Chapter 100: Eye in the Sky
"I'll stay here and watch," Ellie said when she and Harry arrived at the courtyard the next day. "You can always come talk to me if it's too much."
"You're not supposed to stay here," Harry said. "There are at least five people that do, but I think Viktor sees them too."
"Then one more won't hurt." She reached up and touched his cheek. Her eyes met his, and for a moment, he wondered if he couldn't stay with her all day.
"Bye, then."
Harry kissed her goodbye, then ran out to meet the rest of his team.
Sally-Anne stood against a pillar holding her arms and avoided his gaze when he saw her. At first, he didn't see Malfoy, but then noticed the other boy walking into the courtyard.
"Get out!" Viktor barked.
"Last I checked, I'm still on the team," Malfoy shot back.
"I am captain! I say you gone!"
"'You gone'?" Malfoy scoffed. "Your English is rubbish."
"Boys, that's enough."
Sally-Anne's voice didn't carry the same authority it had the previous weeks. She didn't storm over to them, she didn't even shout. When they looked her way, she avoided eye contact.
"Malfoy's still on the team," Sally-Anne said. "The power to change that lies with me, not you."
"'ow can ve vork veeth heem?" Michele demanded.
"He wasn't out to humiliate anyone except me. I can still go on, so you should too."
"Still go on" turned out to be subjective. Malfoy's attitude didn't improve any. He mocked and jeered everyone else. Viktor and Michele got the worst of it, but Harry realized it was because he couldn't get a rise out of he or Nikolai. Picking on Adele for being under five feet tall got to her too easily to be entertaining to the Slytherin.
Through all of it, Sally-Anne hardly said a word. Malfoy ignored every order she gave, which didn't surprise Harry. He was difficult on the best of days, but with no authority to keep him in check, he walked all over them.
Half an hour in, Sally-Anne finally spoke up.
"Ground."
Harry caught her word during a drill, but, looking around, saw no one else did.
"Ground."
"Oi!" Harry called. With the attention of his teammates, he nodded towards Sally-Anne.
They all circled to the ground, Michele growling something in French. No matter what she did, she couldn't easily lash out at Malfoy without consequences.
"I'm suspending practice," Sally-Anne said. "I was wrong. I'm no longer capable of doing my duties. Professor Dumbledore will assign someone to you in my place."
"You do not need to go," Viktor snapped. "It is Malfoy that needs to go."
Sally-Anne shook her head.
"It's my responsibility to make sure everyone gets along. I clearly can't do that anymore. Malfoy is still capable of flying, and that's all we're asking of him."
Michele muttered something in French that sounded like a threat.
"I'm sorry, everyone. I hope whoever they find to replace me handles this better."
Amid protest from most of the team, Sally-Anne left the courtyard. Harry watched her go, then ran over to Ellie.
"You're awfully worried about her," Ellie said after Harry had explained what'd happened.
"She's my friend," Harry replied. "Of course I'm worried about her."
Ellie nodded, then looked away. She signed something, but without seeing her lips, Harry couldn't make it out.
"Ellie?"
She looked right at him, and for a moment, Harry thought she was about to cry.
"You don't like her, do you?"
"No! We've been friends forever, but not like that!"
"Promise?"
"I promise."
Ellie paused to wipe tears out of her eyes.
"I liked Max the moment he first translated for me. I tried getting someone to pass me pudding during the opening feast, but they just looked at me like I was mad. They thought I was playing a game, but Max smiled and slid the bowl to me."
Harry took her hand, but she wrenched it away.
"I'm sorry, I forgot."
Ellie took his hand and touched her own cheek with it. Her tears ran over his hand, but her lips curled into a smile.
"That makes me feel a lot better than holding hands." She closed her eyes for a moment and rested her head on his hand. "I stuck to Max after that. I haven't a clue what I'm doing in Ancient Runes, but I took it so I could be with him. But… but I've only ever been a burden to him." She opened her eyes and stared into his again. "I'm not a burden to you, am I?"
"You could never be," Harry said. "I… hold on."
He took his hand away and signed something for her. He hoped it'd cheer her up, but she started laughing (which was a little creepy when no sound came out).
"That's not the sign for love," she said. She pointed to herself, made another sign, then pointed to him. "That is."
Harry smiled and kissed Ellie. She rested her head on his chest, and for a long time, they stood, arms around one another, not saying a word. He didn't need anything else in that moment but Ellie.
"Aw, how sweet."
In that moment, he wanted Rose to kill Malfoy for him.
"Go away, Malfoy."
"Make me, Potter."
Harry withdrew his arms from Ellie and turned to confront Malfoy. As always, Malfoy had his fan club with him.
"Does your girlfriend know about you and Perks?" Malfoy asked.
"There's nothing going on between me and Sally-Anne!" Harry snapped.
"Sure there's not." His smirk grew bigger. "Just like you weren't upset when Chang was picked for the other team."
Harry hesitated, which he realized immediately was a bad idea. His eyes darted to Ellie, who frowned and looked between him and Malfoy.
"What're you talking about?" Harry asked.
"Don't play daft with me, Potter." He turned to Ellie. "How's it feel to be third place, Langley? If I were you, I'd be wondering who else he'd pick before you."
"Stop it!" Harry shouted. "Leave her alone!"
"I'm sure she can speak for herself," Malfoy said. "Oh, no, she can't."
Harry drew his wand, a move Crabbe and Goyle both mirrored. Malfoy didn't bother; he just stayed still, smirking.
"Go for it, Potter. Let's see what happens."
Harry focused on his blindsight but kept his gaze fixed on Malfoy. If either of his goons made a move, he'd make one first. He knew he could act faster than them.
Before any of them could make a move, someone else did first. Harry had kept his focus on Malfoy, so he didn't notice the figure behind him until Malfoy was already a foot in the air.
"Tell your orcs to drop their wands," a deep voice said. "Then I'm going to put you back down, and all four of you are going to walk away. Do I make myself clear, Mr. Malfoy?"
"Get off me, or I'll have you sacked!"
"You can't. I'm not a member of staff. I'm in service to my Lady Rose, who has charged me with guarding the young man you're currently threatening."
"When I—"
"Or do I need to get my Lady Rose involved?"
Malfoy stopped squirming. All traces of his smirk had vanished.
"Lower your wands," he spat.
As Crabbe and Goyle lowered their wands, Alavel lowered Malfoy to the ground.
Harry lowered his own wand as the four Slytherins skulked off.
"Are you alright, Lord Scarface?"
"Fine," Harry said.
"And you, Ms. Langley?"
Harry turned to Ellie and saw her nod at Alavel.
"All that stuff Malfoy said," Harry said, "just ignore him."
"Is it true?" she asked. "Do you like Cho?"
"I… I don't know. I did, but… I like you now." Harry reached for her cheek, but she took a step back. "There's nothing going on with me and Cho, honest."
"What about Sally-Anne?"
"I told you, we're just friends. There's nothing there either. I guess she likes me, but I… I don't know how I feel about her."
"You spend a lot of time with her." She stopped signing to wipe away fresh tears. "She's a lot prettier than me."
"So? I'd rather be with you than with her. Honest."
"I'm not going to compete with other girls. Not again."
"You won't–"
Ellie shook her head.
"I… I love you, Ellie."
"I want to believe that. Really, I do." She took a few steps back. "See you around."
Harry watched Ellie walk down the corridor. In his mind, he could still see her smiling face. She'd turn and run back to him, they'd hug and it'd all be better.
Not this time. This time, it was all over. Ellie rounded the corner and vanished, taking with her the last traces of their relationship.
Harry stared at the spot Ellie had been. His head spun with thoughts of Ellie. Her bright blue eyes, how soft her hands felt when they were guiding his through another part of sign language, how she could laugh without making a sound. All he wanted was for her to come back, but he knew that wouldn't happen.
How's it feel to be third place, Langley?
Malfoy. It was all his fault. If he hadn't shown up, hadn't said those things to Ellie, she'd still be with him.
Harry spun around and saw Alavel still standing in the corridor. He hardly looked like much, just another statue. If he'd just shown up sooner, he would've stopped Malfoy.
"You," Harry hissed. "Where were you?"
Alavel offered no response.
With tears in his eyes, Harry lept at Alavel. He collided with the Nimblewright, who didn't budge when Harry fell into him. Harry started banging his fists on Alavel. Pain coursed through his hands, but his anger drove him to keep hitting him harder.
"Why?" Harry shouted between sobs. "Why couldn't you have shown up sooner?"
Blow after blow, Harry kept slamming his fists against Alavel until he couldn't anymore. He fell to the ground, overwhelmed by misery.
"I'm so sorry, Harry," Alavel said.
"No you're not. You're glad I'm miserable."
"Considering how much you despise other people running your life, I'd suggest you not tell me how I feel."
Harry slammed his fist into Alavel's leg. It hurt just as much as every other punch he'd thrown.
Alavel sat on the ground next to him.
"It's been my job for the past several months to keep you safe. Unfortunately, safety doesn't always allow for fun."
"Who cares?"
"Sirius and I both care a great deal about you. Your friends all care about you, and I'm sure they'll be upset to hear about you and Ms. Langley."
Harry frowned, then made a look of disgust.
"Sally-Anne won't."
"She will more than anyone else."
Harry shot a glare at Alavel, but he remained unphased.
"Did you know about her?"
"Everyone knew of Lady Princess's feelings for you, but we all respected the both of you enough to keep it to ourselves."
"I wish she didn't."
"She has worked hard to move on, and I give a lot of credit to Mr. Krum that he has been nothing but supportive of her in this endeavor. Many other young men would've given in to jealousy, but he has done a fine job. Before you ask, he's known about this since the Yule Ball. He sees her feelings for you as easily as you see it on anyone else's face, but he still stands with her."
"Good for her. I hope she's happy."
Harry thought of all the times he'd talked to Sally-Anne. How he'd confided in her when he'd had no one else.
"Did she ever really care about me? Or was it just because she liked me?"
"You'd have to ask her."
Sally-Anne dragged herself up to Professor Dumbledore's office. With what little sleep she'd gotten, she was sure her ring hadn't done anything for her. She was sure she looked as miserable as she felt.
The gargoyle lept aside when she mumbled the password, then walked up the spiral staircase to his office. The door opened for her when she knocked, and she found that Professor Dumbledore was facing away from her.
"Professor, I'm sorry to bother you—"
The chair swiveled around and Sally-Anne's heart stopped. It wasn't Professor Dumbledore in his office.
"Yes, Ms. Perks," Alex said in a horrible impersonation of Professor Dumbledore. "I thought you might be dropping by."
"Alex?" Sally-Anne breathed. "What are you doing here?"
"You're not going mad, if that's what you're wondering," Alex said. "After yesterday, word reached Professor Dumbledore about what happened. Then Rose popped up in my flat this morning."
Alex stood up from Professor Dumbledore's chair and walked around his desk. After taking a seat in one of the empty chairs in front of it, she motioned for Sally-Anne to sit in the other. Sally-Anne stared at the chair for a moment before getting a grip on herself.
"What's going on?" Alex asked.
"You said you already know," Sally-Anne said as she took her seat.
"I heard it from Rose, but I'd rather hear it from you."
"There's not much to tell. Yesterday, Malfoy told everyone that I would never kick Harry off the team because I'm in love with him. I tried mediating practice today, but I couldn't. So I came here to tell Professor Dumbledore that I'm no longer fit to mediate the team."
Alex gave her a sympathetic smile.
"I did warn you this might happen."
"You did, and I insisted that giving Malfoy a chance was the right thing to do."
"There are six other players on Slytherin."
"But I thought Malfoy's grudge against Harry would motivate him to work harder, not to sabotage his own team!"
"That's not what he's like," Alex said. "I've been asking around the Ministry and some of the professors here. Word is Malfoy's a lot like his father: arrogant, condescending, and expects everything to be dropped into his lap. He won't work for anything, because everything's always been given to him."
Sally-Anne slumped in her chair.
"I just made the wrong choice, then."
"Professor Dumbledore had to approve your roster. Are you saying he made the wrong choice too?"
Sally-Anne nearly said "yes", but she remembered all the times she'd seen Rose talking with Professor Dumbledore. She didn't always agree with him, but she listened anyway, because she respected him. Rose didn't respect any other adults, but she respected Dumbledore. Then Sally-Anne recalled what Professor Dumbledore had said about knowing the students, and another question occurred to her.
"Professor Dumbledore must've known Malfoy had something on me. Why let me put him on the team?"
"That doesn't matter now. What matters most is that you took a chance and did the right thing. You believed in Malfoy when you had no reason to, even after everyone, including me, said it was a bad idea."
Sally-Anne frowned.
"I don't understand."
"Like I said, he's not at all how you thought, but you thought better of him." Alex smiled at her. "That's just who you are, Princess."
A warmth spread inside her, and Sally-Anne couldn't help but smile.
"Thanks."
"I'm not finished yet." Alex stood up. "You're coming with me."
"Where are we going?" Despite her question, Sally-Anne stood up to follow Alex.
"To find Harry and talk to him."
The warmth she'd felt a moment ago faded away and fear took its place.
Alex placed her hands on Sally-Anne's shoulders.
"The hardest thing I've ever done was facing my aunt and uncle the night I broke the angel. But I found the courage to face them again. If I could, you shouldn't have any trouble."
Sally-Anne smiled and leaned into Alex.
"Thanks, Alex. That makes me feel a lot better."
They stood for a minute while Sally-Anne recovered her wits. Alex didn't mind; she snaked her arms around Sally-Anne and waited with her.
It wasn't long before they left Professor Dumbledore's office and walked down to the ground floor.
"How do you know where he is?" Sally-Anne asked when they reached the first floor.
Alex grinned and pointed to her head.
"The voices in my head told me."
Sally-Anne rolled her eyes.
"Thank you, Rose."
"Rose did her mind talk thing on me," Alex said. "She says she's got someone keeping tabs on Harry."
"Probably Alavel."
"Whoever it is, she says they're still on the ground floor."
Sally-Anne's heart stopped when she realized how close they were. For a moment, she was back in first year, too timid to do or say anything.
I'm not that girl anymore. I'm stronger.
Alex stopped walking and glanced back at her.
I can do this.
"One more floor to go."
"Tell Rose where we are, and make sure she sends word ahead. For someone who hates it when a team keeps secrets from one another, she's ghastly at communication."
Alex frowned as they started walking again. She burst into laughter a moment later.
"She hasn't changed a bit."
"No, she has," Sally-Anne said. "It's just for the worse."
They silently agreed to drop the subject of Rose when they reached the ground floor. Sally-Anne mentally prepared herself. She'd been dreading the moment Harry found out about her crush on him for years.
Alex slowed down and frowned at the corridor.
"Rose?"
"She's giving me confusing directions. One moment, she says go around the corner a ways, now she's saying double back."
Sally-Anne stopped for a moment, then continued down the corridor.
"Wait!" Alex exclaimed.
Sally-Anne glanced back, but didn't stop walking. She looked back just in time to avoid running into another girl.
"Ellie?" Sally-Anne asked. She glanced behind the other girl. "Is Harry with you?"
Sally-Anne caught sight of the tears in Ellie's eyes and got a bad feeling. Thinking fast, she activated her pendant to find out what had happened. Even if she hadn't, Harry's absence from Ellie told her what she needed to know.
You.
Sally-Anne heard the pain in Ellie's voice. She saw it on her face.
"What happened?"
Leave me alone!
Ellie pushed passed her, but Sally-Anne caught her as she went past.
"Please, listen to me!"
No!
Ellie shoved her against the wall. Sally-Anne caught Alex moving towards them, but Sally-Anne quickly shook her head, and Alex backed down.
"I've never seen Harry happier than when he was with you. Never mind what my feelings for him are."
Ellie stopped walking away, then turned on Sally-Anne. Her face grew red with anger, and she began to sign furiously. If Sally-Anne hadn't had her pendant, she never would've been able to understand her.
What do you know? All you've been trying to do for months is steal Harry away from me. Now you can have him! I won't be last place again!
"How could you think I've been trying to steal him from you? I got you two together, remember?"
Maybe you realized you made a mistake. If you want him, you'd better move quick, before he goes running to Chang.
Sally-Anne's heart skipped a beat, but she kept her cool on the outside. No sooner had the question "How does she know?" popped into her head than she knew the answer: Malfoy.
"Harry used to make eyes at her all the time, but he hasn't since he started dating you. You're not his last place, you're his first place. I know he cares about you, because I'm the one he goes to with his problems. He hasn't been to me since you two started dating. You make him happy, and that's not something he's going to just toss aside for another girl."
What do you know? What do you know about anything?
"I know boys can be daft. I've had a crush on Harry for years, and he never noticed. He just kept telling me what a good friend I was. Then there's Neville, who can't get over his crush on a girl I'm quite certain doesn't like boys. Finally there's Ronald, whose perfect marks are because he's hiding away in the library, trying to impress a girl who's likely got other issues on her mind. And those are just my close friends, I know plenty more boys who are worse."
So?
"You're nice. You've got a lot to say, and you've been there for Harry through this whole ordeal, barring this moment. If Max didn't think you were worth his time, that's his problem, not yours. You found someone who looks at you and no one else, and you're giving him up because you think he might look at someone else? That's your problem."
The two of them stared one another down for at least five minutes. Sally-Anne resisted the temptation to reach inside Ellie's mind. She'd said her piece, leaving it up to Ellie whether she wanted to listen.
"I need some time to think," Ellie signed at last.
"Take all the time you need," Sally-Anne replied. "I'll see to it that everyone gives you that time."
Ellie offered her a weak smile before she left. Sally-Anne did her best to return it in kind. She and Alex watched Ellie walk off, then Alex turned back to Sally-Anne.
"I am so proud of you, Princess."
"We'd best find Harry."
"No need, Lady Princess."
Alavel's voice startled her, but she recovered before Harry and Alavel walked into view.
"My sincerest apologies, My Lady. My curiosity got the better of me."
Sally-Anne smiled, knowing that Alavel was lying to protect Harry. Her smile vanished, and she attempted to look cross.
"It'd better not happen again."
"You have my word."
Sally-Anne turned to Harry, who had returned to his normal, miserable self. Some small part of her wanted to throw her arms around him and cheer him up, but she knew better.
"I'm so sorry about you and Ellie. I don't know if you heard, but I meant it when I said you've never been happier."
"But I can't be happy," Harry said. "Not me. Not the famous Harry Potter. I'm not allowed to be happy!"
Harry's anger caught Sally-Anne off guard, but Alex came to her rescue.
"Harry, break-ups are the worst, but they happen. Thinking there's someone out there looking to make you miserable is rubbish. The only one out to get you is Malfoy, and that's just because he's a jerk, not because there's some law that you can't be happy."
"Think about practice today," Sally-Anne said. She let her mind drift back to it, and realized it felt like years. "He stopped going after you and Nikolai during practice today because it didn't bother you as much as Viktor or Michele. Nikolai just brushed off anything he said, and he didn't attack me until he got it into his head he wanted to get rid of both of us. Show him there's nothing to bother you, and he'll stop."
"I don't care about Malfoy!"
Sally-Anne hesitated, but once again, she wasn't alone.
"You've got to give her time," Alavel said. "Ms. Langley has spent most of her life believing herself to be a burden to others around her. She doesn't understand that you don't feel burdened by her. Give her space, and she'll come around, but you've got to let her come to you."
True to Alavel's advice, Sally-Anne let Harry take his time. She wanted to say something. She wanted to tell him it'd be alright, or that he could always be happy. But she knew it wouldn't do any good.
"Alright," Harry said. "I guess."
"At least you've got practice to keep your mind off things," Sally-Anne said.
"Malfoy will just ruin it again."
"I'll take care of Malfoy." Sally-Anne smiled. "Everything will be fine for tomorrow's practice."
Draco paced back and forth through a section of the Dungeons trying to figure out how to get Potter off the Quidditch team. He'd tried going through Professor Snape and his father, but neither had yielded results. He'd gotten rid of Perks, but he didn't know if his usual tactics would work. With whom would they replace her?
"What's it matter?" Pansy asked.
"I didn't ask you!" Draco snapped.
"What about–"
"Nor either of you! I don't keep any of you around for your brains!"
"Can I offer a solution?"
All four of them turned and drew their wands when they heard Perks's voice.
"I'm not here for a fight," she said.
"Here to beg for mercy?" Draco sneered.
"No," Perks said, folding her hands behind her back. "I'm here to forgive you."
"What?!"
"I forgive you for trying to humiliate me. I wish you hadn't, but that's all you know, and I respect you for remaining true to yourself."
What was wrong with Perks? She made no sense! He'd ruined her! Shoved her into the dirt like the filth she was, and she just came back and complemented him!
"You're mad!"
"I'd like to think I'm not, but given the company I keep, I probably am." She sighed. "The only way you and Harry can win the match is if you work together. You've improved a lot since joining the team, so I know you can do it. Don't let your pride get in the way. Viktor's fans are going to flock to him no matter what either of us do, but the real fans of the game will come to you because they see your talent."
"Sucking up won't–"
"I'm not sucking up, I'm trying to help you. Not everyone's out to get an edge on you, Malfoy."
"Sure!"
"Wake up," Perks snapped. "You're so busy acting as if you're better than everyone else that you can't realize that it takes proper work to be the best."
"I am the best!" Draco shot back.
"How do you think you got picked for the team in the first place? You think it's because you're one of the best? Even your own house says it was a mistake to make you part of the team."
"You're just jealous–" Pansy began.
"I wasn't speaking to you," Perks said, pulling a notebook out of her bag. "This is the roster that I put together on Professor Dumbledore's orders. I spent weeks compiling the information. Or did no one think it odd that I had a sudden fascination with Quidditch?"
Draco looked at the roster. The top held 12 names, and below it were names organized by school, along with numbers that were likely rankings.
Under the Hogwarts column, his name was circled.
"I vouched for you," Perks said. "I gave you a chance, Draco. Despite everyone thinking it was a terrible idea to put you on the team, I thought your grudge against Harry would motivate you to work hard to stay ahead of him. Instead, you focused on getting him kicked off the team, even if it meant sabotaging the team itself."
Draco looked at the roster again, then at Perks.
"Why would you do that?"
"I just told you why. I thought it'd help you."
"But you hate me."
"No, you hate me. I don't want us to be enemies. You're a person beyond making snide remarks and trying to be your father."
Draco glared at her. What was her deal? He'd humiliated her, ripped her apart in front of everyone. None of it made sense.
"Promise that you'll give it your all, even if it means admitting they're better than you, and I'll get them to keep you on the team," Perks said. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance. Never mind what everyone else thinks. Just ask yourself what your parents will think."
"I won't beg for their acceptance," Draco spat.
"Then lie for it," Perks said. "Go back and lie your way back onto the team. I'll vouch for you on the condition that you don't ruin it for anyone else. Then when you've won, because you gave it your all, you can brag about it for the rest of your life."
"And if I don't?"
"Then I guess you really are the miserable failure your father thinks you are."
Perks turned around and walked away, and Draco took the chance to aim his wand.
He threw a stinging hex at her, but she spread her left palm and blocked it, all without turning around.
"Get back here!" he shouted.
"Think about what I've said," she replied. "This is your only chance to prove your father wrong."
Perks didn't say another word. She kept walking, rounded a corner, and vanished from sight.
Sally-Anne stopped to take a breath when she knew she was out of earshot of Malfoy.
"Thanks for telling me about his father," she breathed.
"You're welcome," Rose said. "I'm proud of you, Princess."
"Same to you, Rose. You haven't taken this much interest in us all year."
Rose gave her a crooked smile.
"If you're so worried about Neville and Hermione, you should talk to them."
"I'm working on it," Rose said. "Moon first, then Toad, then Brain."
Sally-Anne smiled at her friend.
"I've missed you, Rose."
Rose grinned.
"You'll be seeing a lot more of me now."
Sally-Anne smiled.
"Finished the third task?"
Rose nodded.
"I can't wait to see it." Sally-Anne hugged Rose when she saw her friend starting to look sad. "We'll get Hermione back. Don't worry."
Harry met Sally-Anne at practice the next day. He couldn't get Ellie out of his head, but with Sally-Anne to keep tabs on him, he'd managed to keep his eyes off her.
He'd also found that Alavel was easier to talk to than he'd thought. They'd talked the entire way to practice. He'd forgotten how nice it was to have someone with whom he could just talk.
"You are back!" Nikolai exclaimed when he saw Sally-Anne.
"I am, and I'm horribly sorry about yesterday. I assure you all that I'm back to my old self, so don't think I'll let you get away with anything from here on out."
"Vhat about Malfoy?" Michele asked, her voice dripping with disgust.
"He's still your teammate, and before any of you protest, I'll explain more when he gets here."
True to her word, Sally-Anne waited until Malfoy arrived. Even more odd, she wouldn't hear a bad word about him.
"Well, Malfoy?" she asked him when he walked into the courtyard. "What have you got to say for yourself?"
Harry looked around at his teammates. Michele and Viktor looked ready to kill Malfoy, but he knew the look on Sally-Anne's face. If they wanted to get to him, they'd have to go through her, and Harry doubted the four of them combined could've taken on Sally-Anne at that moment.
"I'm sorry," Malfoy said through gritted teeth.
"Zhat's it?" Michele demanded. "After vhat you did—"
"I've said it before," Sally-Anne said, "it doesn't matter what you all do outside here. Inside, during practice, you're a team. Sabotaging each other out of spite or anger isn't going to get you anywhere. If you think I felt humiliated the past few days, imagine what it's going to be like when you all lose because you can't get along."
Sally-Anne moved to put everyone in her view.
"You're all brilliant at this. Viktor, you've been an amazing captain. Adele, despite what you might think about your size, I think it gives you an advantage here. Michele, your confidence in yourself is admirable. Nikolai, you never let anything get to you. Harry, your reflexes are astounding. Draco, if you put your mind to work figuring out ways to win, none of you would need to practice. If you can all just work together, the other team won't stand a chance."
April passed by, and finally it was time. It was the day of the match, and Harry was nervous. They were in custom uniforms for the occasion, inside the makeshift pitch that hadn't been there the night before.
"Welcome, everyone!" Bagman announced. "First, thank you everyone for your words of kindness after my accident. Fortunately, I'm fully recovered, and a better man for it. But you didn't come here to hear about me! You came to watch Quidditch!"
The crowd applauded, and after a moment of preparation, 12 players took to the sky.
It was a good match, Harry had to admit. Cedric lead the other team well. They traded points through almost the entire match, with their team usually lagging, until there were only 30 seconds left.
Bagman tossed the Quaffle into the air, and Cho grabbed it immediately. She hurtled down the field, tossing the Quaffle to Andrei when Viktor cut her off. He handed it off to Cedric, who raced towards the goal.
He tossed it in, but Michele streaked through the air in a dive bomb to grab the Quaffle just centimeters from the goalpost. She passed it off to Nikolai as the crowd cheered, who tossed it to Adele when they were halfway down the field.
Adele, Malfoy, and Harry circled around one another, passing the Quaffle back and forth, dodging around every other player in their way.
Cedric and Cho darted between them from behind, sticking Harry with the Quaffle. He held it close as his two opponents sidled next to him, steering him away from the goal. He didn't have a shot at the goal, but he sensed Malfoy and Adele below him.
Cedric and Cho moved him down and away from the posts. Harry had seconds to think of a plan.
If I can get it to Adele, she can score. Unless that other player I'm sensing isn't one of ours, and based on the way they're moving, it isn't.
Harry glanced down and saw Malfoy wide open. Despite having worked together well enough to get by in practice, Harry's blood still boiled when he looked at the other boy.
Leave it in the castle until practice is over, then go back to hating him. Until then, treat him like a teammate.
Harry saw his window of opportunity closing, so he did the last thing anyone would expect.
What's the point of that?
You can't get out, Nikolai had told him, and speed won't let you stop and keep control. You follow other players, and they move you away. It is tactic used to compensate for bad Keeper.
If you can't get out, what are you supposed to do?
I bet I know, Malfoy had said.
So Harry followed Malfoy's suggestion; he jumped off his broom.
As he fell through the air, he hurled the Quaffle to Malfoy, who flew it in to score the winning points.
The crowd erupted into applause, while most of the players on the field dove towards Harry.
Harry looked down at the grass rushing towards him, but at no point did he think it was a bad idea.
A second before he touched down, a hand reached out and grabbed him, snatching him away from the ground.
"Thanks, Michele," he said.
"Just returning zhe favor," she replied.
All the players circled to the ground, and Bagman awarded the victory to "Team Krum".
People stormed the field, everyone talking at once.
"Not bad, Potter," Malfoy said.
Harry glanced at Sally-Anne, who had shoved her way through to get to Viktor.
"I'm not the one that scored the winning goal," he replied. "Good thing you're better at catching than I am."
Harry and Malfoy smirked at one another, then parted ways to receive congratulations from their respective houses.
Harry fought his way through the crowd, trying to be polite as everyone congratulated him.
"Excuse me," a baritone voice commanded. "Pardon me."
"Alavel!" Harry called.
He pushed through people to reach his bodyguard.
"Excellent work, Lord Skyeyes," Alavel said.
"Thanks, I– wait, what?"
"You took my advice," Alavel said. "You earned a new one."
"What for?"
"For putting your differences aside and working with Mr. Malfoy, even after what he did. I regret that it's all I can give you." He handed Harry a small box, which he found contained a chain link bracelet. "Lady Rose, however, can do quite a lot more."
Harry reflected back on the past few months. After everything he'd endured, not being labeled for his scar and a bracelet from Rose was little consolation, but he had more than that. He had new friends he could count on, not just in his teammates, but in Alavel.
And that was something.
"Thank you."
"It's my pleasure, Lord Skyeyes."
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