The Life He Deserved

Chapter 28

Harry felt anticipation bubble in his chest as he awoke. They'd call the death eaters today. But there were other things to worry about as well.

"Good luck today, Harry," a sweet voice called from behind. Not even surprised, Harry turned his neck and smiled.

"Thanks, Luna. You have any idea how it'll go?" The blonde witch hummed.

"The nargles are less mischievous today," she mused. Harry interpreted it as a good-to-go.

"Brilliant. Oh, and Luna?" Luna smiled and started to skip away.

"I'll talk to Neville for you," she called ahead of him. Harry shook his head fondly and continued his walk. She always did know a little more than she should. Finding out she had seer abilities wasn't all that surprising. It was early in the morning, no other students bustling the hallways. The sky was still dim and the surroundings were silent. Casually, he strolled to the owlry, keeping a disillusioned charm firmly on. No need for Dumbles to send his paintings to spy on him. Harry smiled in content as he walked passed each window. Even living with his parents and Tom at the cottage, the castle would always be considered a home to him. Similar to how Tom felt about it. As he approached closer, sounds of flapping wings, hooting, and screeching filled his ears. Scoping his surroundings, he attempted to locate a particular white owl in the crowd of birds. Seeing no signs of Hedwig, he calmly sat on the windowsill and waited. After a couple minutes, a clear white blob was seen in the sky. Knowing it was Hedwig, Harry swung his legs off the sill and landed on the floor gracefully. As he expected, a snowy owl came through the opening with elegant wings ruffling in the wind. Attached to its legs was a neatly wrapped parcel. Hedwig landed on Harry's head rather than a perch, hooting in relief. Harry chuckled and picked her off him. He adjusted his grip so he was holding the precious owl in his arms.

"Hey Hedwig. I'm sorry, that was a long journey, wasn't it?" he asked softly, stroking at her favorite spots. The owl let out noises of pleasure before sticking out a leg. Harry swiftly untied the package and letter, then summoning a rat for her to eat. The owl viciously swallowed the rat whole and flew off to a perch happily. Harry put the package on the cleaner area of the floor and opened the sealed letter.

Harry,

I thought these robes would suit your tastes rather nicely.

M.S.

Grinning, Harry pulled on the strings, allowing the black paper to unfold. Inside was a gorgeous emerald and silver cloak along with a black suit. He ran his fingers over the velvety material as he admired the vibrant shades. Everything was sewn to perfection, handmade just for him. He quickly refolded it and wandlessly sent it to his trunk. He spent some time pampering Hedwig, then headed outside for some morning exercises.

"Hello everyone, welcome to our Slytherin quidditch try outs. Keepers, form a line beside the hoops. Beaters, head to the shack to grab your bats and meet on the right side, chasers go grab a quaffle and meet on the left, seekers stay here." All the students went to their respective areas as Flint waited. Harry gazed around at his little competition. A sixth year and a seventh year. By their smug faces, they assumed that a second year had no shot. Harry felt a smirk show on his lips. They didn't know he had way more years of experience on them. He also noted they had nimbus 2000s. A wonderful broom, but nothing compared to his Firebolt. While the model was still prototyped, Harry went out of his way to charm it to perfection. Hearing a whistle sound, he looked back at their coach.

"Alright, we'll start with the seekers." He pulled out a practice snitch from his pocket, holding it up. "I'll be letting this loose 5 rounds. Whoever catches it the most gets the position." And he let go. The snitch shot up into the air and flew away in a blur, the three seekers following. Harry kicked off the ground in a swift movement, his broom rocketing upwards faster than the others. He then started his scouting, ignoring everyone around him. He vaguely noticed the other two seekers doing tricks and showing off: amateurs. Rule one of seekers, find the snitch. They were wasting precious time. He carefreely looped around the pitch for the golden ball, enjoying the wind whipping his hair around. He was on his second lap when he saw a glint of gold. It was in the corner of his right eye, close to the floor. Without an ounce of hesitation, he took a sharp turn right and speeded to the floor. He heard a few gasps from around him as he went at dangerous speeds but paid no mind. The other seekers seemed to have notice but were too far away to catch up. Harry focused intensely as he came closer and closer to the snitch. That's when the snitch shot to his left. There wasn't enough time to switch his direction before hitting the floor. With a brash glint in his eyes, he barrel-rolled sharply to his left, still heading towards the floor and snatched the tiny orb in his hands. Just as he was about to crash, he pulled the broom roughly up, just three inches off the floor. With a satisfied smile, he landed perfectly unharmed. He then walked up to Flint who was gaping at him.