Chapter 12

Conflicted

Harry never could have imagined it. Instead of being punished, he'd been recommended for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Then, a week after their flying lesson with the Slytherins, he'd been sent a Nimbus 2000, the newest top-of-the-line racing broom from his parents and a very enthusiastic Howler from James. That had made him an instant celebrity among the houses, with people getting up from their chairs to take a look at the broom.

Harry spotted his brother and the rest of his friends over at the Slytherin table gawking at him, and he felt a glimmer of satisfaction. That was until he saw the look of hurt in his brother's eyes, which he quickly masked when he saw Harry staring at him. With anyone else that may have worked, but Harry knew Miles too well. 

He didn't know what to think. On the one hand, he didn't think he ought to feel guilty. At long last, he was being treated better than Miles, or rather, the same way as him, as he should have been from the start. But on the other, Miles had never asked to be treated the way he was by their parents and actually disapproved of how much they spoiled him. Besides, he'd always been nice to Harry when he didn't have to be and tried his best to share whatever he had with him. 

After breakfast, Harry attended his classes, but couldn't focus. The morning's events had driven everything else out of his mind, and he couldn't help but daydream about the Nimbus 2000, and how wonderful it would be to fly it. Then he'd imagine his brother's face and feel guilty once more. It seemed to be a neverending cycle. On top of it all, Oliver Wood had come up to him at lunch asking about meeting him at the Quidditch pitch at 7 p.m. to see if he could make the cut for the Quidditch team.

Harry knew that was probably just for show though. No doubt Oliver just wanted to see him fly, as he hadn't yet, and maybe go over the rules of the game, which Harry knew by heart already, but didn't mind hearing again. He appreciated the chance to be assessed fairly, not just for being Miles Potter's brother and James Potter's son.

So he made his way to the pitch and flew a few laps before Oliver called him down. "Nice flying! You don't seem to have a problem with that, but I want to see how you'd fare with these." He opened a trunk at his feet and inside revealed the Quidditch balls. One quaffle, two bludgers, and the golden snitch.

"I know what those are," Harry said.

"Do you? How many have you played with?"

Harry pointed to the quaffle. "Just that one."

"I'm not going to bring out the bludgers this time around, you'll see them at practice should you make it in." Oliver attempted to sound tough, but his face broke out into a grin mere moments after the words were spoken. "Though I think this spot's got your name on it. I assume you know how this works?"

Oliver was holding the snitch up in front of him. Harry nodded. "Show me what you've got then!" With that, Oliver released the snitch, and Harry hurriedly mounted his broom before tearing after it.

He'd managed to keep it in sight, and leaned forward on the broom to catch up to the shimmering golden ball. When he was within arms reach, he snatched it out of the air, and triumphantly returned to the ground.

An expression of pure joy was on Oliver's face. "Well Potter, it looks like you're on the team."

☆

"On the team?!"

Draco was pacing back and forth in front of a couch in the Slytherin common room, where his friends sat watching him concernedly.

"It's not a big deal Draco-" Miles tried to interject, but was cut off before he could finish.

"It is a big deal! He's a first-year! Like us! And on the Quidditch team just for catching a Remembrall out of the air! Anyone could do that!"

Theo raised an eyebrow skeptically. "It was an impressive catch though, he almost smashed through a castle window trying to get it."

Draco was now beet red. "That only serves to show how unfit he is for the team! If he can't catch the snitch without breaking something then what good is he?!"

"Draco, it's the Gryffindor team." Pansy was trying to conceal her amusement, but it was a losing battle. "Let them do what they want."

"But Potter-"

"Can do whatever he wants mate." Blaise stood up and put a hand on Draco's shoulder. "What about starting that History of Magic essay? Take your mind off of things."

"I've already finished it," Draco grumbled, still fuming.

"Brilliant, you can help me then." With that, he led Draco to the dorms.

Miles hid his smile. He knew for a fact that Blaise had also finished his History of Magic essay, as he and Miles had done theirs together in the library the day before. There was no subject Blaise hated more than History of Magic, which he said would have been interesting if Binns knew what was going on. They would do anything for one another.

Once they were gone, that smile faded a little. The truth was, Draco had been saying practically every single thought that Miles had been trying to push out of his head since he'd heard the news. He couldn't help but agree with the fact that admitting Harry into the Gryffindor team had been a hasty decision, maybe not so well thought out. It was unfair, why was Harry the exception to a rule that had been in place for centuries? 

At the same time, he knew that if anyone deserved to have the honor, it was Harry, who had been denied so many things in his life. To be able to have friends and spend time with his family whenever he pleased. To have friends, a nice room, and the opportunity to do whatever he was passionate about, things that any child should have been able to take for granted. No, Dumbledore had seen to it that his brother was completely miserable. 

He shook his head of these thoughts. He knew that it would take a while to get used to the idea, but he was going to support his brother the best he could. For once, Harry had gotten a break, and Miles wasn't going to be the one to ruin it for him. He'd have to make sure Draco didn't strangle Harry during Potions though, as he wasn't sure about the other boy's self-control, and the fact that he seemed to consider himself Harry's mortal enemy wouldn't help either. He wondered what Harry thought of his being friends with Draco.

He got up. "I'll be back in a bit."

Daphne, Pansy, and Theo looked perplexed but nodded understandingly. 

Slinging his book bag over his shoulder, Miles dashed out of the common room, and towards the library. Finding opportunities to talk to Harry had been one of the most difficult endeavors he'd had to deal with. He'd tried staking out the common room, though didn't have the patience to be there for more than 5 minutes with the Gryffindors eyeing him inquisitively, even asking for autographs at times. 

He'd tried walking up to the Gryffindor table, but as soon as he'd gotten up, Harry seemed to have gotten the gist of what he was doing and hastily signaled for him to sit back down. Miles didn't see what the big deal was, from his experiences outside their common room Harry's housemates didn't seem to have a problem with him. He figured that he could perhaps talk to his brother after breakfast, but Harry always seemed to leave straight afterward to his classes or with Ron back to the common room. 

He knew all he needed was to be able to ask Harry to meet him someplace when he was free, and since asking that simple question in person was out of the question, he decided to send him an owl. That was what brought him to the library, where he got a piece of parchment, quill, and inkpot from his bag, and began to write.

Dear Harry,

                       I don't know if you've noticed, but I've been trying to talk to you. It never seems to be the right time, so I figured I'd just write to you. Will you meet me in the Astronomy Tower at 9 p.m. tomorrow night? Let me know if you can, and talk to you soon.

Miles 

He set his quill down and looked the parchment over. It was a rather spiffing letter if he did say so himself. He went up to Madam Pince and asked for a bit of wax to seal the letter with, and pressed it with the Potter family crest on the ring he wore on his left hand. 

Then it was back to dashing through the castle, bookbag over his shoulder, and heading for the Owlery. He found their owl, Hedwig, who stood out amongst most of the others with her beautiful white feathers. She flew over as soon as she saw him and landed on his shoulder.

"Hey, Hedwig! Could you give this to Harry?"

She nibbled his ear affectionately, which he took to mean yes, so he went over to the window and set her down on the ledge. Miles dug into his pocket and pulled out a few owl treats, which Hedwig took her time eating before she went out the window. 

He hoped Harry would answer, that his brother wanted to talk to him as much as he did. For now, though, all he could do was wait.