Ch 32 Forget About Quidditch

March faded into April and work on the Chamber continued slowly but surely. It was getting harder to keep the DA's spirits up, as they couldn't see the charms they were casting. They could only trust what Hermione told them after checking how sealed the chamber was using a complex spell that none of the other members had heard of.

Ginny was becoming increasingly distant from her friends; her homework load was increasing swiftly as her OWL exams drew ever closer. She was often to be found in the common room, hunched over a scroll of parchment or looking up facts in a textbook. Hermione and Harry were helping her study, while Ron made sarcastic comments from the side.

"You're not helping Ron!" Hermione told him, after he had interrupted her quizzing Ginny on Fidgeting charms for the 6th time.

"I'm not trying to help" Ron replied, earning him a nasty look from Hermione.

"Why don't I quiz you on blocking charms Ron?" Ginny asked.

"What…" Ron started to say but was cut off by Ginny launching a spell at him.

"Nice one Ginny!" Hermione complimented "You do know your Fidgeting charms."

She was staring with satisfaction at Ron who was now twitching and shifting in is seat.

"Tha…t's not… fun… ny!" came Ron's choppy speech.

Ron sat the rest of the night twitching, but he resolutely continued his game of chess with Harry.

----

"Harry!" Ron's voice cut through his dream.

"Whas na time?" Harry replied, still half asleep.

"Game day, remember?"

"No… oh!" Harry exclaimed, remembering that there was a Quidditch game that morning.

He jumped out of his bed and pulled on some random cloths from his trunk and hustled to the Great Hall. He and Ron were greeted by a smiling Hermione and a yawning Ginny.

"M-M-Morning Harry" Ginny finally managed to greet him, overcoming her yawn at last.

"Morning Ginny" Harry returned "Ready for some Quidditch?"

"I'd be ready for Quidditch if I been able to sleep an extra decade" Ginny told him, before yawning again.

"Harry, I'll organize the DA right after the game" Hermione told him.

"What?" Harry asked in confusion.

"You remember?" Hermione prodded "Don't you?"

"No…oh!" Harry said, remembering.

"Not the first thing he's forgotten this morning" Ron muttered "Forgot about a Quidditch game!"

Ron looked as though forgetting about a Quidditch game was among his top ten Cardinal sins.

"Really?" Ginny asked "I might have been sleepy, but I remembered the game!"

"I told you yesterday" Hermione said "We're having a training session today, god knows we haven't trained in over a month!"

"I forgot" Harry told them sheepishly "I'm not sure it's such a good idea though, we on the team are going to have to endure a long and grueling Quidditch match and then a rigorous training session, that's going to suck."

"Yes, well, it can't be avoided." Hermione told him "We need that training."

"I've got to agree with Hermione on this one Harry" Ginny said "I tried to use a cross-limb hex the other day and I missed."

"Who were you planning to use it on?" Ron asked, grinning slightly.

"Let me put it this way, if I hadn't missed, Malfoy would be eating his breakfast in the Hospital Wing, not the Great Hall."

Everyone at the table enjoyed a good laugh, before Ron, Harry and Ginny hustled off to the Quidditch Pitch to prepare, leaving Hermione to read a book and amble slowly to the stands.

The team was assembled and went to the pitch to test the conditions. They encountered a day as perfect as a Unicorn standing in a field of daisies. The sun shone brightly, but not too brightly, and a small, subtle wind blew softly across the pitch.

Harry had finally got his team to quiet down after returning to the locker room when Anthony Goldstein stood up and called for an immediate standing vote to forbid Harry giving a prep-talk. Harry laughed and sat down, letting the team use the last 5 minutes before the game to talk amongst themselves. As a result, when the time came to lead them onto the pitch they were ready to focus completely on the game at hand.

Harry looked dramatic as he strode into the light sun. His crimson robes rustling and his horn-rimmed glasses glinted in the sun. He instantly realized that something was wrong however as there was no noise coming from the stands. There was no cheering, no booing and no Professor McGonagall trying to control a bias commentator.

In fact, as Harry scanned the stands, he saw no one at all. There wasn't even a teacher and this scarred Harry. He turned about to look at his team-mates who were as surprised as he was. Harry smiled, but he could not bring himself to expect anything but terror and death to occupy his next few hours.