Notes: Apologies for the delay. I had some real problems writing this chapter, mainly as this one deals more with the developing relationships, while the next 2-3 will deal with magic (charms etc). I'm working hard on the next chapter now, and hopefully it won't take as long as this one.
Chapter 4
"So, what do you think?"
Harry saw his godfather regard him. The Final Task was only a few days away but Bagman had made good his claim, and Harry was trying to convince Sirius to leave the country.
"I don't like this," said Sirius. "I want to stay here… near you, even if I must remain in my canine form. At least, until the Tournament is over."
"Sirius, try to see reason!" Harry was frustrated. "I want you to be free, and this may be the only way to do it."
"I'm more use to you if I stay here," Sirius protested.
Harry frowned. "No. You are more use to me if you are able to clear your name and let me move in with you for the summer."
Sirius shook his head. "What makes you think the British Ministry will accept the International Confederation's reversal of verdict?"
"They'll have no choice," said Harry. "At the very least, you'll be a free man in France and I'll be able to stay with you there every summer."
"No," Sirius declared. "I'm staying here, and that's final."
Harry hesitated. Something Dumbledore had said came to his mind. Hating himself as he said this, he turned his eyes intently on Sirius. "What's your true reason for staying here?"
Sirius looked like he had been slapped. "I…"
"Tell me the truth," said Harry firmly.
"Fine." Sirius turned away from Harry. "It's Rosmerta, okay? She waited for me… and… you are correct… I shouldn't use you as an excuse… I'll take Buckbeak and go to France…"
Harry felt like something precious between him and Sirius had just snapped and it was his fault, but he was relieved with the results. Sirius would fly to France where Bagman's contact will ensure him access to an ICW tribunal.
He returned to Hogwarts and nearly groaned when he saw the large group assembled near the maze.
"Harry, my boy."
"Minister," Harry greeted Cornelius Fudge, who rushed to Harry's side and shook his hand. "Director Bones." Harry noticed Fudge wasn't too pleased with his polite greeting to Amelia Bones, but looked pleased when Harry expressly ignored Amos Diggory. "It's a surprise to see you all here…" Harry's blood curdled slightly. "And Mr Malfoy."
"Oh, don't you worry about it," said Fudge, like an adult talking to a young child. "We're just here to make sure all the safety precautions are in place."
Somehow, knowing that Malfoy was supervising whether safety precautions were in place didn't quite make Harry very relieved.
"Have you heard from your godfather, Harry?" asked Fudge. "I was most appalled to learn what happened to him. I can assure you, Harry, Mr Black will receive a trial the moment he surrenders himself to Ministry custody."
Harry shrugged. "I haven't heard from him lately. He sent me a letter a while back from the Isle of Man, but I'm not sure if he's still there."
"Isle of Man," Fudge repeated contemplatively. "I'll have someone check that place. Thank you, Harry, my boy. Good luck for the final task."
The day of the final task was full of surprises for Harry. The Champions had their families invited for the event, and Dumbledore had seen fit to invite the Weasleys for Harry.
Harry couldn't help but consider all the ulterior motives Dumbledore might have had, but in the end, decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth. He allowed Molly to fuss over him for a few minutes, thoroughly enjoying it, while Ginny was glaring at him enviously.
"Hi, mum," she said. "I'm here too… your only daughter…"
"Hello, sweetheart. There's something on your nose, dear," said Molly distractedly, before turning back to Harry.
After a few more minutes, Harry parted from Molly and walked towards a pouting Ginny and put an arm around her. "Mrs Weasley, is it okay if I leave my Firebolt with Ginny this summer? Ron's a shoe-in for Keeper, but we'll need a good Chaser too…"
"Of course, Harry," said Molly. "You'll take good care of Harry's broomstick, won't you, Ginny?"
Everyone except Molly caught the unintended double entendre and the good grace to look away from Ginny's reddening face.
"Molly… let's go and say hello to the Diggorys," Arthur hastily stepped in. "Bill… stay here."
Bill Weasley regarded his sister and her new best friend carefully.
"Oh, wipe that look off your face," Ginny snapped. "Harry and I aren't like that… He's with Susan… and I'm with Mr Cuddlebug."
"Mr Cuddlebug?" Bill asked curiously.
"That's the tortoise Ginny transfigured from her teapot," said Harry. "It's shell is oddly red in colour and it breathes out steam occasionally, but Mr Cuddlebug a fine specimen of the tortoise species."
Bill laughed. He looked at Ginny fondly. "Come here, Ginny," and he hugged her again. He patted her back, seemingly reading a lot more of her emotions than her parents could. "Harry, I was asked to relay a message to you from Charlie."
"Yeah?"
"He's moving from the Romanian reserve to a newly rebuilt reserve in Wales," said Bill. "He says you're welcome to join them for the summer."
Harry paused. "That's nice of him," he said slowly. "It'll be good publicity for the dragon reserve as well."
Ginny observed her brother's reaction to Harry's comment, and then sighed. "Bill, you can tell Harry outright if that's what Charlie wants. He won't mind, as long as you tell the truth. Don't treat him like a puppet."
"I'm sorry," Bill apologised. "I don't know Charlie's exact reasons, Harry, but your being there will definitely attract a lot more tourists and visitors than otherwise. It's fine if you don't want to come…"
"Hold your dragons just there!" Harry frowned. "I'd love to spend the summer with Charlie in a dragon reserve. Much better than the Dursleys."
"Can I also come?" asked Ginny excitedly. "Can I? Can I?"
"No, Ginny."
"Can I?"
"No…"
"Can I?"
"No!"
"Can I?"
"You're not going to stop, are you?" Bill asked morosely.
"Of course, not," said Ginny cheerfully. "Can I?"
"I'll talk to Charlie, dad and mum and try to convince them, chipmunk," Bill promised.
"Yay!"
Harry looked from brother to sister with amusement and mouthed 'chipmunk' but Ginny raised her fist at him menacingly so he decided to keep quiet. He had been slightly hurt when Bill tried to aid Charlie in using him like that, but he waved it aside. Everybody he knew, other than his closest friends, would use him like that, he had to get used to it. More importantly, there was absolutely no reason for him to not use his public image to aid family. Because that's what the Weasleys were to him, despite his damaged friendship with Ron and the twins.
The Third Task was about to start.
Susan joined him before the start. "I'll be worried until I see you return in one piece," she whispered. "Please be safe."
Harry looked at her tenderly and pulled her into his embrace. "I enjoy our private times together far too much not to return in one piece."
"You're killing the mood," Susan said accusatorily. "This is supposed to be one of those wonderfully epic tearful farewells."
"There's nothing wonderful about seeing your tears," said Harry softly. He kissed her lips.
"My aunty is watching," said Susan, but she was smiling.
"Is she?" Harry didn't care. He brushed aside strands of her hair that were falling in front of her face. "She'll just have to turn the other cheek then." He leaned forward and kissed her again.
Soon, it was time to leave. Harry was the first to enter, as he had the most points from his earlier tasks. Bagman nodded at him and Harry stepped into the maze.
The first thing he did was rotate his wand and say, "Point me Triwizard Cup," while thinking of the trophy they had been shown earlier. The wand pointed the general direction he needed to follow. And he rushed through the maze. For several minutes, he encountered nothing more annoying than dead ends. But then he heard a hissing noise.
There was a snake in his path.
For a moment, Harry toyed with the idea of speaking to it, but then he recalled how the second task had large screen displays of how individual Champions performed, and he didn't want to remind everyone of his Parseltongue. Killing it would be equally bad, showing a level of brutality nobody expected from the Boy-Who-Lived.
"Avis Oppugno," said Harry, conjuring several crows to attack the snake and keep it occupied, while he moved on.
Harry cast the Bluebells Flames when the sun disappeared and it became dark. The Bluebells hovered around his head, sending light and warmth, as he kept moving. Harry saw a strange creature next ahead of him.
He grinned to himself, wanting to try out something he had thought of elaborately.
"Geminio Sextus," he created six clones of himself, and sent them ahead, and then cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself. He followed after the clones, trying to experiment whether the creature would leave him alone and go after the clones. The creature was a Sphinx and sniffed a few times before turning to the nearest clone and posed a riddle to it. Harry made use of the distraction to move ahead. As he was invisible, the sphinx wasn't able to see him. It sniffed a few more times but Harry's scent was masked by the six clones that were also around, and he reached safely to the other side.
Except, it was a dead end.
Harry groaned. "Reducto," he created a hole in the hedge. But it was covered fast enough. And suddenly, the solution was so clear to Harry that he wanted to slap himself for not thinking of it earlier.
"Wingardium Leviosa," he cast on his shoes. He slowly and carefully raised himself up and crossed through the hedges. He saw Hagrid's Blast-ended Skrewts in one direction and hippogriffs in the other. For a second, he toyed with the idea of flying on a hippogriff, but it was too dark and the maze wasn't big enough to warrant it. He could summon his broomstick, but then again, that was unnecessary as he could simply levitate himself.
He saw Moody, Snape and three others on brooms observing the maze from overhead, but ignoring them, he moved on, making sure not to raise himself so high that the other Champions would see him and also decide to do the same. By doing so, he bypassed difficult challenges and took himself to compartments in the maze with no dangers, in order to relax for a moment, before casting the charm again and continuing on his way.
There it was.
The Triwizard Cup shimmered in front of him, a bright blue haze of light coming from the silver trophy. He had reached it before anyone else. He let out a laugh. He had proven to himself that he deserved to be a Champion. After all, the cup was his.
Harry rushed to it and grabbed it with his free hand.
Instantly, Harry felt a jerk somewhere behind his navel. His feet had left the ground. He could not unclench the hand holding the Triwizard Cup; it was pulling him onward in a howl of wind and swirling colours.
"Portkey," Harry spat out, after he had travelled hundreds of miles and found himself in a graveyard. Before anything could happen, he disillusioned himself and held his wand out in a defensive position. All the magic he had learnt would come useful in this unprecedented and potentially dangerous situation he found himself in.
Squinting tensely through the darkness, Harry saw someone coming. He watched the figure drawing nearer, walking steadily towards him between the graves. Harry couldn't make out a face, but from the way it was walking and holding its arms, he could tell that it was carrying something. Whoever it was, he was short, and wearing a hooded cloak pulled up over his head to obscure his face. And, several paces nearer, the gap between them closing all the time, Harry saw that the thing in the person's arms looked like a baby.
The figure stopped beside a towering marble headstone, only six feet from them. For a second, Harry and the short figure simply looked at one another. And then, without warning, Harry's scar exploded with pain. It was a familiar agony from his first year; and Harry held on to his wand dearly even as his knees buckled and he was on the ground. From far away, above his head, he heard a high, cold voice say, "He is here. Find him. Use lethal force if necessary. All I need is his blood."
"Yes, master."
Harry's stomach turned at the two voices. The second one was the easier to recognise. It was Wormtail, Peter Pettigrew, who had betrayed his parents. The other was a voice he had only heard in his nightmare before, a baby that Voldemort was possessing.
"I can't see him, master," Wormtail said. "He's not here."
"Fool. Potter is invisible. Cast Homenum Revelio."
Blood drained from Harry's face. He looked around him; there was nothing he could do, except, "Diffindo!"
"ARGH!"
Harry felt sickened when he saw the force of his curse sear seamlessly through Wormtail's wand arm, cutting it at the wrist. Wormtail dropped Voldemort-as-baby and sank to the ground.
Harry looked around. He was in a position of power, but with Voldemort in the equation, he was clearly outmatched. But still…
"Stupefy!" Harry stunned Wormtail. "Stupefy!" He tried stunning the baby, but a dark phantom left the body of the poor baby at the final moment.
"Potter!" the phantom screamed. "I will get you, if it is the last thing I do!"
Harry remained still. He didn't know if the phantom could see him, but he didn't want to make it easy for it.
"My servants will return to me and a new order will rise!" Voldemort screamed. "Already, my most faithful servant lies dormant within the safety of Howgarts itself, and soon, Lord Voldemort will return. Everyone you care for… your family and friends… they will be destroyed!"
With that, the phantom flew away, abandoning Wormtail.
"Fantastic," muttered Harry to himself. "There's a spy inside Hogwarts."
Suddenly, something occurred to him. Draco Malfoy had warned him.
"My father's on edge. Professor Snape's on edge. Karkaroff's on edge."
What did that mean? Lucius Malfoy, Snape, Karkaroff. Were all three of them Death Eaters before? But why would they be on edge… unless… none of them particularly wanted Voldemort to return.
"Of course," muttered Harry. "All three are rich and influential right now, especially Malfoy and Karkaroff. They don't want to change that. But that doesn't mean they won't join him, if he does manage to come back." He observed the prone form of Wormtail in front of him and a smile came to his face. The Triwizard Cup lay by his feet, but Wormtail was by far the greater prize. Harry looked at his bleeding stump and reluctantly cast a healing charm to stop it. It wouldn't do for Wormtail to bleed to death, at least, not before a fair trial.
He shuddered at how close things had been. If he hadn't learnt all the magic he had that year, not only would Voldemort have returned using whatever means he had intended, but also Harry would be dead by now. He dragged Wormtail's body towards the Cup and grabbed the portkey again.
The pressure behind his navel was a clear indicator that the portkey was two-ways. Why would anyone make a two-way portkey when trying to abduct someone? 'What an idiot', was Harry's last thought, as he embarked on the return journey to Hogwarts, followed swiftly by, 'I need to learn how to make portkeys'.
"Harry!"
He couldn't tell who had screamed out. No sooner had he returned to Hogwarts that he was seized from all sides by his three favourite girls – Susan, Ginny and Hermione. Both Ginny and Hermione graciously let go of him while Susan clutched him. She was trembling and Harry wrapped his arms around her. He saw Dumbledore, Maxime, Karkaroff and Bagman rush towards him, Amelia Bones wasn't too far behind, coming with the Weasleys and Diggorys.
The maze had been vanished and the grounds were clear. There was complete silence despite the large audience and everyone was waiting to hear what happened in the final task.
"Headmaster, the trophy was a portkey," said Harry, aware of the attention he was receiving from everyone. "It was sabotaged by someone within Hogwarts. It took me to a cemetery where Peter Pettigrew," he kicked the stunned body lying nearby, "wanted to use me for some ritual."
Dumbledore regarded Harry for a moment. "Was there anyone else?"
Harry saw the eagle-hawk eyes of Cornelius Fudge, Amelia Bones and Amos Diggory on him. Voldemort was there, Harry screamed in his mind. But he hesitated. Always hesitate, he remembered Dumbledore's advice. How would the Ministry handle this piece of information?
"It's all a hazy memory," said Harry. "The moment I realised it was a portkey, I cast a disillusionment spell on me, disarmed Pettigrew before he could cast a killing curse, stunned him, and then returned with him."
"Disarmed?" Dumbledore repeated, looking at the stump that was once Pettigrew's right hand.
"Unconventionally," said Harry.
"You said there's someone in Hogwarts involved?" Dumbledore enquired.
Harry nodded. He had been thinking of that. "Despite my strong urge to point at some people," he looked apologetically at Snape, "track record and the curse of the Defence job must be taken account of…" He looked at Moody, who stepped backwards, his face showed his guilt.
"Severus, Igor," Dumbledore said urgently, and all three men sent stunners at Moody.
"This… this is Peter Pettigrew?" Fudge spluttered. "Impossible… clearly, the boy is deluded…" But his eyes flashed in recognition at Pettigrew. "We should have him Kissed at once!"
Harry hadn't noticed the change in the Minister's line of sight, and was confused. "Who me? I'm all game… Susan, you heard the Minister."
Susan blushed.
"Minister Fudge!" Amelia Bones stepped in, taking advantage of the miscommunication. "Surely, you didn't suggest that Harry Potter be Kissed by a Dementor!"
"What?" Fudge was perplexed. "But I…"
"Minister, I must protest at this gross abuse of power!" Diggory joined in, realising that his personal grudge against Harry Potter was immaterial now that he had won the tournament fair and square. "Aurors, I demand you to disregard all orders from Cornelius Fudge henceforth. He is clearly not in his right mind. Harry Potter is not to be touched."
"But…" Fudge spluttered.
"How dare you?" Amelia Bones regarded him furiously. "The boy just won glory for Hogwarts and Britain, and survived such terrible ordeals… How dare you suggest he should be Kissed by a Dementor?"
One of the Aurors coughed. "Perhaps Minister Fudge should be escorted back to his office," he said. "And given time to consider whether his attempted gross abuse of power merits an instant resignation."
"I'll leave you to it, Scrimgeour," said Amelia Bones.
Hyenas, that's what Harry thought they all were. Amelia Bones. Amos Diggory. That fellow Scrimgeour. He really wanted to step forward in Fudge's defence on seeing how stunned and lost he appeared. But a quick glance towards Dumbledore and he saw his the Headmaster shake his head in a small swift motion.
Harry kept his mouth shut.
"Amelia, Amos, I will trust you to look after things here," said Dumbledore. "Severus and Minerva will aid you. Olympe, Igor, may I impose on you to remain as impartial witnesses in case this needs to be taken up to the International Confederation."
"Of course!" Madam Maxime spat out. "I want to know what tortures could have potentially been done on my student."
"Harry, come with me, please," said Dumbledore. "Ah, your friends and families are welcome to join us as well."
Soon, Harry was in the medical wing, despite his many attempts to convince everyone he wasn't hurt.
"Honestly," Harry said, after stating the whole story. "I wasn't touched at all."
Dumbledore looked grave. "You handled it well," he praised. "Keeping out Voldemort's involvement. These are grave tidings. He is becoming more daring in his moves…"
"Harry," Susan whispered softly against him. "When everything quietens, I want you to explain very clearly what you meant when you said your scar hurt like it did in the first year with Quirrel."
Harry nodded.
"Harry!" Bagman burst through the door. "I heard… this is terrible… are you okay?"
Harry nodded.
"Good, good!" said Bagman, he sounded pleased. "Excellent work, my young friend! You are the Triwizard Champion!" He placed a bag of gold on his bed. "One thousand galleons. A nice haul. Thoroughly deserved, if I may say so. Excellent display of magic, and not least in returning from the unintentional trip to a Death Eater." He turned to Dumbledore. "They're saying Moody was under Polyjuice… Barty Crouch Jr."
Dumbledore turned ashen. "Arthur, Ludo, may I impose on you to stay with Harry until either I or Minerva return," and on getting the other man's nod, he left.
Harry observed the group in front of him. The entire Weasley family minus Charlie and Percy, Hermione, Neville, Susan and Ludo Bagman. To his surprise, Viktor Krum had also come in at some point and stood behind Hermione with his arms around her.
When Harry's eyes met his, the international Quidditch star shrugged. "Fair and square," Viktor admitted.
Harry forced himself not to look at Bagman, who had aided him throughout the tournament and reminded himself that Karkaroff probably did the same to Viktor.
"So, You Know Who is definitely alive?" Arthur said, he sounded disturbed and worried. "I had hoped… perhaps… Dumbledore was mistaken…"
"I wish I had a pensieve," said Harry. "I'd show you all my memory of what happened in the graveyard."
"That's actually… a very good suggestion," said Bagman. He looked longingly at the bag of gold. "I've got a pensieve as part of my family heirloom that isn't much used. I was planning to sell it in Knockturn Alley."
"For how much?" asked Harry curiously. He was glad when everyone else politely stepped away to let Harry and Bagman discuss the payment in privacy.
"You see, Harry… I…" Bagman sounded conflicted. "On one hand, I do want to give you a good deal, but on the other hand, I really need gold… Even after I clear my bets on the outcome of the Triwizard Tournament, I'm still two thousand galleons short of my debts… Not large enough for my debtors to resort to violence, but still enough to make life uncomfortable for me."
Harry frowned. He felt he owed something to Bagman, for not only helping him survive the Tournament, but indirectly equipping him to survive yet another encounter with Voldemort. Perhaps, the most convincing survival yet. Moreover, Harry actually felt confident. He knew a lot more of magic than he had a few months back, and definitely, he was at par with OWL level students, if not NEWT, in some subjects.
"I think I can help," said Harry. "I'll buy your pensieve for two thousand galleons. A thousand here, up front… and the rest, during the summer."
Bagman looked at him with wide eyes that gleamed for a moment, but he forced himself to look away. "I don't know… you're a good kid, Harry… I don't know if I should…"
"I still need a pensieve," said Harry. "And my parents left plenty of gold for me that I can afford it."
Bagman grinned.
"Although, I'm not sure if Mrs Weasley will approve," he whispered. "Can we settle the full amount later?
"Certainly," Bagman stepped aside. "Very well, Arthur, I'll fetch my pensieve for Harry. You'll stay here?"
"Of course," said Arthur Weasley, he was frowning. When Bagman left, he turned to Harry reproachfully. "You know of Bagman's track record in honouring his obligations…"
Harry nodded. "Which is why I've asked him to fetch the pensieve first."
"I hope he didn't overcharge you," said Arthur. "Pensieves are rare but due to their low demand, they aren't charged more than fifteen hundred galleons."
Harry shrugged.
Seeing that Harry didn't want to discuss it, Arthur dropped the topic. That was when Dumbledore entered the medical wing with McGonagall and Snape.
"I can't believe this!" McGonagall sounded like she had been repeating that statement a few times. "We've had that… that… thing in close proximity with students all year… he hadn't even taken the oath."
"Yes, yes," said Dumbledore hastily. "We'll deal with that later. Harry, I trust you are feeling better now."
"Professor," said Harry seriously. "Since nobody is going to believe me that I wasn't hurt at all, I've asked Ludo Bagman to get his pensieve so I can show my memory of what happened to you all."
Dumbledore looked at Harry piercingly. "Who all would you like to view this memory?"
Harry shrugged. "Everyone is this room are welcome to see. Madam Bones, if she has time, and any Aurors."
Soon, everyone he had mentioned went inside the pensieve to see his memory, except Ginny, who decided to stay back.
"Come here," said Harry, seeing the fear in her eyes. Ginny scrambled to his side, and clutched his hand. "I won't let Riddle hurt you again," he promised.
"My hero," Ginny said lightly. She hesitated and touched his cheek, but instantly pulled back.
"He had plans to get his body back," said Harry gravely. "I'm glad I foiled him again. But Ginny, he's persistent. We have to prepare ourselves…"
Ginny nodded. "No more daydreaming in class," she promised.
"More," urged Harry. "The kind of research and preparation we've been doing for the Tournament… we shouldn't stop it."
"Besides, it's too much fun to stop anyway," Ginny agreed.
The others returned soon with very grave expressions. Amelia Bones was the first to make her opinion heard.
"For the interest of public order and security, this cannot be made public," she said. "But the DMLE and the Auror Department will be placed in high alert. I… I'll leave now and send my people to do a perimeter scan of Little Hangleton."
Harry watched her leave. Bagman was the next to leave. Surreptitiously, he had picked up the bag of Harry's winnings and left in a rush. The Weasleys also left and the rest of his friends. Finally, it was just him and Susan.
"I really don't get it." Harry complained. "Why must I still spend the night in the medical wing?"
Susan regarded Harry for a few moments. Without responding to him, she turned to the medi-witch. "Madam Pomfrey, I feel rather faint…" She shuddered. "You Know Who is still alive… Harry nearly got hurt… and… and…"
"You're a terrible actor, Miss Bones," Pomfrey remarked. "But you can spend the night here as well. Under no circumstances is either of you to get on the other's bed or make any physical contact. The portrait of Sister Agnes will alert me to any such misconduct. Do you understand?"
"Yes, ma'am," said Susan.
"Thank you, ma'am," Harry added.
Susan grinned at Harry's happy expression when the two of them were left to themselves.
"Our first night together," Harry remarked.
Susan rolled her eyes. "No contact, remember…"
"Still… it's a special occasion," said Harry. "I'm sorry I made you worried."
"Not your fault," Susan said in a somewhat exasperated tone. "Honestly, if you're going to be all martyr-like and self-blaming, I'm just gonna leave."
"I promise I won't," Harry pleaded.
"Good boy." Susan looked at him with concern. "I wish…"
"What?" asked Harry, when she didn't finish.
"Nothing," she said. After a few moments, she looked at him desperately. "Harry, there's something I must tell you. Please don't be angry with me."
Harry frowned.
"I…"
"You did what, Susan?" asked Harry quietly.
"I…"
"You cheated on me with Zacharias Smith?"
"What?" Susan yelled. "No! How could you even think…" she saw Harry smirk. "You…" She threw a pillow at him.
"What's bothering you?" asked Harry, hugging the pillow she threw at him.
Susan looked at him affectionately. "One of the reasons I agreed to go to the Yule Ball with you was because my aunt had told me to try and be friends with you."
Harry looked at her with a blank expression.
"Please, Harry, please believe me," Susan begged. "That the more time I spent with you, the more I got to know you… even before the Ball I was beginning to like you a lot… I didn't know Aunt Amelia was coming to the Ball and I hated how our coming together was a political statement you hadn't wanted to make… so I've said no to all of my aunt's attempts since then… Harry, I really like you, and I'm sorry…"
"You used me," said Harry.
Susan looked away. "Only until the Ball," she sounded desperate. "Since then, I've been sincere. Please give me a second chance."
"You used me," Harry repeated, in a daze. "Goodnight, Susan." He tossed her pillow back to her bed and lay down, turning to his side, away from Susan.
Dumbledore had tried to warn him of this, he couldn't trust anyone. He tried drowning out the sound of her tears, and kept telling himself it didn't bother him, for the rest of the night.
The next morning Harry woke up and saw Susan was already awake and looking terrible. He wasn't sure how much sleep she had managed to get.
"Does this mean…" her voice was filled with dread. "Does this mean we're over?"
Harry felt his heart lurch at her words. Part of him wanted to grab her in his arms and kick himself for making her cry, but another part of him wanted to just leave before she could hurt him more.
"Why did you tell me all this now?" asked Harry.
"My aunt wanted me to invite you to our place for the summer and make sure people saw you with her," said Susan. "I couldn't do that."
Harry walked towards her and took her fingers in his hand. "I need to think," he said truthfully. "We leave for vacation today. I want us to take a break until term starts and then I'll give you an answer."
Susan looked at him hopefully. "Can I… Can I stay in touch through post?"
Harry didn't think that was a good idea, but he couldn't help himself. He nodded. But he swiftly left the medical-wing and returned to his dorm. He sat on his bed, without caring about packing. He was staring into space.
"Harry, what's wrong?"
To his surprise, it was Ron who asked him that. Neville wasn't in, nor were Seamus or Dean. And although Harry and Ron hadn't had any heart-to-heart chats since Halloween, he turned to his former best friend.
"I think I just broke up with Susan," said Harry slowly.
"What?" Ron joined him and sat down on his bed. "Why?"
"Long story," said Harry, shaking his head. "She… betrayed my trust. I've had my fair share of that this year."
Ron averted his gaze, feeling the sting in that phrase. "I don't know what to say," he said after a while. "But something Hermione told me comes to mind."
Harry waited for him to continue.
"You hold people to a ridiculously high standard," said Ron, and Harry frowned. "You also make those close to you want to reach that high standard and improve themselves. But it isn't until they've failed once that they realise that."
Harry remained silent for a while. "Neville and Ginny haven't failed yet."
"Yeah, well," Ron shrugged. "Ginny's special."
Harry couldn't deny that. "Thanks, Ron. I'll keep this in mind."
Summer vacation started in its usual unfriendly theme for Harry. The Dursleys didn't want him, the Dursleys didn't like him, the Dursleys didn't acknowledge him. On a whole, that was an improvement. Having a supposedly lunatic mass-murderer godfather helped in that. He cherished the first letter he received from Sirius when he reached France.
Dear Harry
I apologise for the manner in which we parted. You were right, of course, and I acknowledge that completely. I was blinded and acting irrationally. James and I were never the sensible ones, I'm glad you take more after Lily. But can I plead Azkaban and exposure to Dementors as an excuse?
Your friend Bagman's contact has met me and I will be heard in a special tribunal of the International Confederation for my breach of Confederation Right 6, right to fair trial, next week. Until then, the beaches of South France – divine, I tell you! And the babes…
I heard you won the Tournament! Congratulations, Harry, I knew you had it in you. Lily and James would have been proud of you, as much as I am right now, perhaps more, but I fail to see how more pride than what I feel could be possible. I also heard of your encounter with Wormtail. On one hand, I wish I was there. I would have loved to be locked in a room with Wormy for a night. But perhaps, all things considered, this is the better alternative.
Kiddo, take some time off and enjoy yourself this summer. I saw how unhappy you were with Petunia, so I'm going to urge you to accept any invitations from your friends, Ginny, Neville, Hermione and Susan, and spend some time having fun this summer.
Your loving godfather
Sirius.
Harry was waiting eagerly for the second week of the summer. When it arrived, he answered every doorbell promptly, wishing to see…
"Charlie!" Harry greeted happily. "I'm glad to see you!" He shook hands with the well-built dragon handler.
"And what about me?" Ginny pouted.
Harry blinked. "Hello, little girl. Do I know you?" he asked Ginny.
"Prat." Ginny stepped forward and hugged him.
Harry held her for a long moment. He felt the Dursleys looking at him from behind, and Dudley was ogling at Ginny, something that sickened Harry.
"What is this?" Uncle Vernon asked. "You didn't tell us anything about more freaks visiting us."
Harry's eyes flashed. "They're not freaks, Uncle Vernon," he said with gritted teeth, but Ginny held his hand to calm him down.
"Harry is coming with us to work this summer in my… uh… firm," said Charlie, acting like a proper adult. "We will not take much of your time. Harry, have you packed your things?"
Harry nodded. He rushed upstairs to get his trunk down. When he came down, he saw a strange sight. Both Charlie and Ginny were staring at the Dursleys with incredulity.
"What?" asked Harry, as he came down.
"Boy, they say you won some tournament thingummy in your school and got money?" asked Vernon. There was an unmistakable hint of greed in his eyes.
"It's all spent," Harry shrugged. "I had to buy some things… magical things. You know, to help me this summer working in Charlie's dragon reserve." He quickly left before they could respond to him.
"I can't believe them!" Ginny was furious. "How can they not be proud of you?"
"Sirius is," said Harry cheerfully, before realising that Charlie wasn't supposed to know of the big secret.
"I see," said Charlie. "So Ron was telling the truth about the whole Black-Pettigrew-Scabbers story?"
"Well, I'm not sure what Ron told you but there is a story involving those three," Harry nodded.
"Harry, thank you for coming with us," said Charlie. "But I must admit there was another reason for my offer, other than what you and Ginny believe."
Harry looked at him curiously.
"Basically, we're trying to snatch you," said Charlie, with a grin, "in the hope that you'll enjoy your time with us this summer so much that you'll want to work with us full time after graduation."
Harry was surprised. "You want me… a mere fifteen year old… to work full time in a dragon reserve?"
"Mate," Charlie looked at him intently. "You singlehandedly took care of a Hungarian Horntail. I can say without any hesitation that I know only three others with that on their CV. And none of them is within a couple of decades of your age."
Harry blushed. "She was just a little dragon."
Charlie chuckled.
"You've been spending an unnatural amount of time with Hagrid!" Ginny declared.
"Now, Ginny Weasleys…" Harry shuddered. "Those are dangerous creatures."
Ginny's fist came in front of his face.
"See!"
"So, what's going on between you two?" asked Charlie directly. "Bill told me to tread with care in this issue… and well, subtlety isn't particularly my forte… so what's going on?"
"I'm gonna kill Bill," Ginny muttered. She shook her head. "We're good friends, just that. Harry's with Susan and…"
Harry cut in, "Didn't Ron tell you?" he sounded slightly flustered. "I broke up with Susan on the last day."
"What?" Ginny demanded. "Why?"
Harry looked uncomfortable. "Can we talk later?"
"Meaning, can we talk when big brother Charlie isn't around," Charlie reinterpreted.
Ginny looked at Harry with concern, but there was an odd gleam of hope in her eyes.
Soon, they were in the dragon reserve. Harry saw with wonder at all that was happening over there. To his surprise, the reserve was just vast areas of the ordinary countryside with wards preventing non dragon tamers from coming in and wards preventing dragons from going out. But the area itself was vast.
"It's intended to keep the dragons free and in their natural habitat," said Charlie. "It's not a zoo."
Harry saw two Welsh Greens flap their wings lazily as they descended to a stream to drink some water.
"The Welsh Greens usually prefer to live in mountains," said Charlie. "But Septimus and Octavia often join us down here."
"How many dragons are there in this reserve?" asked Harry.
"Twelve, currently," said Charlie. "The capacity of this reserve is fourteen adults, and we will be acquiring a new one during your stay here. That is always exciting, the only thing more exciting than acquiring a new dragon is to witness the birth of one."
"What do they eat?" asked Harry.
"We have an Antipodean Opaleye from New Zealand. She only eats sheep, grass and leaves," said Charlie. "The nine Welsh Greens we have hunt birds and small mammals and usually avoid human company, except for…"
"Septimus and Octavia," said Ginny. "I like their names."
Charlie grinned. "The Vipertooth are the deadliest ones. They are the smallest of the lot but they love big cattle, cows and an occasional human."
"Humans?" Ginny's eyes widened. "Like us? They like to eat us?"
Charlie nodded. "Which is why the two of you will not be allowed to wander on your own while within the perimeter of the reserve. Is that understood?"
Both nodded.
"Dragons are fascinating creatures," said Charlie. "There's a lot you can learn from them. But I doubt you'll be doing any real dragonology in your brief stay with us."
"Then what will we be doing?"
"And don't say cleaning dragon dung!" Ginny sounded worried. "I've heard enough of that from the twins."
"Dragon dung is an excellent source of minerals for the soil and doesn't stink much," said Charlie. "Unless someone has specifically ordered a batch of it, we just leave it lying." He shook his head. "You, Harry, will work with the team that handles the acquisition of the new dragon. I daresay you'll enjoy your stint there."
"You're separating us?" asked Ginny, sounding annoyed.
"Only for the first week or thereabouts," said Charlie. "You, my dear sister, will join the other new recruits in their training, to learn a few spells that Harry already knows. It's to ensure you can keep yourself safe."
Ginny grudgingly accepted that.
"When you're done," said Charlie excitedly, "we'll go on an adventure trek up the mountains to the enclosure where the Welsh Greens keep their eggs to check if any is about to hatch."
"Yeah, well, that's all fine and good." Harry sounded confused. "But nobody's mentioned anything about riding a dragon yet! Isn't that the whole point of being around them?"
Charlie laughed nonstop for the next five minutes.
Harry realised that wasn't the point at all about a dragon reserve, and wizards did not ride dragons. Period. But Charlie was correct; he enjoyed the new acquisition tremendously. Charlie had failed to mention that the new dragon they were obtaining was Norberta the Norwegian Ridgeback. And Norberta seemed to remember him.
At first the four dragon handlers were shocked by the sudden energy shown by the lethargic Ridgeback.
Ian, Kenneth, Janna and Gavril were with him. Ian and Kenneth worked with Charlie in the reserve, whereas Janna and Gavril had brought the Norwegian Ridgeback from the Romanian dragon facility and were staying for a few weeks. All four were ready to stun the dragon, when they realised that instead of fire it was only sending repeated puffs of smoke at Harry while making strange shrill noises.
Janna was the first to realise it. She burst out laughing, and pushed a tentative Harry Potter towards the dragon.
"Are you trying to kill me, woman?" Harry accused her, when Norberta started licking his face.
"Ridgebacks are the most social dragons," said Ian. "And although Norberta is a female and much more violent than the male Ridgebacks, she has identified you."
"Identified me?" Harry was confused. "As what?"
"Her mommy."
All four of them burst out laughing. Harry didn't find it funny. He was scared he'd be mauled to death by a fire-breathing monster but after the first few seconds, he raised his hand and touched Norberta's head.
"Wow," he declared afterwards. "That was such a surreal experience. Norberta is such a softie."
Charlie and Ginny observed him with awe. "The only dragon I've touched in a non-combat situation is Septimus, and that too when he was asleep and Octavia was on a hunt."
"I wish I'd seen that," Ginny sounded disappointed.
"You still can," said Harry. "I have my pensieve with me." He took the two Weasleys with him to see his memory of playing with Norberta.
"You are insane, Harry Potter!" Ginny looked very pale at what she was seeing.
Harry put an arm around her. "Don't worry," he said softly. "I'll introduce you to her soon. Then you can play with her too. I'm sure she'll give you a very warm welcome."
Ginny wasn't amused.
During the rest of the time, tourism did surge tremendously, and most people paid a good five galleon fee to take pictures of Harry Potter with a Norwegian Ridgeback, which he gladly signed for all young children. Harry hadn't overcome his aversion to his fame, but at least, now he felt he deserved some of it. He had become Triwizard Tournament Champion and more importantly was a trainee dragon handler.
The day came when Ginny finally mastered the Flame-Freezing Charm, the Conjunctivitis Curse and a low intensity ward to keep dragons away, and Charlie decided to take them, along with Kenneth and Janna on a trek to see the eggs.
Harry was excited.
"So," Ginny began in a low voice, they had fallen into line a few paces behind the others. "About Susan."
Harry fidgeted. He had been trying to keep Susan out of his mind, and it had been working quite well. But Ginny's raising of the topic brought it back. He had received a letter from her a few days back while but he had been kept busy enough with Norberta not to dwell on it for long. It had been short and altogether too formal for his liking, but it was best that way.
Dear Harry
I hope you are well. I had a fight with my aunt and am writing to let you know that I will never repeat this mistake again. I won't try to put any pressure on you and this is the only time I'll refer to it until we meet again.
I read in the newspaper that you are working in the Welsh dragon reserve this summer and I hope you enjoy it. Please send me pictures of nice dragons, if you have time.
Love
Susan
Harry shrugged when he saw Ginny was still waiting for his response. "It was all a lie," he said. "She'd been trying to become friends with me because her aunt wanted to be seen with me in public."
Ginny gasped.
"I don't want to talk about it right now," said Harry.
Ginny nodded mutely and slipped her fingers in his hand. "I'm here for you, Harry, if you need a shoulder to cry on," she said seriously.
"So you can tease me for the rest of my life?" Harry shot back.
"Darn! Foiled!" Ginny cursed.
Harry chuckled, gripping her hand firmly. "Neville's coming to visit the reserve tomorrow."
Ginny grinned. "That'll be nice." Before she could say anything, the others in front of them stopped.
"Shh." Charlie said. "Come here softly."
Harry and Ginny walked closer to them, to the edge of the cliff, and gasped in wonder. Half a dozen Welsh Greens were flying in the green valley beyond. In one corner were dozens of large dragon eggs. But it was the flight of the dragons that enraptured both the young teenagers.
"That's so beautiful," said Ginny.
"I can't believe I'm going to say this," said Harry. "I wish Colin was here with his camera."
Ginny clucked her teeth. "One of the others in the camp must have a camera. Just take a picture from your pensieve, Harry."
"That works?" Harry was surprised.
Charlie nodded. "The edges leave a faint silver glow, to show that the picture was taken from a memory, but if you choose a suitable picture frame, there's no way to distinguish it."
"Cool. Susan will love this." Harry kept looking at the flying dragons, vowing to take a picture of it and send it to Susan. He felt a slight constriction in his chest on recalling their fight, and turned away.
"Harry," Ginny was looking at him with an unreadable expression. "Harry, look at me."
Harry didn't move.
"Harry, don't make this any harder than it already is for me," Ginny sounded desperate. Harry reluctantly raised his head. "She cares for you."
"I know," Harry admitted.
"Then, you're being stupid," said Ginny irritably. "So what if she wanted to be friends with you because of your fame? How can you ever escape that? How can you run away from this big red arrow that points to your scar and says, Boy-Who-Lived?"
Harry remained silent.
"It's whether she cares for you now that you should consider," said Ginny. "And whether you care for her."
Harry closed his eyes, and felt Ginny's arms come around him.
"Do you?" Ginny asked quietly. "Do you care for her?"
"A lot," Harry admitted. "It hurts. But it also hurts knowing I cannot trust her."
"You're being silly again," said Ginny, as she blinked back tears of her own. "Susan told you everything, didn't she, before anything else happened? Of course you can trust her."
"My aunt wanted me to invite you to our place for the summer and make sure people saw you with her. I couldn't do that."
"True," said Harry. "You want me to give her a second chance?" asked Harry quietly.
Ginny looked at Harry with an annoyed expression. "No. I don't want you to give her a second chance… I don't want you to look at her or even think of her… I want you all to myself… but if you turn away from her now, you'll be miserable… and I don't want that either…"
"Ginny," Harry began softly.
"Don't, Harry," she said warningly. "Just don't."
Harry remained silent. He didn't know what to say to her anyway.
"Some damsel in distress I am, huh?" Ginny replied after a few moments. They were still holding hands and looking at the dragons. Charlie and his friends had moved away tactfully, giving the two of them their privacy. "Can't even keep my knight away from other girls."
"You think you're not important to me?" Harry said softly.
Ginny turned to him with an unreadable expression. "I'm your best friend, silly, and that makes me very special. But I can tell I'm not Susan."
Once again, Harry was left at a loss.
"Did you hear?" Ginny suddenly said in a chirpier voice. "Hermione's gone to Bulgaria."
"To visit Viktor," Harry nodded. A small grin came on his face. "He is really serious about her."
"I'm not so sure of Hermione, though," said Ginny. "Last I spoke to her, she said she's too young to be in a serious committed relationship, which is what Viktor is looking for."
And so the topic was changed.
A couple of nights later, Harry wrote a letter in response to Susan's.
Dear Susan
I'm sorry to hear of your fight with your aunt; I hope you mend things soon. The dragon reserve is very nice, and I'm sending you some pictures.
The first one is of me with a Norwegian Ridgeback. No, she is not biting my hand off, just licking my fingers. She's just an overgrown puppy, that's all.
The second one is of me and Ginny watching the dragons fly. That was a beautiful thing to see, and we both talked of many things, including you. Ginny's drilling some sense into my thick head.
The third one is of me, Neville and Ginny; and the two Welsh Greens in the background are Septimus and Octavia. They're very shy, those two dragons, but they don't mind Ginny or Charlie's company as much as others. Must be some Weasley thing.
Is that invitation to visit you still open? I'll be leaving the dragon reserve on August 12, and would like to spend some time with you. If that's a problem, I'll stay with Neville and help him with his new greenhouse.
Love
Harry
He got a response back just a few hours later, shortly after midnight.
Harry, it's not a problem at all! I'll write again in the morning! Thank you!
Love
Susan
He grinned when he saw the scrawled handwriting as if it had been scribbled very fast. He turned to the picture of Susan he had taken from his pensieve and looked at her fondly. Things would get better. He was completely oblivious to Ginny crying in her tent a few feet away, being held by Janna from the dragon reserve in Romania.