Raised By Wolfstar: Slytherin Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince

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@Teddy.J.B @Pervaza972 @CatsAndRoblox @Missy Clara Oswald

(Semi-important bonus content at the very end of the chapter)

Chapter Fifteen: Candor and Quidditch

The weekend’s brutal wind had died out at last; the weird mist had returned. Harry had Charms the following morning after Herbology, in which he planned on telling his friends about his lesson with Dumbledore after Tracey cast Episkey on the three of them as in the previous class they had to deal with vicious Snargaluffs. He had been unable to tell Tracey, Allison, and Theodore about his lesson with Dumbledore over breakfast for fear of being overheard, and Tracey didn’t have Herbology class, but he filled them in as they practiced their latest charm in the back of Flitwick’s class.

‘That’s hard to think about, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named as anything other than an evil adult,’ said Tracey after they began practicing.

‘It is such an odd concept indeed, also I just can’t get my head around why Dumbledore wants you to see these memories?’ said Theodore.

‘Maybe to teach Harry that You-Know-Who is human like the rest of us and therefore can be defeated?’ theorized Allison.

‘I’m not sure,’ said Harry, waving his wand. ‘But he says it’s all important and it’ll help me survive.’

‘I think Allison might be on to something,’ said Tracey earnestly. ‘Knowing everything about your enemy is an old but useful strategy, and likely will help you learn his weaknesses.’

‘Then maybe you two are right,’ said Harry, he then turned towards Theodore. ‘So how was Slughorn’s latest party?’

‘It was fine, I guess,’ said Theodore trying to concentrate on the Gouging Spell they were practicing by carving up some rocks on stools. ‘Mostly he just rambles the entire time about all the famous former students he’s taught. McLaggen and Blaise are mostly who he puts the majority of his energy into as they’re the only members left that have true celebrity family instead of just minor success. I go through because the food is different than regular supper. Oh, I guess one thing of interest that happened recently is we got to meet Gwenog Jones.’

‘Wait! Really?’ said Allison in shock, up until now she didn’t really seem all that annoyed about Slughorn not inviting her, but now she seemed bummed out. ‘Gwenog Jones is amazing, she’s one of the best Quidditch players in all of the UK. It would be spectacular to meet her!’

‘For practicing a non-verbal spell I hear quite a lot of chatter back there!’ said Professor Flitwick’s sharp little voice. ‘Only two of you have managed to make dents in your stones, please try to focus!’

Sure enough Theodore and Tracey had managed to successfully carve into their slab of stone, but Harry and Allison had yet to make a dent.

‘Sorry Professor, we’ll try harder!’ said Allison, adding quietly, when Flitwick had turned away again, ‘Harry you should have tried that Muffliato spell.’

‘What? No!’ said Theodore at once, he was still enforcing the no Half-Blood Prince spells policy after the Levicorpus incident. ‘Let’s just focus on our work, we can all talk later.’

Then continued concentrating and practicing in silence. It only took Tracey a couple minutes to be able to perform the Gouging Spell non-verbally, followed shortly thereafter by Theodore. For Harry and Allison however it took the rest of the class to be able to put some small etchings in each of their rocks without speaking, Harry’s thoughts that morning had been consumed with what Dumbledore suspected about Canini’s origins. He felt that she had a right to know, but he also thought Dumbledore was right that without knowing the facts for sure it would put additional trauma on her with no ray of hope that those responsible would be caught. He eventually decided not to tell her unless it was necessary.

Despite being so preoccupied Flitwick seemed to be pleased Harry and Allison were indeed making progress and just told them to keep practicing before the next class.

Before their next class, Theodore brought back up the subject of Slughorn’s parties.

‘So Harry, I thought I’d give you a heads up. Slughorn is throwing a great big Christmas party, and I don’t think there is a single way you can get out of attending this one. See he managed to track down Higgs, and managed to convince him to show him the advanced schedule for Quidditch games and practices and planned the event around it. If you’d miss this one he’d now for sure you’re purposely avoiding him.’

Harry groaned.

‘Then I guess I’m going to a Christmas party,’ he said reluctantly. ‘Is there anything I should know, will it take place over the break and me and you have to remain here?’

‘No, it’ll be an evening right before the break starts,’ answered Theodore. ‘I guess what other things you’ll need to know is to wear your dress robes, and that we’re allowed to bring a date/guest.’

‘Well you guys will look so handsome,’ said Tracey in a forced smile. She was trying to be happy for them but it was clear this was still a sore spot.

‘Harry has to go if he wants to keep Slughorn on his good side, but I don’t have to go if you don’t want me too Tracey, me you and Allison could have our own Christmas celebration together,’ suggested Theodore.

‘That could be fun,’ agreed Allison.

‘No, no, no, you two should go and have fun,’ said Tracey with a more honest smile this time. ‘I bet Colin would be really excited to see his first wizarding Christmas party.’

‘Yeah, I bet he would,’ said Theodore with a bright smile.

They all continued to talk but Harry was left lost in thought. They were supposed to bring a date? What was he supposed to do. He really liked Allison and the thought of showing up to a party with her next to him made him feel a bubbliness he hadn’t felt in a long time, but a deep fear had wormed his way into his heart ever since he came to terms with how he felt for Allison. What if him and Allison started going out together, then split up? Could their friendship survive it? Would their shared friend group’s friendship survive a romantic breakup between two of its members? Harry remembered the month when Allison would not talk to him in the fourth year; he had been miserable at that time and then Tracey had stuck with Harry, but after they had all made up didn’t Allison and Tracey promise never to let a boy come between their friendship again, including Harry. And then, what if they didn’t split up? What if they became a lovey-dovey couple, and Theodore and Tracey found that it became excruciatingly embarrassing to be in their presence, so that they shut the two of them out for good?

Maybe it was safer to simply not ask Allison, but if not her than who else. There were not many girls Harry found attractive both physically and emotionally. He considered asking Cho as they had ended on good terms with the thought that in the future they might get back together at some point, but to Harry’s knowledge she was still happily dating Micheal Corner and Harry was not about to put a wedge in that relationship.

The rest of the day passed without further mention of Slughorn’s party. Although Harry could not get over the date situation that was now rattling in his head. For over a month he had been interacting with Allison the same way he interacted with Theodore and Tracey, but now noticed things he had never quite noticed before. Her emotional presentation was normally stoic, but whenever Harry or someone else got her to smile or laugh her ocean blue eyes twinkled like the stars in the sky. She might come off as aggressive when excited or angry, but whenever Harry was down she was one of the most gentle people Harry knew. Allison was fiercely loyal, but not to the point she would cause harm to others or herself. Harry was worried about what would happen to him and the others if he asked her out, but the he thought about Slughorn’s dimly lit party and what the effects of butterbeer may have the more he wanted her there.

Eventually he decided he had to at least find out if she felt the same about him as he did about her, but after taking months to do the exact same thing with Cho he knew he would never work up the courage to ask Allison herself that question, so he came up with an alternative.

And so after their first morning class the day before Slytherin’s first Quidditch match of the year which would be against against Gryffindor, Harry held back and steered Tracey away from the others.

‘Ok Harry, what is it you want to ask me?’ said Tracey curiously.

Despite it not being Allison herself, Harry still felt incredibly nervous about asking this question.

‘Er, before I start, can you promise not to tell any of the others?’

‘Of course, but is everything alright? You look pale and sweaty.’

‘I’m fine, I think, but there is something I’ve been meaning to ask for a while now and it is nerve-racking,’ he said, his heart feeling like it was going to burst out of his chest.

‘I promise I will take whatever you have to say very seriously,’ she said with great sincerity.

‘Ok then, here it is,’ said Harry while taking a deep breath. ‘Do you know by any chance if Allison has a crush on me?’

Tracey suddenly froze and a little colour drained from her dark cheeks. This was it, Harry’s worst fear was now true, he had made the friend group awkward. He now just wish he had his Invisibility Cloak so that he could disappear.

‘Um, I’m not sure Harry,’ she said eventually. ‘You know Alli, she usually keeps her feelings deep down inside.’

‘Oh, I see,’ said Harry very slowly. ‘So there is no chance?’

‘Well, I wouldn’t say that, like I said I don’t know. Why do you ask?’

‘Wha? Oh, er, no reason, I just thought I saw her looking at me differently than she used too. Perhaps I’m just crazy.’

‘Perhaps you are, as I don’t think she looks any different at you than she used to,’ said Tracey quietly. She then looked around the room and an expression of shock crossed her face. ‘Whoops, I’m so sorry Harry but I promised Terence I’d meet him before lunch hour, and breaks almost over. I’ll see you in class.’

And with that she practically ran down the hall. This left Harry feeling quite glum, but at least short term he had lunch Quidditch practice to look forward to. Every hour the first game drew nearer and everyone on the team was determined for a win.

The sun hung high in the sky over the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch, it threatened to even emerge from the never ending gloom and fog. Quickly each team member arrived, brooms in hand, eagerly awaiting Terence's instructions.

‘We only got an hour people, so I want to see everyone’s brooms in the air!’ called out Terence as everyone on the team arrived. ‘We will not be letting our guard down just because the Gryffindor team is having a hard time, if anything their hardships are making them stronger than ever. Now lets get started.'

The team split off to their respective areas of the pitch, the new Beater and Chaser remained eager to prove themselves. Their Keeper, Scarlett Lympsham, despite only being in her third year was executed daring saves, and blocking nearly all Quaffles with incredible agility. The Chasers formed tight formations Terence had come up with, and were passing the Quaffle with such precision that it barely touched the grass. Harry watched as Terence pushed the limit of his broomstick, performing breathtaking dives and impressive mid-air catches. The new Beater, Rachel Hoffman, was practicing her batting accuracy by aiming the Bludgers at Scarlett who in turn got to practice her dodging skills.

Finally, Allison and Harry trained together, she would hit a Quaffle as hard as she could and Harry would chase after it and catch it before it hit the ground. It was fun and exhilarating as always, they made a good team, but the entire team he couldn't get out of his head that Tracey, her closest confidant, did not believe that Allison shared the feelings for him that he had for her. For the first time ever he even missed one of the balls, it slipped out of his fingers and managed to hit the ground.

About five minutes before class was meant to resume, Terence blew in his whistle, and everyone landed on the field around him.

'Good work everyone, we are going to defeat Gryffindor so hard they'll all have faces like a smacked arse. One quick message, I don't think it'll be an issue with you lot, but I just want to be clear right now that there will be no pre-game harassing of Gryffindor or any of the other teams we face this year, if I learn there have been any harmful pranks or attacks the offender will be instantly off the team. Now, get cleaned up and take a sandwich before heading back to class,' said Terence, but as the others left, he took Harry's arm and held him back. 'Harry, you did good today, but not your normal spectacular. Is something the matter?'

Harry didn't quite feel like discussing his crush on Allison to anyone else if it wasn't going to amount to anything, so he decided to be vague with his response.

'I just got my mind stuck on something Tracey told me before lunch, although she probably told you about it already,' said Harry, forgetting that Tracey went to Terence immediately after his conversation with her ended.

'What do you mean, I haven't seen my ghrá since breakfast?' said Terence looking puzzled.

'What?' said Harry, now feeling particularly confused. 'But she told me she had promised to meet you before lunch, she had to leave our conversation at once to go talk to you.'

'That's not true though, we had no plan to meet up today as she knows I'm busy planning for tomorrows match. I don't know why she did that, but it sounds like she lied to get out of the conversation she was having with you.'

Harry was shocked at first, but after only a second Harry realized the truth. Tracey lied about Allison's feelings and actually did know something.

Harry didn’t know what to think, Tracey was close with Allison and so would likely keep a secret that she liked Harry for her, but Tracey was also Harry’s friend so it was equally plausible that she knew Allison was not attracted to him and was just trying to spare his feelings. Harry did not know which scenario was correct but at this point he didn’t care which was the truth, just that he knew it. He spent the rest of classes with Tracey acting as normal as possible to lull her into thinking his inquiry was done and had moved on, but as the four friends left their final class for the day Harry maneuvered so that he and Tracey were behind the other two, and then without warning gently tugged her into an empty classroom and closed the door behind them.

‘Harry, you’re acting very odd today, you don’t normally hold me back for secret meetings and yet you’ve done it twice now today,’ she said with an eyebrow raised.

‘Yeah, sorry, I just wanted to make sure our conversations were private,’ he began, he then took a deep breath. ‘I know you lied Tracey, I want to know the truth.’

‘What do you mean?’ she asked, but Harry could tell she was nervous.

‘Terence told be you didn’t have a meeting planned nor did you talk to him at all before lunch. You lied so you could get out of what we were discussing as soon as possible,’ said Harry, he took one more deep breath. ‘So I want you to be honest now, for good or for bad, does Allison fancy me?’

Tracey looked like she was crumbling under pressure, and then she finally burst, ‘YES, ALLI REALLY FANCIES YOU, HARRY!’

Instantly she covered her mouth, and through her hands Harry could hear her mutter, ‘Oh Alli is going to murder me.’

‘Sh-she likes me, she actually likes me…’ Harry said in a bit of shock, at this point he had been expecting the worse for so long he didn’t know how to handle the preferred outcome.

‘Well, I mean yeah, but in reality it was quite obvious,’ said Tracey, still mortified that she spilled the beans but beginning to calm down.

‘Not to me it wasn’t,’ Harry confessed. ‘I guess she realized her feels around when I did, after the first Potions lesson this year?’

This managed to actually get Tracey to laugh.

‘You think Allison only began to like you this term? Harry, you are a good bloke but you really are blind when it comes to reading signals from girls. She’s fancied you for at least two years.’

‘Two years?’ said Harry in disbelief.

‘Well, two years ago was when she told me, I don’t know for how long before that she liked you,’ Tracey admitted.

‘Ok, and what obvious signals did I miss,’ Harry asked, now in a bit of denial and wondering whether Tracey just thought Allison liked him but in reality misinterpreted her actions.’

‘Well she got annoyed in our fourth year whenever you fell under Fleur’s Veela influences, she felt betrayed by you when she thought you put your name in the Goblet of Fire because she fancied and trusted you, she nearly broke off her agreement with Justin when you and Theodore half-heartedly asked us to the Yule Ball as she wanted to attend with you, and after what happened to Cedric she put all her own baggage at the time aside to care for you while you were in the Hospital Wing,’ began Tracey, Harry still had his doubts, but the next part sealed the deal. ‘Last year when you were attacked by dementors she was so worried she convinced her dad to bring her to the Ministry and then tracked you down just to make sure you were alright, because of her own feelings for you she was oblivious to your budding relationship with Cho until I eventually explained it to her, and she was just heartbroken after you told everyone you kissed Cho, she cried for nearly an hour after she excused herself from that conversation, and after you and Cho’s relationship ended she’s been more open with her feelings, finally did you ever take notice of her Patronus?’

‘Wh-what about her Patronus?’ asked Harry, racking his brain.

‘It’s a doe, that’s the female version of your Stag. On very rare occasions the Patronus Charm’s form can be effected by the castor’s deep feelings instead of their personality, and it would seem Allison’s feelings morphed hers to be a mirror of your. I nearly dropped my wand when I watched her cast her doe for the first time, and I think she nearly dropped hers as well.’

After she finished they both stood in silence for a moment, then Tracey confessed one last thing.

‘She’s completely embarrassed by this action, but I think it’s important for you to know for full context. In our fourth year she confessed to me that it was her that sent you that cheesy valentine in our second year, the one that called you a hero and used the phrase “cheerio” for some reason. She hadn’t realized the dwarfs would track down who the letters were intended for and sing the message for everyone to hear. I think she was just as mortified that day as you were.’

Harry had nearly forgotten about that mysterious valentine all together, he had assumed it was from some random first-year fan girl, not Allison.

Neither of them talked for about a minute, which delft Harry time to think. He now knew without a shadow of a doubt that Allison liked him back, but what to now do with that information? He was now back to one of his initial fears, what would happen if they indeed started dating, it would likely make the friendship between Harry, Tracey, Allison, and Theodore extremely awkward, and if something went wrong it would not only ruin his long lasting friendship with Allison, but also the group as a whole.

Harry was still lost in thought when Tracey asked a question of her own.

‘She’s my best friend Harry, so I got to ask, how do you feel about her in turn?’

‘I don’t know for sure,’ answered Harry. This wasn’t a complete lie as the specifics of his affection towards her he hadn’t quite pinned out yet, but it still would have been more honest to say he liked her in turn. A scary thought then popped into his head. ‘You’re not going to tell all this to Allison later, are you?’

‘No, I have just broken a promise telling you about one of her deepest secrets, if she finds out she’ll hex me out of existence,’ said Tracey, quite guilty. ‘If you one day talk to her about this, please don’t tell her anything I just said.’

‘I don’t know if I will tell her if I’m being truthful, but either way your secret is safe with me,’ said Harry honestly.

Somewhat awkwardly Tracey nodded, gathered her stuff, and left the classroom.

The worry about what to do about Allison persisted into the next day, but it was temporarily taken over by by the joy of knowing she liked him back and excitement for finally getting to play a Quidditch match for the first time in exactly one year.

Breakfast was the usual excitable affair next morning; the opposing houses mocked and booed each other, but Terence’s warning seemed to have held as there was no physical harassment. Harry glanced at the ceiling and saw a clear, pale blue sky: a good omen.

The Slytherin table, a solid mass of green and silver, cheered as Harry, Terence, and Allison approached. Harry grinned and waved, Terence hyped up the crowd, and Allison remained her normal stoic self, but Harry could tell she was excited.

Before Harry could have his traditional pre-game breakfast of toast and orange juice, Canini came rushing over.

‘Hey Harry, you ready for your match?’ she said excitedly. A frog sort of formed in Harry’s throat, he had made the choice not to tell her about Borgin, but he was finding it hard to live with.

‘Yeah, of course, can’t wait to see you in the stands,’ said Harry trying to imitate the genuine smile he had had only moments before.

‘I’ll definitely be cheering you on, but I think I’ll be sitting in the Gryffindor stands for this one,’ she said. ‘Ron is really having a hard time Harry, he’s lost his confidence and has said that he’s going to guilt after the game, so I think he’ll need the extra support.’

Harry had heard that his and Canini’s long time friend had been struggling recently, but he hadn’t realized it had gotten this bad. Harry stood up.

‘Well, if he needs help this bad why don’t I go talk to him, try to cheer him up.’

‘You’re the best, Scarface, best of luck in the game!’ she said happily as she went to rejoin her friends at the Hufflepuff table.

Harry made good on his word and made the short journey to the Gryffindor table where Ron was sitting glumly next to Hermione Granger who was trying fruitlessly to get him to have a little food.

‘It’ll really make you feel better, Ron,’ she said, but he just ignored her. Hermione then noticed Harry’s presence. ‘Oh, hi Harry.’

Ron looked up, but didn’t greet him.

‘Hey, so I just heard you plan on quitting after todays match,’ said Harry, setting up his plan.

‘Yeah,’ Ron mumbled.

‘Good,’ said Harry, with a bit of acted cheer in his voice.

Hermione looked at him in shock, ‘Harry, what a mean thing to s—‘

‘It’s good that you’re quitting because no Keeper Gryffindor could replace you with would be as skilled, and it would give my team the chance to win,’ Harry continued, and, Hermione became quite as she clued in on what Harry was doing. Ron perked up a bit.

‘What do you mean?’ Ron asked.

‘We played informal quidditch together at the Burrow when we were kids and nearly every summer since, I’ve seen how talented you are at protecting the goal, I always wondered why it took you five years to tryout when you were always more passionate about Quidditch than I was,’ said Harry. ‘And you really showed your skills in reaction and unorthodox play at the end of last year when you took Gryffindor from dead last to second place, just behind my team.’

‘So? My skill hasn’t gotten me much since,’ said Ron, though Harry thought it was a good sign that he was acknowledging that he was indeed skilled.

‘But it did, so when you leave the team they’ll be all the worst for it and Slytherin will actually stand a chance,’ said Harry in a tone to hopefully rial Ron up. It appeared to work.

‘Oh, you lot definitely don’t stand a chance, we’ll see how hard you’ll lose on the field today!’ said Ron.

‘It’s on!’ replied Harry, and he seemed to leave his childhood friend in a more confident and pumped up state as he returned to the Slytherin table as he had been minutes prior.

Harry returned to his table, to finally have breakfast, where he was met by Terence.

‘I saw what you did,’ he said calmly.

‘Are you mad?’ asked Harry, though he was fairly certain he was safe.

‘What? No, I’m glad. Quidditch is a sport not a war, the two sides should still be friends and not adversaries, you showed great sportsmanship,’ said Terence with great pride. ‘And this way it’ll be a more fair match today.’

Harry quickly finished his toast and juice and stood up.

‘Nearly time,’ said Harry happily.

‘Indeed,’ said Terence as he and Allison got up to join him.

‘Best of luck you guys!’ said Tracey joyfully to all three of them, then have Terence a kiss on the cheek.

‘We’ll be cheering for you in the stands,’ said Theodore encouragingly.

The frosty grass crunched underfoot as they strode down to the stadium.

‘All things considered with the weather these past few months I couldn’t have asked for better Quidditch conditions,’ said Terence taking a breath of the crisp air.

‘Yeah, maybe without the dot Harry’ll be able to catch the Snitch and not miss it like that Quaffle,’ said Allison.

‘Haha…yeah…’ said Harry. She had meant it as a joke, but it hadn’t been the fog that had been the problem that day, it had been his fondness for her. He made a promise to him self as the approached the changing rooms that he would not get distracted by Allison in this match or any other.

Possibly still trying to make a good impression the new members Vaisey and Rachel were already wear their Quidditch robes and waiting in the changing room when the three arrived. Their third Chaser Niall Urquhart and Keeper Scarlett Lympsham arrived soon after.

‘Best day in months out there,’ said Niall as he put on his arm guards. ‘And I’m glad I’ll be spending it in the sky.’

‘That’s the spirit!’ said Terence. He then gathered everyone for his pregame speech. ‘First off, I want to officially welcome Harry back on the team, it wasn’t the same without you. As for today, I want us to put all our training and new maneuver practice into todays game. I want us to remember that last word though, game, so we should all play hard but play fair. Am I understood?!’

‘Yes Captain,’ they all shouted back.

‘Alright, then let’s get out there!’

They walked out onto the pitch to tumultuous roars and boos. One end of the stadium was solid red and gold; the other, a sea of green and silver. Many Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws had taken sides too: Amidst all the yelling and clapping Harry could distinctly hear the loud hissing of Luna Lovegood’s famous life-size snake hat.

Terence stepped up to Madam Hooch, the referee, who was standing ready to release the balls from the crate.

‘Captains shake hands,’ she said, and Harry watched as Terence and Ginny grabbed hands for a couple seconds. ‘Mount your brooms. On the whistle…three…two…one…’

The whistle sounded, Harry and the others kicked off hard from the frozen ground, and they were away.

Harry soared around the perimeter of the grounds, looking around for the Snitch and keeping one eye on Ginny Weasley, who was zipping around far below him. Then a voice that was jarringly different to the usual commentator’s started up.

‘Well, there they go, and I think we’re all surprised to see the team that Katie Bell and Ginny Weasley put together this year. Many thought, given Ronald Weasley’s patchy performance as Keeper last year, that he might be off the team, but of course, your sister being the Captain does help…’

These words were greeted with jeers and applause from a part of the Slytherin end of the pitch, Harry could practically hear the squeals from Pansy Parkinson and Mafalda Prewett. Harry craned around on his broom to look toward the commentator’s podium. A tall, skinny blond boy with an upturned nose was standing there, talking into the magical megaphone that had once been Lee Jordan’s; Harry recognized Zacharias Smith, a Hufflepuff player whom he heartily disliked.

‘Oh, and here comes Slytherin’s first attempt on goal, it’s Urquhart streaking down the pitch and—‘

Harry’s quickly looked over.

‘—Weasley saves it, well, he’s bound to get lucky sometimes, I suppose…’

“Good for Ron,” thought Harry, grinning to himself. He didn’t want Gryffindor to win, but he didn’t want them to fail horribly either and humiliate Ron. Harry then dived amongst the Chasers and with his eyes searched all around for some hint of the elusive Snitch.

With half an hour of the game gone, Gryffindor were leading forty points to ten, Ron had managed to block all shots but one thrown by Terence. Scarlett was going well too, but was over powered a couple times by Dean Thomas and Demelza Robins. Ron’s spectacular saves effectively stopped Zacharias wondering loudly whether Ron was just there because of Ginny, and he started on Gryffindor’s Beaters, Peakes and Coote, instead.

‘Of course, Coote isn’t really the usual build for a Beater,’ said Zacharias loftily, ‘they’ve generally got a bit more muscle—‘

‘Hit a Bludger at him!’ Harry called to Allison as he zoomed past, but Allison, with a calculating looking smile, chose to aim the next Bludger at Ginny instead, who was just passing Harry in the opposite direction. The Bludger his her in the back, hopefully only bruising her and leaving her distracted for a moment while Harry continued his search.

Harry’s wish for Gryffindor to do well started to backfire, as soon they had a hundred-ten points while Slytherin only had sixty. Much more and if Harry caught the Snitch they’d still lose, he had to find it fast now.

Despite this new found drive, Harry was was not the first one to spot the Snitch.

‘And I think Captain Weasley of Gryffindor’s seen the Snitch!’ said Zacharias Smith through his megaphone. ‘Yes, she’s certainly seen something Potter hasn’t!’

Ginny getting close to where Harry and Allison had been flying was no accident, she had spotted what Harry had not: The Snitch was speeding along high above them, glinting brightly against the clear blue sky.

Harry accelerated; the wind was whistling in his ears so that it drowned all sound of Smith’s commentary or the crowd, but Ginny was still ahead of him, if Harry caught it Slytherin could still win, but if Ginny caught the Snitch Slytherin would be drowned by the points Gryffindor would win with was only a hundred points up…and now him and Ginny were neck and neck, their hands outstretched…

Ginny’s hand reached the Golden Snitch, perhaps even brush one of its wings with the tips of her fingers, but it darted to the side at the last second and she fumbled as it did so.

Harry made a great swipe for the tiny, fluttering ball and caught it.

‘YES!’ Harry yelled. Wheeling around, he hurtled back toward the ground, the Snitch held high in his hand. As the crowd realized what had happened, a great shout went up that almost drowned the sound of the whistle that signaled the end of the game.

‘Ginny, where’re you going?’ yelled Harry, who had wanted to congratulate her on a game well played but found himself trapped in the midst of a mass midair hug with his team, but Ginny sped right on past him, with an almighty crash, she collided with the commentator’s podium. As the crowd shrieked and laughed, the Gryffindor team landed beside the wreckage of wood under which Zacharias was feebly stirring, Harry and his team landed immediately after; Harry heard Ginny saying blithely to an irate Professor McGonagall, ‘Forgot to brake, Professor, sorry.’

Laughing, Harry broke free of the rest of the team and shook Ginny’s hand for a well played match between Seekers. Harry then found himself in a hug with Terence and Allison, but quickly Terence left to celebrate with the rest of his team leaving Harry solely in the embrace of Allison. Heat rose to his cheeks and he soon let go in hopes she wouldn’t notice.

Harry was celebrated by everyone on his and he told them how well they did back to them, then he went up to Ron and clapped him on the back.

‘You did great, mate,’ said Harry truthfully. ‘Are you bummed that you lost?’

‘Nah,’ said Ron with a smile, ‘a few Quaffle’s might have gotten past me, but I saved more goals tonight than I had all last season combined. Thanks for the confidence boost Harry, I won’t forget it.’

‘Good, because you’re a great player Ron, if you were a little more cunning and determined you’d be protecting our hoops instead of Scarlett.’

Once their conversation ended the Slytherin team left the pitch arm in arm, punching the air and waving to their supporters.

The atmosphere in the changing room was jubilant.

‘You won your very first game, I’m so proud of you Rachel,’ said Peter Ariti who had tried out for the team the year prior and tried out this year with Rachel, it would appear they were good friends. ‘We’re going to throw a big party in the common room, let’s go!’

Terence and Harry were the last two in the changing room.

‘So,’ said Terence as the last person finally left, a smug smile on his face, ‘does the rest of the group know how you feel about Allison?’

‘What?’ said Harry turning red as a tomato. ‘How do you know?’

‘I couldn’t figure out why you were distracted during our last practice where you were working with Allison, but I saw how awkward you were when hugging her after the game, it was the same awkwardness I felt before me and Trace got together. I put the two-and-two together.’

‘Er, right, well no one knows. Tracey knows that I know she likes me, but I never actually told her I liked Allison back.’

‘Wait?’ said Terence, now smiling broadly, ‘Allison likes you back? That’s amazing! When are you going to ask her out?’

‘Never? Soon? I don’t know, it’s complicated,’ Harry admitted.

'You bet it’s complicated, I bet you’re worried about your friend group going sour or something, but I’m worried you’re feelings are going to cause you to get distracted in a game,’ said Terence, Harry hadn’t considered that possible outcome, that if he and Allison did get together but broke up it could be extremely detrimental to the team. ‘However, despite all that I still think you should give it a shot.’

‘Why? You just listed two very good reasons why it might not work out, and I got a million more reasons in my head.’

‘You should ask Allison out because it COULD work out. You two get along, and are very similar to one another, so I think you’d be a good fit. I also don’t think you should wait to long to tell her Harry, you kept waiting with Cho and that turned into a disaster, and like I told you last Christmas you shouldn’t wait to much anyway as you could miss your shot and spend the rest of your time wondering what could have been.’

Harry thought about this for a second, then slowly he responded, ‘There is a Christmas event coming up with Slughorn, we’re supposed to bring dates, I’ll think about asking her to come with me.’

‘Good, now if you’ll excuse me, all this talk about romance reminds me I got to go meet up with Tracey at this party, I’ll see you there!’ and with that he ran off.

Harry walked slowly back up the grounds toward the castle through the crowd, many of whom shouted congratulations at him, but he now felt greatly conflicted. On one hand it did feel good to finally tell someone even if he hadn't planned to, but in truth it brought him no closer to figuring out what he should do about Allison. He started feeling like a carousel, always changing his mind between being sure that he was going to ask her out, sure that he never would, or undecided.

As he entered the Entrance Hall, before going down the stairs to the Dungeon, he was caught off guard by a big hug from Canini.

‘You were spectacular!’ she said while practically buzzing from excitement. ‘That was one of the closest and most action filled game I’ve ever seen!’

Her excitement was contagious and he put all his conflicting deep within him.

‘Thanks, maybe next year you’ll try out for the Hufflepuff team?’ said Harry cheekily, knowing full well his sister gets motion sick.

‘Oh yes, they’ll totally want a player that hurls ever practice and game. Na, I’ll leave the Quidditch stardom to you. Now, I can hear the party from here, go have fun!’

He hugged her one more time and then began descending the stone stairs. The party getting louder the deeper he went.

The only two of his Slytherin friends he could not see when he arrived at the celebration party, which was in full swing when he arrived, were Tracey and Terence, who were presumably behind a tapestry somewhere snogging or in an empty classroom. Renewed cheers and clapping greeted his appearance, and he was soon surrounded by a mob of people congratulating him.

What with trying to shake off the Carrow twins, who wanted his autograph, and the large group of girls that encircled him, laughing at his least amusing comments and batting their eyelids, it was some time before he could try and find Theodore and Allison. At last, he extricated himself from Astoria Greengrass, who was hinting heavily that she would like to go to Slughorn’s Christmas party with him. As he was ducking toward the drinks table, he walked straight into Theodore.

'Ah, Harry, there you are. You did great today, mate!' said Theodore, patting Harry on his back. 'Me and Allison have been hanging out over there, we better get back so she’s not dealing with the fans alone.’

Sure enough as they headed over Allison, with her Pygmy Puff Mignonne on her shoulder and black cat Shabaz on her lap, was surrounded by younger Slytherins complimenting her and asking her questions. Some of which Harry over heard as they approached.

'How accurate can you aim a Bludger when you hit it with your bat?' asked fourth-year Maynard Hatton.

'Is it true that you know over fifty hexes?' inquired third-year Harold Dingle.

'What product do you use for your spikey hair?' asked first-year Ross Gibberd.

'Do you plan on playing for the Holyhead Harpies after you graduate?' wondered second-year Simon Dedworth.

'Will you go on a date with me?' asked fifth-year Roy Kelly with a devilish smile.

Harry was about to step in, as Allison looked as though she was about to explode, but she handled her responses with her normal stoicism.

'Definitely not fifty hexes but more like fifteen, I used to use Sleekeazy's Hair Potion everyday to keep my hair flat but I stopped using it two years ago and now my hair sticks up like this, I plan on applying to every team but I have no idea what will happen,' she said to Harold, Ross, and Simon, she then turned to Roy, 'and to answer you and Maynards question together I will say I can hit more than just a Bludger with painful accuracy.'

Taking the hint Roy backed off, giving Harry and Theodore room to sit down. Theodore handed Allison her drink of fizzy orange juice.

'Thanks Theodore, and look, you found Harry,' she said, a bit more cheerful than she had been while dealing with the vulturous boys.

So Harry, Theodore, and Allison spent the rest of the evening celebrating Slytherin's victory and taking turns answering Quidditch questions. Despite his mood rising, Harry couldn't stop thinking about Roy Kelly asking Allison out. Sure there was zero chase of her saying yes to a fifth-year she barely knew, but what if someone she actually did like came and asked her on a date and she said yes? Terence's advice about waiting to long was starting to feel more real.