Learning to Fly

"You disappoint me, Crouch," a voice hissed.

Harry became aware that the voice came from his mouth. He wanted to look down, but his eyes remained fixed on a familiar man on the floor.

"My apologies, My Lord," the man grunted. Through groans and wheezing, the man worked to right himself, then bow before the man with him.

Harry struggled to understand the scene before his eyes. With just few torches for light, it was hard to make everything out. He couldn't move his eyes. Worse yet, something told him he shouldn't keep trying. Like they'd know he was with them if he did, and the fear alone was enough to stop him.

"I beg your forgiveness."

"Crucio."

The man screamed and writhed on the ground. The sound became unbearable, and Harry tried to look away. Once again, that fear crept into him and told him to stop.

"Please, My Lord. Please. I've got another plan. I can fix this."

"I hope so, Crouch. For your sake."

Harry opened his eyes to a darker room, but one that held familiar, comforting sounds. He waved his hand above his forehead, wondering if Rose had taken it upon herself to press something hot against it. She'd done that once when she'd grown impatient waiting for him to act during training.

Finding no one, Harry slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes. Preferring to spend his time in the light, he got dressed and went down to the common room. To his surprise, it had another occupant.

"Good morning, Harry," Sally-Anne said without looking up from her work.

"Hey." He looked down at her notebook. "What is that?"

"Our Charms essay."

"The one that's due Friday? It's just Monday."

"You and I will both have a lot less time now," she said. "Practices start today."

Harry grinned. It'd been all he'd thought about for the past week since teams had been chosen. A chance to play alongside not only Viktor Krum, but some of the best talent Beauxbatons and Durmstrang had to offer. All thoughts of his dream faded away as his excitement grew.

"I can't wait," he said.

She smiled, but didn't take her eyes off her work.

"I'm glad you're happy, but you should make sure you're still giving yourself enough time to do schoolwork."

"What about you? You always do fine in class."

"Because I work at it," Sally-Anne said. "I can't just sit down and finish my essay in an hour like Hermione does. It's harder now because I haven't got her to go over my work."

Harry didn't get much conversation out of Sally-Anne. After an hour of sitting in silence, he caved and began working on his own coursework. She was right, as usual; they were about to have a lot less time.

Harry met Ellie after Charms, then they walked together to the courtyard. Harry kept his mind focused on Quidditch, while Ellie went on about how exciting it must be to be working with so much talent.

"Good luck," Ellie told him when they arrived. "Not that you need it."

After exchanging a quick kiss, they parted ways for the next hour.

Harry looked out at his team as he walked into the courtyard. Krum and his friend Nikolai were there, Fleur's friends Michele and Adele were there from Beauxbatons, and with just the five of them, it was a good team.

Unfortunately, they had one extra.

"Took you long enough to get here, Potter!" Malfoy snapped.

Somehow, Malfoy had been chosen to be a part of the match. As luck would have it, both teams were supposed to have two members of each school, and Cedric picked Cho during team selection. That left Malfoy and Harry on Krum's team.

"Potter is not late," Viktor said. "He is right on time. Now we can get started with practice." He held up a Quaffle. "Rules of game: six on six, no Beaters, Seekers, or Keepers. This will make change from what we are used to, but I think it easier to work together as team when everyone does something new." He tossed the Quaffle to Harry. "We spend first practice getting used to Quaffle and new brooms. Build teamwork, then work on drills."

"We've only got two months!" Malfoy exclaimed.

"So we work fast," Viktor replied, picking up a broom. "These brooms must be handled with care. They are lending from Ministry. Firebolts are much faster than you may think." He mounted one and kicked off. "Potter, throw!"

Harry lobbed the Quaffle at Viktor, who had to dip down to grab it.

"Not bad," Viktor said. "Everyone, grab broom and get in air. We toss Quaffle between six of us while moving around."

"Vhat for?" Michele asked, tying her long hair into a ponytail.

"As I say, get used to Quaffle, team, and broom."

They spent the next hour swarming around one another, tossing the Quaffle back and forth. Sometimes they'd fumble, but either Michele or Nikolai, the only two actual Chasers, would always recover it.

"Sorry," Nikolai said when he recovered it from Harry. "It is habit of force."

"I think you mean 'force of habit'," Harry said as Nikolai tossed him the Quaffle.

"Oh. English is… confusing."

"We could always bring Rose here and have her teach us Dwarven," Harry muttered as he tossed the Quaffle to Adele.

Adele tossed it to Michele, who passed it back to Harry. Harry readied himself to catch it, but Malfoy shot in front of him and intercepted it.

"Oi!" Harry shouted.

"Need to be faster than that, Potter!" he shouted back, handing it off to Viktor.

Malfoy was so busy mocking Harry that he didn't see where he was going and flew into Michele.

The other four dove to catch the two before they fell. Viktor and Harry got there first, being the two most used to the brooms' speed.

Viktor hauled Malfoy up while descending so he didn't drop him. Harry lacked the upper body strength, so he held onto Michele until Adele and Nikolai arrived to help him.

"Zhank you," Michele said to Harry when she landed.

She smiled at him for a moment, then rounded on Malfoy, shouting in French. Malfoy shouted back at her, but Viktor restrained him before he could do any harm.

"Break time!"

Sally-Anne ran over to them, carrying a box of canteens.

"Calm down," she said. "It was an accident."

"Zhat better not 'appen during zhe match," Michele hissed.

"This is why we're practicing," Sally-Anne said. "To improve, so it doesn't happen during the match." She turned to Malfoy. "Malfoy, are you alright?"

"I don't need your sympathy, M–"

"It's not sympathy, it's my job. Now, are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," he growled.

"Michele, what about you?"

"A leetle bruised, perhaps, but nothing major."

"Merci," Sally-Anne said.

Sally-Anne and Michele began to talk in French (when did Sally-Anne learn French?), and Malfoy drifted off towards the outskirts of the courtyard.

"Potter," Nikolai said. "I hear you are youngest Seeker at Hogwarts."

"I suppose so," Harry said. "Me and Malfoy are in the same year, but I was allowed to start in my first year."

"They let first-years play?"

"No, it was just me," Harry said.

"Potter's special," Malfoy said, having wandered back over towards them.

"You started it!" Harry shot back. "You took Neville's whatever-it-was and threw it into one of the towers!"

"Please. McGonagall was looking for an excuse to put you on the team. It just makes Gryffindor look better to have the famous Harry Potter on their team!"

Harry rounded on Malfoy. Malfoy sneered back at him. Harry wondered how easy it'd be to wipe that sneer off his face.

"Boys!"

Sally-Anne appeared beside them. Harry caught a glimpse of her flexing the fingers on her left hand.

"That's enough. You're done fighting."

"Good plan," Nikolai said before either boy could interrupt. "Fighting only hurts team."

"Well said, Nikolai," Sally-Anne said.

"Why should we listen to you?" Malfoy spat.

"As I told you the last time you asked me that, because Professor Dumbledore made me the official mediator of the team to promote inter-school cooperation and teamwork," Sally-Anne said. "If that's a problem, take it up with him."

Malfoy glared at Sally-Anne, then turned his back on her.

"Fine."

"Malfoy, a word, please?"

"What?" he spat, rounding on her again.

She nodded towards a corner of the courtyard, and the two of them walked away from Harry and Nikolai.

Harry strained his ears to hear them. He had to know what Sally-Anne was planning.

"I know you don't like me, and you especially don't like that I'm in a position of authority, but I'm not here to lord it over everyone."

"You're not better than me!" he hissed.

"I never said I was."

Harry didn't know what Sally-Anne's plan was, but he didn't know how to feel about it. Did Malfoy have something over her? She wasn't acting like it. Why was she going out of her way to be nice to him? It was Malfoy, the boy who'd made their lives miserable from day one. He'd tried to kill her twice.

"Time for practice!" Viktor declared.

"One last thing," Sally-Anne whispered. "Don't degrade yourself by resorting to name-calling. It's beneath us both."

They returned to the sky for an uneventful practice. Harry watched Malfoy and Sally-Anne during practice, trying to understand what was going on. Sally-Anne watched them, writing in a notebook every so often, and Malfoy did nothing of interest.

What was–

"Timeout!" Sally-Anne called. "Potter, please come here!"

Harry drifted to the ground and followed Sally-Anne to the edge of the courtyard.

"Harry, what's wrong?" she asked. "You've been staring at me more than the Quaffle."

"Nothing's wrong."

Sally-Anne glowered at him, prompting him to speak up and avoid a lecture.

"What's going on with you and Malfoy?" he demanded.

"Don't speak to me like I'm a child," Sally-Anne said. "Your focus should remain on practice, not on me. I appreciate your concern, but I'm not here as your friend. In thirty minutes when practice is over, we're friends again. Until then, I'm Sally-Anne Perks, Team Mediator, and how I go about doing that with the other players is none of your business."

"But–"

"It's my job to make sure everyone gets along. If you don't think you can play with Malfoy, it won't be his position threatened. If, based on the opinions of all six team members, I determine that he's a bad fit for the team, then I will speak with Professor Dumbledore."

"He tried to kill you!"

"People change!" Sally-Anne hissed. "I'm not saying we'll all have tea together, but neither of our personal opinions of Malfoy matter. You're both good players, and I know you can do marvelously if you just get along."

Harry couldn't believe what she was saying. Get along with Malfoy? Malfoy hated them. He constantly insulted Hermione and Sally-Anne to their faces unless Rose was next to them, never mind leaving them for dead against a troll.

"How am I supposed to get along with him after everything he's done?" Harry hissed.

"You put it aside," Sally-Anne replied. "Leave it in the castle until practice is over, then go back to hating him. Until then, treat him like a teammate."

Luna walked around the corner on her way to the Room of Requirement. Once again out after curfew, she wasn't keen on other people knowing she was there. Rose said she was allowed to get away with it, so Luna decided it was a special exception for those with alternate sleep schedules.

With a chance that not every teacher knew about it, she froze when the door to the Room of Requirement appeared on the wall. She stared at it when it opened.

<Back up!>

Luna did as Tutela instructed and backed up. Then she sniffed the air to see who it was. The scent of wood and pine drifted into her nose. Her mouth formed the word "Toad", but then another scent hit her harder than anything Rose had ever thrown at her.

It was a distinctly metallic smell. Luna tried to place it, but the smell overwhelmed her, and she doubled over. She clutched at her stomach, trying hard not to be sick all over the corridor.

She picked up footsteps heading her way. With what willpower she had left, Luna clapped a hand to her mouth and pressed herself against the wall. The footsteps and the horrid smell drew closer. Tears trickled over her hand, and Luna squeezed her eyes shut.

Her mind drifted away to another world, with another Luna, and for a moment, she was someone else. Someone who wasn't leaving Hogwarts. Maybe she had different friends. Maybe she had a different Rose. Whoever she was, she wasn't there in that moment, with that dreadful smell in her nose.

"Lady Moon!"

"Luna!"

Toad's voice called her back to reality. When she returned, she found the scent was worse than ever. It surrounded her, cutting off all escape from its grasp. Her insides churned and gargled, sending her into a crippling pain.

"Prestidigitation."

The power of the smell diminished, even though the smell itself lingered in the air. Luna took a breath of fresh air and got the scent of wood and pine needles mixed with earth and dust. She lay panting for breath for a minute, afraid to stand back up.

"Are you alright?" Toad asked.

"I'm okay," she said weakly. She rose to her knees, uncertain that her legs would hold her. "Just… erm…"

"Overwhelmed by the scent of blood?" Alavel asked.

Realization hit her, but she refused to show it on her face. Instead, she smiled innocently.

"No, it was just that… erm…"

She scanned her mental catalog of creatures, struggling to find one that caused nausea at random that would be in a castle.

"Lady Moon, my sister and I knew about your rune when we saw how you've been eating. A ring of sustenance provides you with nourishment to get through the day, but the excess burden gave you your appetite back. Then you started sniffing the air and staring into space more than usual."

"Then we reported it to Professor Dumbledore," Taltria said. "He said to check your head for anything unusual."

Luna looked at the two Nimblewrights. Her eyes darted from them, to Toad, to the small gaps between them. It'd take her a moment to get off her knees, and she was certain she couldn't outrun them.

After a minute, both Nimblewrights moved back. Luna took another breath of air, happy to feel less crowded.

"Why are you out after curfew?" Alavel asked.

"I didn't realize the time," Luna replied. "I thought—"

"Lady Moon." Alavel glowered at her. An odd expression, considering he didn't have proper eyes inside his helmet.

"I got bored," Luna said. "Professor Dumbledore lets Rose wander the corridors, so I thought he wouldn't mind if I did."

"Lady Rose is an exception, not a rule. You could've got in trouble had someone else found you."

"Okay."

Alavel continued his unbroken stare.

"You don't seem concerned."

"I'm leaving soon," Luna said. "It won't matter if I get in trouble."

"It could be a problem for wherever you end up next."

"It won't matter," Luna said again. "Rose won't be there, so it won't matter."

A new smell entered the air. At first, she thought Cohort had joined them, but soon realized it was coming from Toad.

"She's hardly around now," he said. "What does it matter if she's not around at all?"

She's not.

Luna had seen Rose only a handful of times in the past two months. Yet, she'd kept control of her mind just the same. No other Luna had senses like she did. They didn't have Tutela by their side to help. For the past several months, Luna had kept her mind straight without Rose next to her, because of her own gifts.

She was okay without Rose.

"Oh," was all she could manage.

"Taltria and I are still members of staff," Alavel said. "While Lord Toad may have permission to be out with us, you do not. I'm afraid I'll have to take five points from Ravenclaw, Lady Moon."

Luna heard Alavel and tried to nod.

"I won't do it again."

"I'll have Tutela ensure you don't," Alavel said. "Now, if you would please follow me, I'll bring you back to Ravenclaw Tower."

Harry flew with the Quaffle in hand, his eyes on the goal post. It was the last practice match for the day, and his team was going to win.

"Potter, pass it!" Malfoy shouted.

What for? Harry thought. I've got this.

Michele and Nikolai sidled up along either side of him and pushed into him. Harry kept his arm wrapped tightly around the Quaffle, but neither of them tried to take it from him. Instead, they steered him away from the goal, putting him out of range. He tried struggling against them, but they had him. If he tried putting the Quaffle in the goal, they'd intercept it.

"Potter, below you!" Malfoy shouted.

He glanced down and saw Malfoy with a clear shot at the goal. Harry didn't see Viktor, which meant Adele was keeping him occupied for them.

Harry looked on either side of him. If he tried passing it, they'd intercept it. But his struggling paid off. He broke free from Michele and Nikolai and dove straight for the goal. He opened his arms to throw the Quaffle in, when Michele shot of nowhere and grabbed the Quaffle.

She passed it off immediately to Nikolai as he flew past her. Adele tried to stop him, but Viktor cut her off, ensuring that Nikolai scored and claimed the match for his team.

"What was that?!" Malfoy shouted when they landed. "I was wide open!"

"What was I supposed to do?!" Harry shouted back. "If I'd tried passing it, they'd have taken it!"

"You cannot intercept from that position," Nikolai said. "Had you passed to Malfoy, you would win."

"See?!" Malfoy shouted. "We had that!"

"How was I supposed to know what they were doing?" Harry snapped.

"I was your spotter! I was looking out for trouble! That's what spotters do! Or do they not have those on Gryffindor?!"

"They obviously don't have those on Slytherin!" Harry shot back. "Otherwise you'd have beaten me when the Snitch flew right next to your ear!"

"At least I didn't have to be famous to get on my team."

"No, just your dad's money!"

"Yeah. What's your dad done lately, Potter?"

"Enough!"

A McGonagall-like roar echoed through the courtyard, causing everyone present to jump. He looked for his Transfiguration professor, but instead of her, Sally-Anne stormed towards them.

"Both of you are suspended from practice for a week!" she shouted.

"What?!" both boys shouted.

"That's not fair!" Malfoy snapped. "He—"

"What did I do?!" Harry shouted. "Malfoy's the one—"

"Point of practice is to learn," Viktor said, raising his voice over them. He stood between them, towering over them, despite not being much taller. "All I learn is that boys cannot work together."

"If this continues, you're both off the team," Sally-Anne added.

"What?!"

Harry couldn't believe it. Not only was he at risk of losing his position on the team, his one chance to really fly for another several months, but Sally-Anne was the one that was threatening to take it away from him. How could she do that to him?

"Sally-Anne–" he hissed, but she cut him off.

"No, Potter," she snapped. "For the last time, I'm no more your friend here than I am anyone else's."

Harry and Malfoy stormed off the field. How could Sally-Anne do that to him? She knew how important the match was to him! What sort of friend was she?!

"I thought she was nice," Ellie "said" when Harry told her about it.

"I thought so, too," he replied. "We've been friends since first year. Everything was great before the ball. What's going on?"

"You don't talk to her much anymore. Maybe… maybe you're growing apart."

"We can't be," Harry said as doubt reached in and took hold.

"Me and Max are. We hardly see each other outside of class." Ellie became downcast, but Harry put his hand on Ellie's shoulder to try to cheer her up.

She smiled at him and placed her hand on his.

"Thank you," she mouthed.

"You're welcome," he mouthed back.

Harry couldn't shake the thought that he'd lost his friend. The more he thought of it, he realized they didn't have much about which to talk. Maybe they were better off not being friends.

He smiled at Ellie.

At least I've got her.

Harry returned to practice a week later, but if anything, Malfoy was worse. They were immediately put on a team for practice, and Malfoy made a habit of hurling the Quaffle at Harry's head.

"Good job, Potter," Malfoy said after the third time. "Way to prove that they'll let anyone on Gryffindor's team."

"Ground!" Sally-Anne shouted.

Viktor let out a low growl, but repeated the order. They'd hardly touched down when he moved to Malfoy's side.

"Malfoy, stop attitude!"

"What attitude?" he scoffed. "I just don't see how Potter was picked. He keeps fumbling the Quaffle."

"Only when you throw it!" Harry shot back.

"Well if you tried a little harder to catch it–"

"Stop!" Sally-Anne snapped. "You two sound like a pair of squabbling children! If you want to act that way, then I'm happy to treat you like it."

"Wow, Potter, I thought you had all your friends trained. I guess it's only the freak and the cheat, then?"

Viktor grabbed Harry's arm before he could make a move against Malfoy. Malfoy's smirk only made him want to break free.

"If he punches you, Angelina Johnson takes his place," Sally-Anne said.

Harry caught a slight twitch in Malfoy's smirk.

"And if you still can't get along with a Gryffindor, then you'll be removed, and Harry will take his place back on the team."

Five sets of eyes darted from Sally-Anne to Malfoy.

"How would you know?"

Harry and his team turned their attention back to Sally-Anne. Viktor kept his grip on Harry.

"I'm not just taking notes for fun. I report back to Professor Dumbledore, who has given me the list of runners-up. Which he did so when I see a player goading another player into punching him, I'll be able to explain why that's a bad idea."

Once again, the players looked from her to Malfoy. Harry clenched his fist. Malfoy was trying to get him kicked off the team?

"You've got no proof of that."

"Proof of what? I haven't made any accusations." She turned to Viktor. "Krum, you and the rest of your team can take to the air. They don't need to be here for this."

"This concerns team, so team should be present."

"Then I'll be brief." Sally-Anne turned back to Malfoy. "Malfoy, last warning. Shape up, or get out."

Malfoy gave Sally-Anne a look of disgust. But then a sneer crept across his face. It just made Harry want to punch him all the more.

"I guess there's no point in trying to get Potter kicked off," he sighed. "That is, if you're calling the shots."

Sally-Anne rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"I've told you Malfoy, you're all the same here. I'd kick Krum off if I thought he was causing problems beyond giving me grief for halting practice every five minutes."

Viktor released Harry, but didn't back away from him. Harry just frowned at Malfoy. He didn't seem bothered by Sally-Anne anymore. In fact, he seemed happy about the whole thing. What was he up to?

"But Potter can't be the same as everyone else, can he?"

"Just cos we're friends?" Harry asked.

Even he knew better than that. Sally-Anne didn't care who he was, not as far as practices were concerned. He looked at her, expecting exasperation, but saw she'd gone slightly pale, and her eyes were just a little too wide.

"Malfoy, don't," she breathed.

"She knows what I'm talking about," Malfoy said. "So you haven't told him yet."

"Told me what?" Harry asked.

"Malfoy, please—"

"She's in love with you!"

Harry laughed and glanced back at Sally-Anne, expecting her to be laughing with him. Instead, she was frozen in place.

"That's ridiculous," Harry said. "We're just friends."

"I heard her talking about it a year ago," Malfoy sneered. "She's–"

"You will stop right now," Viktor said, stepping around Harry to put himself in front of Malfoy.

"What are–"

Viktor cracked his knuckles and Malfoy stepped back.

"Leave now, or I introduce you to Bulgarian justice."

"You wouldn't."

Viktor glared down at him, then bellowed a laugh.

"Maybe not," he said. "Want to find out? We can see how good you fly without broom."

"Leave him alone," Sally-Anne said.

Viktor looked at Sally-Anne, then back to Malfoy.

Malfoy sneered at them, then pushed past Viktor. He stopped at Sally-Anne, sneering at her until she looked up at him.

"I guess I win, Mudblood."

He bumped into her, knocking her to the ground, then walked off, laughing loud enough that they could all hear.

Viktor and Harry both made a move towards Malfoy, but Nikolai grabbed them both by the wrists. Harry turned to glare at him, and caught a glimpse of Adele stopping Michele from doing the same thing they were.

"No," Nikolai said. "He is bad guy now. You hit him, then you are bad guys."

Harry looked at Malfoy walking into the castle, then at Sally-Anne. He relaxed his arm and Nikolai released them.

"Don't listen to him," Harry said to Sally-Anne. "He's just trying to get under your skin."

"He's not lying," Sally-Anne said, picking herself up. "He heard me telling Myrtle about it last year."

Harry's smile faded and his head began to spin. That couldn't be right.

"What?"

"I don't want to talk about it now," Sally-Anne said, her voice cracking.

Viktor took a step towards her, but she backed away.

"Ve should end practice," Adele said. Harry was certain he'd never heard her speak before. "Geeve everyone time to relax."

Harry absently nodded his head. Sally-Anne couldn't have a crush on him. They were just friends.

"Agreed," Viktor said.

"In that case, I need some time alone," Sally-Anne said.

Harry watched Sally-Anne run off. He felt as if he'd been slapped in the face.

"Are you two alright?" Nikolai asked.

"Malfoy will be one that is not alright," Viktor growled.

Harry jumped when he felt a hand tapping his shoulder. He looked round and found Adele standing beside him.

"Are you alright?" she asked in a quiet voice.

"I don't know," Harry said. He motioned absently in the direction Sally-Anne had run off. "I can't even talk to her about it."

"Maybe you talk vith someone else," she said, nodding her head past Harry.

Harry stared into space for a moment before realizing Adele was asking him to turn around. He looked around slowly and saw Ellie waiting for him at the edge of the courtyard like always.

When she met his gaze, the smile faded from her face, and she ran over to him.

"Is everything alright?"

"Not really," he replied. "Can we go somewhere and talk?"

She nodded and held out her hand. Harry stared at it for a moment, then realized she was asking him to take her hand.

"You hate holding hands," he said.

"But you look like you need a hand to hold," she mouthed.

They walked around the castle together, but Harry didn't say much after explaining what had happened. He couldn't get Malfoy's words out of his head. How was he supposed to work with any of them? Malfoy who was trying to sabotage him, Sally-Anne who apparently had a crush on him, and Viktor who was with Sally-Anne.

I don't even know if we're still friends, he thought. I don't know if I'm friends with any of them.

Harry felt trapped inside his own head. His body operated on its own as he walked with Ellie. They passed Angelina, Katie, and Alicia, but didn't say hi. They passed Luna walking with another girl, both of whom smiled at him as they passed, but he couldn't bring himself to smile back. Hannah and Max waved to them, but still his body wouldn't work.

He stayed with Ellie through dinner. His normally chatty (especially for a girl that couldn't speak) girlfriend made no effort to communicate after they sat down. He stared at his food, and she stared at him.

"It'll be okay," Ellie told him before leaving for Hufflepuff Den. "You've still got me."

For the first time all night, he forced himself to smile.