A Darker Form of Magic, book one: Dark Affinity

Chapter Eleven

"There cannot be seven hundred ways of committing a foul in this damn game," Harry cursed disbelievingly, as he, Theo, and Blaise sat on one of the couches in the Slytherin common room, the cold making it far too chilled to be outside anymore. But Theo only nodded as he flipped through Quidditch Through the Ages . The smaller boy groaned and flopped his head into his hands. "You have got to be shitting me."

"You learn quickly that it's best not to question Draco when it comes to obscure Quidditch facts," Blaise said, earning himself a glare from the boy flush against his side.

November had continued on, bringing the cold with it as it did. The lake had chilled into something resembling muggle steel, driving fish and the such down into its depths. The boys had seen the squid more times in the last week or so than in the past three months prior due to this change. Every morning that the school grounds were painted with frost, the older Slytherins took turns casting warming charms every morning on those that had to go outside during the early morning classes for Care of Magical Creatures and Herbology, and teaching the younger snakes how to cast them themselves on Fridays.

With the cold came the official start of the Quidditch season, and the Gryffindor - Slytherin game that was set for early Friday morning. The main reason that the three had gotten roped into reading the damned book on the sport by their blond friends was because Harry had no idea as to why the school would willingly choose to base it school around a sport, going as far as to leave Fridays devoid of classes.

Though Theo and Blaise had known more about the sport than Harry had, the blond Slytherin had been aghast to hear that none of them had read Quidditch Through the Ages and had say the trio down on the couch with the book, forcing them to read it in the posh Malfoy voice of his that sounding oddly like a scolding mother.

"The referees turned up months later after going missing in the Sahar desert of all places," Theo read, his academic mind causing him to have far too much fun with all of this as the other two listened to him quietly summarize.

Harry looked at the other boy with an unabashedly perplexed expression, something that the smaller Slytherin was still learning that he was allowed to so openly express if he wished. "How the absolute fuck does someone go missing in the middle of a sporting match that they're apart of?"

The smallest Slytherin looked between both boys but only groaned once he saw that neither of them had an answer for him. Blasie just patted Harry's knee in a silent shoe of support - or a preemptive farewell - as they listened to Theo tell the pair of all of the horrific ways that the younger seeker could potentially get hurt, some of them would damaging the black haired in a way that even he hadn't been before.

If it was possible, Harry would think that the other Slytherin wanted him to play even less than Harry himself did at the moment. But Blaise has always been a tricky one for the Slytherin boy to read so he didn't put much stock into the idea.

The fire burned well into the night and in the morning Harry was drug by an exatable Draco down to the Great Hall at a time that the smaller Slytherin didn't fully believe was even appropriate to call dawn yet.

"Remind me to kill you for this later. Please," the dozing boy growled as he shook off the other's grip. Draco at least had the decency to look slightly concerned.

Food was shoved onto a plate in front of the seeker and after a pointed look from Blasie, Harry attempted to eat most of it. Though he was eating a lot more than he had at the start of the year, Harry knew that it was still less than all of the others his age.

He decided to let the other boy worry about that for him though at the moment, the other Slytherin already did anyways.

"Well, if it isn't the little sneaky seeker," a voice said from Harry's left, already too mischievous for so early in the bloody morning.