The Four Swords of Hogwarts

Chapter 2: A Gaunt Past

Crack.

Harry stopped suddenly at the sound, frowning as he looked around. He gazed at the walls, the floors, the stairs, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. He started walking again, making his way down the Grand Staircase.

Crack.

He stopped again as the sound happened again, only louder. A few other students travelling the Staircase stopped and looked around as well. He was about to dismiss the sound a second time when he looked at the landing he was about to step onto. There was a thing, but long crack in the stone, stretching from the wall to about the centre. He stepped onto the landing and crouched down, running his fingers over the crack.

He knew the castle was centuries old and cracks in stone were normal, but it didn't seem right. Hogwarts wasn't just any building and in all the time he'd attended, he had never seen such damage. He was certain the magic of Hogwarts prevented it from breaking down in such ways.

Feeling the break in the stone, he wasn't sure what to think. Was this related to everything else that was different and changing in the school?

He stood and resumed his trek, unable to delay any longer. He had to get to Quidditch practice. They had their first match in only a few weeks and the new team was not functioning well. He finally understood why Wood had been so stuck up. It wasn't that he had been conceited. He had been stressed about wanting to create and lead the best team. He'd had to replace nearly the entire team and he'd had to fight against accusations of favouritism when he chose both Ginny and Ron for the team.

Everyone had been great during tryouts, but now, during practice, it was like they either had no idea how to play the game or how to work as a team. There was constant fumbling and fighting.

With a sigh, he finished his trip by jogging to the change room. The entire team was already there, but they were changing in near silence. They all gave him small nods or quiet 'heys' as he passed, but that was it.

"Hey, Harry," Ron said. "What's up? You were nearly late."

"I'll tell you later. It's nothing serious," Harry said, changing quickly. He grabbed his Firebolt and turned to his team. "Right, let's go, you lot."

He watched them all get brooms from the closet, frowning at the slight shoves he saw some of them give others. He glanced at Ron who just gave him a small shrug and head shake, obviously unsure what was going on or what to do about it.

Shaking his own head, he followed his team out to the pitch.

"Alright, everyone, line up!" he called out and waited for the team to slowly make their way over. "We've got our first match in three weeks and we've got a lot to work on. So, today, we're going to run through formations."

A murmur ran through the team, but he ignored it.

"Let's go, in the air. Formation five," he said and clapped his hands, signalling the end of instruction.

He watched them all fly into position before flying up himself. He stayed off to the side to watch. He leaned on his broom, watching his team work intently. He groaned as things started going wrong, as usual. Jimmy Peakes and Ritchie Coote began swinging their Beater bats at each other, allowing the practice Bludgers to circle freely. Demelza Robins threw the Quaffle at Katie Bell's back, knocking her hard in the head. Ginny started yelling at Jimmy and Ritchie when they nearly hit her while swinging their bats at each other.

After a few minutes, he flew over.

"Hey!" he shouted. "Enough! Get over here!"

The team flew to join him, still pushing and hitting and yelling.