The right path

Twelve

For James, it was an interesting experience to watch young Harry interacting with his long time enemy. It went smoother than what he initially thought, considering the incident with Tom's diary was still fresh in Harry's mind, but that may be because of the little chat they had before coming to the past. His thirteen year old self had indeed tried to stay away from prejudice.

Apart from that, it surprised him how much more powerful he could have been if Dumbledore hadn't messed everything up.

It all made him think he had taken the right decision by bringing his younger self back. He could finally see his whole potential. Who would have thought he could be so brilliant in spells crafting? Young Harry was just beginning to learn the theory behind it, and yet, he had managed to enhance his racing broom already, while he had had problems at fourteen to get the hang of the summoning spell.

Some time had passed since Tom's input about wind resistance, and Harry was finding it incredibly easier to accomplish than what he had originally planned, to the point of almost having it complete. Although they hadn't spoken about the issue since that day.

The first Hogsmeade trip had already passed, along with the Halloween festivities. Or Samhain, since some pureblood lines still practiced the pagan holidays.

Harry was in fact invited to the Samhain celebrations, but decided to decline the invite, since he hadn't known about the festivity before and wouldn't know what to do. He wasn't up for embarrassing himself, thank you very much.

When his dorm mates asked him if he wasn't going because he was Christian, he had to explain that, no, he wasn't Christian, nor pagan. He never had the chance to investigate any of the religions out there, given that he rarely left the house. That was also true from his past, as the Dursleys never let him out. Of course he never told the boys any details regarding his housing, so they didn't dig that much after that explanation, and instead offered to teach him more about their beliefs if he was interested. Harry accepted that, of course.

That year, Orion Black and his family were in charge of organizing the whole festivity. It changed host every year, not only for the celebration's sake, but as an opportunity for the pureblood society to brag about their fortune and wealth. Headmaster Dippet gave permission for them to use the school grounds and to decorate an unused classroom for this purpose, since he knew it would be foolish to ban the ancient traditions. Something Dumbledore had set aside during his period as headmaster. One of the reasons some pureblood families were not content with him, to begin with.

Now, it was the second week of November. This fine cold morning would be the first quidditch match of the season: Gryffindor vs Slytherin. And Harry was very excited. It would be his first game with his new team, and he felt great confidence. They all worked amazingly together, and Flint was a great captain, always looking to enhance their playing by using everyone's strengths.

They woke up early and went to have a light breakfast, in Harry's case, just toast and some pumpkin juice. Everyone was in high spirits, looking forward to the first match of the season. Gryffindors were being loud, as always, and Slytherins had a small smile plastered on their faces. The excitement pulsing through the entirety of the Great Hall.

With the morning chill picking on their bones, the Slytherin team descended to the pitch, as the game would start at 11 o'clock. It was time to change into their emerald green Quidditch robes, warm up a little and go win that game. That was the plan anyways.

Although, on their way down they came across Minerva McGonagall, the Gryffindor captain, or as Harry had taken to call her, Ner. She got furious when you called her Minnie, and Minerva was a little bit too long and formal for Harry's taste.

"Well, I hadn't expected to cross paths so soon, gentlemen, but I'll take the opportunity to bid you good luck. I would like to think you'll need it... And Potter, I hope you are prepared for your first match, because I will not go easy on you, my friend."

She winked on Harry's direction  with that last statement. She looked so full of life and contentment, prepared for everything and anything. Harry had to admit, he hadn't thought his strict transfiguration teacher would be that expressive when he first met her in this timeline. She had become a great friend during his time here, and  playful banter had come with that fondness.

"I wouldn't expect anything else, Ner. But you might be the one in need for luck, because we won't go easy on you either."

They both shared a laugh, and shaked hands. The sixteen year old Mcgonagall left, so the snakes could carry on with their preparation, after all, she had to find her team too.

Sooner rather than later, the match began. An adrenaline shot coursing through Harry's veins. Things passed in a blur, he didn't even hear the game commentator, only guiding himself with pure gut instinct and reacting whenever he saw a tactic that required his help. Slytherin was winning 60 to 40, twenty minutes in, and there was no hint of the golden snitch yet.

The game was proving to be one of the best ones to be witnessed in Hogwarts as of yet. So many new tactics were unveiling in this single game, both teams fighting hard for the leadership. For example, it was the birth of the "Glasgow feint", a move that in Harry's time was one of the most difficult moves made by chasers in the Gryffindor house, and today, Harry was witnessing how Marcus Glasgow was pulling it for the first time, with Minerva's help. It was glorious, his Gryffindor pride surfacing in the form of a big grin. Of course, he would deny that fact to his dying breath, no Slytherin smiled because of a Gryffindor victory, no way. Both teams were tied 80 to 80, barely fourty minutes in, and things were getting heated. Both team's beaters were aiming for the most valued players that they knew of, still, never once sinking to commiting a faul play.

Suddenly, a flash of gold was seen near the Slytherin goalposts. Harry flashed towards it, almost neck to neck with the Gryffindor seeker, who saw it milliseconds after Harry did. They dodged, sped and maneuvered to try and catch the small winged ball. Then, when they were bare inches from getting the price, the snitch practiced a vertical descent so abrupt Harry almost missed it. Almost. But he wasn't the youngest seeker in a century for nothing...or would be? Well, in the future he was.

Harry stopped and descended too, while the Gryffindor seeker sped in the wrong direction, giving Harry the upper hand. This kind of dives were one of his specialities, always have been.

Some feet above the ground, Harry was able to finally catch the snitch, thus ending the first game of the season.

"POTTER CATCHES THE SNITCH. SLYTHERIN WINS!"

The loud cheers that were heard rivaled to the ones he remembered when Gryffindor won the house cup during his first year. But even then, today's loud response was even bigger, as this time, the four houses were celebrating the great start of the quidditch season. Everyone was excited, even the Gryffindors were, even though they had lost. This game was going to pass into history as the best scholar game of the century.

Slytherin had won with 230 points, and with that, they were so above in the house cup ranking that some people believed it impossible to surpass them this year. That was the only thing that made Tom satisfied about the whole ordeal, as he was convinced quidditch was just a waste of time. He was telling himself so, anyways.

However, deep inside he knew it wasn't the case. He had enjoyed the match for the first time. Potter flew with such grace...

No, of course not. He was not thinking that about Potter, his academic rival, and he had not enjoyed the game. He just went because there was no other thing to do, and he had to maintain his public persona in the good side. That was it. Nothing more.