𝐋𝐄𝐆𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐒 ↳ 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗣𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗫 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿

FIRST YEAR: Match Against the Slytherins

A/N: hi

The next morning in Defense Against the Dark Arts, while copying down different ways of treating werewolf bites, Harry, Y/N and Ron were still discussing what they"d do with a Sorcerer"s Stone if they had one. It wasn"t until Ron said he"d buy his own Quidditch team that Harry remembered about Snape and the coming match.

"We"re going to play," he t

old Ron, Y/N and Hermione. "If we don"t, all the Slytherins will think we"re just too scared to face Snape. We"ll show them . . . it"ll really wipe the smiles off their faces if we win."

"Just as long as we"re not wiping you off the field," said Hermione.

As the match drew nearer, however, Y/N became more and more nervous, whatever Harry told Ron, her and Hermione.

The rest of the team wasn"t too calm, either. The idea of overtaking Slytherin in the House Championship was wonderful, no one had done it for seven years, but would they be allowed to, with such a biased referee?

Harry didn"t know whether he was imagining it or not, but he seemed to keep running into Snape wherever he went. At times, he even wondered whether Snape was following him, trying to catch him on his own.
Potions lessons were turning into a sort of weekly torture, Snape was so horrible to Harry and Y/N. Could Snape possibly know they"d found out about the Sorcerer"s Stone? Harry didn"t see how he could — yet he sometimes had the horrible feeling that Snape could read minds.

Harry knew, when they wished him and Y/N good luck outside the locker rooms the next afternoon, that Ron and Hermione were wondering whether they"d ever see them alive again.

This wasn"t what you"d call comforting. Harry hardly heard a word of Wood"s pep talk as he pulled on his Quidditch robes and picked up his Nimbus Two Thousand. Ron and Hermione, meanwhile, had found a place in the stands next to Neville, who couldn"t understand why they looked so grim and worried, or why they had both brought their wands to the match.

Little did Harry know that Ron and Hermione had been secretly practicing the Leg-Locker Curse. They"d gotten the idea from Malfoy using it on Neville, and were ready to use it on Snape if he showed any sign of wanting to hurt Harry or Y/N.
"Now, don"t forget, it"s Locomotor Mortis," Hermione muttered as Ron slipped his wand up his sleeve.

"I know," Ron snapped. "Don"t nag."

Back in the locker room, Wood had taken Harry and Y/N aside. "Don"t want to pressure you, Potter, but if we ever need an early capture of the Snitch it"s now. Finish the game before Snape can favor Hufflepuff too much. Y/N, listen to me. Much as you want to break Pucey"s nose, don"t."

"The whole school"s out there!" said Fred Weasley, peering out of the door. "Even — blimey — Dumbledore"s come to watch!"

Y/N"s heart did a somersault.

"Dumbledore?" she said, dashing to the door to make sure.

Fred was right. There was no mistaking that silver beard. Harry could have laughed out loud with relief. They were safe. There was simply no way that Snape would dare to try to hurt them if Dumbledore was watching.

Perhaps that was why Snape was looking so angry as the teams marched onto the field, something that Ron noticed, too.

"I"ve never seen Snape look so mean," he told Hermione. "Look — they"re off. Ouch!"
Someone had poked Ron in the back of the head. It was Malfoy.

"Oh, sorry, Weasley, didn"t see you there." Malfoy grinned broadly at Crabbe and Goyle. "Wonder how long Potter and L/N are going to stay on their brooms this time? Anyone want a bet? What about you, Weasley?"

Ron didn"t answer; Snape had just awarded Hufflepuff a penalty because George Weasley had hit a Bludger at him. Hermione, who had all her fingers crossed in her lap, was squinting fixedly at Harry, who was circling the game like a hawk, looking for the Snitch, and Y/N, who was trying to score as many goals as possible.

"You know how I think they choose people for the Gryffindor team?" said Malfoy loudly a few minutes later, as Snape awarded Hufflepuff another penalty for no reason at all. "It"s people they feel sorry for. See, there"s Potter and L/N, who"ve got no parents, then there"s the Weasleys, who"ve got no money — you should be on the team, Longbottom, you"ve got no brains."

Neville went bright red but turned in his seat to face Malfoy.
"I"m worth twelve of you, Malfoy," he stammered.

Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle howled with laughter, but Ron, still not daring to take his eyes from the game, said, "You tell him, Neville."

"Longbottom, if brains were gold, you"d be poorer than Weasley, and that"s saying something."

Ron"s nerves were already stretched to the breaking point with anxiety about Harry and Y/N. "I"m warning you, Malfoy — one more word —"

"Ron!" said Hermione suddenly, "Harry —!"

"What? Where?"

Harry had suddenly gone into a spectacular dive, which drew gasps and cheers from the crowd. Hermione stood up, her crossed fingers in her mouth, as Harry streaked toward the ground like a bullet.

"You"re in luck, Weasley, Potter"s obviously spotted some money on the ground!" said Malfoy.

Ron snapped. Before Malfoy knew what was happening, Ron was on top of him, wrestling him to the ground. Neville hesitated, then clambered over the back of his seat to help.

"Come on, Harry!" Hermione screamed, leaping onto her seat to watch as Harry sped straight at Snape — she didn"t even notice Malfoy and Ron rolling around under her seat, or the scuffles and yelps coming from the whirl of fists that was Neville, Crabbe, and Goyle.
Up in the air, Snape turned on his broomstick just in time to see something scarlet shoot past him, missing him by inches — the next second, Harry had pulled out of the dive, his arm raised in triumph, the Snitch clasped in his hand.

The stands erupted; it had to be a record, no one could ever remember the Snitch being caught so quickly.

"Ron! Ron! Where are you? The game"s over! Harry"s won! We"ve won! Gryffindor is in the lead!" shrieked Hermione, dancing up and down on her seat and hugging Parvati Patil in the row in front.

Harry jumped off his broom, a foot from the ground. He couldn"t believe it. He"d done it — the game was over; it had barely lasted five minutes. As Gryffindors came spilling onto the field, he saw Snape land nearby, whitefaced and tight-lipped — then Harry felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up into Dumbledore"s smiling face.

"Well done," said Dumbledore quietly, so that only Harry could hear. "Nice to see you haven"t been brooding about that mirror . . . been keeping busy . . . excellent . . ."
"HARRY! WE DID IT!" screamed a voice as Harry was tackled to the ground by Y/N.

Snape spat bitterly on the ground. Harry and Y/N left the locker room alone sometime later, to take their Nimbus Two Thousands back to the broomshed. Harry couldn"t ever remember feeling happier. He"d really done something to be proud of now — no one could say he was just a famous name any more.

The evening air had never smelled so sweet. He walked over the damp grass, reliving the last hour in his head, which was a happy blur: Gryffindors running to lift him onto their shoulders; Ron and Hermione in the distance, jumping up and down, Ron cheering through a heavy nosebleed.

Y/N and Harry had reached the shed. Y/N leaned against the wooden door and looked up at Hogwarts, with its windows glowing red in the setting sun. Gryffindor in the lead. They"d done it, they"d shown Snape. . . . And speaking of Snape . . .

A hooded figure came swiftly down the front steps of the castle. Clearly not wanting to be seen, it walked as fast as possible toward the forbidden forest. Gryffindor"s victory faded from Harry"s mind as he watched. He recognized the figure"s prowling walk. Snape, sneaking into the forest while everyone else was at dinner — what was going on?
"What does he think he"s doing?" Y/N whispered.

"Dunno... c"mon."

Harry jumped back on his Nimbus Two Thousand and took off as Y/N let out a squawk of protest, before copying him. Gliding silently over the castle she saw Snape enter the forest at a run.

They followed. The trees were so thick she couldn"t see where Snape had gone. They flew in circles, lower and lower, brushing the top branches of trees until he heard voices. He glided toward them and landed noiselessly in a towering beech tree. They climbed carefully along the branches, holding tight to their broomsticks, trying to see through the leaves. Below, in a shadowy clearing, stood Snape, but he wasn"t alone. Quirrell was there, too.

Harry couldn"t make out the look on his face, but he was stuttering worse than ever. Harry strained to catch what they were saying.

". . . d-don"t know why you wanted t-t-to meet here of all p-places, Severus . . ."

"Oh, I thought we"d keep this private," said Snape, his voice icy. "Students aren"t supposed to know about the Sorcerer"s Stone, after all."
Harry leaned forward. Quirrell was mumbling something. Snape interrupted him. "Have you found out how to get past that beast of Hagrid"s yet?"

"B-b-but Severus, I —"

"You don"t want me as your enemy, Quirrell," said Snape, taking a step toward him.

"I-I don"t know what you —"

"You know perfectly well what I mean."

An owl hooted loudly, and Harry nearly fell out of the tree as Y/N grabbed him round the collar and pulled him back up.

He steadied himself in time to hear Snape say, "— your little bit of hocus-pocus. I"m waiting."

"B-but I d-d-don"t —"

"Very well," Snape cut in. "We"ll have another little chat soon, when you"ve had time to think things over and decided where your loyalties lie."

He threw his cloak over his head and strode out of the clearing. It was almost dark now, but Harry could see Quirrell, standing quite still as though he was petrified.

"Harry, where have you been?" Hermione squeaked.

"We won! You won! We won!" shouted Ron, thumping Harry on the back. "And I gave Malfoy a black eye, and Neville tried to take on Crabbe and Goyle single-handed! He"s still out cold but Madam Pomfrey says he"ll be all right — talk about showing Slytherin! Everyone"s waiting for you in the common room, we"re having a party, Fred and George stole some cakes and stuff from the kitchens."
"Never mind that now," said Harry breathlessly.

Y/N nodded. "Let"s find an empty room, you wait "til you hear this. . . ."

She made sure Peeves wasn"t inside before shutting the door behind them, then she told them what they"d seen and heard.

"So, we were right, it is the Sorcerer"s Stone, and Snape"s trying to force Quirrell to help him get it. He asked if he knew how to get past Fluffy — and he said something about Quirrell"s "hocus-pocus"— I reckon there are other things guarding the stone apart from Fluffy, loads of enchantments, probably, and Quirrell would have done some anti-Dark Arts spell that Snape needs to break through —"

"So, you mean the Stone"s only safe as long as Quirrell stands up to Snape?" said Hermione in alarm.

"It"ll be gone by next Tuesday," said Ron.