Suspicious Newcomer

Chapter 6

Author's Note: Hey guys! I'm working on some art for the cover. Please be patient. Also, sorry the last few chapters have been so short. 

"...So he hit him in the face? Just like that?" asked Ron in a hushed tone. They were in the Gryffindor common room, pretending to study for Transfiguration while Harry recounted the fight that occurred earlier.

"Right. I'm surprised he hasn't gotten detention yet," Harry said. "It doesn't seem like Lawliet would keep that sort of thing quiet."

"If he told Snape he might. Wouldn't want to get the new Quidditch captain in trouble right as their finally starting to win." Ron scowled, glaring over Harry's shoulder. "You do have a plan for the next Quidditch match, don't you?"

Harry shrugged. In truth, he hadn't thought about Gryffindor's new strategy at all, not that it mattered. Their next game was against Hufflepuff, while Slytherins was against Ravenclaw.

"S'pose we can see how Ravenclaw fares in a few days." Harry muttered. "Honestly I don't see a solution, unless we can slip the entire team some puking pastilles right before the next game."

"You're free to try that," Ron said. "Personally, I don't see any problem with a nice bat-bogey hex."

Sniggering, the two boys plotted other ways to take down the Slytherin team, strategies growing steadily more far-fetched and rude.

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"Oh, come on, give it a break!" sighed Hermione over breakfast. Harry had just scowled as Light Yagami had entered the Great Hall, chatting with a few other Slytherins.

"Hermione, I don't want to be the first captain to lose the Cup. Is that so much to ask?"

"I just think you're making a big deal out of nothing."

"Out of nothing? Did you watch that last Quidditch game? They put half of our team in the hospital wing! How is that nothing?"

"It's ridiculous that you're getting so upset over this, Harry." Hermione snapped. She interrupted his angry retort. "If you're really so upset about it, why don't you just report them for breaking rules?"

"But they're not breaking any rules. It-" Harry stopped short. There were so many rules in Quidditch. Slytherin had to have broken a few of them, using such dirty tactics. Although the last thing he wanted to spend his Saturday on was going through some musty rule book in the library, it was the closest thing he had to a strategy to beating them.

"Hermione, I'll talk to you later." Harry said breathlessly. He raced out the door to the Great Hall, nearly knocking Ginny into the ground as he passed her.

"Wha-Harry? What are you doing?" she asked.

"Ginny, get everyone on the team and tell them to meet me in the library!" Harry called over his shoulder as he raced away.

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"You can't be bloody serious."

Harry sighed as Ron gaped at him from across the table in the library. Before the rest of the team's arrival, Harry had gone around the library and pulled down every Quidditch rule book he could find, humming with adrenaline. Now, his team stared at him as if he had maggots crawling out of his ears.

"Look, it's not that much of a stretch. The Slytherins were pulling some seriously dirty tactics, I'm sure there's a rule somewhere in here," Harry gestured vaguely at the stack of books on the table, "that would ban them from playing, or at least force them to redo their strategy."

A dense silence met his words. Frustrated, Harry rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I know this is a lot to ask. But it's our best chance to beat them right now." He let his hand drop, resisting the urge to stare at the floor as several eyes continued to openly stare at him. "If they keep using the same strategies they were before, it doesn't matter how much we practice. We won't beat them. We just won't."

He stared back at his teammates and noticed a subtle change. Ron stared at the floor guiltily. Ginny sighed and seemed to resign herself. Matsuda was the first to break the silence.

"I'll do it, Harry!" he said, jumping to his feet eagerly. "What do you want me to read?"

Thank god. Harry smiled gratefully at Matsuda. "There's enough of us that we should each only have to read one or two books. Is everyone up for it?" he glared pointedly at his teammates again until they muttered assent and each gathered a handful of books.

Smiling with newfound energy, Harry sat down and began to read.