An American at Hogwarts

Gryffindor Versus Hufflepuff

The day of Harry's big match came quickly. Quicker than any of us would have liked. If Harry seemed nervous before his first match, the morning of the match against Hufflepuff he looked downright terrified. I was thankfully able to convince him to eat breakfast, but he was visibly sweating as he went down to the Gryffindor team tent to get ready. I couldn't blame him. Even if I hadn't suspected Snape at first, and had even somewhat defended him at the time, I had no better answer as to who was responsible for what was happening with Harry. I hadn't seen any evidence of anyone else looking into how to steal the stone either. Frankly, I was starting to buy into the theory, especially after the revelation about Snape refereeing the coming match. I mean, it wasn't like Snape of all people would do that just to protect Harry or something, right? He had to have a more sinister reason. Regardless, as me and the others made our way into the stands, we let out a collective sigh of relief. Dumbledore was there, at the head of the teachers section. There wasn't anything anyone could do to hurt Harry when he was around, even if they had the courage to try. Still, I had no doubt in my mind that Snape would be favoring Hufflepuff in terms of his calls, so there was still some concern. Concerns about biased reffing seemed minuscule after what we had been worried about a couple minutes prior, though, so we were rather giddy. As Harry and the rest of the Gryffindor team flew out onto the pitch I could see Harry was feeling similarly. He glanced over at Dumbledore, beaming at him briefly before focusing back on the match with a familiar determined fire in his eyes. As the match was about to begin, I heard a familiar snobby voice behind me.

"You know, I think I figured out how they pick the Gryffindor team. It's the people they feel sorry for! See the Weasleys are dirt poor, and Potter there is an orphan!"

Neville spun around. "Shut it, Malfoy."

Malfoy sneered at him, apparently not yet noticing my presence. "Oh can it Longbottom. I could say a lot more about your parents, insane as they are. You're too weak a target for me though."

Nevill took a deep breath. "I'm worth twelve of you Malfoy."

Ron grinned. "You tell him!"

I cleared my throat loudly. "I do hope Malfoy here remembers our little discussion."

"You wouldn't dare, L/N. Not in front of the whole school."

I shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe not. You want to test that theory?"

Crabbe and Goyle cracked their knuckles angrily but I shot them a glare. "Oh please, you two don't scare me. Run along now, all of you, before I make good on my promise."

Malfoy grumbled but walked off with his goons. I suppose even he was smart enough to realize that picking a fight wasn't a good idea right then. Marie looked at me with an expression I couldn't quite make out.

"You are rather attractive when you talk like that you know?"

I blushed as Hermione giggled beside her. "I... thanks? I thought you didn't like scary me?"

"It's growing on me I think. So long as nice you stays around."

I smiled at her and wrapped my arm around her shoulders. "I don't plan on changing any time soon, Marie. Promise!

She sighed contently. "I'll hold you to that one."

We turned back to the match, which had already begun by that point. Snape was doing what we had expected, handing out penalty shots to Hufflepuff whenever he could, but Harry... Harry was impressive. To be entirely honest, he looked like a completely different player from his first match. Even though he had won it and played very well, especially considering the circumstances, he was noticeably new to it all and seemed to hesitate a bit when push came to shove. No more, though, and it more than helped him. He caught the snitch in less than five minutes, ending the game before it could even properly begin. The win tied Gryffindor for first place with Slytherin, and meant that everything was down to the match against Ravenclaw, which would come in a few months, just after the end of exams. Twenty minutes or so later, Ron, Hermione, Marie, and I were waiting back in the hall for him to join us. After what seemed like forever, he came running up to us, out of breath. Ron wrapped him in a tight hug.

"That was bloody brilliant mate! That's the fastest catch Hogwarts has seen in years!"

Harry collected his breath. "Yeah, yeah, more important though, guess what I caught Snape doing?"

I frowned. "Uh oh. What now?"

"I heard him and Quirrell talking. Snape seemed like he was threatening him, trying to get some information out of him."

Hermione's eyes went wide. "Quirrell probably set up some fancy anti dark magic spell on the stone! Snape wants to figure out how to get past it!"

Marie sighed. "So what you're saying is as soon as Quirrell cracks the stone is as good as gone?"

Hermione nodded, causing Ron to groan loudly.

"It'll be gone in a weak."

I pursed my lips. "Alright look, we can talk to Hagrid about it later and figure out what to do. More importantly, we have a win to celebrate! Come on Harry, everyone is waiting in the common room for you!"

We did our best to clear our minds and went off to join the party. The copious amounts of sweets there did wonders for our worried minds, and I nearly forgot about the stone entirely. But as the night drew to a close, I began to realize something. If Quirrell had been involved in the protection of the stone, surely the other teachers had as well? And Snape couldn't exactly break McGonagall or Flitwick as easily as he could with Mr. Fidgety. That realization brightened my outlook slightly. We had time. But we still needed to figure out a plan. Hagrid probably knew more than we did since he had helped protect the stone via Fluffy, so I started running through arguments in my head as to how to convince him to help us. I continued this late into the night, but eventually I finally gave up and laid down to sleep. As I closed my eyes, one thought filled my mind. Snape wanted the stone. That much was clear. But Snape was not just some impulsive man that would jump at the chance to steal any shiny rock. He had to have plans for it. And big plans at that. Just what exactly was he going to use it for?