Chapter - 014 Next day The whole school was talking about Harry Potter, the youngest seeker in the history of 'Quidditch'. After breakfast since Alex didn't have any class in the morning, he was sitting on a bench in the lawn reading newspaper. Harry and Ron were surrounded by the Gryffindors led by Fred and George. They were publicising the fact that Harry was the youngest seeker to the whole school, especially to the Slytherins. Alex was lost in thoughts while looking at them when he heard a voice as if someone whispered in his ears. "Do you want to be as famous as Potter?" Snape who came and stood beside him without letting him know asked. "Not really" Alex replied after calming himself. "Then why are you looking at him so intently? Even I thought you were feeling envious of Potter" Snape said. "I am just wondering if his fame has any basis or there is some other story behind that the world does not know," Alex shared his thoughts with Snape. "Why do you ask?" Snape asked curiously. "Well, you see he is not a brilliant student, nor is he good at magic. If he is forced into a situation, he can only depend on his instincts. The only two things he is good at is Quidditch and his ability to stir up troubles" Alex told his reasons to Snape. "Hahaha!!". Snape laughed out loud, and all the students came to a standstill for a few seconds. Soon the students went into a frenzy. The man who only knew how to sneer and scorn others just broke into laughter, it was unbelievable. Snape too came to his senses and looked towards Alex, who was also dumbstruck. This boy was not related to him, but he has been the closest to him for the past few years. He was more than family to him now. Snape has been thinking of dissolving the master-slave relation between them for a while now but is a bit hesitant. "You have guessed a few things right. There is indeed a story behind, which you might come to know in the future". Snape cleared his throat and ignoring others replied to Alex. "I understand," Alex said, not trying to pry any information out of Snape. Alex was never curious about anyone's personal affairs. If he was bound to know he will know eventually. "But due to what happened all those years ago, it is inevitable that Harry Potter will be among those who are at the Apex of this magical world. But will he be on the good side or the other is something we can't know" saying this Snape left. Pretty soon, the news about Harry being the youngest seeker in history was overshadowed by Snape's laugh. Teachers visited Professor Snape's office one after the other. Even Professor McGonagall came for a visit. Days passed by, and Harry's fame spread among the students exponentially. There was even a fan club of Harry which held regular meetings. On the other hand, for Alex, everything was as it is. As expected, he was isolated by the majority of Slytherins except for Daphne and some. There was one thing that did change. Every time Alex crossed paths with Harry, he could feel the disdain from the latter. On the other hand, Malfoy although was back to his usual self but he would avoid Alex as much as possible. Sunday... Today, as usual, Alex was in the 'Great Hall' having his breakfast when owls came bearing letters and parcels. Everyone's attention was caught at once by a long, thin package carried by six large screech owls. Alex was just as interested as everyone else to see what was in this large parcel and was amazed when the owls soared down and dropped it right in front of Harry, knocking his bacon to the floor. They had hardly fluttered out of the way when another owl dropped a letter on top of the parcel. "It looks like a broomstick" Daphne who was sitting beside Alex said. "Hmmm..." Alex agreed. These days since most of the students avoided him, Alex and Daphne grew closer. Alex started replying to her in more than one word. "I heard professor McGonagall asked professor Dumbledore to bend some rules and allow Harry to participate in Quidditch" Daphne added. "Really! I never thought professor McGonagall would do something like this" Alex was a bit surprised. "What do you mean?" Daphne asked. "Well, she likes to follow rules, so it's just not like her to do something like this" Alex explained. "You sound disappointed". Daphne said "Well, I am a little" Alex confirmed. "You must respect..." Daphne couldn't complete her sentence. Daphne almost choked on her saliva. Seeing that Daphne was looking behind him, Alex turned around only to see professor McGonagall behind him. Professor McGonagall looked at Alex and Daphne for a while and then left without saying a word. "Do you think she heard us?" Daphne asked. "In situations like these, the obvious answer is 'Yes'". On the other hand, Ron and Harry unpacked the parcel in front of everyone. The Gryffindors were so excited that they were shouting their lungs out. They wanted to show off in front of other houses, especially the Slytherin. Malfoy could not take it anymore and walked towards the Gryffindor table. Crabbe and Goyle too joined him. "You'll be in for it this time, Potter, first years aren't allowed them." Ron couldn't resist it. "It's not any old broomstick," he said, "it's a Nimbus Two Thousand. What did you say you've got at home, Malfoy, a Comet Two Sixty?" Ron grinned at Harry. "Comets look flashy, but they're not in the same league as the Nimbus." "What would you know about it, Weasley, you couldn't afford half the handle," Malfoy snapped back. "I suppose you and your brothers have to save up twig by twig." Before Ron could answer, Professor Flitwick appeared at Malfoy's elbow. "Not arguing, I hope, boys?" he squeaked. "Potters been sent a broomstick, Professor," said Malfoy quickly. "Yes, yes, that's right," said Professor Flitwick, beaming at Harry. "Professor McGonagall told me all about the special circumstances, Potter. And what model is it?" "A Nimbus Two Thousand, sir," said Harry, fighting not to laugh at the look of horror on Malfoy's face. "And it's really thanks to Malfoy here that I've got it," he added. Professor Flitwick left after chatting with Harry for a while. "Why are you thanking me, Potter?" Malfoy asked. "Well, you know, what happened at the flying lesson that day led me to become the youngest seeker and now this" Harry, reminded Malfoy. "Humph..., let's go" Malfoy sulked on the remark and left with Crabbe and Goyle Alex too left the 'Great Hall' and went to his room. He picked up Erebus and left towards the field. Sunday was the day when Alex took Erebus out to play. Alex was playing with Erebus when Harry along with Oliver Wood came. 'Why am I running into Potter more and more now?' Alex thought. "Mate, do you mind if we do some practice here?" Oliver asked Alex. "Go ahead". Alex nodded and moved a bit far from them. "Thanks". Oliver shouted from behind. Too eager to fly again, Harry mounted his broomstick and kicked off from the ground. He swooped in and out of the goalposts and then sped up and down the field. The Nimbus Two Thousand turned wherever he wanted at his lightest touch. "Hey, Potter, come down!" Wood said. Harry landed next to him. "Very nice," said Wood, his eyes glinting. "I see what McGonagall meant . . . you really are a natural. I'm just going to teach you the rules this evening, then you'll be joining team practice three times a week." He opened the crate. Inside were four different-sized balls. "Right," said Wood. "Now, Quidditch is easy enough to understand, even if it's not too easy to play. There are seven players on each side. Three of them are called Chasers." "Three Chasers," Harry repeated, as Wood took out a bright red ball about the size of a soccer ball. "This ball's called the Quaffle," said Wood. "The Chasers throw the Quaffle to each other and try and get it through one of the hoops to score a goal. Ten points every time the Quaffle goes through one of the hoops. Follow me?" "The Chasers throw the Quaffle and put it through the hoops to score," Harry recited. "So — that's sort of like basketball on broomsticks with six hoops, isn't it?" "What's basketball?" said Wood curiously. "Never mind". Wood started explaining the rules to Harry. Alex was on the side and would look at the duo from time to time. Using magic, he was able to hear everything they were talking about. When Wood was explaining about Bludgers to Harry, the black ball rose high up in the sky before descending towards Harry. Harry struck it with the bat, and it flew towards Alex with high speed. Seeing the ball coming towards him, Alex was a bit flustered and involuntarily tried to hit the ball with his hand. The Bludger before reaching Alex blasted and turned into smithereens. Harry was dumbfounded, Wood was in awe, and Alex was in thoughts. With these emotions, Alex picked up Erebus and left.

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