Harriet Potter and the Minister of Magic

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters you recognize from the HP books in this story. All I own is the plot. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling.

Pairings: DM/femHP (eventual). CD/femHP. RW/HG. BZ/GW. JP/LP (past). SS/LP (one-sided).

Warnings: Spoilers from canon (Books 4 to 7). Occasional time jumps from chapter to chapter. Mature content later on.

Notes: Just to avoid any confusion, if any of you noticed that some parts of the chapter seem to be jumping or fast-forwarding through a lot of events, yes I'm doing this on purpose. Basically, I'll be skipping through trivial portions of Books 4 and 5 – the events that probably didn't change much from canon. It'll probably continue for a few more chapters until we reach Harry's sixth year – by then, the story will slow down and we'll get to see more interactions. Anyway, without further ado, enjoy the chapter! :D


Chapter 3 – Love, Lies, and Politics

News about the Death Eater attack that had happened after the Quidditch World Cup soon spread through the Wizarding World like a virus. Harry had never seen her father more agitated than he had been during the last few days. With the added stress of coordinating with the Ministry's communication office to deal with all the negative publicity, as well as exhausting himself by lecturing Harry about the stupidity of what she did, James was literally on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

Wincing as she reflected back on the events that had happened that night, Harry remembered the way her father had practically stormed right into the Weasley's tent in a state of frenzied panic. His hair had been more disheveled than usual; his Ministry robes in complete disarray, and his ears were just about steaming with rage as a dozen different combinations of profanity spilled from his mouth.

Without so much as saying a word to Arthur Weasley – who at the time was apologizing profusely to the Minister for having lost sight of Harry during the Death Eater attack – James had grabbed his daughter by her arm and hauled her out of there. Thankfully, he only exploded at her once they had gotten home and it was only after sitting through an entire hour of James hyperventilating with fury that Harry got the chance to speak. Her eyes bright with humiliated tears, she managed to explain to him what had happened – why she had gone after the suspicious man who had cast the Dark Mark.

"I was only trying to help, Dad! Those Death Eaters were everywhere, but none of them cast that Dark Mark! It was that man who was left behind at the camp site! I swear to Merlin I saw him—"

"That is enough from you!" He had growled warningly at her, his eyes glinting with anger.

Flushing in indignation, Harry had opened her mouth to speak up again.

"But Dad, I swear it's the truth! If you had just been there, you would have seen that—"

"I said that is enough!" James had slammed his fist down onto the table, causing her to flinch.

"I can not believe how utterly reckless and irresponsible you were, Harry!" He cut her off again, shaking his head furiously in disbelief. "Those Death Eaters were everywhere! If they had seen you…If just one of them happened to have been at the right place at the right time, you would have—they would have—" James broke off and let out a frustrated growl, running a hand furiously through his hair.

"Well, let's just say that they would have been ecstatic at the opportunity to capture and murder the daughter of the one man who was responsible for sending their lot to Azkaban!" He raged.

Wincing at the furious tone of his voice, Harry felt her eyes stinging with tears again but she refused to let them fall. "I'm fine, Dad! I'm here, see?! I'm fine! I know how to take care of myself—"

"Don't start that! You are a child, Harry! An immature, foolish, insensitive child! First that incident with the Sorcerer's Stone, then that Chamber of Secrets, and now this! How do you expect me to ever trust you again with all of the stupid stunts you pull?!" James snapped at her, his eyes flashing.

Trembling at the force of her father's enraged shouts, Harry swallowed the dry lump that had formed in her throat and dropped her eyes to her lap. "I—I…I'm sorry, Dad…I just wanted to help—"

"Help?!" James glared incredulously at her. "Harry, how do you think your mother would feel if she knew all the stuff you were doing?! Gambling your life – the one thing she sacrificed herself for – is a pretty stupid and selfish way to repay her!" James shook with fury as he buried his face into his hands.

As soon as her father had mentioned her mother, Harry could no longer prevent the onslaught of tears that began to roll down her cheeks. Biting her lip, she bowed her head quickly, not wanting him to see her crying. The heavy silence that soon followed between them was deafening, and Harry tried to ignore the way her eyes were rapidly filling up with tears that were threatening to spill down her cheeks.

To her immense relief, Sirius had chosen that exact moment to peak his head into the room. After a quiet, hesitant look at both James and Harry's deathly silent figures, he stepped uncertainly into the large office, cleared his throat loudly and placed a couple of photos carefully on James' table.

Pointedly pretending not to notice the way Harry's shoulders were shaking with quiet, suppressed sobs, Sirius had then reassured the Minister that there were no reported casualties during the Death Eater attack, and that everyone who had attended the Quidditch cup were safely back home. Sagging with relief, James had nodded at him and then turned to snap at his daughter with a glare again.

"Go to your room, Harry!"

Still flushed with the humiliation that James had forced her to endure in front of everyone that night, Harry had retreated immediately; ignoring the sympathetic look Sirius had given her as she pushed past him. On her way up, she ran into her grandfather as well but when it looked as though Augustus was on the verge of giving her his own lecture, Harry quickly ducked her head and ran past him.

She barely made it to her room when the tears gathered in her eyes had begun to cascade down her cheeks. Angry with her father and more than furious with herself for having let him affect her like that, Harry had chosen to spend the remainder of her summer locked in her room since that night.

The only other times that she allowed herself to go out and walk around the house were those times that she was sure her father and her grandfather were both away. Otherwise, Harry spent the rest of her summer writing and trading letters with her friends, whom she had apologized to for having been forced to leave the Quidditch Cup without a word. Occasionally, Sirius and Remus would also come over to visit her. They tried to convince her to talk to her father but Harry kept blatantly refusing to listen.

To make matters even worse, after hearing about the events of the Quidditch World Cup, the Wizarding tabloids seemed to have taken a newfound interest in writing about Harry again – particularly about how she was growing up to be an irresponsible, attention-seeking brat and how the Minister of Magic was such an inconsiderate and horrible father that he allowed his daughter to behave that way.

The comments targeted towards James weren't exactly sugar-coated either. In fact, Rita Skeeter was particularly vicious in writing about how James Potter was an ignorant 'cad' of a father who couldn't even afford his child enough attention to make sure that she grew up into a 'proper lady'. With that, the tabloids went on with posting dozens of unflattering pictures that depicted Harry as a grungy, boyish teenage girl who did nothing but get into fights all day, get detention and cause all sorts of trouble.

Some of the tabloids had even gone as far as to publicly suggest to the Minister and his cabinet that they should consider shipping Harry off to an exclusive boarding school for girls to 'correct' her behavior, and it was this particular criticism against her character that had irked Harry above all else.

We've just witnessed a Death Eater attack for Merlin's sake, and still all these stupid reporters want to talk about nowadays is how much of bad daughter I am and how my Dad is an ignorant parent?! Harry gritted her teeth in annoyance and snuggled back into her bed, burying herself under her blankets.

It was infuriating.

Sighing, she lifted her head out from underneath her blankets again and reached for the letter on her nightstand, unfolding the parchment and holding it up to the light. Frowning, she read through her godfather's scrawl again, her eyebrows fusing together in resentment as she pondered on his words.

Hey Little Prongs,

How are you holding up?

Look, I know you're not exactly too keen on your idiotic father right now, and frankly, I can understand why. James is under a lot of stress this week – juggling the unsolved muggle murders going around the country and handling all the preparations needed for the TriWizard Tournament this year.

He hasn't been himself lately, and I suppose it's just up to you, me, and Moony to be patient with him until everything calms down. You may not realize it, Harry, but your father loves you very much. He has a very strange way of showing it, but I've known James for years. You're probably the only thing in his life right now that's keeping him sane, and I hope that someday, you realize that and forgive him.

I'm really sorry I couldn't accompany you to Diagon Alley this week. I've just been assigned by your Dad to head another investigation in Albania, but I promise you that we'll talk more again as soon as I get back. Until then, just try to get along with your Dad, Harry. You're both acting like idiots.

Love,

Sirius

Scowling, Harry set the letter back down onto the bed and sank back down against her blankets. She stared up into the ceiling of her room for a few minutes, her eyebrows fused together in thought. Then, with a heavy sigh, she turned over onto her side and rested her head against her pillow.

If I'm an idiot, then Dad is an even bigger idiot than I am. She thought stubbornly to herself. He won't even listen to me! I was only trying to help him, he didn't have to throw a fit about it! She fumed.

She was just on the verge of closing her eyes and forcing herself to sleep again when a loud, impatient knock suddenly sounded on her door, causing the Gryffindor to jerk awake and look up.

"Come in." She replied hesitantly, holding back a sigh when her grandfather entered the room. Trying her best not to sound or appear unwelcoming, she looked up and offered him a forced smile.

"Grandfather, what–" Before she even got to finish her sentence, another figure had walked into her bedroom after her grandfather – a tall, slender woman with straight brown hair, very arched eyebrows and large, smoky brown eyes. Stopping just as she reached the part of the room in front of Harry's bed, she peered down at her and Harry noted the sharpness of her beautiful Russian features.

She was beautiful, Harry would certainly give her that. With an impressive height of about 5'11, a perfectly chiseled nose and a pointed chin, it was obvious that the woman was a model – but unfortunately, that beauty ended the minute Harry recognized the conceit flashing in her dark eyes.

"Oh yes…She definitely needs my help, Augustus." The woman drawled in a low, amused voice, her lips twitching into a smug smirk as she glanced down at Harry through her long, lowered lashes. "Would you just look at the state of her hair and clothes? This definitely cannot do…James was right to ask me to help. We need to start working immediately." She added in her thick, Russian accent, not bothering to answer Harry directly when she suddenly sat up and stared at her grandfather in question.

"Grandfather? What's going on?" Harry demanded sharply, her eyes narrowing as she met Augustus' slightly curious gaze. Lifting his eyebrows at her, Augustus gave her a reassuring nod and smile.

"Harry, I believe you remember Hadriana? Your father introduced her to you before." He began in a casual tone of voice but Harry just glared back at him, her features creasing into a suspicious frown.

"We've met before." She agreed stiffly, her eyes narrowing even further as she turned back to Hadriana and met her icy smile. "Though I still don't understand what she's doing here." Harry added with a spiteful glare at the other woman, watching as the Russian supermodel smirked back at her.

"I was invited here, darling." Hadriana answered sweetly, causing Harry to stiffen at the falseness of her endearment. "By your father actually…And your Uncle Peter." She sat down onto the bed beside Harry, reaching over and running a hand disdainfully through Harry's long, tangled hair. "They were quite adamant, you see…About wanting to teach you how to look more and act like a lady." Hadriana drawled sweetly, pointedly ignoring the way Harry's cheeks had suddenly paled in dismay.

"What…? That's ridiculous! G–grandfather–" She turned to her grandfather for help but Augustus just smiled back at Hadriana and nodded before turning back to glance pointedly at Harry.

"And quite a relief for us too, Hadriana. Given the recent mess Harry made of things, I would think that now would be the most perfect time to start behaving like a proper lady." He told her sternly, causing his granddaughter to gape at him and flick her wide-eyed gaze back to Hadriana in shock.

"Given the 'recent mess' I made? Grandfather, I'm not so sure I understand what you're talking about–" She stopped when Augustus cut her off, his smile fading and his expression turning severe.

"You've been doing nothing but attracting tabloids, Harry! This has got to stop! Your father is the Minister of Magic, and you're my granddaughter! You need to start growing up, young lady!" He told her, his mouth forming into a straight, disapproving line as he glanced back questioningly at Hadriana.

"Shall we start with her appearance first, Hadriana? Would you look at the state of her clothes?" Augustus frowned disapprovingly, ignoring the way Harry's cheeks had flushed at the implied insult.

She opened her mouth to argue but Hadriana had already cut her off. The supermodel had smiled back sweetly at Augustus before turning back to look at Harry, her eyes slowly taking in the younger girl's ruffled features. "Now, don't worry love." She cooed as she reached over and tucked a loose strand of black hair behind Harry's ear. "When your father talked to me last night, asking me to fix up his darling little girl, I was ecstatic!" She laughed, looking up and smiling sweetly at Augustus again.

"Why…We are going to have so much fun, Harry! I'll make you into my own beautiful protégé!" She reassured her as she took a clump of Harry's long hair and held it up, backing away slightly so that she could inspect Harry's scowling features. "Oh my, we are most certainly going to have to do something about this, aren't we? But no matter." She laughed and shook her head at herself. "I know exactly what I'm doing, I'll have your little granddaughter become a beautiful lady in no time, Augustus."

Harry glared at Augustus. "You want to change the way I look and make me look like her?!"

Ignoring his granddaughter completely, Augustus smiled approvingly at Hadriana and nodded.

"Then I will leave the rest to your very capable hands, Hadriana–"

"Grandfather, you can't do this to me!" Harry had suddenly exploded as she bolted up from her bed, rudely shoving Hadriana's fussing hands away from her face and attempting to run out the door. "I'm just a child, for Merlin's sake! You can't leave me to die with this woman, you can't! She's evil, I tell you! She's a demon! And she's going to kill me with all of her make-up, and her curling iron voodoo–"

Not batting an eyelash, her grandfather had anticipated her reaction and caught her easily just as she was trying to escape. "Would you grow up, Harry?!" He interrupted her in exasperation, ignoring his granddaughter's yelps of panic as he tightened his grip on her and pushed her back into the room.

When Harry did nothing else but struggle even more defiantly against him, Augustus let out a sigh of frustration and spoke to her. "Harry, Hadriana is just here to give you a make-over. She's going to help you, child. Now, I'll admit that when Peter first suggested the idea to me and your father, we were a little hesitant about whether it would address all those publicity attacks against you this past week." He paused and watched as Hadriana nodded slowly, smirking as she sauntered slowly over to them.

"But after meeting and talking to Hadriana over here, I guess you can say I'm a little more reassured now." Augustus nodded back in acknowledgment at Hadriana before finally bending down slightly until he could look directly into Harry's stubborn green eyes. "After all, you don't want all of these personal attacks against you and your father to continue, can we? That would just be selfish." He added reproachfully, and the way with which he had said it caused Harry to step away in slight guilt.

"Well, I…I just–"

Augustus reached over to caress the hair on the top of Harry's head. "Think of how badly it reflects on our family, my child…More importantly, think of how it affects your father as this country's Minister of Magic – that his only daughter can't be expected to look and act presentable in the eye of the public." He paused when he noticed the way she had winced at his words before he continued again.

"If we can't silence those pesky reporters, Harry…The most politically-apt response on our part would be to appease them." He reasoned slowly, and it was at this that Hadriana finally spoke up again.

"I promise that I'm just going to fix you up, darling." Hadriana told her sweetly, a smirk still lingering on her lips. "A little grooming will go a long way, you know. And I'm going to teach you–"

Turning around, Harry growled at her. "Grooming?! What do you think I am, a dog?!" She snapped, her features creasing into a scowl. Augustus glared at her but even before he could say anything in admonishment, Harry had already noticed the way Hadriana's sweet smile vanished instantly.

Instead, the supermodel was glaring icily at Harry and answered her with an angry sneer. "Well, if you want to refer to dog, your manners are certainly similar to one. Your room, however–" She arched a perfectly plucked eyebrow, pursed her lips and glanced disdainfully around Harry's bedroom. "–is more like a pigsty, than anything else. That's something we'll need to work on as well." She snapped.

Furious with humiliation, Harry saw red at her words and was already readying herself to lunge at the other woman when Augustus had let out an exasperated sigh and called her attention again. "That is enough from you, Harry! Peter is right, we have been putting this off long enough! You spent too much time with Sirius and Remus, you've inherited all of their nasty, brutish habits! We're just lucky that Hadriana was even willing to help you with this matter! Be thankful for that!" He lectured her firmly.

Momentarily distracted from Hadriana's triumphant sneer, Harry gaped and stared back at him.

"Grandfather, I don't need a makeover! I'm perfectly fine; I can act like a lady—"

"In the way a flobberworm can act like a rat." Hadriana mocked under her breath so that Augustus wouldn't hear but Harry ignored her and practically knelt down in front of him in desperation. Unfortunately, Augustus seemed to have given his final decision on the matter because the former Potter Patriarch was already stalking out of the room, leaving Hadriana and Harry glaring at each other.

To her credit, the look of icy contempt on the supermodel's made-up face suited her perfectly and Harry could only glare back defiantly at her when Hadriana pursed her lips, took out her wand and flicked it once, summoning a pair of scissors, a brush, tweezers, a blow dryer and a curling iron into the air. Then, with a decidedly evil smile, she arched a thin eyebrow at Harry and began to approach her.

"Now…I promise…This won't hurt..." Hadriana's lips twitched into a smirk. "…For very long."

Paling, Harry heard the horrifyingly unfamiliar sound of the blow dryer coming to life in Hadriana's hands and without thinking, she gulped, opened her mouth and let out a terrified scream.


"–the Head of Magical Law Enforcement… Mr. Barty Crouch Sr. – the Head of International Magical Cooperation, and of course, last but not least…Escorted by the stunning Hadriana Sloveckia and his lovely daughter, Harriet, may I present to everyone…the Minister of Magic – Mr. James Potter!"

The announcer's voice boomed through the vastly crowded Ministry Ballroom that night, and hearing her name announced out loud to every Ministry guest around the room was enough to send Harry's nervousness on overdrive. Gulping audibly, she barely registered the way her fingers had tightened around her father's right arm until James had smiled and leaned down to whisper into her ear.

"Smile, Prongslet…You look beautiful." He rewarded her with a reassuring kiss on the forehead. Blushing at her father's praise, Harry fidgeted uncomfortably and self-consciously tugged on her dress.

"I feel like an overwrapped sausage, Dad." She complained, referring to the classy, tight green gown that was wrapped snugly around her body. In spite of herself, Harry couldn't help smiling weakly when her father grinned at her comment and laughed. "Well to be honest with you, Harry, I never quite got the full understanding of women's fashion either…So I'll leave that to Hadriana's expertise." He turned to Hadriana – who was, to Harry's annoyance, glowing radiantly as she held onto his left arm.

She pretended to pout at him just as James led them to the entrance of the ballroom – right in plain view of hundreds of guests and reporters that night who had been waiting for the Minister's arrival.

"And what about me, love…? Am I not beautiful as well?" She asked in a seductive drawl that Harry did not fail to notice. With narrowed eyes, she looked up and watched as James chuckled and smiled at Hadriana. Ignoring the flashing cameras around them, he leaned down and rewarded her with a kiss on the cheek. "You look ravishing as always, Hadriana…And you know it." He pointed out wryly.

She laughed then – that soft, sultry laugh that Harry had always hated – and blushed prettily. "Well, it never hurts to hear it every now and then from the man that matters most to me." With that, Hadriana turned and pretended to wink at Harry, who did nothing else but roll her eyes in disgust.

"What a load of rubbish." She muttered out loud but fortunately, James didn't hear her.

Instead, as he led them both down the long grand staircase that led down to the Ministry Ballroom, he glanced over at Harry again and rewarded her with a proud, admiring smile. "But in all honesty though, Harry…You really do look beautiful." James turned to Hadriana and grinned. "Hadriana, I really have to thank you for all the work you've done for Harry these past few weeks…You're an angel. Even Rita Skeeter had a field day when she spoke to Harry last week. Those tabloids are just about off our tails now." He commented thoughtfully, and in response, Hadriana gave him a satisfied smile

"Of course, love…Although I must tell you–" Hadriana followed James' gaze to Harry and her lips twitched as though she wanted to smirk. "–turning your daughter into a lady was not an easy feat, James. It was weeks before I got to comb out all of her unruliness. And I'm not just talking about her hair." She pointed out, causing Harry to glare at her in angry embarrassment and James to chuckle.

That was because she wanted to maul my hair off! Harry thought furiously to herself, scowling at Hadriana incredulously. The supermodel smirked at her and tightened her hand around James' arm, turning her attention to the guests around them and waving with a well-practiced smile as they passed.

In all fairness to Hadriana though, even Harry had to admit that she herself hadn't expected to see what she had seen in the mirror after Hadriana had just about finished her torture regimen. Where she had once seen nothing but tangled, unruly hair, her dark locks were now straighter and tamer, falling down her waist into small curls. The supermodel had trimmed the thick fringe of hair that had covered her eyes. Instead, she had cut them into attractive side bangs that framed Harry's face perfectly.

She spent about three days dragging Harry's around all of the exclusive beauty spas she knew in England – just to magically remove the ugly scars and scratches that were scattered around Harry's legs, knees and from all of her Quidditch tumbles during the summer. After this was done, Hadriana had used the next few days emptying the contents of Harriet's wardrobe – throwing out old pairs of jeans, sweaters, and even her favorite sneakers – replacing them with blouses, skirts, and fine tailored dresses.

From there, she then forced Harry to wear those new clothes, along with those monstrosities she called heels, and enlisted the help of all her friends from work in enforcing in Harry all that Augustus wanted her to learn. Those "lessons" from Hadriana's friends went on for about three hours, practically everyday for three weeks, and what they taught her ranged from beauty maintenance, make-up, sitting and walking properly, and what constituted proper "lady-like" behavior when dealing with situations.

One of the more crucial points Augustus stressed was how Harry's recklessness and impulsiveness with her actions was unacceptable. He emphasized this by bringing up how all of her fights with some of her male Hogwartian schoolmates were nothing but improper and brutish behavior.

Harry hid a smile as she thought back on all the idiots boys that she had beaten up so far.

Colin Creevey. Cormac McLaggen. Draco Malfoy. Theodore Nott – the list went on, to be honest. And Harry did not regret a single one of them, even if those fights often landed her in detention.

The worst part of the whole ordeal was that since Hadriana and her grandfather had monopolized the remainder of Harriet's summer, she hadn't been able to keep in touch with her friends. She was sure Ron, Hermione and Neville were going to bombard her with questions once school started, and once they did, she couldn't even begin to think about what to say or where she was going to start.

"Minister…?"

The familiar voice that had spoken broke Harry out of her thoughts, and she looked up in confusion. Soon, she was glaring silently as Peter Pettigrew began to approach them, walking up to James and giving him a friendly grin. The former marauder was holding a goblet of wine in one hand as he gestured to the people around the large ballroom before handing James a small slip of parchment.

"Your audience awaits, Minister." Peter told him cheerfully, waiting until James took the parchment from his hand and nodded. Gently disentangling himself from Harry and Hadriana's arms, he excused himself from them for a few minutes before walking to the front of the ballroom with his wand.

After casting a quick "Sonorus" charm on himself, James took one quick around the familiar faces around the large Ministry Ballroom before grinning. "Wow…Is it me or is this room filled with a lot of important names tonight?" He turned to glance at Peter behind him and pretended to give him a glare. "Pettigrew, you lied to me! If had known that there would be these many important people here tonight….If I knew, I wouldn't have agreed to show up and make this speech!" He exclaimed, his words drawing a lot of laughter and amused comments from the officials gathered around the ballroom.

Still grinning sheepishly, James shrugged and eventually folded the parchment, tucking it back into his pocket. "To be really honest with you guys, I didn't really have any specific speech prepared for tonight. Well, Peter, my ever faithful advisor did write me one but I'm afraid I've started the opening part of this speech wrong so I can't really use the joke written in there anymore–" More laughter bounced off the walls and Harry couldn't help chuckling at the ease of her father's natural charisma.

"But in all seriousness though–" James' face finally sobered and he glanced around the room again, meeting different pairs of eyes focused on him. "–I really am honored to be here tonight…with you guys, the driving force of the Ministry of Magic for the last couple of years." He raised his glass and took a quick sip of champagne before he continued. "More than anything else, you all have always supported the decision of the Ministry and without you, we never would have accomplished all we have."

In the crowd, Amos Diggory raised his goblet up to get his attention and James quipped. "Yes, Amos…You led a lot of Ministry projects. I won't forget to mention you." He kidded, and when Amos laughed at him, James grinned and continued. "More than half of those responsible for all of those murders during the Dark Lord's reign of terror are in Azkaban now–"He got a handful of cheers for this, and he nodded again in gratitude. "–most of those remaining are already on trial as we speak. The rest…are too terrified of the Ministry's movement against them." The crowd of guests applauded at this.

Standing a few steps behind James, Peter had a self-satisfied grin on his face as he applauded, nodding emphatically at James' words. Harry was tempted to throw her heeled shoes at him in annoyance but she relented and turned her attention back to her father's speech. James nodded at the crowd's lively response again, pausing for a few seconds to gather his thoughts before he continued.

"As you all know…It has been my dream that one day, the Wizarding World will be free from the threat of people like the Dark Lord…Free from the oppression, abuse, and the fear brought upon us not only by the Death Eaters…But also people who are likely to follow their path." James quieted again and waited until the cheers of acknowledgment he got from the crowd died down. "And for that dream, I have dedicated my life and my efforts into making this world a better…safer place. One in which children like my beautiful daughter, Harriet—" He turned around to glance at Harry, drawing the room's attention to her blushing face. James smiled encouragingly at her, before turning back to the crowd.

"—or your lovely daughters…Your healthy sons…Can walk around the streets even at night without that fear of being attacked by a Cruciatus curse. A world where we – pureblood wizards, muggleborns, and even muggles alike…Will be safe from those who use magic to terrorize innocent lives." James was interrupted briefly when more guests cheered and applauded in agreement around him. Shaking his head in amusement, he continued. "With that dream…With that ultimate goal in mind, I am imploring everyone to keep supporting our endeavors…To keep supporting the Ministry of Magic in its programs and its efforts." James gave them a rueful smile, raising his goblet up in acknowledgement.

"My term is just about halfway done… I will be leaving my post as your Minister of Magic in about three more years…And hopefully, I would have accomplished all I have promised you by then. Though I would be thoroughly grateful to everyone if you could reappoint me for another term, I won't lie to you guys—" He laughed when he heard Sirius making a loud, teasing comment from where he was standing beside Remus near a group of Aurors. "—but if not, well I can still promise everyone that I will continue to support the Ministry of Magic in bringing peace, order and justice to our country." With that, James raised his goblet up higher into the air, waiting as everyone else watching mirrored his actions.

"—so with that, here's to the Ministry of Magic, all of its Heads, officials, and employees, and of course, to the welfare of this beautiful country. Cheers to everyone and enjoy the party." James smiled amidst a loud smattering of applause around them and after he had taken a long sip from his goblet, everyone around them cheered again and began to scatter amongst themselves to resume mingling.

As soon as he had finished his speech and made his way back over to them, Peter finally turned around and acknowledged Hadriana for the first time. "You look beautiful, Hadriana. Might I have the pleasure of dancing with the Ministress?" He asked, giving her a teasing grin that made her roll her eyes.

"Oh stop it you, I am hardly the Ministress, Peter. I doubt that's even a word." Hadriana told him, giggling as she accepted his hand and let him lead her to the dance floor. Peter laughed, both of them ignoring Harriet's incredulous gaze as they strode to the middle of the ballroom and began a light waltz.

She was still watching the pair intently when she felt a hand on the shoulder, causing Harry to jump and whirl around in shock. Her father smiled back at her and she managed a sheepish grin when she noticed his offered hand. "Might I have this dance?" He asked, his expression surprisingly gentle.

Harry met his gaze and nodded, placing her hand in his and allowing him to lead her to the corner of the dance floor. Within a few seconds, James was already leading her into an easy, graceful waltz– and Harry was unfortunately reminded of how utterly inept she was at dancing compared to him. From the moment he was born, James knew how to walk, write, dance and even talk like an aristocrat, and according to Augustus, her father had always been one of those model sons. It was for this particular reason that Augustus had been against James' marriage to Harriet's mother in the first place.

"You okay, Harry? What are you thinking about, love?" James had suddenly asked her, breaking Harry out of her reverie. Blinking, she bit her lip and stared up at him. She knew how much it hurt her father whenever she brought up her mother, so she just shook her head and forced a cheerful smile.

"It's nothing, Dad…I…I'm just a little tired, I guess." She told him, and to her mild surprise, James looked a little guilty at her words. He spun Harry around in a quick twirl before he answered her with a sheepish smile. "I feel like I owe you an apology for the last couple of weeks, Harry. I know it must not have been easy to have been forced into such a serious change just because of all the political backlash against me. I was actually against it at first until–" He paused when Harriet cut him off with a glare.

"–until Grandfather and Peter convinced you that it was necessary. Honestly, Dad…Don't try to pretend like I haven't heard this all before." She pointed out flatly, sighing and looking away. "If anything, the one thing that I resented the most from this whole ordeal was the fact that it wasn't you who talked to me about it. Instead, you sent Grandfather and that woman over to terrorize me." She muttered.

Frowning, James fused his eyebrows together at the anger he heard in her voice. Looking confused, he looked down at Harry again, and then averted his gaze to Hadriana. "Are you talking about Hadriana, Harry? I'm confused. She told me you two got along well enough, do you not like her—"

Harry scoffed loudly at his words and shook her head. "Like her? Dad, I despise her…In fact, the only thing I can tolerate about her is the fact that she doesn't try to pretend to be nice to me." She told him and in spite of herself, Harry shook her head in dismay at this and managed a weak, amused laugh.

"Though…I do haveto admit…That woman has some serious skill in making guys fall all over her." She commented and it was at this that James couldn't help chuckling in agreement. After twirling her around again and leading her off closer to the center of the dance floor, James gave her an impish smile.

"A skill that she tells me she would like to pass on to you." He encouraged lightly, but when Harry just made a face at him and pretended to gag, James laughed again and shook his head at her in amusement. "You know Prongslet, it's not actually bad to act like a girl every now and then. You should try it." He teased pointedly, but in response to this, Harry just grinned at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Why don't you try it then, Dad? Let me know how that works out for you." She kidded, but she ended up squealing with laughter when James mock scowled and pretended to scruff her by her neck. When Harry protested and struggled wildly against him, he chuckled and let her go, rolling his eyes when her response was to stick her tongue at him. "And you wonder why they all say I'm boyish, Dad."

James grinned at her again, looking slightly sheepish as he ducked his head. He looked as though he wanted to say more but then Harry chose that moment to look at him and speak in a hesitant voice.

"Dad?"

Fingering the beautiful silver locket dangling from her neck, Harry swallowed nervously as she met James' curious gaze. Steeling herself with a deep breath, she gave him a hesitant smile and spoke.

"What was Mom like…? You know…Back when you guys were together…?" Harry instantly noticed the way James had stiffened at her question, but before he could cut her off, she continued. "Was she so beautiful that you fell all over yourself for her as well?" Laughing softly, she caressed her locket in thought, thinking back quietly on how truly beautiful her mother looked in all of her pictures.

For a long time after she had spoken, James didn't say anything and Harry was almost afraid that he was angry with her for bringing up her mother at all. When she noticed the way his jaw had tightened and how he seemed to be struggling as he led her around the dance floor, Harry sighed in defeat.

"Dad, it's been fourteen years…And you never once talked to me about her." Her voice broke, and she clenched her fists in frustration. "I just want to know what she was like, Dad… I just want to know…anything…about her! I mean, did you even love her at all?! Was she even real?!" She snapped at him, and it was at this that James flinched and turned away so that she couldn't see his expression.

When he still refused to say anything, Harry's features creased into an angry, frustrated frown.

"You act as though she never existed, Dad! You won't talk to me about her, you won't let me ask about her, you won't even acknowledge that I had a mother!" Harry raged at him, her eyes burning.

"Stop it, Harry." James whispered quietly, his features visibly pained as he looked away.

"Dad, I know she's gone – I'm old enough to know what death is! I've accept that long ago—"

"That's enough!" James hissed angrily, and before he knew what he was doing, he grabbed Harry by one of her wrists and held her still to cut her off. Shocked at his reaction, Harry blinked at him; her eyes wide with dismay until James seemed to have realized his emotional outburst and let her go immediately. His fingers trembling, he took a shaky breath to calm himself down before he spoke again.

"Your mother loved us both very much, Harry." He lifted his gaze up slowly, meeting her eyes with carefully guarded hazel orbs. "It was because of how much she loved us that she died that night." His eyes darkened and it was as though his handsome face was suddenly drained of all his youth.

"And as much as I loved her, I was too weak and powerless to save her."

James narrowed his eyes and looked down at Harry with a cold, chilling glare. "That, and only that, is all you ever need to know." His expression hardened as soon as the words had left his mouth. Fortunately, before Harry could argue with him again, another voice had spoken up behind them, and Harry hesitantly dragged her gaze away from James until she was staring at a familiar, handsome face.

"Cedric…?"

Blinking dazedly, it took Harry more than a few seconds to regain her composure but by then, James had already recovered and greeted the boy in front of them with a smile of acknowledgment. In fact, if Harry didn't know any better, she would have said that her father looked more than relieved for the timely interruption as he turned around and gave his full attention to Cedric without hesitation.

"Cedric! Are you still growing? You look a lot taller than the last time I saw you." James managed to quip in false cheerfulness at him. For his part, Cedric didn't seem to notice the lack of James' usual enthusiasm. He smiled back at the older man and laughed, ducking his head sheepishly behind his hand.

"My dad says I grew about two more inches, though I can't really tell." He paused to flick his gaze questioningly at Harry before looking back at James and offering him a polite smile. "I wonder, Uncle James… Would it be okay if I have Harry's next dance?" When he noticed the way James' eyebrows had arched in surprise, he quickly added. "I promise to bring her back to you right after, Sir."

James couldn't help laughing at the nervousness he sensed from him. He gave the Hufflepuff boy a genuine smile this time, and after giving Harry an encouraging nod, he released his bewildered daughter slowly and pushed her gently towards Cedric's outstretched hand. "I don't see why not, Cedric. Though I do feel compelled to warn you, she is quite a handful when she's wearing heels." He kidded.

Laughing at this, Cedric moved his gaze to Harry's scowling face and smiled in agreement.

"I'll keep that in mind, Uncle." He quipped back good-naturedly.

Furious with her father for intentionally allowing the distraction, Harry didn't bother saying anything else to James as she walked away. In fact, she didn't glance at her father again until Cedric led her safely away to the opposite end of the dance floor. When she did risk another glance at James, she was angry when she saw that he had sauntered back to Hadriana and claimed her for his next dance.

If he's not going to talk to me…Then I'll find out about Mom all by myself. Harry decided stubbornly, watching as James and Hadriana laughed and talked to some of their friends for awhile before they walked off to the dance floor again. She was so intent on watching the two dancing around the room that Harry nearly jumped when Cedric spoke to her again, drawing her attention back to him.

"You know…" He began wryly, smirking when Harry looked up and met his eyes. "…I never really pegged you as the jealous, bratty daughter type, Harry. I have to say, I'm surprised." He teased, chuckling when she flushed at his words instantly and answered him with a slight punch to the arm.

"I am not a jealous brat, Cedric! I was just…Well—" She flushed darker and glared at him as she tried to think of what to say. "I just don't like that woman! She's vile, and conceited and Dad will be much better off without her." She reasoned but Cedric just raised an eyebrow at her and shook his head.

"Are you sure that's not just the whole 'I-should-be-the-only-woman-in-your-life' instinct of yours talking, Har?" He asked pointedly. In spite of herself, Harry had the temerity to look ashamed at his words. "I—it's not that! Even Sirius and Remus agree with me, Hadriana is evil! I don't like her at all—"

Rolling his eyes, Cedric shook his head at her and cut her off by stopping their waltz right in the middle of the dance floor. Then, to her confusion, the Hufflepuff dug into his pocket and surprised her by pulling out a single, beautiful red rose. Smiling at her and ignoring the way Harry was looking at him as though he had grown two heads, he pulled her closer and gently pressed the rose into her palm.

"Let's forget about your father and Hadriana for a few minutes, Harry. That wasn't really the reason I asked you to dance." He began softly, watching as her cheeks immediately began to redden in embarrassment. Stiffening and her heart pounding rapidly in her chest, she gulped as Cedric pulled her against him again and resumed their waltz, one of his arms going down and wrapping around her waist.

"Cedric, what are you doing?" She asked him nervously, flushing darker when Cedric just smiled hesitantly at her and adjusted her arms so that they were wrapped around his neck. Before she got the chance to react, he spoke again and this time, the definite sweetness of his soft voice startled her.

"You look really beautiful, you know. I almost didn't recognize you." He teased, and in spite of herself, Harriet made a face at him and laughed, pretending to gag at his words. "I don't even recognize myself, Ced…That woman turned me into her own Barbie doll." She ran a hand through her carefully styled hair and frowned. "I refuse to believe it takes this much work to be a girl." She commented wryly.

Grinning, Cedric shrugged at her comment and responded by playfully tugging one of her curls. "I wouldn't really know about that, would I? Though, hard work or not, you can be assured that we guys greatly appreciate all your efforts anyway." He kidded, giving her a wink and causing her to roll her eyes.

"You would, Ced." She retorted easily, laughing when Cedric's grin just widened and he poked her ribs in response. Scowling, Harry poked him back in retaliation but when Cedric reacted by poking her lightly on the nose, they winced as the reporters around the Hall suddenly went crazy for pictures.

"Oh great…" Harry drawled sarcastically, shaking her head at herself in annoyance as she and Cedric took that opportunity to move towards the corner of the dance floor to get away from the media. "Just what I needed right now. More publicity and spicy rumors about whether we're dating or not."

She sighed and lowered her gaze to her shoes in defeat, her eyes weary with exhaustion. "It's really getting tiresome these days, Ced. I'm really sorry if I got you involved in my problems, I'm a little embarrassed to be honest." She told him sheepishly, but to her relief, instead of agreeing with her, Cedric just smiled. Taking the rose from her palm, he pinned it gently to the front of her evening dress.

"It's not a problem, Harry. I don't really mind it as much." He assured her, and before he could say anything else, Harry offered him a grateful smile. "Don't worry, they're usually like this anyway. Give these new pictures about a week or two, the rumors should die down soon enough." She told him.

She noticed the way Cedric's cheeks were beginning to redden at her statement. In mild confusion, she glanced up at him and fused her eyebrows together in question. "Ced? Are you okay?"

Tensing and suddenly nervous, Cedric seemed to hesitate for a few seconds before he looked down at her and managed to give her a shy smile. "I may have a better idea." He began uncertainly.

Curious, Harry arched one eyebrow but nodded and stared up at him, waiting for his response. Blushing even darker, if that was even possible, Cedric swallowed audibly and forced out a laugh – more at himself than anything else. Finally, steeling his nerves, he met her eyes directly with a serious gaze.

"Instead of the usual…Us ignoring the rumor and waiting for it to go away—" Cedric swallowed again but his gaze never wavered from Harry's curious, expectant face. "—why don't we do the exact opposite instead?" He paused for a few minutes to catch his breath and looked up to gauge her reaction.

For her part, Harry just looked even more confused and this was confirmed when she just blinked questioningly at him. "I'm not sure I understand what you mean, Ced." She said uncertainly.

Laughing and shaking his head, Cedric rolled his eyes at her usual obliviousness. Fortunately, her reaction had given Cedric the confidence he needed and he managed to speak up again in clearer voice.

"Harry, what I meant was…How about we get rid of the rumor altogether?" When she still looked confused at this, Cedric went on. "I mean…Correct me if I'm wrong here…But in the strictest definition of the word, something can't exactly be a rumor anymore…if it's the truth…Right?" He paused again as he waited nervously for her reaction, watching the look of understanding dawn on her face.

For a minute, it almost seemed as though Harry had gone into mild shock as she immediately dropped her gaze from his face to her shoes and stared intently at it as though it was the most fascinating thing she had ever seen. Blushing horribly but knowing that it was too late to back out now, Cedric hesitated again before he smiled at her reaction and gently prodded her chin up to look at him.

"Harry...?"

Mirroring the horrible blush on his face, Harry was blinking rapidly and stared up at him with wide, doe-eyed expression on her features. Visibly shaken, she swallowed the dry lump in her throat and she opened her mouth to speak but her throat went dry, and Cedric had to speak for them both again.

"A lot of people have been mentioning for a while now that we're a couple…And…Well…When I think about it myself… Why aren't we? I mean…" Cedric lifted his gaze until his eyes were piercing through her beautiful emerald orbs. "We've known each other for years… Our fathers are good friends. My mother adores you…More importantly—" He raised his hand, using it to stroke her pale cheek.

"I adore you."

By now, the reporters and media crew around them were going crazy with their cameras and their quick quotes quills but neither Cedric nor Harry paid them any attention. The two teenagers were so caught up in staring at each other's eyes that they barely noticed the large crowd of people that had gathered around them and were watching the tender scene unfold with smiles and hushed whispers.

As soon as he noticed the way Harry's eyes had softened and the beautiful, hesitant smile that was beginning to form on her face, Cedric smiled back slowly, his hand never leaving her cheek. With his free hand, he took Harry's hand in his and intertwined their fingers, raising it to his lips to give it a kiss.

"Truth be told, I've actually felt this way about you for a long time now, Harry…I just…Well, I just never got the chance or courage to tell you" Cedric shook his head and laughed softly at himself. With that, he retracted the hand he had on her cheek and took her other hand instead, holding it tightly in his.

"So…What do you say, Harry…? Would you be willing to give this a shot with me…?" Cedric asked, exhaling nervously and looking up at her with wide eyes as he waited patiently for her reaction.

"Will you be my girlfriend…?"

For a long time, the dark-haired Gryffindor remained silent, her eyes wide and confused as she stared back at him and tried to think of what to say. Fortunately, Cedric was patient, and didn't appear inclined to rush her so Harry took that opportunity to reflect carefully on everything he had just said.

Though she considered Cedric a good close friend, she never would have anticipated this at all. Since they were children, Cedric had always been very supportive of her and he had even gone as far as to defend her several times in school back when the students accused her of being the Heir of Slytherin.

Of course, she couldn't deny the fact that he was handsome. In fact, as far as Ginny would often remind her, Cedric was one of the most handsome boys in school and though she had grown up with him, she certainly couldn't deny that she found him attractive as well. He was smart, athletic, nice – basically everyone's favorite guy in Hogwarts altogether, and nearly everyone wanted to be his friend.

So what could he possibly want with me?!

"Harry…?"

Startled out of her own thoughts, Harry blinked and stared back up at him, watching as Cedric seemed to shift around nervously as he waited for her answer. Harry cringed awkwardly at him – all the questions she wanted to ask forming in her head but for the life of her, she couldn't voice them out.

"Cedric, I'm…I'm a little confused…I'm going to need some time to—" Harry cut her own stammering response off and took a step away from the Hufflepuff to gain some distance. A little disappointed with her reaction, Cedric managed a polite smile at her and nodded in understanding.

"I understand, Harry—No, wait! Look out!" He reached a hand out to pull her toward him again but in her nervousness, Harry jumped at this and turned sharply to her side – inadvertently colliding with the small house elf that had been approaching from the left. On impulse, she gasped in alarm and grabbed onto the house elf's cake tray for support. Unfortunately, she only realized the stupidity of what she had done the minute she crashed onto the floor, falling face first into the bright pink cake.

SPLAT!

For a few seconds, Harry was seriously considering burying her tomato-red face into what remained of the cake on the floor again, just so she could hide from the laughter and the wildly flashing cameras – but it was Sirius' reaction from across the ballroom that actually made the situation worse.

"Nice one, Harry!" Sirius called out to her from where he was standing beside James, Remus, Tonks and a group of Aurors. At his words, more guests turned to look towards them and more tabloid reporters raised their cameras up – causing Harriet to glare heatedly at her laughing godfather in anger.

"Are you alright?!" Cedric was kneeling by her side immediately, and already she could see the concern that written all over his face. Ignoring the jeers and laughter they could hear from the guests nearby, Harry allowed herself a whimper of embarrassment and hesitantly took Cedric's offered hand.

Oh. Bloody. Hell.

When she noticed that the entire ballroom of guests were still laughing at her, Harry moved her gaze to try and gauge her father's reaction – and she was horrified to note that James was also trying to muffle his laughter. Remus, Tonks, Peter and Hadriana stood beside him, and though Tonks and Remus actually looked as though they were trying their best not to let their sympathy show, Peter and Hadriana just looked annoyed with her.

The worst of all the reactions she saw, however, was that of her grandfather, Augustus, who was currently standing with Amos Diggory by the corner of the room. The former Potter patriarch looked humiliated as he glared at her, and he shook his head once before burying his face into his hands.

"Harry, darling! Over here!"

Mumbling miserably to herself as she began wiping her face, Harry blinked and flicked her gaze distractedly towards the direction of the person who had spoken. To her dismay, the sight that had greeted her turned out to be a large, poised magical camera held up by none other than Rita Skeeter.

"SMILE FOR THE DAILY PROPHET!"


"—Cedric Diggory confesses he likes you and what do you do? You trip and land your face right into a pink tub of cake! This is going to be all over the Daily Prophet tomorrow, and it's all your fault! Really smooth, Potter…Really very smooth!" Harry grumbled miserably to herself as she glared accusingly at her reflection in the bathroom of one of the Ministry offices above the ballroom. When her reflection just stared back at her and offered a shrug, she scowled and smacked herself on the forehead.

"Stupid…stupid, stupid, stupid! I can't believe that just happened – how in Merlin's name are you going to be able to show your face to the public again?" Harry asked the mirror helplessly, but when her reflection just grinned at her, she slumped in defeat and turned the faucet off. "You're no help at all."

Slinking over to the corner of the bathroom, she grabbed the handkerchief that Cedric had given her and angrily wiped her wet face with it – accidentally smudging her make-up all over her cheeks.

"Who can stomach having this much gunk all over her face?!" She asked no one in particular.

Sighing and still muttering about her continuous streak of bad luck, Harry sighed and grabbed her wand flicking it over herself to charm her dress dry. Then, after casting one last exasperated look at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, she shook her head and quickly made her way out of the room. As soon as she was outside, she was just about to turn back towards the Ministry Ballroom when a quick flash of movement heading towards the end of the corridor caught her eye, and she turned around.

Peter…? Momentarily distracted, she froze just as she was about to step out from the bathroom and hastily drew back into the hall shadows before Peter could notice her. What is he doing up here?

Frowning, Harry backed herself further until she was hidden perfectly behind a statue and watched as Peter paused right in the middle of the long hallway. When the former marauder seemed to hesitate and glance around him to make sure he wasn't being followed, Harry stilled and held her breath.

And just what would 'you' be doing skulking around like a rat in a dark corridor, Peter? Harry thought to herself, watching as Peter seemed to have decided that it was safe to go on as he whirled around and continued further down the hall. Narrowing her eyes in suspicion, Harry flicked her gaze from left to right to make sure no could see her before she took a deep breath and followed after him.

When Peter stopped as he reached the corner and turned sharply to his left, Harry hurried after him and watched as Peter stopped by the door to Barty Crouch's office. Once he had stepped inside, Harry quickly tiptoed behind the statue near the front of the open doorway so she could listen to them.

"What the bloody hell took you so long, Pettigrew?"

"This wasn't actually the best of times to meet up, you know."

"Did you bring what I asked you?"

Frowning, Harry tried to peer out from the side of the statue to catch a glimpse of what Peter was handing Crouch but from her end, all she saw was what looked like a large, heavily covered flask.

"This should last for about a few days."

"I take it we are all set with the tournament arrangements then?"

"Everything is being prepared as we speak."

"And Mad-Eye?"

Harry heard Peter's derisive laugh of amusement before he answered.

"He's still convinced that someone's out to get him – as always. Although this time, that old bat may not actually be off track. Fortunately for us, I doubt anyone's going to believe him anyway."

"Indeed. Have you seen to Lucius Malfoy?"

There was a long moment of silence before Peter spoke again.

"What about him? Do you suspect that he's going to cause any trouble? Why would he?"

Harry could have sworn she heard the sneer in Barty Crouch's voice when he answered.

"I'm beginning to think that ol' Lucius has been hiding something from us. I suspect that he can no longer be trusted." Crouch told him, his voice dripping with resentment as he spoke. Peering out from behind the statue again, Harry managed to catch a glimpse of Peter's look of mild surprise at this.

"Are you certain? Well then what do you propose we do about him?"

Crouch was sneering as he stood up and began shrugging himself into his Ministry cloak.

"Let's just keep an eye on him for now…And make sure that he stays away from the Potters. We can't afford to let him slip too much information into the wrong hands." He drawled in a low voice.

"Those blood traitors… Do you think his son and his wife know?"

"We're not sure."

Harry's eyebrows fused together in confusion at the strange way Crouch had used 'we' instead of 'I'. She didn't get to linger on this for long, however, because when she saw that Crouch and Peter beginning to make their way out of the office, she tensed and ducked down further behind the statue.

"Take care of it. Whatever you do, just make sure that the Potters stay away from the Malfoys."

"Leave it to me."

"Oh and Pettigrew?"

Harry had to place both of her hands over her mouth to muffle her breathing when Peter seemed to have stopped directly in front of the statue she was hiding behind. When he paused and leaned casually against the statue, Harry paled even further and she didn't dare move a single muscle.

"Keep a close watch over the Minister's daughter."

She stiffened, and her heart nearly froze in her chest when she heard Crouch's next words.

"She's getting way too curious for her own good."

With that, Crouch and Peter nodded to each other before they strode off towards opposite directions of the corridor, their footsteps fading into the distance. As soon as Harry was sure that they were gone, she took a shaky breath and stumbled out from behind the statue in relief. Her heart was still pounding as she walked back hastily towards the Ballroom, all the while looking around to make sure that neither Peter nor Crouch was nearby. As she turned a corner, however, Harry nearly screamed in fright when she collided with the cloaked figure that had been approaching from the other side.

"Potter!"

Trembling and visibly shaken, Harry managed a nervous laugh and looked up sheepishly into the stern, scowling face of none other than her most hated professor back at school – Severus Snape. To his credit, the Potions Master actually looked concerned at her reaction for a few seconds, but that concern was soon washed away when he recognized who she was. He sneered instantly, giving her a dark glare.

"What do you think you're doing up here, Potter?" He hissed, and without waiting for her to answer, he narrowed his eyes at her in suspicion. "Shouldn't you be back at the party downstairs? Your father might throw another one of his famous hissy fits if he found out his little brat was missing." He spat out cruelly, his sneer hardening when he noticed the way Harry had stiffened in anger at his words.

"I just came back from the ladies room. I'm heading back to the party now." She retorted, making sure to use the same snappy voice that Snape often used with her. When the Potions Master glared back at her and didn't seem to appreciate her disrespectful tone, she added icily. "Professor."

Snape narrowed his eyes at her, one of his thick, dark eyebrows arching up at her in contempt.

"How very like your father you really are, Potter—" She opened her mouth to contradict him but Snape had anticipated this and cut her off quickly with a cold, blunt voice. "—arrogant, obnoxious, conceited little brats… Always strutting about the place thinking you can do whatever you want—"

"My Dad does not strut. And neither do I, Professor Snape." Harry snapped back coldly.

Snape glared back resentfully at her, his features twisted into an angry growl. "Do not talk back to me, girl. I know things about your beloved father that would make your hair stand on end." Sneering, he towered over her with his height until Harry swallowed nervously and backed away a few steps. "One wrong move from either of you two…And I just might let slip all of your precious family's dirty secrets to a dear acquaintance of mine…Rita Skeeter, perhaps? I believe you've met her before." He drawled.

Harry paled at his words but she instantly held back the insult that had formed on her lips.

"You wouldn't."

The sneer on Snape's face widened and his eyes narrowed at her in challenge.

"Don't tempt me, Potter."

Curious and yet, unsure as to what exactly he meant, Harry glared up at him and frowned. "Just what exactly would you know about my father, Professor?" She asked, a hint of uncertainty in her voice.

At the nervousness he saw in her features, the contempt on Snape's face turned particularly vicious and he almost smiled at her. "Now wouldn't you like to know, little Miss Potter?" He mocked.

Her frown deepening, Harry was just about to prod him about this further but before she could even say anything else, a loud familiar voice had suddenly called out to her from behind, cutting her off.

"Harry, you git! What do you think you're doing lingering up here by yourself?!"

Whirling around, Harry didn't actually know whether she should be feeling relieved or annoyed at the sight of her godfather hastily making his way towards her from the very end of the long hallway. To her surprise– when she had glanced back at Snape behind her, she was taken back when she saw that the Potions Master had hastily made himself scarce – sauntering off towards the opposite direction.

"Harry!"

Startled, Harry blinked and looked up to meet Sirius' exasperated glare just as the Head Auror had stopped in front of her and gave her a disapproving frown. "Look, kiddo…I'm as against this whole '24-hour protection' thing that James has got going on you too but I have to tell you…Running off on your own all the time is not going to ease your father's safety concerns at all." He reminded pointedly.

Glaring back at him in response, Harry opened her mouth to tell him off but before she could even utter a word, Sirius rolled his eyes at her and grabbed her lightly by the arm. "Come on now. We have to get back, your father's just about choking with worry looking for you downstairs." He told her.

At his words, Harry couldn't resist scoffing and answering him a disbelieving scowl. "Are you sure? He could actually just be choking on his own bile from laughing at his own daughter awhile ago. In fact–" She ignored the sheepish grin he gave her and narrowed her eyes at him. "–I'm surprised you aren't choking as well." She added, and it was at this that Sirius actually gave her an apologetic smile.

"Alright, Miss grouchypants… I'm sorry for laughing at you back there, okay? But you do have to admit…" He grinned again and loosened his hold on her arm as he led them both back towards the Ministry Ballroom. "Seeing you falling all over yourself for a boy like Cedric Diggory was pretty funny."

"Take that back!"

The instant he had said this, Harry was on him instantly – wrestling his arm as she tried to tuck it behind his back in annoyance but as always, Sirius had anticipated her reaction and merely chuckled as he easily twisted himself free from her grip. Ignoring her frustrated growl, his expression sobered for a few seconds as he turned back around and leveled his goddaughter with a careful, scrutinizing gaze.

"Before I forget…What were you doing up here this long…? You looked pretty shaken a moment ago when I saw you. Was Snape giving you rubbish again? Sirius asked, his eyes narrowed in concern.

Thinking back on everything she had seen and heard in the last half hour, Harry looked up at him, and after a few seconds of awkward silence, she managed to force out a reassuring smile onto her face.

"It was nothing…I just–" She hesitated, flicking her gaze back in the direction of Crouch's office.

"–I went looking for the bathroom, then I got lost." Harry heard the outright lie echoing a few times in her head but she ignored it and sighed in relief when Sirius didn't intrude on her by asking her more questions. "I guess I'm just too curious for my own good, huh?" She managed a nervous laugh.

His eyebrows fused, Sirius looked extremely bothered by her comment. Without saying anything else, they walked back to the Ballroom in silence, both their thoughts lingering on Harry's last words.


A/N: Lots of love and hugs to everyone who's reviewed and followed the story so far! I'm really happy to see that you all like the developing plot! More DM/femHP to come in the later chapters, I promise! :D

Next Chapter: Back to Hogwarts: the arrival of Beauxbatons, Durmstrang, Dumbledore announces the TriWizard Tournament (expect a few healthy doses of DM/femHP in between for some spice :D )

So what do you guys think? Do you think Harry should accept Cedric's proposal?

Please don't forget to drop a review and tell me your thoughts, dearies! See you next update! :D