HP 6 - A different Half-Blood...

The Bloody Baron

The first few weeks back flew by. Nemesis's belly was getting larger, classes seemed to be getting longer, and the dread of end of the year exams spread over everyone, but the Quidditch season was coming back to help ease their troubled minds. The battle for the pitch carried on. The Slytherin team booked it whenever possible and leaving the worst times for the other teams. Snape would always give the Slytherin team permission to use the pitch, no matter who signed up for it.

Ron again decided that they were not going to sign up, just agree upon the time. This worked out fairly well. They would get an hour or two of practice in before the Slytherin team could claim the pitch. It worked especially well when the Slytherin captain and most of the other players were in class. The only problem was, they would usually come and spy on them when they could not take the pitch.

Ron also encouraged the team to practice by themselves or with others. The reserve, Euan, practiced with them when one of the other players was in class. Ron spent as much as time as possible working on their individual positions. Harry was perfecting the Wronski Feint, and Williams and Sloper were getting better. Sloper, at least, had stopped hitting members of his own team by accident.

Most of the improvements were to the Chaser line, which Ron had training the most. He stretched Ginny, Seamus, and Katie to their limit, but they were on their way to rivaling the predecessors. Ginny was by far the best. She was so small and speedy that the other two could not keep up with her, much less the other team. She, with Ron's help, studied Chaser books for tactics to learn. She only stopped for food and studying for her classes. The team was doing great. The only mistake that could happen was if Harry did not get the Snitch first, which put a lot of pressure on him.

The match against Hufflepuff was in days. The Slytherin team continuing their attacks on the Gryffindors, and tried to get the Hufflepuffs to side with them, but it did not work. While they wanted to win the match, Ernie, Hannah, and Susan made it clear to the Hufflepuffs to not join in on the Slytherin attacks.

Still, the buildup to the match was intensifying. The Slytherins, despite their rejection from Hufflepuff, constantly surprise-attacked the Gryffindor team, trying to incapacitate any of them. The rest of the Gryffindors, however, did not allow their team to walk unprotected in the halls. They rose to occasion and accompanied their team through the halls. Harry was the only one who flatly refused an escort. He did not mind being attacked by people, most of whom did not even know how to duel.

The Hufflepuff team had beaten the Gryffindor team the last year, not to mention their previous match three years ago, but now everything had changed. The Hufflepuff team was under new direction, from whom Ron and Harry agreed must have been their last choice, Zacharias Smith. They had developed a rigorous training program and had been doing better since their last match against Slytherin.

When the day came, the team was in good spirits. They had a fighting chance. Harry was the one feeling the nervous instead of Ron. It rested upon him. They all had breakfast in the Great Hall, and went to the changing rooms followed by jeers from the Slytherin table.

"Alright, we've come this far, and we've taken a lot from the Slytherins, but we will deal with them later. Right now, it is Hufflepuff we need to deal with. They've beat us the last two times we faced them. It is our turn. Now, some of us wouldn't mind beating Zacharias Smith," Ron said, heatedly.

"Some? You mean all of us, don't you?" Katie said.

"Here, here," Ginny said.

"We got our chance. Enough said, let's go shove it in his face," Ron finished.

They followed Ron out to the pitch. It was still chilly as it was the middle of February. There were a few piles of snow, but most of the ground was clear. The sun was high in the sky and warning off the chill. The Hufflepuff team came out in their canary yellow robes, led by Zacharias Smith. He strode right up to Ron, and roughly shook his hand.

"So, still remember how to Keep?" he sneered, and walked away with a smirk on his face.

"How did he ever get into Hufflepuff?" Ginny asked, when Ron came back over to them.

"That doesn't matter, he'll regret saying that. You guys are the only offense, win this thing," Ron said, with a sort of determination that Harry had never seen in him before.

They all nodded as Madam Hooch came out and released the Bludgers and the Snitch. The teams mounted up. Harry could hear the taunts from the green and silver crowd in the stands, but he did not care.

"Madam Hooch released the Quaffle, which was immediately taken by Ginny Weasley without any difficulty..." said Colin Creevy, announcing.

"...she dodges a Bludger, and puts it pass the Hufflepuff Keeper Wilder to SCORE!" Colin yelled, and Harry thought he controlled himself a little more than Lee did.

Ron was watching his team with pride, but Harry tried to avoid watching the game and frantically began searching for the Golden Snitch. Ginny scored two more times and, just as Katie scored their fourth goal, Harry saw the Snitch by the Hufflepuff posts.

Harry zipped off after it, but was quickly followed by the Hufflepuff Seeker, seventh year Alexander Summerby. He used the Sloth Grip Roll that Angelina had taught him last year and dodged one Bludger, but as he was coming up, the other Bludger hit him in the back. Harry swerved right into Summerby, and in the confusion, the Snitch disappeared. As the excitement died down, play resumed just in time to bring it right back.

"Ginny Weasley is on fire! Scoring her fourth goal in under five minutes! Hufflepuff Captain Zacharias Smith with the Quaffle... coming up the middle fast! Dodging Chaser Seamus Finnigan - passing to Chaser Laura Madley and back to Smith. He shoots and the Quaffle is tipped by the Gryffindor Keeper, and it... goes in... Hufflepuff score," Colin said, very dishearteningly.

"It is taken up by Chaser Katie Bell, who passes it to Finnigan, who almost is unseated by a Bludger, but Beater Sean Williams deflects it toward the Hufflepuff goal! Finnigan passes to Ginny Weasley on the right side of the goal, but Keeper Owen Caldwell is blocking.... She swerves to right -- SCORES... through left goal!" Colin announced, finding it hard to keep up.

Harry listened, but his eyes were looking for the Snitch. He noticed that the Hufflepuff Seeker was tailing him. He saw the Snitch for the second time near the bottom of the stadium and tore off at full speed. Summerby was at his tail, but nowhere near him. He was going to get it to it first....

"FOUL!!! The Hufflepuff Captain Zacharias Smith flew directly into the Gryffindor Seeker!" Colin screamed through the megaphone angrily.

Harry was bleeding from his nose and he was forced to land. The Snitch was gone, again. Ron came down to check on him, but he was all right. Ginny let Seamus take the penalty shot, which he easily put past the Hufflepuff Keeper. Harry recovered and got up in the air. They scored three more times and Ron pulled off two saves. Sloper managed to hit Zacharias Smith in the back with a Bludger, and was out of play for a minute.

Harry gave a thumbs up to Sloper, who returned it. Harry zipped around, still being closely followed by Summerby, who had realized that Harry was good at finding the Snitch. Harry climbed up high over the other players, then....

"Potter's seen the Snitch for the third TIME! What a Seeker! He's diving all the way to the ground! Fast...with Summerby right behind him and closing! It must be on the ground.... They'd better pull up or they're going to crash! Oh... Ouch! That has to hurt! Hufflepuff Seeker Summerby crashes to the ground, but... Potter... he... HE WAS FEINTING!!!" Colin screamed, in surprise.

Harry had pulled out of his dive just in time, and Summerby was flattened, just as if he was Lynch at the World Cup. Harry looped Ron's goalposts and to greet Ron, who shouted, "He'll think twice before tailing you!"

Harry went zipping around looking for the Snitch. Summerby got up assisted by his teammates, slightly groggy, but got back on his broom looking furious. He had taken to finding the Snitch on his own. Then, when one of the Hufflepuff players fouled, Ginny flew up to Harry, quickly.

"It's by our goalposts," she said, quietly and flew away to see Katie throw the Quaffle past Caldwell.

Harry looked and saw it circling the bottom of the posts. When play resumed, he streaked down after it. Summerby, who was not that far from him, did not follow him. He thought Harry was feinting again.

"And Potter takes another spectacular dive. Trying to feint again? It's not working, Summerby says he's not falling for it... but wait....Yes! He's got the Snitch! GRYFFINDOR WINS!!!" Colin shouted wildly ecstatic.

Harry pulled out of his dive, with the tiny Golden Snitch clasped in his hand. Zacharias Smith spat at the ground when he landed and Summerby looked severely disgruntled. Harry landed wiping the rest of blood off his nose. Ron landed and cheered loudly, while hugging him. Ginny came down and hugged him, too. He suddenly backed off quickly, for some reason, and looked at her.

"I would have found it eventually, but thanks for the tip," he said, as innocently as he could, but then Sloper and Williams practically crashed into him.

The Gryffindors poured onto the field cheering for them. Hermione came and hugged Ron, congratulating him. They had another party that lasted until twelve. Everyone was too tired to argue with Hermione to stay up longer and cleared out until only Ron, Hermione and Harry were left in the common. Ron asked Hermione if she would check his Transfiguration homework before they went to bed and she reluctantly agreed, despite the hour. So, Harry went up to the room by himself, changed and then organized his trunk a bit. Seamus, Dean and Neville were already changed and ready to sleep.

Ron came up a few minutes later looking awkward, but when he saw Harry, he went on another rant about how Harry executed the play perfectly. Harry smiled and eventually Ron calmed back down, and they all managed to fall asleep. However, Harry fell asleep very quickly.

Voldemort was laughing, and Harry looked up. Dumbledore was sitting he lifted his wand and directing the swirling thought in the air.

"THE ONE WITH THE POWER TO VANQUISH THE DARK LORD APPROACHES..."

No! he thought and woke up shaking. Harry relaxed, lied back down and realized something important. He started putting the pieces together. Every time Voldemort almost heard the prophecy, it was after an exciting day of high emotions and feelings. It was when Harry was most vulnerable. He had trouble falling back asleep with those thoughts. He instead dreamt about Sirius falling through the veil.

The next few days, Ron and the rest of Gryffindor were in an extremely good mood. Harry put on a show, but was getting worried about Voldemort. Ron was so excited for the match that he did not notice. Going back to classes was extremely hard. Snape was in a foul mood that the Gryffindor team won, and he could not wait to take it out on Harry and Ron, but the furor of the Gryffindor House could not be undone, until the Daily Prophet came a few days later.

THE DARK MARK REVEALS

MURDERED FAMILY BELOW

Ministry officials converged on the residence of Elphias Doge this morning and found him and his family murdered. Five victims in all. None survived the attack and were believed to have been tortured beforehand. The perpetrators cast the Dark Mark up in the sky when they left, causing a panic. Ministry officials have no one in custody. Among those killed....

He stopped unable to read anymore and looked up into the shocked faces of Ron, Ginny, and Hermione. They had met Doge at Headquarters. He seemed like a good person, the few times they met. However, the people around them immediately flew into a panic, as did their parents, who sent letters to their children, seeing if anything had happened to them.

The news of the murdered family shook the school to its foundations. The next Hogsmeade visit was canceled. The Care of Magical Creatures classes were not held in the woods anymore. Everyone became extremely interested in Defense Against the Dark Arts, now. They wanted protection, and even Snape was thrown off by their sudden desperation for participation.

Even Quidditch had its down side. They witnessed an unaffected Slytherin team beat Ravenclaw by two hundred and fifty points. They had indeed been training. They were not as good as Gryffindor, but they made up for it in brutality. Roger Davies ended up in the hospital for three days after being hit in the head with a Beater's club.

Ron stepped up the training to include defensive plays and misdirection plays. He went through book after book trying to look for moves to protect against the callous moves of the Slytherin team. Harry knew that while Ron was concerned for all his players, he was more worried about his younger sister. She was the smallest player on the team and proved to everyone that she was the top Chaser. She had not missed a goal, yet. However, when Ron suggested that she slow down and not make such an obvious target, she exploded, and said she could handle the Slytherin team and that he should not be so over-protective. Ron reluctantly backed off.

When they were not thinking about Quidditch, the school was relatively somber. The imaginary safety net that had surrounded the school seemed to have fallen, and the reality was that Voldemort was still out there. Their professors got participation out of fear, but the depressing state of the castle seemed to dwindle away that sudden rush of involvement. Meals were quiet, and the common room was worse. No one was happy or laughing. One little act caused this much pain. Harry did not understand it.

One morning, he went out for a walk around the castle. It was before Ron and Hermione was up. He could not figure out why the murder of the Doges could affect the whole school, when no one really knew them. He was on the fourth floor, not really watching where he was going, when he felt like he plunged into an icy shower. He stepped back quickly. He had walked straight into the Bloody Baron, who everyone, living and spirit alike, avoided.

"Mr. Potter, you should watch where you are going," he said in a stern, but hoarse voice. Harry shook off the goose bumps and looked up into the Bloody Baron's gaunt face.

"Sorry," he said, though wondering why a ghost would care if someone walked through him. The Blood Baron, however, stared through him as though he were a ghost, too.

"What are you doing up so early this morning?" he asked, criticizing Harry's presence.

"Walking around, why are you up?" Harry asked.

For some reason, the Bloody Baron did not make him as nervous as usual. His demeanor was not as formidable, when no one else was around.

"Ghosts don't rest, Mr. Potter, and you should not be walking around the halls this early in the morning. These are dangerous times," he said, perceptively.

"I know," Harry said, nonchalantly.

"Students always know everything," he said, critically. Harry looked at him and the silver bloodstains that were coming down the front of his shirt.

"Where'd the blood come from?" Harry asked, audaciously, and the Bloody Baron looked piercingly at him. He was not offended, but impressed.

"Only one other person has ever asked me that," he said, almost a little flattered. It reminded him of Myrtle. Maybe everyone was wrong in avoiding asking about how the ghosts died. They all seemed keen to tell.

"Even when I was alive, I couldn't get the blood off. I was cursed, forever. I committed a crime that nature does not forget. In my younger days, I thought nothing, but chasing immortally. I found several ways of advancing my life. Many were dangerous and had irreversible side effects. Then, I found something that would keep me alive, even inches from death. Do you know what it was, Mr. Potter?" he asked, stoically.

"Unicorn blood?" he said after thinking about it, and the Baron smiled.

"Yes, Mr. Potter, after one of my experiments backfired, I almost died. I caught the unicorn and drank its blood. It was easy. I survived, but to live the rest of my days cursed. My search for immorality ended there, for I was sure nothing could make me whole again and I had no desire to live forever in that condition. Tell me, Mr. Potter, how did you know about unicorn blood?" he asked.

"I saw Voldemort drink it," Harry said, waiting to see a ghost's reaction to the most feared name in the wizarding world.

"Voldemort, ah... yes, Mr. Tom Riddle. It is as I feared, but then again he deserves a worst fate than I," the Baron said, sadly.

"What is 'as you feared'," Harry asked.

"Mr. Riddle had a great aptitude for acquiring immortality. It was he who asked me about the stains and learned about the unicorn blood. He asked about the other more dangerous spells I had used, and after that, I was never more concerned for anyone as I was with him. He was only afraid of death and being fameless. I don't need to worry about you, do I, Mr. Potter?" the Baron asked, raising his ghostly eyebrow.

"No, death always seems to find me and I think I have enough fame," Harry said, with a dark hint of amusement.

"Very good, Mr. Potter. You best be off to your common room," the Bloody Baron ordered.

"Ok, good-bye," Harry said.

"There is no good-bye for ghosts, Mr. Potter. We are always here," he said.

Harry complied with his wishes and went back to Gryffindor Tower, thinking about Voldemort's search for immorality and what the Baron had said. Voldemort's mind and spirit found immortality, not his body. He was not sure if this new information helped at all, but when he got to the common room, Ron and Hermione rushed him at the door, believing that he would start wandering off again.

"I just went for a walk, calm down," he reassured them.

They got their bags and went downstairs for breakfast. It was still very quiet when they entered. They sat down and ate slowly. Everyone was eating very silently.

"Why is everyone acting like this?" Harry asked. "They didn't even know them."

"Because... imagine if you are here and your family and relatives were murdered," said Ron, looking quite pale and stirring his porridge inattentively. Harry started to understand and frowned. He just did not realize it, because he had already lost his family.

When they were finished, they went to Care of Magical Creatures. Hagrid took them back to the padlock for Buckbeak and Nemesis, who was getting more aggressive by the day. Hagrid did not like to see her struggle against the chains, but griffins are very hostile when pregnant. He showed them how to feed her, and held her so they could pet her.

Malfoy would not come any closer to her, knowing what her mate can do. It was another good lesson and it raised the spirits of the class a little. Afterward, they went up to Defense Against the Dark Arts, which did not help the mood at all. Snape showed no interest in the feelings of the class. He had them working on pain-inducing spells that Death Eaters would no doubt use.

However, in Transfiguration, McGonagall held back the class after the bell and said, "In an effort to lift the school spirit, there is going to be a ball on Easter."

With that, everyone looked up at her as if she said there was no more homework for the rest of the year.

"It will be open to fourth years and above, though you can still bring younger students. Dress robes must be worn, and I expect all of you to behave appropriately. Any misbehaving will be dealt with accordingly," she said warningly and dismissed them.