Harry Potter - The Accidental Animagus

Chapter 23 - Sniffing Around

The days began to pass more quickly. Harry had Quidditch practice three evenings per week, where Oliver Wood acquainted him with the team and drilled all the formations into him. He had been surprised the first time he practised with the real Snitch that he couldn't sense any magic from it.

"You must have a really keen magic sense to even think of that," Wood had said, impressed. "Of course, the Snitch is charmed against it-also against Summoning Charms, Levitation Charms, Freezing Charms, and all manner of sabotage. You'll have to catch it purely with your flying skills." Harry knew that bit, of course, but the fact that it was possible to mask the Snitch's magical signature was a new one on him.

Even as Seeker, there was a lot to cover in practice, from feints to distract the opposing Chasers and Beaters to guard formations to protect him on his way to the Snitch. They would need a lot of practice, too, since it quickly leaked that Lucius Malfoy had bought the entire Slytherin Team Nimbus Two Thousands, which meant that unless the Chaser Squad could deliver even better than they thought, it was almost entirely down to Harry to win the match before the point spread got too large.

Back on the ground, the murmurs between Gryffindor and Slytherin rose in anticipation of the first match, still several weeks away. Harry and Malfoy were not the instigators of any serious trouble, but they really didn't do much to discourage it, either.

Meanwhile, classes slowly stepped up their workload, and it took some effort on Harry's part to keep Hermione from getting too uptight about it. He reminded her several times that they still had eight more months of the term to go. But soon, it seemed like they barely had time to say hello to Mandy or go have tea with Hagrid, and before they knew it, Halloween was fast approaching. This, of course, was always a solemn time of year for one Harry Potter. He rarely let himself show it in public, but Professor McGonagall, who had become good at reading him over the years, spotted it readily, and the week before the date, she called him and his sister to stay after class one day for a brief chat.

"Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, as you may or may not know, Hogwarts holds a special Halloween Feast every year, a very old tradition dating back to the school's founding. I believe you're aware that Halloween has been an important wizarding holiday since the Druidic Era. Now, I'm sure you are aware that this Halloween will be the tenth anniversary of the defeat of V...Voldemort-" It was so hard for her to stay in practice. "...and, of course, your birth parents' deaths, Mr. Potter."

Harry and Hermione nodded sadly.

"Being as it is the tenth anniversary, there will likely be a resurgence of the 'Harry Potter Day' celebrations throughout Britain, but I want to assure you that we actively discourage such nonsense here and will hold a traditional Halloween feast. However, you may be excused from the feast if you do not wish to attend, and I can have some dinner sent up to you in the Gryffindor Common Room that night."

At that, Harry and Hermione exchanged a look and cautiously nodded to each other.

"Th-thank you, Professor," Harry said quietly, "but we usually do celebrate Halloween at home, and...um...mark that day the Sunday after. I think we'll be okay at the feast."

Professor McGonagall smiled just slightly. "That's very gracious of you two. You may, of course, change your mind at any time."

"Yes, ma'am," Harry said.

"There is one other thing..." she continued. "Because it is the tenth anniversary, if it is alright with you, the Headmaster would like to call a moment of silence at the feast in your parents' memory."