Charms went off smoothly, with Harry sleeping through the class. That day went by slowly and Harry watched Ginny carefully. She seemed alright and so Harry concluded that she had not gone into the Chamber and so did not discover that the basilisk was gone. Harry relaxed for the rest of the day sleeping in most of his classes. He had not been able to go to Snape's potion Lab and ward the containers that held the basilisk. In fact Harry was wondering if he should also place the basilisk in his vault. It would really not do for Dumbledore or anybody else to stumble upon it.
Harry finished dinner and walked down with Hermione, Neville and Malfoy to the dungeons and walked inside. Hermione also walked in determinedly intending to beg Snape to allow her to stay. She had been asked to help a few times, but for Hermione, those times were not enough and she wanted to do a lot more in the potion's progress.
Today, Snape, though looked at all them for a second, including Hermione's hopeful face. 'Potter stay. The rest of you leave!'
Hermione's face fell comically, but she still remembered George's words that if she insisted Snape, even at this stage of making the potion would stop it. So with a reproachful look at the Potions Master, who did not even look back at her; he was already striding to the ingredients room to presumably bring something; Hermione left the potions lab along with Neville and Malfoy.
'We will be in the Library, Harry. Or if you will be here until dinner,' Hermione's voice just had a trace of envy, 'then we will be in the Great Hall.'
Harry nodded and smiled and turned to the dittany and started attending to it. The moment all of them left, Snape came back with an armful of leaves and placing it all on the table, and spoke briskly to Harry.
'The containers are all here.' Snape flicked his wand and two shrunken boxes were visible at once corner of the potions lab. Harry quickly went to work and soon warded them with both Snape's and his own blood, so that apart from them no one could get to the shrunken boxes. It would take a true master of warding; someone like Dumbledore or Flamel to get around it.
Harry finished the warding and then quietly settled down to help with the potions, while Snape took the containers to his chambers to keep them safely. Harry finished with Snape and later that night he opened the map and sat down with it. But surprisingly, Ginny was still in her dorms. Having a sudden doubt, Harry sealed his curtains, cast the invisibility charms upon himself and changing into a Phoenix flashed to the second floor bathroom and checked it thoroughly. But three was no diary and he flashed back disappointed to his dorm.
He activated the map yet again, but Ginny was still in her dorm, and Harry feeling both relieved and anxious, for her, went to sleep. Ginny stayed away from the chamber in the next few weeks and slowly Harry relaxed. Quidditch practise had started and Harry was practising very hard for the most awaited match of the season. Gryffindors vs. Slytherins.
Harry wondered about the fact that Ginny/ Voldemort were taking a break. He tried to remember the last time and from what he could remember, he realized that the petrifactions had continued at regular intervals and not altogether at once. Harry checked the map everyday but when it looked that Ginny was in her dorm, he relaxed. He also flashed every night to the second floor bathroom and checked for the diary. He was still to have any success, in finding it, though.
The first match of the season was one of the most awaited matches in the School as well. Draco had been practising very hard and had wanted to make sure his place in the team would be fixed by his seeker skills, wanting to somehow prove himself in Hermione's eyes of all people. Her scorn and snorts on the train when he had told Harry about being chosen for the Slytherin team, had stung and Draco had had it at the back of his head ever since. He wanted to put up a decent show and prove to her and everyone else that he did deserve his place on the team. Besides, his father was also coming to watch him play and Draco wanted to make Lucius proud.
The day of the match was cold and cloudy, with the clouds looking dark and threatening to pour at any moment. Draco, waking up in excitement; he really did not sleep at all, was very dismayed by the weather. It would be tougher to show off his skills when he would be swaying in the wind and drenched to his skin. He would have to cast a warming charm on himself and also make sure Harry remembered it too. That thought came almost unconsciously to him and he never thought about the strangeness of it.
Harry in the meantime woke up and was not at all fazed by the weather. He had seen much worse before after all. Last time around, in Harry's third year, he had tackled bad weather, dementors and so much really. The weather was only cloudy and Harry knew it would rain before long, but he was not really bothered by it.
Soon all of them were at breakfast and this time, after breakfast, Harry, Hermione and Neville walked up to the slytherin table and grinned at a visibly nervous Draco. 'Good Luck, Draco. Play well.' Harry told him, holding out his hand and Draco smiled a bit, looking very pleased that Harry had come to wish him. However his nerves were all very high strung and he did not do anything more than nodding his head jerkily. 'You too Harry.' as he shook hands with Harry.
Harry grinned at him and walked to the changing rooms, while Hermione and Neville joined Ron, Dean, Seamus and others and went to the Gryffindor stands to cheer for Gryffindor and Harry. Harry changed and sat through Oliver's lecture and then all of them went to the field and there Harry met a nervous Draco Malfoy and grinned at him. Malfoy nodded his head and mouthed something that Harry did not understand. He frowned and tried to decipher Malfoy's words as he said something but before that Madam Hooch had already released the balls and was blowing the whistle.
Harry and Malfoy soared into the air. There Harry did a few loops as did Malfoy before, they got together and Harry hurriedly veered away to avoid a bludger. 'What was it Malfoy? You alright?' Harry screamed into the wind.
'Cast warming charms on yourself Harry, else the wind and the rain that's sure to come will get you.' He shouted at Harry, who grinned at Malfoy and showed the thumbs up sign and applied warming charms upon himself. He had intended to do it later, but now would be as good as a time as any, Harry thought smiling.
The two seekers flew slowly in circles high above the other players, searching for the snitch and trying to finish the game. Below them apart from the occasional bludger that flew towards them, it was the chasers, beaters and the keeper who had a busy time.
Lee Jordon was commenting and he was doing as good a job as he was before, with McGonagall stopping him whenever he acted up a little. 'Flint and his Slytherins may have better brooms than us, but clearly it is the Gryffindors who are superior in everything else.'
'Jordan!' McGonagall shouted into the microphone.
'Sorry professor. Well as I was saying, Gryffindors are the best. And the Slytherins really suck!' there was a sudden squabble as Lee was heard saying 'sorry professor' and McGonagall's voice saying warningly, 'careful Jordon, or else I will take over' before Jordon's voice came over a bit subdued.
The rain began to fall in huge drops and Harry, quickly cast a water repelling charm upon his eyes and indicated the same to Malfoy, wondering at the friendliness between them.
They were now about an hour into the game and Harry suddenly spotted something glittering by Slytherin stands, just a few feet above the ground. He took off at once and Draco followed furiously. They weaved in and out of the other players who were each obstructing the other side's seeker and Harry dodged the bludgers once as they came whizzing towards him and as he neared the Slytherin goal post he swooped with Draco almost level with him. There were screams in the Slytherin and Gryffindor stands each House encouraging their seeker.
At that time Flint, signalled to his beaters and two bludgers came for Harry. Fred and George took off after the bludgers, but they were a moment behind the bludgers that were really speeding.
Meanwhile Harry and Draco were neck to neck, and Harry kept one hand on the broom and stretched his other hand towards the snitch. The snitch was just a few feet in front of him, and in a minute Harry would have caught it, when WHAM! The bludger slammed into him and pushed him forward. Harry's outstretched hand got hold of something as another bludger slammed into his hand and with a shout of pain; Harry toppled from the broom and crashed to the ground.
Draco had just pulled himself up the last few feet and he too landed rather ungainly on to the ground. He scrambled towards Harry and looked anxiously at him. Harry was groaning with his hand in a very strange position, suggesting he had broken it.
Draco slowly removed the snitch from Harry's hand that he had apparently grabbed when he had fallen forward, making Harry stifle a painful scream, before the players and Madam Hooch descended upon them, along with Snape, Lucius and Lockhart. Harry groaned louder when he saw Lockhart, unable to believe even in his pain, that events were once again happening as before.
Last time Harry had fainted, this time he did not faint but still he had Lockhart looming over him, about to remove the bones from his arm. Snape was very unhelpful, watching, smirking mildly, his black eyes showing amusement at Harry's groan. He had been concerned at first, until he saw Harry was pretty okay, then he had stepped back to stand with Lucius who was looking curiously at Harry, to watch the fun. Harry cursed Snape a bit.
'Who caught the snitch?' Oliver was more concerned with that and he had paled like Harry, in equal pain, when he saw the snitch in Draco's hands. At that question, everyone looked at Harry and Draco and the Slytherins screamed with pleasure.
'We won, hey we won!' they chanted and Harry was screaming as well, that they did not, the Gryffindors had, only no one heard him. Madam Hooch after a few seconds blew on her whistle loudly and stopped the noise and turned to Draco.
'Did you catch the snitch?' she asked him.
Draco was incredibly tempted to say yes. He knew that any other Slytherin would have said yes and walked away. But he realized in that minute how important Harry's friendship and respect was, to him. 'No. Potter did.' He answered Hooch even as the other Slytherins glared disbelievingly at him.
'Of course I did.' Harry told them, before they could say anything to Draco. 'I told him to remove it from my hand because my hand was paining like anything and can I go to the infirmary please?' he asked Hooch. Draco looked mighty relieved at Harry's words and the other Slytherins subsided. If Harry was aware and actually told Draco to remove the snitch, then Draco had done the right thing. He would have got a lot into trouble otherwise.
'Why bother?' Lockhart asked loudly and even as Harry shouted that he would rather be treated by a blast ended skewt. 'Ten points from Gryffindor for being rude to a professor Potter.' Came Snape's silky voice and Harry turned to him, amazed at that. Snape was smiling genuinely and was looking very amused as he nodded at Harry. Harry groaned as he heard Lockhart clear his throat and mutter something.
Flash! Harry had forgotten Colin who had somehow pushed his way through and taken a snap of Harry being healed. Harry groaned once more and then cursed loudly, as his hand bent the opposite way, when Lockhart tested it. 'What did you do?'
'Er, yes, well, that can happen sometimes. Better go to the infirmary. I think that would be the best.' Lockhart said, even as he was backing away.
'You moron, idiot, $' Harry shouted as he thought of drinking the skele-grow and spending one night in the infirmary.