Echo | Harry Potter - George Weasley

Chapter 7: Things That Ought Not to be Meddled in

Taking a sip of her orange juice, Shaye watched as Harry pushed the food on his plate around with his fork. Since sitting down for breakfast that morning, he hadn't eaten a single thing, obviously too nervous about his first Quidditch game later that day to put anything into his stomach.

"Take a bit of toast, mate." Ron tried to encourage him to eat something. "Go on."

"Ron's right, Harry." Hermione agreed. "You're gonna need your strength today."

Harry continued to refuse any and all food. "I'm not hungry."

Just then, Snape came walking through the Great Hall and stopped next to Harry, which usually meant he was in trouble. "Good luck today, Potter." Snape surprised everyone with his kind words, even if it was obvious that they were forced and tasted awful on his tongue. "Then again, now that you've proven yourself against a troll, a little game of Quidditch should be easy work for you. Even if it is against Slytherin."

Then, without another word, he strode off with a very noticeable limp. "That explains the blood," Harry said.

"Blood?" Hermione asked.

"You saw it too?" Shaye turned to Harry. "The wound on Snape's leg last night?"

Harry nodded before filling Hermione and Ron in on what he was thinking. "Listen, last night, I'm guessing Snape let the troll in as a diversion so he could try and get past that three-headed dog. But he got himself bitten, that's why he's limping."

Hermione's face scrunched with confusion. "But why would anyone go near that dog?"

"The day I was at Gringotts, Hagrid took something out of one of the vaults," Harry explained. "Said it was Hogwarts business, very secret."

"So you're saying-" Hermione started.

"-that's what the dog's guarding," Harry concluded. "That's what Snape wants."

Before either one of them could come up with another theory as to how everything odd going on at Hogwarts fit together, a snowy owl soared into the Great Hall and dropped a large, broom-shaped package into Harry's hands.

"Bit early for mail, isn't it?" Hermione commented as Harry pushed some of the plates out of the way so he could lay the large delivery down on the table.

Harry stared at the delivery, wide-eyed. "But I never get mail."

"Let's open it." Ron was eager to see what Harry had gotten.

Together, the four friends worked at untying the twine and pulling the brown paper wrapping away to find out what Harry had been sent. As soon as the shiny new broomstick was revealed, Harry's eyes lit up.

"It's a broomstick." Harry gasped.

"That's not just a broomstick, Harry." Ron eyed the present with an awestricken look on his face. "It's a Nimbus 2000!"

Harry furrowed his brows. "But who ...?" he started, but when he heard the familiar hoot of an owl and looked over toward the teacher's table to see Professor McGonagall smiling and stroking the same snowy owl that had delivered his gift, his question was answered.

Harry smiled back and gave a thankful nod. 

Before Harry had gotten a chance to really take in the thoughtful present he had been gifted, Oliver Wood, the Gryffindor Quidditch team's captain, was tapping him on the shoulder and telling him it was time to go and change. 

With a hasty goodbye, Harry grabbed his Nimbus 2000 and jogged to catch up with the rest of the team. Half an hour or so later, the rest of Hogwarts started heading down to the Quidditch pitch to take their seats. The Gryffindor versus Slytherin match was due to start soon and those who had caught wind of Harry's addition to the team were excited to see him play his first game.