The Forgotten Son

Chapter 8: Year Four: Part Two

Chapter 8: 1991 part 2

The aftermath of the troll attack on Halloween had very little effect on Harry and his friends as most of the staff seemed to want to keep the killing of the troll quiet. Harry had no problem with this as he figured he didn't need any more attention. With his status as number one in his class, his perfect record in Quidditch matches, and the female population finding him more attractive every year, he felt as if he needed less staring.

A week and a half after the disastrous Halloween came the first Quidditch match of the year and it was between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. Slytherin had been scheduled to play the Lions, however Marcus Flint pulled some nonsense excuse that their second-year Seeker, Terrence Higgs was not ready to play. And though Harry respected Snape as a Potions Master, the constant bias he showed to the Slytherin by allowing the postponement. Thus, Ravenclaw was thrown into the game.

And so Harry found himself sitting in the Quidditch locker room, focusing himself and reinforcing his Occlumency shields. Roger Davies and second-year Cho Chang sat going over their chaser plays. The two beaters John MacTavish and Kyle Garrick stood side by side as they normally would, their beater bats hanging limply at their sides as they conversed with fifth-year keeper Kate Laswell.

Minutes passed as the team focused themselves. Soon enough, the seventh-year Captain and final chaser John Price came in the room with a determined glint in his eyes.

"Alright all, everyone up. Though we weren't supposed to be playing today, I think we are all ready for this challenge. We know the Gryffindor team is skilled but I believe our team is the better one. Their team is young and we've all been working together for years. Just play as you've been practicing and we'll be unstoppable," Captain Price passionately declared to rousing agreement.

The team made their way out of the tunnel and onto the pitch greeted by thunderous applause. It was a beautiful November day. Sunny with a chill in the air that made it comfortable in a coat. The majority of the stands were cheering on the experienced Ravenclaw team. The entirety of Ravenclaw was cheering along this Slytherin, as they hated anything Gryffindor, and even a good grouping of Puffs led by Harry's friend Cedric Diggory.

Harry took to the sky as the Gryffindors entered the pitch, as usual, tuning out the biased commentator who turned out to be Lee Jordan this year. Despite being on the team since his first year and flying around on a broom since he was just over eight years old, he reveled in the sensation of being in the air. The freedom he felt was indescribable. At this point in his life, Harry had been away from the Dursleys for longer than he was with them but he still carried the baggage accrued from his time there. He had improved leaps and bounds but the scars, both physical and mental, still affected him. He still refused to change around others, lest they see his torso and the destruction Vernon Dursley wreaked on it with belt and knife. He found it difficult to trust people he just met and only allowed certain people to touch him in any way shape or form. Only Sirius and Andromeda knew about his scars and Harry had to stun his Godfather in order to stop him from killing the Dursleys himself. Only the promise of future retribution stayed Lord Black's hand. Sirius and Andi were also on the short list of people allowed to touch Harry, aside from handshakes of course. Nym and Fleur were at the top of the list along with Sirius, Andi, Remus, Cissy and Bella. James and Lily Potter were restricted to handshakes and light touches. They of course had no idea why.

The Gryffindors joined the Eagles in the air as the captains stood by Madame Hooch to shake hands and begin the match. Harry sat on his trusty Nimbus 1700 as Daniel Potter glided across from him on a brand new Nimbus 2000. Harry took a moment to recognize that neither of them had the traditional Seeker body type. Daniel was among the average eleven year old in terms of height but was slightly chubby. Harry figured it was natural talent and years spent on a broom that allowed the boy on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team. Harry was the complete opposite. Tallest in his year and muscular to boot, Harry was probably considered too big to be playing Seeker, but his talent at the position and his perfect record shut down any doubts that would possibly arise.