The cold of February was soon departing making way for a warmer March which ushered in a warm spring. Before long and it was already May. One warm morning Harry walked down the stairs from their dorm room to the common room in his robes as they had another day of school ahead of them. To no surprise for him, Hermione was already sitting on a table with multiple books and piles of parchment scattered around. Her quill danced over all the pages she needed for her notes, as she had her essay finished almost at the same day it was given, even twice as long the teachers asked for. That was something he admired about her, she always did her best to show everyone that hard work is better than sitting on pure talent. He wanted to see what she was working on, as he saw some blue light flicker behind her books.
"Well, well, well. You asked Luke for help, but not me?" Harry leaned over her shoulder, causing another of her infamous yelp as she put her hands over the projector of her device. As she was glaring at him, he had to hold back his laughter, otherwise he would have awoken the whole tower.
"I told her that someone was approaching, but she was not listening. Now I know that I should power the projector down on my own accord if someone comes closer and I don't know who it is." Luke spoke to both, a bit muffled as Hermione's hands covered the speakers. Callie did a digital facepalm, as she had forgotten to send out a ping to the other AI where she was. That way, Luke could have told Hermione that Harry would be coming and then maybe she would have reacted differently. Nether the less, she let out a beep from her device, signaling to Harry that he should place it beside Hermione's.
"Hermione, we told you a dozen times that you have to learn to not concentrate on your work too much, or else something like this could happen. Think about what would have happen if it was neither Harry nor Lavender or Parvati. We would be compromised, and then we would have to take Luke away from you. Or can you alter the memories from a witness with a spell?" The stern look from Callie was met with a slightly red-faced Hermione, who mumbled "I tried it once and it worked" under her breath.
"Wait, you can? How did you learn that?" Callie was now no longer angry at her, more curious how she could perform such an advanced spell. She had no data about such a charm, so she was in information gathering mode. Hermione just sat on her chair and watched her, still mumbling. "Well?"
"I had read about the Obliviate charm that the ministry uses to modify the memories from Muggles when they witnessed magic, and according to the book it is an easy spell. The only blemish on using this spell is that you must be very specific in the power you use and on what memory you want to modify. If you do it wrong, it can cause some permanent damage to the mind of the intended target. So, I have not tried on a human being, but I tried it on some dummies on the training grounds and according to the color-changes it worked." Hermione was now fumbling with her hands nervously, hoping that Harry would forgive her the small oversight on looking out for their secret. While he was looking at her with astonishment, Lavender and Parvati came down to the common room, walking over to them. Hermione took the device from the table as she saw that the other Gryffindor also now gathered in the common room before they would go down to get breakfast.
Ron, even after all this time in the castle, still walked down half asleep and pushed some people out of his way. Fred and George did their usual pranks in the morning to get everyone awake enough to travers safely through the castle, as their common room was the highest up in the castle. The only one who did not find that funny were the stern ones, who got startled almost every time it happened next to them. The Weasley twins noticed Harry and decided to try to prank him once more, as every method they used until now failed spectacularly, as Harry just moved out of the way.
So, they launched a small firework towards him in a trajectory that it also could hit the small pile from Hermione's notes, of course only to scatter them, not destroying them. They were no evil pranksters after all. But once more, Harry surprised them as he seemingly grabbed it out of the air and redirected it back to them, causing the explosion happening between them.
"Ah, once more our star Seeker has the reaction of a mongoose and the eyes of an eagle. Once more he catches our surprise and throws it back at us. Oh, our dear master, tell us your secret." Fred and George walked over to him, going on their knees in a theatric fashion so the others in the common room had another laugh at the cost of the pranksters. Harry played along, thinking that a small laugh before the quidditch final would was a good moral booster.
"Well, my dear subjects, as I always tell you, you need to be swift and resourceful in the endeavor to catch me off guard. But keep trying, I dare you, and maybe one day you will succeed." Harry told them in his pompous voice, causing even Hermione to laugh out loud and rolling on the floor. Even Percy had a small grin on his lips as he walked past them and opened the portrait-hole to go and get some breakfast.
It was no joke as Harry tried to lift the mood before the Quidditch final, as many students were hoping to finally get a chance at the Quidditch Cup that year. This also proved a good stress relief as the teachers were giving them more and more homework, something Harry and Hermione could do rather well, but every time Harry looked at Neville or Ron, he saw two different methods to study from them.
Neville, on one hand, tried to learn as much as his time would allow, being afraid of the teachers had him multiple times frozen in place when they asked him a question in classes. Harry tried to help him as much as he could, while Parvati even asked her sister in Ravenclaw if they could study together. Something she seemed to accept gladly, as they sat together in the library with Daphne and Tracey and a lot of books. After even Hannah Abbott began to hang around them and took Susan Bones with her to these study sessions, even Ron had to admit that it was something that students from all four houses could study together in peace.
Not that he would participate in that mind you. He still was playing chess or talking about Quidditch, saying that he would look over the material once before the tests. Harry tried to get him to sit down and learn now, as it would be beneficial in the future, but Ron did not want to listen. After a while, Harry gave up and just let him be, Ron could get his own mess in order after all. But before the finals would knock on their door, the last Quidditch game of the season would be played, so Harry had to balance Quidditch training, homework, study and his Training with John all in a time after normal classes.
Luckily, Hermione helped him by putting a timetable together for him so he could see when he should study for what subject. She even had left enough time for him in there for his training, as Oliver was pushing them even harder now. They had a shot at the Quidditch Cup if they just could win against Ravenclaw, something that should be obtainable as Oliver put it in his words.
It was in one of those training sessions where Harry got a surprise visit on the pitch in form of Daphne coming to the stands alone, something she never did before. Oliver was first apprehensive that a Slytherin was watching their training, but after Harry told him that even if she was a spy, it would be of no use as they had already played against Slytherin and won. Nether the less, he flew down to where she was sitting as he only tried to get to a higher top speed on his broom.
"Well hello Daphne. Can I help you with something?" Harry was now right beside her, still riding his broom.
"Hello Harry. I just wanted to watch you all fly, as the next match is coming closer, the tension in the castle is almost unbearable. The rest of Slytherin of course just wants the House Cup, but when your team gets enough points, it will take the lead. And frankly, I don't see why this Cup even exist in the first place. In my eyes, the Quidditch Cup would be enough of a rivalry between the houses, as our study session show us that we can learn in peace together. So, how is your training coming along?" Daphne leaned back a bit, looking up to Harry, who was watching for the snitch. She had to admit, he was looking good when he was this concentrated. His unruly hair was waving in the wind and his eyes where almost shining in the light of the sunset. She was sure if Hermione was here, she would blush as red as a tomato. But boys are boys after all, and it will take time for him to notice her feelings if she did not tell him first.
"Well, I think we can beat Ravenclaw, but the last match was not very conclusive. I don't know, it was as like the team was not on their top game that match. Maybe I did not see it correctly, but the seeker was always looking the other way when the snitch was close by. As if she was confounded, but I have no proof."
At that moment, he saw something golden and flew away to catch the snitch, ending this training game. Callie supplied his speed, which did get a bit faster but not as fast as he liked. Maybe he could get the broom to go even faster if he would put more magic into it. He would have to read about that in the library when he got the time. As the training came to an end, they walked back up to the castle, talking with each other about the expectations they had for their grades.
"My father wants me to be in the upper quarter, but as I told him about you and Hermione and the grates you were getting, he decided that I should try to be right behind you, when not even better. If his letter would have been voiced, I am sure we had could hear him laugh. He will be happy when I pass in the end, but I will try my best of course. What about your foster parents Harry? I guess miss Yen (somewhere in another castle, a black-haired woman sneezed for being called Miss) wants you to be the top student, am I right?" Daphne was walking right beside him and leaning a bit forward, so he could carry his broom comfortably and still talk to her.
"I guess, she never talked about my grades. She is more curious on what I learn, not how well I can memorize it. Catherine, on the other hand, would be disappointed in everything below top grades, I'm sure." Harry was smiling at that thought, missing the slight blush on Daphne's face. His smile had begun to influence her feelings for him. She would need to talk with Hermione, as she did not want to risk the friendship she had with the muggle-born witch. As they arrived in the entrance hall, they witnessed another prank that the twins prepared beforehand, as the Captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team was doused in water first, then the ground was covered in ice beneath him, causing him to fall on his butt. Harry turned to the twins as Daphne was holding back her laughter, she was still doing her best to look cold and calculating for the other Slytherins.
While this was happening, Cortana was going over every voice sample they gathered since Harry gave them the one from the main suspect who tried to steal the stone. It took a while, but she had to go over every word to match the voices after all and she wanted to be thorough to have enough evidence to catch the suspect. One of her subroutines then came back with a positive match, something that surprised Cortana as she did not think that it was him. She filed another report for John, advising him to watch out for Professor Quirrell. She also did look at the personal history they had access to thanks to the headmaster. According to it, he was traveling for the last few years and one of the countries mentioned was Albania, the place according to rumors where Voldemort was hiding. Something she put in her report too for John.
John was sitting in his office in Hogwarts behind his computer, looking over the different reports from the other Spartans on this world, in preparation for future fights in case they could not stop Voldemort from returning, something that Dumbledore was sure would happen sooner than later. He estimated that his followers were numerous, but with his troops he could match them almost man to man. The only problem was that he did not know how the spells worked on his man, for example the so-called unforgivable curses, one of the known three could kill you instantly, another one could control you. For the last one he was sure that the marine's and Spartan's could withstand it after all the fighting they endured in the war. He then got a ping from Cortana, telling him what she found. After he had read it, he forwarded the report to his command and asked for orders. Should he act now or wait a bit?
In space, Captain Lasky got a notification that the Master Chief had sent him something. He walked into his Office and opened the message, reading it with curiosity. There was no risk for Professor Quirrell stealing the stone, as it was hidden in the securest part of his ship. And being behind the moon meant that no one could get to them without their own help. But those centaurs knowing it by reading the stars, had him worried. As long they kept it for themselves the position of the small fleet was safe, but when they were compromised, they had to leave the position for a while until they were sure that no one on this planet would come to them.
As for the request for orders in regard to the situation with Quirrell, Lasky decided that the Chief should watch for now and when he would inevitably find out that the stone was not in the castle take the measures needed to arrest him. He also sends this report to Doctor Halsey with his orders for John, so she was informed, as she asked him to do. But she promised that she would not interfere with his orders, she just wanted to be informed. Her answer came quickly, thanking him and agreeing that they should look how it would develop for now.
John got his orders, even the note that Captain Lasky informed Doctor Halsey and her agreeing, so he closed this document and deleted it from his computer, as the naval doctrine that was ingrained in him told him to do. As it was time for dinner, he decided to go into the Great Hall and begin his assignment on watching the defense professor. Of course, he would do it in secret to not alert the target. He sat down at his usual place, watching over the students as they ate their dinner. He saw Harry sitting in his usual place, surrounded by his friends and talking with them. John then was looking over to the other person of interest.
Quirrell was getting nervous, as his plan was not getting off the ground. As his master was getting more and more angry with him, he still did not figure it out how he should get the stone from the last hurdle in the castle, but he was getting there rather easy since he found out how to get past the cerberus without causing any suspicions from the other teachers. He began to think that he would need another person coming down with him to the place where the Mirror of Erised was. Every time he investigated it, he only saw how he handed the stone to his master, but he did never see how he got it. So, he would need another one who would not desire the stone itself as this may be the trick behind the mirror placed from Dumbledore. While he planned his next move, he felt his master demanding his attention. So, he went into his mindscape and listened to him.
"We must get the stone soon, or my strength will be too far gone to exist in this state anymore. As we can no longer drink from the blood of a unicorn because the centaurs now know for what to look out for and that oaf Hagrid also watching the grounds more on his rounds to make up for his incompetence. In the worst-case scenario, you will kill the boy, understood?" Quirrell heard his master in his mind, suddenly realizing the solution to both those problems. He would just have to use the boy and after he got the stone, he could kill him. Now he only needed a way to kidnap the boy without alarming the staff immediately. He would need to wait until the end of term exams would be finished, as the students would normally go outside after wards, and he could get the boy when he was alone somewhere.
But before that would happen, the last game of the school season was upon Hogwarts, Gryffindor against Ravenclaw. While the teams made themselves ready to play, the other students were walking down to the stands or were already seated. Hermione was sitting together with Parvati and Lavender, while Parvati's twin was on the other side of the stadium as she was a Ravenclaw. But they were surprised as Daphne and Tracey sat just a row below them and despite their uniform colors what identified them as Slytherin, they were rooting for Gryffindor with scarves and small flags that they waved through the air. The Hufflepuff was also cheering for a good and fair game, so their team colors were mixed evenly among them, while Slytherins were totally against Gryffindor as they were the main competitor for the House and Quidditch Cup.
"Welcome to the last game of this season dear fans. Let's welcome the players who will give us, hopefully a nice, good game and show us their talent on the pitch. Now, welcome the team of Ravenclaw, one of the teams who are ready to take the victory and the trophy to their house." That was the sign for the players of Ravenclaw to fly out to the pitch and show of their speed and team play as they tossed one Quaffle between them. After they did their round, Jordan did praise them, but you could hear in his voice where his favoritism lies.
"And now, the second team for today will fly out and show you why they are the best in this school." - "JORDAN" the irate voice of McGonagall was heard out of the magical megaphones as she told Jordan once more to be not so biased. He could be seen as he sank a bit lower in his seat as he begun to speak once more. "Please welcome and scream their names to the havens, GRYFFINDOR COME FORWARD AND SHOW WHAT YOUR MADE OF." As he said that, six blurs came out of the entrance to the locker room for Gryffindor's team. As they took their place, everyone asked themselves where Harry was. Even Madam Hooch was looking everywhere, as she noticed a broom floating out from where the others came just a minute before. Harry then runs out, jumped on his broom and flew up with a speed the others never seen before. He was faster on his spot as any other seeker before him.
McGonagall was smiling because of his antics, as it caused her to remember how his father came to the pitch when he was sure they could win for sure. She was just glad that Harry did not have the same tendencies for causing mayhem when he would prank someone. She watched him as the game started and the players flew after the balls they needed, with Fred hitting one bludger first against a chaser from Ravenclaw, who caught the Quaffle when it fell from its starting point. Fred aim was true, and the Chaser had to let go of the Quaffle and Alicia caught it and speed off towards the hoops that were guarded by the keeper of Ravenclaw. She than passed off to Angelina, who swiftly grabbed it and scored a goal. Under all the cheers from their fans, they regrouped quickly to hold of the advancing Chasers from Ravenclaw, while Fred and George hit the bludgers with their bats to get them off course.
As this was happening, Harry was looking for the golden Snitch, while watching the other seeker if he would have found it. He heard the commentary well enough to know that his teammates were leagues above the players from Ravenclaw, but he would need to find the snitch soon or they would risk running out of steam. So, he flew as fast as he dared while seeking the snitch. A few times he thought that he found it, but it was like the first game just some reflections from the spectators. As the other seeker was also distracted by those golden shimmers, Harry did not suspect foul play and turned around once more in the playing field.
In the stands, Hermione and her friends were cheering for Harry, when they heard someone coming up to their spot. Hermione was looking down to see three people walking through all the students with outmost care to not disturb the students enjoying the game. She recognized the black-haired woman who was looking unto the field and searching for Harry. The other two people were adult man, one smaller than the other. The bigger man had a darker skin tone and watched his surroundings with a serious gaze, as if he would look out for any danger of the other two people in his company. Somehow the look was just like John's, so he must be another soldier from where he came from.
The shorter man was also looking around, but his gaze was one of wonder. He smiled a genuine smile while he walked behind the woman.
"Thank you for showing me this, Miss Yen. It is nice to see all these young people enjoying themselves. Now, I think I need to ask one of these students about the rules of this game? It looks rather interesting." The man was looking around, catching Hermione watching him. As she was now silent, Parvati and Lavender were now looking to the newcomers too, causing Daphne and Tracey notice them too. As Tracey could not put their clothes anywhere, she thought that they had to be foreigners visiting their school for something. But their style did spark recognition in Hermione and Daphne, as they saw the same utilitarian style from Doctor Halsey.
"Hello there, my name is Thomas Lasky, and who might you be?" Lasky smiled at the girls, as Hermione almost out of nature answered him and introduced the other four girls. As they made some small talk, the other man was watching the field for anything dangerous, but except the flying students he saw nothing. Yen meanwhile used the opportunity while Lasky was distracted and looked for Harry and how he flew. She soon found him, being in a dive towards the ground with an abundance of speed, only to pull back up right before he hit the ground. The other seeker was not so quick and just had enough time to pull up, so he did not crash into the ground with speed.
Harry saw the snitch but decided to make a fake dive to confuse the other seeker so he would make a mistake and Harry had enough time to catch it. After it worked, he accelerated once again to his top speed and flew to the snitch. It noticed him and evaded the first try from Harry, but his broom was just too quick chasing it across the field. The Ravenclaw seeker was now on his heels, but Harry's lead was too big and soon afterwards, Harry had the small golden ball in his hand. Madam Hooch blew her whistle to signal the end of the match, while the rest of the Gryffindor team flew towards Harry to hug him for the good game.
Yen was smiling, while the students ran down to the field except Hermione, who was still explaining Quidditch to Lasky. She seemed to not have noticed that the game was over, but she will congratulate Harry later for sure. Yen walked over to the other two man, telling them if they wanted to talk with the headmaster, they should be going soon.
"Of course, Miss Yen. Please forgive me Miss Granger, but we need to go. Maybe we can talk another time once more. Have a good day." Hermione was looking around, now noticing what was going on and blushed once more, saying goodbye to the men and Yennefer, who just waved at her as she was now running too.
"Captain Lasky, we have conformation that Dumbledore will meet us after he gave the winning team their Cup and congratulated them. Are you sure that we should tell him what we found?" The dark-skinned man stood now between Yennefer and Lasky, holding his hands behind his back like a soldier would when in the rest position. He was, after all, a Spartan IV and had to hold up the discipline that was required to be one. Some would even say he was too strict with himself sometimes.
"Thank you, Spartan Locke. And yes, I think we need to show him that keeping secrets does not cope well with us, as we will find out either way. So, lets meet him and telling him what we are going to do with Quirrell when he makes his move." Lasky began to walk down the stairs, as the students still sang their heart out for the winning team.