'Ginny, Katie, look out!' yelled Harry.
WHAM!
Ginny Weasley and Katie Bell crashed hard into each other in a tangle of arms and legs. Harry sent his Firebolt into a steep dive, levelling out directly below the two Chasers. If one of them fell off her broom, he could catch her. Catching the pair of them, however, would be a serious challenge ...
Luckily both girls remained mounted. When they drifted apart, Katie sported a bloody nose and Ginny was flying in an extremely wobbly circle.
'Ginny, are you OK?' said Ron, gliding over to check his sister for injuries.
Harry stayed where he was -- a fall from her broomstick still appeared to be a real possibility for Ginny. He heard Ron mutter 'hospital wing', then in a louder voice call out, 'Right, let's head for the changing rooms, I reckon we've done all the training we can for this evening.'
Harry and Ron accompanied Ginny and Katie to the hospital wing, where Madam Pomfrey mended Katie's nose and sent Ginny to bed with a goblet of potion, assuring Ron that his sister would be right as rain after a night's rest. Nonetheless, Ron was in very low spirits as he and Harry climbed the stairs to Gryffindor Tower.
'It's no good, we're not going to learn it in time,' he said abruptly to Harry. 'Ginny's too new and Katie's too used to doing things the old way. It's all down to you. You've got to catch the Snitch as fast as you can. If we win this match, or don't lose by much, we'll still have a chance at the Cup, and I can work out a simplified Weasley Welter for the next one. Wish I'd had you practise Seeking more ...'
But there would be no time for that, either, Harry knew. Gryffindor's first match of the season, against Slytherin, was to take place the following morning.
Undeniably, they were in poor shape for it. Four of their strongest players -- Fred and George Weasley, Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet -- had left Hogwarts the previous year. The replacement Beaters, Andrew Kirke and Jack Sloper, could charitably be described as dreadful. Ron and Ginny had come on as Chasers, but although Ron had trained with the team in fifth year and Ginny was surprisingly capable despite her lack of experience, neither of them were near the equal of Angelina or Alicia in their prime.
As the only person on the team able to make head or tail of Oliver Wood's old training diagrams, Ron had become Captain. To compensate for their current weaknesses, he'd devised a fresh set of Chasing tactics he dubbed the Weasley Welter, which worked beautifully well -- on parchment. In the air it proved rather more difficult to bring off. For their training sessions, Harry had been assigned the role of Slytherin Chaser -- 'We'll get the hang of it quicker if we've got someone to practise it on, and you always catch the Snitch, anyway.'
If that was the case, Harry didn't like to think how long it would take them without a fake opponent. After two months of training, the 'Slytherins' -- Harry, Keeper Vidge Atkins and whichever of Kirke and Sloper had been designated Attacking Beater (in theory, at least; in practice this had little effect on whom they hit their Bludgers at) -- had never ended a training session less than a hundred points ahead of the three Gryffindor Chasers.
The real Slytherins could scarcely be any less proficient. Moreover, Ginny and Katie's hadn't been the first collision to occur in the midst of an especially complex manoeuvre, although it was, to date, the most serious. Unless Harry managed an early capture of the Snitch, Gryffindor would be lucky merely to lose the match without making complete fools of themselves in front of the entire school -- and Harry had had no practice at Seeking since last year.
Next day the weather was cold but brilliantly sunny; any errors in play would be blindingly obvious to the spectators. The Gryffindor team walked out onto the pitch to cheers and applause they seemed hardly likely to earn. Ron went white under the freckles as Slytherin Captain Millicent Bulstrode crushed his hand, and Harry couldn't help thinking it an omen of things to come. Madam Hooch blew her whistle --
Harry's head whipped suddenly about and his eyes locked on the Snitch, hovering high above him, behind and to his left. He wrenched his broom around and shot towards it. It zipped sharply upward and rightward; he adjusted his course, reached out ... and plucked the tiny, shimmering golden ball from the air.
'I've got it!' he shouted. 'I've caught the Snitch!'
There was an instant of stunned silence, then the stadium erupted.
'I DON'T SODDING BELIEVE IT!' yelled Kevin Entwhistle, the Ravenclaw who'd succeeded Lee Jordan as commentator ('Language, Kevin!' squeaked Professor Flitwick). 'SEVEN BLOODY SECONDS! FOUR SECONDS SOONER AND WE'D'VE HAD A NEW WORLD RECORD!'
Shocked but triumphant, Gryffindor's supporters spilled onto the pitch to congratulate Harry and pound him on the back.
'Couldn't've waited a few minutes for us to try out the Weasley Welter in a real match, could you?' said Ron happily. 'I'll never tell you to catch the Snitch as fast as you can again!'
Indeed, the whole thing had transpired so rapidly that it scarcely felt like a proper game, but it meant that Gryffindor was still in the running for the Quidditch Cup, with a decent if not commanding lead.
Over the next couple of months, Ron, Ginny and Katie mastered a pared down variation of the Weasley Welter and actually started to hold their own against Harry and Vidge. Harry wasn't sure how promising a sign this was. As three Chasers to his one, they should have been outscoring him handily even without the Weasley Welter, only he had a Keeper and they didn't.
'You've also got a Firebolt,' Ron pointed out when Harry asked him, 'and you're a better Chaser than any of the Hufflepuffs. Honestly, you're a better Chaser than me or Ginny -- your flying's improved no end since last season, and it was damned good then. But we're really coming along with the Weasley Welter. Just give us time to score some goals before you get the Snitch!'
The Gryffindor team went into their second match with rather more confidence than the first -- at least on the part of the Chasers. Ron had fine-tuned the Weasley Welter up to the last moment; as a result, Harry hadn't put in so much as an hour of training as a Seeker. He didn't reckon he'd have a choice about postponing his catch of the Snitch until the Weasley Welter could be used to good effect.
The sky was clear and a light breeze was blowing on the morning of the match against Hufflepuff. The crowd shouted and clapped as the two teams came out of the changing rooms and gathered on the pitch. Madam Hooch released the balls ... and then a very strange thing happened.
Harry's gaze was unerringly drawn to a spot at the far side of the stadium, halfway up the central Hufflepuff goalpost. The distance was too great for him to see the Golden Snitch, but somehow he was certain it was there. Recalling Ron's instructions to delay its capture, Harry hesitated and the Snitch was gone ... closer and higher, towards the Slytherin spectators ... straight across to the Ravenclaw section of the stands ... lower and nearer yet, in the middle of the pitch ...
The match that followed was one of the weirdest Harry had every played. He always seemed to know where the Snitch was, always. There was nothing left for him to do but dodge Bludgers (a fair number sent pelting his way by Kirke and Sloper themselves), keep an eye on Hufflepuff Seeker Summerby and watch as the Weasley Welter slowly ran up the score, despite intense punishment by Hufflepuff's considerably more skilful Beaters.
After six hours, with Gryffindor over two hundred points ahead, Harry decided he'd better end the match so they all could have their dinner. Ron was ecstatic ('Four hundred and ninety to a hundred and thirty! Even if we lose the final, we might still take the Cup on points!') but Harry couldn't enjoy their win. Finding the Snitch had been simply too easy for him ... and he had no idea how he'd done it.
Harry felt more left out than ever at the inevitable post-match party in the common room. His fellow Gryffindors were at a fever pitch of enthusiasm after their hard-fought victory. Nobody had seen anything like the Weasley Welter before, and Ron, Ginny and Katie were the centre of attention.
'And that was only the intermediate level,' Ron told his admirers jubilantly. 'Once we have the advanced Weasley Welter off pat, that Quidditch Cup will never leave McGonagall's office!'
'Mind, we'll have a job doing that,' he said, a bit later and far more quietly, as he flopped down in an armchair beside Harry's. 'The Chasers might manage it, but the advanced Welter needs Beaters, and our ones aren't up to beginning level yet. Hufflepuff's Beaters were killing us, and Ravenclaw's Beaters are better than Hufflepuff's. Their whole team's very good, I'm not sure we'll be able to beat them even with the Weasley Welter. Unless you can pull off another seven second Snitch catch ...'
He eyed Harry uncertainly.
'You did hold off catching the Snitch on purpose, didn't you? I mean, I know I haven't been letting you practise much ...'
'I could make another seven second catch, actually,' said Harry in a low voice. 'I could catch the Snitch whenever you want it caught. I wasn't just holding off -- I knew exactly where that Snitch was, from the minute Madam Hooch let it out of the crate. Even when she was bringing the balls back into the castle, I could feel where it was going ...'
Ron stared at him.
'You've been hit on the head with a Bludger,' he said flatly. 'If it was Kirke or Sloper, I'll murder them ... I'll murder them anyway, they're supposed to be keeping those things away from you --'
'I didn't get hit by a Bludger,' said Harry testily. 'It wasn't only this match, how d'you think I caught the Snitch so quickly last time? Am I -- am I hexed or something? Could someone have cast a -- a Snitch-Finding Spell on me?'
'Wizards have tried to all sorts of mad ways to rig Quidditch matches,' said Ron, looking deeply uneasy, 'but nothing I've heard of like this. And who'd bother rigging a Hogwarts house match? There's no serious betting on them, the goblins won't cover it.'
'Why not?' said Harry.
'Dumbledore doesn't allow Anti-Cheating curses. Says it's too dangerous for the students. Mind, if somebody did invent a Snitch-Finding Spell, this would be a great place to test it out.'
Ron gave a sudden frown.
'We should report this to Madam Hooch ... but Gryffindor would forfeit both matches ... there'd be a huge investigation ... this late in the season, the whole Tournament would probably be cancelled.'
He and Harry exchanged glum looks.
'What's happened?' said Hermione, strolling over. 'The two of you look as though someone just died.'
As usual, Harry's attention was drawn to the small gold locket she wore, glittering at her neck like a tiny Snitch ...
'Hermione, could you walk around the room a bit?' he said. 'To the portrait hole, to the fireplace, to the staircase and back again?'
'How come?' said Hermione.
'I want to try something,' said Harry. 'I'll explain after you get back.'
He shut his eyes tightly. The locket remained where it was for several moments, then moved behind him towards the portrait hole, paused, circled round to the staircase and headed back, stopping in front of him once more. Eyes still closed, he reached out and tapped it with a finger.
'It's your locket,' he said.
'Yes, it is,' said Hermione, eyeing him askance.
'I mean, I can track it too,' said Harry.
Nor was it merely Hermione's locket he could track. The common room, he now perceived, was filled with Snitch-like objects -- jewellery, watches, things in people's pockets that Harry suspected were Galleons ... even the sweets on the tables registered as softer, blurrier presences.
'What do you mean, track it too?' said Hermione irritably. 'What's going on with you?'
Harry told her about the Snitch.
'... and your locket's the same way. I've been noticing it since last year, when you visited me in the hospital wing.'
'After Malfoy kicked your head in?' said Hermione. 'Harry, you could have some kind of wizarding brain damage! Have you gone to Madam Pomfrey?'
'If it's a Snitch-Finding Spell, I bet Malfoy put it on you,' Ron chipped in. 'Planning to get Gryffindor disqualified for cheating, I expect. D'you remember him casting a jinx when he was kicking you?'
'No, I -- er,' said Harry.
Ron and Hermione looked at him keenly. Harry felt his face go red.
'Malfoy didn't put a jinx on me,' he muttered. 'He turned me into an Aitvaras.'
Harry explained how he'd freed himself from the ropes Malfoy tied him with by changing into a snake, only to be caught in a Snake Basket and transformed into an Aitvaras. By the end of his story, Ron and Hermione were goggling at him in amazement.
Hermione found her voice first.
'Why didn't you mention this last year?' she demanded.
'Didn't think it was important,' said Harry. 'I got better, didn't I? Well, mostly better ...'
The truth was he hadn't wished to admit to them he'd been stupid enough to let Malfoy trap him.
'We need to tell Madam Pomfrey,' said Hermione.
'We can't,' said Ron. 'Gryffindor would forfeit the tournament!'
'Are you saying that you care more about winning at Quidditch than Harry's health?' snarled Hermione.
'Hermione, we can't tell Madam Pomfrey,' said Harry in an undertone. 'She doesn't know I can turn into a snake.'
'Oh,' said Hermione, temporarily stymied. 'Well, then, we need to tell Dumbledore.'
'Why?' said Harry. 'I'm not ill, not really, and he's got enough on his plate, with the Council of Heirs and all.'
As humiliating as it had been to confess the Aitvaras incident to Ron and Hermione, telling Dumbledore would be infinitely worse.
'So you'll be resigning from the Gryffindor Quidditch team?' said Hermione.
'Resigning?' said Ron. 'What for?'
'If he's finding the Snitch by magic, it's cheating, isn't it?' said Hermione severely.
'No it's not, there's no rule against having an Aitvaras for a Seeker,' said Ron.
'There would be if the International Association of Quidditch heard about this!' Turning to Harry, she continued, 'It isn't fair to the other teams, you know it isn't, and Dumbledore would tell you as much.'
Harry stared past her into the fire for nearly a full minute.
'I suppose I'll have to, won't I?' he said in a strained voice.
The thought of giving up Quidditch, for ever, was almost enough to make him reconsider asking Dumbledore for assistance. What he'd told Hermione, however, was perfectly true: Dumbledore had far more important matters to occupy him than helping Harry keep his place on the Gryffindor team.
'You can't!' said Ron in horror. 'We'll never beat Ravenclaw without you, we don't have a reserve Seeker! Can't you just look for the Snitch without using magic?'
'I don't know,' said Harry.
He closed his eyes and concentrated, trying to see if there was any way he could shut down this odd extra sense. But it did no good. If anything, he was making himself even more aware of the food and valuables around him.
'Sorry,' he said at last, 'I don't think this is something I can switch off.'
'This is all your fault!' Ron spat.
Harry's eyes flew open in astonishment. Then he saw that Ron was talking to Hermione.
'You'd just better work out how to break this curse before the final if you want Gryffindor to have a shot at the Quidditch Cup!'
'My fault?' said Hermione, her voice shrill with outrage, but before she could say anything more (and by the look of her, she had quite a bit more to say) Ron stormed off, leaving her to sit fuming impotently.
'Could you work out how to break the curse, d'you reckon?' Harry asked her quietly.
'I won't!' said Hermione glaring furiously after Ron. 'Ravenclaw can have the Quidditch Cup, Professor Flitwick can drink his cherry sodas from it --'
Catching sight of Harry's miserable face, her expression grudgingly softened.
'I can have a look in the library,' she said. 'Not a word to Ron I'm doing it, though, unless you fancy being an Aitvaras for the rest of your life!'
This proved an easy promise to keep. Next day Ron avoided the pair of them. He sat with Ginny at meals but didn't seem to be getting along terribly well with her, either. Harry spotted them having a fierce whispered argument in the Entrance Hall when he and Hermione went down to dinner.
Later that evening, Ron came up to the table in the common room where Harry and Hermione were doing their homework.
'Er,' he said awkwardly to Hermione. 'I wanted to say I'm, ah, sorry for shouting at you on Saturday.'
'Are you?' said Hermione coldly.
Ron glanced nervously over her shoulder. Twisting his head, Harry saw Ginny perched on the edge of her seat, staring intently at Ron and Hermione.
'It was Malfoy's fault, not yours,' Ron ploughed on. 'I shouldn't have lost my temper. You were right, it would be cheating for Harry to play Seeker. I'm having him and Ginny switch positions. She's not as good at Seeking, but with the Weasley Welter, we'll still have a chance -- a slim one.'
Ron's gaze flicked to Ginny. She locked eyes with her brother and, to Harry's befuddlement, held up seven fingers.
'And -- and don't bother with trying to break the curse,' Ron resumed. 'You're too busy, you're taking seven NEWT classes, you wouldn't have the time ...'
Ginny dropped her left hand, leaving a V for victory -- or so Harry initially assumed.
But Ron wasn't finished. 'It'd be no use, anyway. I mean, you're brilliant and all, but You-Know-Who taught Malfoy that spell, no student's going to be getting round it. I never should've asked you in the first place ... and, er, I'm really, really sorry ...'
Ginny settled back into her chair. She and Ron were both looking at Hermione expectantly.
'Well, I'm glad you've finally decided to be sensible,' Hermione said primly, 'but there's no need to be making changes in your line-up just yet. I have a few ideas about countering that curse, as it happens ...'
Behind her back, Ginny gave Ron the thumbs-up.
Author's Note:
The title of this chapter was inspired by "Imperius Quidditch", a very good Tom Riddle Quidditch fic by Alec Dossetor and Teri Krenek.
I'm going to start answering Questions from Reader Reviews again, in my LiveJournal. Answers to questions from reviews of "The Imbolc Serpent" will be appearing there shortly; I'll do the first batch from this fic about a week from now. Asking questions in the LiveJournal itself is also fine; in fact, they'll probably get answered quicker. You can find a link to my LiveJournal on my Author Page; it appears in the "homepage" field.
Chapter 2 of "The Curse of the Aitvaras" should be ready by mid-June.
Disclaimer: All characters and concepts from the Harry Potter series copyright J K Rowling.