kbinnz - Harry's New Home

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The instant Quirrell was neutralized, Snape threw out a line of magic to Harry, feeling Minerva, Dumbledore, and several of the other staff do the same. Others тАУ including many of the students тАУ were casting cushioning charms over the field, and amongst them all, Harry was lowered to the ground rather more quickly than Snape would have liked, but slowly enough that he suffered no injuries.

Harry touched down and instantly fell to his knees, exhausted both physically and emotionally by the near-deadly tug of war. Flint, Wood, and the others dropped alongside him seconds later.

Snape was one of the first onto the field, though he was never thereafter sure how he made it down from the faculty section so quickly. Technically, the school's anti-apparition wards were in place, but it seemed that he reached Harry mere seconds after the boy was safe.

He shoved past the Quidditch teams, all now off their brooms and gathered worriedly about Harry.

"Pr'fessor!" Harry caught sight of him and managed to stand up.

"Potter!" Snape caught him by the arms. Being wrenched between two magical forces could easily have ripped the boy apart. Could there be internal damage? Unseen injuries? "How are you?"

"Erm тАУ " Harry looked acutely uncomfortable, and Snape's spine chilled. He knew it тАУ the boy needed to be transported to St Mungo's immediately!

"What is it?"

"I тАУ uh тАУ have a little problem," Harry admitted awkwardly.

Snape paused from where he was counting the boy's limbs. "Well? Speak up, you foolish child! What is it?" he demanded, terror making his voice even harsher than normal.

"ErmтАж" Harry held out one hand, his fist tightly clenched. Snape stared at it тАУ muscle spasms? Paralysis?

As he watched, the boy slowly unfolded his fingers and there, sitting quietly on his palm, sat the Golden Snitch.

"I тАУ ah тАУ noticed it on my way down and sort of, er, grabbed it," Harry confessed.

"Ha! We win! Our Seeker caught the snitch!" Oliver Wood yelled in triumph, snatching the snitch from Harry's hand and holding it aloft.

"Not likely!" Flint snarled, grabbing Wood by the front of his robes. "You can't fly two Seekers at one time!"

"Potter wasn't on a broom," Wood pointed out smugly. "So he wasn't flying."

"So he wasn't playing for you!"

"He's our Seeker!"

"Not in this game!"

"He caught it, didn't he?"

"While our Head of House was controlling his descent. So he would obviously be operating as a Slytherin, not a Gryffindor."

"What! That's nonsense! He's not your Seeker!"

"Today he's as much ours as he is yours! You didn't have him on your roster!"

Madame Hooch pushed between the two yelling captains and soon all three were screaming at each other.

"ErтАж Sorry?" Harry offered uncertainly, eyeing Snape worriedly.

Snape massaged his forehead and fervently wished for a Calming Draught. "What are you apologizing for now, Mr Potter? Catching the snitch? Causing the game to descend into mayhem? Bringing the two teams to the brink of war? Nearly plummeting to your death? What precisely has made you so apologetic this time?"

Harry looked awkward. " 'M just sorry you were so worried."

Snape pretended not to hear the "Ohhh, isn't that sweet?" from Professor Sprout, but he could practically feel Albus' twinkling eyes upon him as he glared at the boy. "I was not 'worried', Potter!" he snapped. "MerelyтАж concerned."

He had an awful suspicion that Harry тАУ and the rest of the onlookers тАУ were not fooled by his protestations, but he was damned if he were going to admit to anything.

The brat smiled in relief. "That's okay then." His brow creased as a thought struck him. "Where's Hermione?"

"Here." Professor McGonagall pushed through the crowd, supporting an exhausted Hermione. The girl held a bloodstained handkerchief to her nose, but despite her fatigue, she was smiling.

"Harry! You're all right!"

"Are you okay, 'Mione?" Harry asked worriedly. "That must've been awfully strong magic you were doing."

Madam Pomfrey bustled up, her wand already in motion. "Good heavens, Miss Granger! Your magical core is nearly depleted! You're coming straight to the Infirmary for several days of rest!"

"But what about classes!" Hermione wailed. "I'll miss too much!"

"No arguments," Poppy scolded. "Repeated exertion at this level could turn you into a squib." At Hermione's tearful expression, she relented. "Miss Granger, you won't be allowed to do any spellwork for at least a week, until your core regenerates, so there's not much point in your attending classes anyway."

"We'll take plenty of notes for you, 'Mione," Ron added, squeezing in between Quidditch players so that he could ensure that his best mates were all right.

The pronouncement, from a decidedly un-intellectual Weasley, had the effect of silencing all conversation in the immediate area as everyone, from Hermione to Dumbledore, turned to stare at Ron. The boy squirmed uncomfortably. "Well, I mean, I'll do my best, and Harry an' Draco an' Neville will help too, right?"

Hermione's eyes flew hopefully to Draco. She knew that her Housemates had the best of intentions, but Draco was the only one whom she trusted to take good notes.

Had he not been a Malfoy, Draco would have squirmed under the interested gaze of most of the faculty and a good percentage of the student body. Him? Help a mudblood? At the behest of a blood traitor? His father would тАУ

"Sure we will!" Harry agreed stoutly, slinging an arm over Draco's shoulders. "It'll be like you were sitting right there with us," he promised Hermione.

Draco cleared his throat. "Yes, all right," he muttered uncomfortably. "Fine." He shot an apprehensive look at Flint, wondering how the Slytherin prefect would react to his promise to help a Gryffindor. He knew the older boy's reaction would set the tone for the rest of the House.

Flint glanced at Snape then shrugged. "Good to see you lions appreciate Slytherin intellect," he drawled.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Like anyone doesn't know that Draco and 'Mione are as smart as any Ravenclaw." He noticed Professor Flitwick standing nearby and colored. "Erm, no offense, Professor."

Flitwick chuckled in delight. "No one House has a monopoly on intelligence, Mr Potter, nor any other trait for that matter. I happen to agree with you that both Mr Malfoy and Ms Granger would have done very well in my House indeed!"

Draco managed to suppress his feeling of nausea. A Ravenclaw? Him? He looked over at Hermione and saw she was similarly appalled at the notion. It gave him an unaccustomed sense of camaraderie with the girl, and he found himself saying, "Don't worry, Granger. I'll make sure these baboons take good notes for you."

"Oi!" Weasley, predictably, objected. "Who're you calling a baboon?"

Draco smirked. "I apologize, Weasley. With that red hair, I suppose an orangutan would have been a more appropriate choice, but I considered them a bit too intellectual."

"You'll pay for that, Malfoy," Weasley threatened, but there was no real heat in the remark. After all, he had volunteered Draco for extra schoolwork without asking him, all for the benefit of a Gryffindor, and the Slytherin had actually agreed to do it.

Draco rolled his eyes, trying not to preen at the thought of a Weasley publicly acknowledging how smart he was. "I'm shaking in my shoes."

"Slimy prat." Weasley gave him a shove, more for effect than out of a desire to hurt the other boy. It would never do for anyone to think that he and Malfoy were really friends.

"Stupid git." Draco shoved back, for exactly the same reasons.

"Sheesh!" Harry pushed between them. "You're gonna get us in trouble if you don't quit it!"

The other two huffed, but honor had been satisfied by the ritual exchange of shoves and insults, and with the teachers' proximity, further hostilities would have crossed from obligatory posturing to suicidal foolishness. The two purebloods obediently settled down on either side of Harry.