Quiditch Try-outs and Memories

It was currently Friday afternoon, and Grifindor was holding Quiditch try-outs on the field. Harry was watching the try-outs from above. Draco was trying out for Seeker, Ginny as lead Chaser, Dean and Seamus as Beaters, and Neville and Collin Creevey as Keepers. Ron was going to fill in the last Keeper slot. Harry watched closely on Neville and Collin, since they both had bad luck with brooms in the past. Ron was commencing the try-outs.

"Thank you for trying out today, just do your best. We will set up a mock game. Harry will be watching us from the skies to see how we fare in formation. Then I'll test you in groups." Ron said, pointing to the sky. Everyone saw Harry hovering in the air. "Get ready, set, go!" Ron yelled. Everyone immediately took to the skies. Neville and Collin were a bit shaky in actual flying, but once they got to the goal post, they could easily keep the broom in one place, and even balance without hands. They might not be able to fly well, but they can balance in one place.

Ron blew his whistle, and commenced the mock game against an imaginary opponent. This was mostly to see how they fared in formation. When that was done, Ron started testing out Draco at his seeking skills. Draco sped after the snitch, and caught it after 4 minutes of seeking. Ron then asked Dean and Seamus to hit the Bludger back and forth, then they asked the rest of the team to fly in between, and see how they could avoid their own team mates. Ron then had the whole team throw Quaffles at Neville and Collin, and surprisingly, they caught all the balls, all while maintaining balance. Ron tested Ginny by getting her to steal the Quaffle away from Draco, which she did successfully. Lastly, Ron tested out the other Chasers, and they did fantastically as well.

When that was done, the Ravenclaw team walked onto the pitch.

"We will have a test game with Ravenclaw! Good luck!" Ron yelled to the team. Professor Sprout was in charge of the balls and the score. She blew the whistle, then released the balls. Harry watched as the mock Grifindor team started destroying the Ravenclaw's official team. There were a bit of slip ups that Harry could see, but a couple practices could change that. It was when Harry was watching the Ravenclaw Chasers make their way towards Neville, Ron, and Collin, that Harry felt something weird in his stomach. It was almost like a feeling of dread. Harry watched intently at Neville and Collin.

It was when one particularly strong Chaser threw the Quaffle to Neville, that everything went in slow motion. Neville tried to catch the Quaffle, but it knocked him off the back end of his broom. Harry all of a sudden, was overcome from a memory. He looked down as he saw Dumbledore fall down off of the Astronomy Tower. Absolutely no glint in his eyes, just a blank stare casting towards the sky. Harry snapped out of it, and quickly dove after Neville. Just 20 feet above the ground, and Harry caught Neville in a front hug, and swooped him away from the ground. They both clung to each other as they landed onto the ground. Neville took a minute to register what happened before he tried to get out of Harry's grip. Only then did he notice that Harry was holding onto him very tight, and he was shaking.

"Harry? What's wrong?" Neville asked concerned. The teams ran to the two, but they backed off as they saw that Harry still had his wings on. Draco stepped forward, but he let Neville talk to Harry.

"Harry?" Neville asked again. All he received in response, was Harry clinging to him tighter, shaking a lot. Only then did Neville realize, that Harry was crying. He could barely hear it, but it was there.

Harry took a shuttering breath. "Please... don't be dead." Harry said more to himself than to Neville. Neville registered quickly what was happening, and he immediately took action.

"Hey Harry, don't worry, I'm perfectly fine." Neville said quickly. Neville then shook himself a little lose, before grabbing onto Harry's shoulders, making Harry face him. Harry's eyes were red, his pupils dilated, and he looked scared out of his mind.

"Harry! Snap out of it, Harry! I'm here! I'm not hurt!" Neville exclaimed, getting Harry's attention. Neville watched as Harry's eyes finally focused on Neville's face, before his wings disappeared. Harry slowly sunk to the ground, and Neville embraced him. Draco ran to the two, and placed a shoulder on Harry.

"Harry? Honey, are you ok?" Draco asked concerned, his eyebrows furrowing a little. Harry nodded, and let go of Neville. Harry gave Neville one more look, before turning to Draco, and hugging him. Draco knew something was wrong, so he picked Harry up bridal style, and walked off the pitch. Ron and Hermione looked at Harry, definitely concerned about his odd behavior.

Ron turned to his team awkwardly. "Um, that will be all for today. I'll let you know if you got the position later on." Ron dismissed. Ron turned to Neville.

"What happened?" Ron asked.

"I don't know. It was weird. He caught me, but when we landed, he didn't let me go. He was shaking really badly, and I could hear him crying softly. He just kept on clinging to me. Then he said 'Please, don't be dead.' I finally got his attention, and he seemed to snap out of it." Neville explained quickly.

"Let's go check up on him." Ron said. They both started walking back inside the castle.


When Draco carried Harry back to his quarters, Harry was already asleep. Draco placed Harry on their bed, and took his robes off, but leaved his boxers and undershirt. Then Draco covered Harry up.

'What was that?' Draco thought. 'He looked so scared, but of what?'

Just then, Draco heard knocking on the door. Draco quickly ran to the door, and slipped out of the quarters. Neville and Ron were standing there. Draco pushed them further out, until Draco was completely out of the doorway, and he closed the door softly. Draco motioned for Neville and Ron to walk down to the desks, away from the door, and sit down. Draco shot a silencing charm on the door, before speaking.

"What in hell was that?" Draco asked, looking at Neville. "It looked like he just saw Voldemort get risen for a second time."

"I don't really know what happened either. First I was falling, then Harry caught me, and when we landed, he wouldn't let me go. He was shaking really badly, and I could hear him crying. He then whispered, 'Please, don't be dead.' I finally got his attention, and he seemed to snap out of it." Neville explained, just as he did to Ron.

"I happened to be looking up at Harry when you started falling. He looked frozen, and horrified. He then started racing towards you, and then I noticed that you were falling." Draco said, thinking deeply.

"Maybe he was just generally scared for your well being." Ron suggested. Both Draco and Neville shook their heads.

"Harry was utterly mortified." Neville told Ron.

"Yeah, I don't think he'd even be that shaken up over me falling, let alone Neville. No offense." Draco added.

"None taken." Neville assured unfazed.

"Then what was that?" Ron asked. No one said anything.

"Maybe Hermione might know something, or at least have an idea." Ron suggested.

"You two can go up without me. I'm going to watch over Harry. He fell asleep on the way here." Draco said as he stood up. Neville and Ron waved goodbye to Draco as he went back upstairs, then they headed to the common rooms where Hermione currently was.


When Ron and Neville finally got to the common room, they spotted Hermione reading in a sofa chair. Ron and Neville sat on the chair across from her, and got her attention.

"Hermione. We have a problem." Ron told her. She casually flicked a page.

"I told you, I'm not going to do your potions essay." Hermione said calmly.

"We aren't talking about that kind of help. It's Harry. Something happened today at Quiditch try-outs." Neville told her. Hermione immediately closed her book.

"What happened? Is he ok?" Hermione asked quickly.

"We don't think so. Harry had a sort of episode out on the pitch." Ron commented.

"It all started when a Ravenclaw Chaser threw a Quaffle at me, and knocked me off the back end of my broom. When I started falling, Harry flew down and caught me. When we landed, he wouldn't let go of me. It was like he was in shock. He was shaking a lot, and he was crying. He whispered 'Please, don't die.' I finally snapped him out of it. Then Draco carried him back to his quarters." Neville explained.

"We asked Draco if he knew anything, and he said no. Harry fell asleep before he even reached his quarters." Ron added. Hermione thought.

"Well, something obviously triggered him if he was acting that way. The only way we can know what happened is by asking him." Hermione said.

"How about we check on him. If he was having a panic attack of some sort, he'll need people to comfort him. And it might be good for him to see Neville when he wakes up." Hermione said looking at Neville. Ron and Neville quickly dashed upstairs to shower and dress in clean clothes, before setting out again with Hermione.


This time, when the trio got there, Draco allowed them in, but told them to keep quiet. Draco lead him to the room where Harry was sleeping. They didn't say anything, but they all set down some futons and blankets, and Draco served tea. Everyone was silent as they watched over Harry. Slowly, one by one, they each started falling asleep. Draco opted to sleeping on a futon so he didn't disturb Harry.


Almost everyone woke up late the next morning. It was 11am, and everyone was awake, and drinking coffee, but Harry was still deep asleep.

"I'm worried about him. He always wakes up before me, and he wakes up earlier, too." Draco whispered.

"Maybe we should wake him up." Neville suggested. Draco agreed, and he carefully got up, and walked over to Harry's side. Draco gently nudged Harry. Harry moved a little, but still didn't wake up. Draco nudged him with a bit more force, and Harry shot up awake, eyes looking around wildly. Draco immediately grabbed onto him when he saw Harry panicking.

"Harry! Its ok. You are awake now. You were just sleeping!" Draco exclaimed as he brought Harry to look at him. Harry's eyes were dilated, but quickly focused, and Harry calmed down. Draco held him until Harry's breathing became normal. Draco let go. Harry looked down at Hermione, Ron, and Neville. They were currently wearing some casual muggle attire, and they were sitting on the futons.

"What's going on? How come you're sleeping here?" Harry asked quietly.

"We were worried about you." Hermione answered. "We wanted to be here when you woke up." She explained.

"How come you were worried?" Harry asked.

"Do you remember yesterday? You saved me from falling off my broom. You were acting very scared." Neville explained. Harry looked confused at first, but then his eyes widened, and he nodded slowly.

"Do you think you could tell us why you were so scared?" Ron asked cautiously, yet concerned.

Slowly, tears started dropping down Harry's face, but his expression remained neutral.

"I-I had a f-flash back." Harry stuttered. "Whe-when I saw you start f-falling, everything changed, and t-then I saw D-Dumbledore falling from the Astronomy Tower." Harry said. He was progressively getting a bit louder. "I-I flew down as fast as I could, t-to catch you. I d-don't know what was happening, I-it happened so fast. T-then we were on the ground, and I-I saw you, n-not Dumbledore. Then I remember getting p-picked up, and I passed out." Harry finished, rushing the last sentence a little. Everyone shared a quick look. Harry wrapped his arms around Draco, and nuzzled his head in the crook of his neck. Draco wrapped his arm around him in response.

"I read about Muggles, and this particular type of events. Muggles get into wars all the time, all over the world. They send people over seas to fight their enemies. They call these people, soldiers. When soldiers come home from the war they were fighting in, they sometimes get a disorder call PTSD. It means Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. You get flashbacks and anxiety when you are put into the same position as you were in another traumatic event." Hermione explained to everyone.

"So you are saying that Harry is suffering from PTSD?" Neville asked. Hermione nodded.

"I've heard about that." Harry commented quietly, muffled by Draco's shirt.

"How long does it last?" Draco asked, rubbing Harry's back.

Hermione frowned. "That's the thing. PTSD is different with everyone. Some people only have light cases of it, while others suffer through it all day, everyday. Sometimes it lasts for a short amount of time, but it can also last a lifetime to a different person. Only time can tell." Hermione said sadly.

"So that means we need to make sure Harry has a safe space surrounding him." Ron said. Everyone nodded. Harry finally pulled himself out of Draco's shirt.

"I'm fine now. I'm just a bit emotionally exhausted. I think I'm going to take a little nap." Harry said as he rolled over on his side, facing away from them. Hermione, Ron, and Neville started standing up. When they were almost out the door, Harry spoke up.

"Hey Neville?" Harry said quietly. Neville still heard it.

"Yeah Harry?" Neville responded.

"You and Collin shouldn't play Quiditch yet. I watched you, and you were almost as new to flying as Hermione is. Do me a favor, and don't join the team. I don't want to see you falling off your brooms again like that. Tell Collin that, too." Harry said quietly, before he fell back asleep.

Everyone left the quarters, and walked back to the common room to change out of their clothes.

Draco spent the rest of the day inside the room with Harry. At around 6, Dobby brought them both dinner and left. Harry only stayed up for dinner, but fell back asleep. Draco ended up sleeping at around 8 at night. Nothing seemed to disturb them throughout the night.



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