chapter 15:Quidditch And Questing

"Are you sure about this?" Hermione asked as Harry stood ready to walk onto the Quidditch pitch.

"Of course." Harry said with a slight smile. "I think I'd make a very good keeper, thanks."

"Well, I…" Hermione broke off for a long moment, then sighed as she looked up to watch Ravenclaw's current Reserve Seeker, the second-year student Cho Chang, effortlessly outmaneuvering the only other Raven who had decided to test out for the forcibly-vacated position. Her breath caught as Cho suddenly pitched into a vertical dive, pulling out so low that her feet were barely four feet away from the ground. The dark-haired boy trying to claim the position of Seeker barely managed to pull up in time to avoid impacting the ground, then Cho spun round and descended with the Snitch glinting in her hand.

"Yeah, no way am I going to match that." Harry chuckled appreciatively. "I think that Keeper's going to be my preferred spot."

"I've read Quidditch through the Ages and He flew like a madman. The Keeper is the second-most dangerous position after Seeker!"

"Hermione, do you really think I'm that easy to hurt?" Harry half-whispered before he trotted onto the pitch, leaving Hermione staring at him, her mind replaying how he'd smashed through a wall to take down the troll.

"How do you think he'll do?" Neville asked as he walked up to stand beside her. Hermione looked over to where the Keeper and Chaser candidates were assembling, Sue Li amongst them.

"I… think he'll be okay…" She finally said and Neville smiled.

"You know, if you want to cheer him on, I'll join in."

Hermione huffed, although she couldn't stop herself from smiling as the prospective players rose up into the air. The first Keeper candidate floated across the hover in front of the goal-hoops and the chaser candidates swooped in one by one, flinging Quaffles at the goals.

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"You scared me, you prat!" Hermione punctuated her declaration with a swat to Harry's head, but the light blow didn't stop him laughing. "Hanging on with one hand… Why would you do something like that?"

"It let me block the shot." Harry pointed out as Neville watched Hermione with an amused expression. "And I got onto the team… although I'll need to get a new broomstick. The 260 is a great broom for learning on, but I need something with good acceleration for goalkeeping. Top speed wouldn't be an issue, only agility and acceleration so I can get to where I'm needed."

Hermione paused. "Well, Comet do specialized Quidditch lines, you'd probably need the Comet K4, it's the most recent model and it was developed with the aid of… Harry James Potter! Stop distracting me like that!"

"You almost got away with it." Neville chuckled, ducking the dope-slap that Hermione sent in his direction. "That was a good block, though. I think even Professor Flitwick was impressed."

"Indeed I was, Mr Longbottom." Flitwick confirmed as he landed beside them on his custom-shortened broomstick. "Mr Potter, although rules say that First-years cannot have their own broomsticks, there is nothing about me purchasing a new broomstick for myself and allowing you to use it. Why, you might even like it so much that you could ask me to sell it to you at the end of the year…"

"That's… sophistry!" Hermione gasped and Filius nodded.

"Indeed it is, Miss Granger, but you saw how well Harry did up there and he's not even winded! Between a keeper as good as he is and the talents of Miss Chang, I do believe that Ravenclaw has a chance of winning the Quidditch Cup this year."

"Thanks." Harry smiled, then he glanced over to where Roger Davis was having an intense discussion with the other two seekers. After a moment, he walked over to the Beaters, then hurried across to where Flitwick was standing.

"Cho." He nodded in greeting. "Harry… good job out there, if you can keep up that level, we'll be able to rack up the points easily. Cho, you've been practicing."

"I intended to get to the position of Starting Seeker before my OWLs." Cho responded. "I didn't expect it to be this early, though…"

"I know." Roger said with a sigh. "Sir, we're going to need extra practice. While we're only up against Hufflepuff first, we only have a week or so to get into shape with our line-up changed so much."

"I quite agree… captain Davis." Flitwick smiled and Roger paused, a look of shock on his face.

"What the… but… me?"

"You." Flitwick agreed. "You are the one trying to sort everything out and you have proven yourself to be a superior chaser, I believe that you should take the captaincy."

"I… um… thank you, sir!" Roger stammered before inhaling deeply to try and regain his equilibrium. "Harry, I'm sorry but you'll need a new broom, the 260 just won't cut it…"

"We're already taking care of that." Filius interjected. "What sort are we getting?"

"A Comet K4." Harry supplied. "Given Hogwarts current standing, we can probably get a few other brooms from their Quidditch lines almost at cost…"

"Excellent!" Roger grinned. "Cho, work with Harry to get yourself a Comet S2. The S3 may be slightly faster, but it has cornering issues at the higher speeds. You're small enough that you'll be able to take full advantage of the maneuverability it grants. I'll need to upgrade too… in fact, we may all go for it. I need to talk with the others!"

Harry chuckled as Roger half-ran towards the other members of the team, earning a curious look from Cho.

"I wonder if he's looking for a Quidditch position when he leaves?"

"He is… or a place with a Broomstick company." Filius stated sagely. "Being the captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch Team, especially… if you'll pardon me for saying this, having the Boy-who-lived on his team, will give him quite a boost when he enters his chosen career."

Harry winced. "I hate my fame."

"Doesn't stop you using it, though." Filius shot back as he moved away.

"Welcome to the team." Cho smiled. "You know, you may be the youngest Keeper ever at Hogwarts."

"He is." Hermione supplied as she moved to stand by Harry's side almost protectively. "The next youngest Keeper was Johanson 'Flying Wall' Crabbe who became the Slytherin Keeper at the age of fourteen and gained his nickname through his use of the Starfish On A Stick technique in every match."

Cho stared at Hermione in shock and the younger girl blushed.

"Is there anything you don't know?" She finally asked, causing Harry and Neville to frantically muffle their laughter.

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"Okay, here we have the changing rooms." Roger Davis said as he showed Harry around. "You can see the Broomstick Storage Lockers at the entrances, they're magically locked so as to open only for teachers or members of the team in question. However, we rarely use them since we discovered three years ago that all the non-Slytherin Brooms were being covertly sabotaged with hexes that cut their speed and agility by about a tenth. Once your broom arrives, keep it in your room. The lockers aren't used any more.

"The changing rooms each have shower areas, male and female. Girls can't enter the boys shower and vice-versa, there's a gender-linked ward two paces in. The shower areas can also double as changing areas if you're shy, have body issues or need to change your underwear.

"Now, any questions?"

Harry shook his head. "Nope, I think I've got it. Thanks for taking the time to show me."

Roger smiled as he waved for Harry to accompany him back out of the arena and back towards Hogwarts.

"Anyway, that should be it. If you have any questions, just ask and remember to check the noticeboard, training times will be posted tomorrow morning."

"Thanks again." Harry smiled, then he looked at the distant hut and the shape of the Groundskeeper chopping wood outside it. "If you'll excuse me, I think it's time for me to say hello to Hagrid again and pinch a couple more of his rock cakes."

"I have no idea how you can eat those things." Roger said in mock-wonder as he altered course. "Have fun."

Harry waved before jogging down the hill. Hagrid saw him coming, finished throwing a half-log in the woodpile and waved.

"'eyup, 'arry!" He rumbled happily. "'eard from Flitwick dat ye was on the Quidditch team. Well done!"

"Thanks, Hagrid." Harry replied as he picked up one of the logs and placed it on the scarred stump for Hagrid to chop. The half-giant nodded in gratitude and brought the axe down in a quick arc, sending the resulting halves of the log arcing outwards to land in the two woodpiles that flanked the stump. Wordlessly, Harry placed another log on the stump.

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"Yer wantin a scon?" Hagrid asked as he opened the door, wiping his forehead with a handkerchief that could be mistaken for a small tablecloth.

"Yep, I really like them." Harry agreed as he followed Hagrid into the hut… and almost staggered at the unexpected heat that blasted out. Looking round, he quickly spotted the roaring fire and the item above it, held in a wire-mesh net.

"Hagrid… what is that?"

"It's a dragon egg." Hagrid said proudly. "Won it las' night in a game of cards from a man seeking advice about Cerberuses. Gotta keep it warm, but still got a few months until it 'atches."

Harry gave the egg a long, contemplative look.

"Hagrid… out of interest, don't dragons need a license to raise?"

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"Hermione, I need some research done." Harry said quietly and Hermione looked up from the essay she was re-writing after her first draft had come out at double the maximum allowable length.

"About what?" Hermione asked absently.

"Getting a Dragon License."

For a long moment, Hermione didn't react, then she almost launched herself out of her chair. "What?!"

"Keep it down, Hermione!" Harry hissed urgently."It's not for me!"

Hermione paused, one hand an inch from Harry's collar. "Who?"

"Hagrid."

Hermione winced. "How did he get a dragon?"

"He hasn't… yet." Harry admitted. "Any ideas?"

"Professor Kettleburn is the Care of Magical Creatures teacher." Hermione mused and Harry managed not to roll his eyes at the proof that Hermione had been memorizing as much as she could about Hogwarts. "Perhaps you could ask Professor Flitwick to take you to him."

"Thanks, Hermione." Harry grinned, giving her a quick hug, then he hurried off, not noticing Hermione blushing slightly as she sat down and picked up her quill.

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"Professor Kettleburn?"

The scarred man looked up from the book he was perusing and Harry paused briefly at the sight of the wooden prosthetic that had replaced the man's left arm.

"Ah, Mr Potter, isn't it? Our most recognizable student. How can I help you?"

Harry managed to ignore the way that the burn mark covering Professor Kettleburn's left cheek twisted his otherwise-welcoming smile. "Professor, hypothetically speaking, if I wanted to apply for a Dragon License…"

"Oh for Morgana's sake!" Kettleburn levered himself out of his chair and tottered forwards on a pair of wooden feet. "Hagrid promised that the Cerberus guarding the stone was going to be this year's only high-rated creature and now he's picked up a dragon?"

"It hasn't hatched yet." Harry supplied as Kettleburn grabbed a walking stick and started moving towards the office door with a surprising turn of speed for someone with only half a leg.

"Thank Merlin for small favors." He grumbled. "Come on, let's tell Albus he needs to do another round of damage control… possibly literally this time."

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"He's keeping it?" Hermione said in a voice that was too calm. Harry nodded slowly, making sure that he was out of her reach.

"Dumbledore's put in a request for a special dragon-pen to be built and he knows a recent graduate who's trying to get a job studying dragons." Harry said, trying to calm Hermione down. "He's hiring him to help look after the dragon when it hatches, he'll be acting as Professor Kettleburn's assistant… although he'll apparently be spending a fortnight in Romania every other month studying dragons there as well."

Hermione looked thoughtful at that news.

"Well, if the Headmaster says it's okay, then… fine."

Harry relaxed slightly.

"Did you know that as part of his job as Care of Magical Creatures Professor, Kettleburn automatically has a license to raise dragons?" Hermione added.

"Well, apparently Dumbledore has one as well." Harry responded. "And Hagrid's applying for one too."

Hermione froze and Harry shook his head.

"No, he's promised Dumbledore that he'll limit himself to just one dragon and when it starts getting too big, it'll go to a sanctuary."

"Thank Merlin." Hermione whispered.