16 Chapter 16: The Deciding Quidditch Match

When Hermione heard what Harry did over Christmas break, she was quite emotional.

"What would you have done if Filch had caught you?"

"Hermione..." Harry tried to speak.

"Never mind. Good try though. However, don't break the rules so much again. Argus you haven't sent any of us an owl. Just in case, have you found anything?"

Argus thought and figured it was a good time to tell them.

"Yeah, my parents had a book on him. We were on the wrong side the entire time. Nicolas Flamel wasn't a modern alchemist, he was alive during the olden times. He's around 665 years old and he created the Philosopher's Stone which is said to turn any metal into gold and create the Elixir of Life, a drink that makes the drinker immortal,"

"Oh yes! That's where I heard it from. I read in a book when I was at the library for light reading," Hermione said.

"It was also on Dumbledore's Chocolate Frog description too!" Harry exclaimed.

"Yeah, and he wouldn't be considered modern if he is 665 years old right now," Ron said.

"That's the reason why Snape wanted that stone. If it makes you immortal, who wouldn't want it," Harry said.

"Well we know what it is. However, now that we know who Flamel is, we don't have to worry about Snape's plans for now. Either way, it's out of our place to do so. If it's the Philosopher's Stone, I'm sure that the teachers will do enough to guard it," Argus said.

"Yeah, there's a Quidditch match coming up. I think we're up against Hufflepuff," Harry said.

The term started and since the 4 of them figured out who Flamel was, they were able to go on with their break normally. Argus would read books, Harry would practice Quidditch, Ron would play chess with Hermione and Argus would occasionally join in. Like in the books, Hermione was not so good as chess and she was never able to win Ron or Argus.

In one of the days that Argus decided to play against Ron, Harry came in with a look of despair.

"What happened?" Ron asked.

"Snape wants to referee," Harry whispered.

"Don't play," Hermione said.

"Actually break your leg or say you're ill," Ron said.

"Just play," Argus said. "Snape isn't going to do anything. Dumbledore is going to be right there watching him. There are also numerous other teachers as well there especially McGonagall. She'll help you as fast as she can if there is a curse involved. Besides I heard that we have no reserve Seeker so there's no way you can walk out of this one,"

"You're right," Harry said. Before he could say anything more, Neville came in with his legs stuck together.

"The leg-locker curse," Argus said as everyone except for Hermione laughed. "Is it Draco? Crus Resarare,"

"Yeah it was Malfoy. Apparently, he needed someone to practice the spell on and used it on me,"

"Just report him," Ron said. "McGonagall will surely make him lose points for SLytherins,"

Neville shook his head.

"I already have a tough time here. No need to get Malfoy even madder at me,"

"You have to stand up for yourself," Ron said with a sigh. "You can't just let him step all over you like that,"

"Neville you're in Gryffindor for a reason. For now you are a bit shy, but I'm sure that you have bravery tucked inside you. Just bring it out," Argus said.

"Thanks Argus. Here Harry I'll give you the card," Neville said as he handed Harry a Dumbledore card.

Harry read over it.

"Yeah here it is. Nicolas Flamel, Dumbledore's alchemy partner," Harry said.

Time passed and with the Quidditch match coming closer, Argus saw that Harry was getting more anxious by the day. Argus tried all means to try to calm Harry down, but it was like dumping water in a barrel with a hole.

Soon the day came and Hermione, Ron, and Argus all wished Harry good luck while being as prepared as they possibly could with their wands.

"While I do know the plot, anything could still happen," Argus thought as he stayed extra vigilant for any movements made by Quirrell.

The three of them sat next to Neville and soon Draco and his two goons came.

"Ahh, wonder how long Potter is going to last on his broom?" Draco asked. "Wanna bet Weasley. I'll even put in couple of Knuts. I'm sure it's a lot of money for you,"

Ron didn't say anything so Argus also stayed quiet. The game wasn't going too well with Snape awarding Hufflepuff penalties like some cheap candy.

"It's quite interesting really," Draco said. "The requirements for joining the Gryffindor Quidditch team is how sad your backstory is. Potter has no parents and the Weasleys don't have money. Longbottom, I think you're perfect for the team. You have no brain,"

Neville turned red, but he looked determined and faced Draco.

"I'm worth 12 of you Malfoy," Neville said with grit.

Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle laughed while Argus, Hermione, and Ron all said their praises for standing up for himself

"Longbottom if brains were gold, you would be poorer than the Weasleys," Draco said.

"Draco if self esteem was gold, you would be the poorest in the world. Even the poorest would have confidence in themselves. Gosh it's quite sad to see someone with a decent amount of wealth forced to insult others because they can't be proud of themselves," Argus countered.

"Nidma, don't you take things too far. You're a family that started with your ancestor marrying a Muggle. You have Muggle blood in you. You'll never be a prestigious family," Draco said.

"I don't know if you want to call my blood filthy. While I'm sure that not all pure-bloods are like this, but I heard that your family resorted to marry each other to keep your blood pure. You see Draco, in the Muggle world, having that "pure" of blood is actually impure as mutations may occur. I see that the outside may be barely fine, but the inside is quite questionable,"

Draco smirked.

"Don't put me in the standards of those filthy Muggles,"

Argus also smiled.

"Like I said the inside is questionable, you don't even understand what I'm saying. Quite questionable indeed,"

"What are you trying to say?" Draco asked.

"Don't worry about it. If you can't understand it now, you won't understand even if I explain it. Like I said, your inside is questionable. Take it as a grain of salt, but just remember what I said today. Maybe you can ask someone that knows more than you," Argus said.

Draco was about to say something, but the game was now at its turning point. Hermione put hands together.

"Come on Harry," She said as Draco suddenly went and rushed towards Argus.

"Nidma, I'll show you!" They were now under their seat. Crabbe and Goyle tried to him help him, but Ron and Neville intercepted them.

"Come on you impure piece of garbage. You're making me miss the best parts," Argus said. He easily overpowered Draco and punched him in the face a couple of times.

"You want to bully us? You want to keep on insulting Harry? You're lucky I'm reluctant to use spells on you or else you probably wouldn't even look like yourself anymore," Argus said after he gave Draco black eyes. Draco was knocked out cold.

As Ron, Argus, and Neville barely beat Crabbe and Goyle, everyone in the Gryffindor side started to cheer.

"The game's over?!" Argus asked. He looked at Ron and then Draco who was lying there. "Hey you mind if I destroyed some bones. I feel like I missed something very important,"

"I think you should stop here," Ron said. "Breaking bones might be a bit extra,"

"Yeah, if we break his bones, how are we any different from them?" Neville said.

"Good point," Argus said. He went back up to the front with Hermione hugging him and jumping up and down.

"Argus, Harry did it. He caught the Snitch! He won the game!" Hermione said.

"Ahh, that's nice," Argus said as he looked at Harry's excited face. While he knew that in the book Gryffindor won, it was still quite nice to see Harry reap the seeds from the hard work he put in.