, the dog was gone. There was the sound of the whistle once more as Madam Hooch called an end to the timeout and Harry found himself once more joined by his teammates as they flew up into the air, the match once more starting.

Harry was still numb with cold and freezing but he refused to go back down for attention for his head injury. Harry urged his broom through the air, straining to see the snitch and looking in every direction possible. This was getting dangerous, and Harry needed to get the snitch quickly. "Ahhhhhhhhh!" He looked about and had to dodge Alicia Spinnet crashing to the ground, her broom tail on fire as her broom was struck by a bolt of lightning. Preoccupied with Alicia falling to the ground, Harry didn't see the snitch until Wood shouted at him.

"Harry! Harry the snitch!" Harry turned and there was Cedric, pelting across the pitch towards the golden winged ball that flew up into the clouds, flew up away from the pitch itself. Instantly, Harry leaned on his broom, urging it to go faster.

"Come on," Harry said as he flew directly into the thunderstorm and clouds above the stands. Rain and wind lashed his face, threatening to send both seekers off course. Harry, being the lightest on his team, had a horrible time staying in a forward and upward motion. He was catching up to Diggory, the stands and pitch now far below him but when he glanced down he could make out a hundred dementors standing beneath him on the pitch. He turned his head forward once more, trying not to think about high up he was though a sudden fear filled him, a fear that he had not felt before when on a broom. Suddenly a dementor was swoping towards him and he swerved to the side as the creature flew past him yet they seemed to be not only below but in the air around him.

Dodging Cedric who was suddenly struck by lightning, Harry flew ever higher as he watched Cedric fall, the high temperatures beginning to make his broom freeze as well as his glasses frost up. He strained to see the snitch, spotting it fluttering tiny wings as quick as it could up into the air, but he was forced to dodge a windblown umbrella that nearly knocked him off course. Around him were clouds and darkness, the sounds below muffled for he was so high...so high and obscured that none could see him. He felt like he was floating as a white mist began to crowd around his vision, envelope his mind in a dense fog from which he could not find his way out. "Stand aside...stand aside you silly girl."

"Not Harry, please!"

"I'll give you one more chance. Step aside and your life will be spared."

"No please...please I'll do anything."

There was a woman...screaming? Why was she screaming? Why was he flying? He heard a cold high-pitched laugh and a flash of green light filled his vision, a choked scream coming from him and there was another scream, one in his head. He had to help her! Yet there was another voice...a different voice. She was going to be murdered, the woman that was screaming!

"Rest my kits...we'll be safe. No...don't!" Yet, it was so faint in his mind that Harry didn't know if he were imagining it or not and strangely, Harry felt something stir within him, a temporary feeling of safety, before his world shattered. Harry didn't see the second bludger coming towards him. No, there was a sudden pain as it hit him in the small of his back, sending him flying forward off his broom. He didn't have time to scream as something hit him in his side and he fell, not even feeling the impact as he fell hundreds of feet to the earth below.

"Lucky the ground was so soft."

"I can't believe nobody used a spell to stop his fall."

"I've never seen the headmaster so furious before."

Harry struggled up through the fog in his mind as voices began to filter into his consciousness and slowly, he opened his eyes to see his fellow teammates standing around his bed as well as Ron and Hermione. He saw his team, muddy and soaked from the rain standing there around his bed. "Urrngh...where..."

"You're in the hospital wing Mister Potter," said Poppy as she bustled over. "You took a nasty tumble from several hundred feet up in the air. And flying with a head injury! What were you thinking?! Your skull is caved in Mister Potter, not to mention several broken ribs and a broken back. Let's not speak of the potential concussion you have as well!! Even your father didn't pull a stunt like that when he was on the Quidditch team!"

"What happened?" Harry questioned, ignoring the matron's words.

"Dumbledore was furious that dementors were on the pitch," said Fred. "I don't think anybody knew what to do when you fell."

"What...we...we didn't lose?"

"Diggory caught the snitch just after you fell," said George. "He didn't know you had fallen until after he looked down and saw you on the ground. He tried to call the match off or Wood to agree to another match when you were better but even Wood admitted that the match was won fair and square."

"Where is Wood?"

"Still in the shower. We think he's trying to drown himself," said George.

Hermione was holding a bundle in her arms, her voice so quiet that Harry had to strain to hear her words. "Harry...when you fell..."

"What?"

"I'm sorry Harry. There's nothing that can be done. Oh, Harry when you fell well..." She opened the cloth and spilled the remnants of his Nimbus 2001. "It drifted off and hit the Whomping Willow," said Hermione. Harry didn't hear her as he stared down at the broken pieces of his broom.

"That's enough. Mister Potter needs his rest," said Poppy, ushering the students out of her infirmary. However, Minerva ended up coming in after the students began filing out and walked over to Mister Potter, causing some of the team to stop walking.

"Mister Potter, what possessed you to..." Her shoes crunched on the broom and she frowned before pulling out her wand and banishing the pieces of wood. "What made you fly with a potential concussion? Do you have a death wish?"

"I knew I'd be benched for the rest of the match. Professor...we don't have a reserve seeker and it was important to..."

"Mister Wood has already informed me that he tried to stop you from flying and you refused to listen to your captain," said Minerva. "Even Wood, eager as he is this year to win a match would not want his teammates being at risk! You showed horrible judgement there Mister Potter and therefore, this action is just further proof that I was right."

"Professor?"

"Mister Potter, you are hereby banned from Quidditch. You are not allowed to attend matches or even practices anymore for the rest of the year nor participate in Quidditch meetings."

"But Professor that isn't fair! What about Gryffindor?! Our winning the cup?!"

"I can find another seeker to take your place for the rest of the year Mister Potter. If I catch you anywhere near the Quidditch Pitch, even if it is just walking around the area, I will give you detentions until the end of the year. I'm sorry Potter," she said, laying her hand on Harry's shoulder but the teen jerked away. "But this is for your own safety. Black is still out there and Madam Hooch cannot supervise all matches and practices," she said before turning and leaving, leaving a sobbing Harry in the infirmary.