Chapter 6: Snake Tooth and Troll Tooth

The unusually cold and blustery autumn of September was still in place around Hogwarts castle on the first Saturday of October. Warming charms were in practice more than any other spell around the school, but as Edward sat outside, wrapped in a jumper and his cloak, he did not bother to try it. Instead he sat and waited, patiently as he could manage as he let Alice do the work.

It wasn't that he couldn't do the charm. Edward had been casting effective heating charms since second year, but lately? Lately things had not been going smoothly for him and Edward had been in a perpetual state of weariness as a result. Today was no exception.

They were seated on a crowded bank of stands by the Quidditch pitch, watching as Rosalie hollered at a bunch of first years. "You bloody little idiots! Did you really think I was stupid enough to believe Coach Clapp gave you permission to try out? Not bloody likely. At least not with flying like that. My great-aunt Beverly can fly better than that and she's one hundred and four! So take your scrawny Gryffindor arses off my pitch and pray I don't transfigure you into toads."

Edward rolled his eyes. "Toads again? She ought to be careful or that will become a trademark of hers. Have you… have you about finished with that?" he asked Alice, who'd already charmed the rest of his outerwear, and was now weaving her wand around his blue and bronze scarf.

"Almost, just one more… Calentus," she muttered, "There, now I'm done."

"Thanks Alice."

She smiled tiredly. "Takes a lot out of you, doesn't it?" she said, "Casting so many charms one after the other. I don't think I could cast one more thing." She rubbed at her eyes.

"You're still having those nightmares, aren't you," said Edward quietly, who recognized Alice's exhaustion as more than that which came from casting heating charms, even such a large number of them as she had. Ever since the weekend in Hogsmeade (and specifically the Hogshead Pub), Alice had been having difficulty sleeping because of bad dreams. Edward blamed Livingstone with his fear mongering.

"Yes, it was the one about the gorge last night," she told him weakly, "With the remembralls, I think. But I'm not sure that they were—."

Renesmee came up to them then, rosy cheeked and grinning widely. "Isn't this brilliant?"

"Er, hello Renesmee, enjoying yourself?"

"Oh yes," she said breathlessly, "Claire and I only came half an hour ago but we've been down by the pitch already. Claire's friend Nahuel wanted to try out, but I told her Rose wouldn't let him, especially as try-outs started at 8. And Rose didn't. She scolded him and the others so bad, I saw one of them in tears, but Claire says he cries a lot so don't worry."

Edward frowned. Somehow he'd thought making first years cry was beneath Rose. He shook his head. "Where's Claire now?"

"She went back up to the castle with the rest of the Gryffindors. But I saw you and wanted to say hello. Did you see Jacob out there? He's brilliant isn't he?"

"I suppose," remarked Edward, glancing up at the trio of fifth year Gryffindors whom Rosalie had not yet found a reason to dismiss. It was their third hour into try-outs and all of the rest of the Gryffindor team had been dismissed by the end of the first. Leah Clearwater, a beater for the Gryffindors had proved to be a particularly angry sort. She'd tried to hit Rose with a curse that made your boogeys turn into bats, of all the obscene things. Edward had not been sorry to see the back of her.

There were only twelve players left now besides Rose. The keeper position was settled, it would be Riley Biers of Ravenclaw. And of course, Rose accounted for one of the beaters. She was down to two for the other beater position, Kate Denali, 6th year Slytherin and Garrett Lee, 6th year Hufflepuff. There were three possible seekers left, all from Ravenclaw, but despite the surprising amount of talent for seeking which his House apparently possessed, Edward still thought Carmen Ricardo would earn the spot. The Slytherin seeker had been one of the first to go (just after Mike Newton). That left the six potential chasers.

Renesmee sat down eagerly and fixed her attention back on the pitch, practically shivering with anticipation. "Renesmee are you cold?" said Edward, realizing her shivering might mean something entirely different.

She glanced away from the pitch and blushed, "Not too cold," she assured him.

They sat for a few more minutes, watching the blurred figures of the flyers. Carmen made a particularly daring catch of the snitch which immediately led to Rose dismissing the other Ravenclaw seekers.

Renesmee shivered again and wrapped her arms around her chest.

"You are cold," said Edward in dismay, "Hand me your cloak, we'll put a warming charm on it. Alice?"

He looked over and discovered her sound asleep on the bench beside him, a fluffy knitted pillow beneath her head, transfigured from her scarf.

"Oh, don't wake her!" protested Renesmee, "Honest, I don't need a warming charm. I'll be fine!"

Edward considered. Rose would likely turn him into a toad if he allowed Renesmee to catch a cold out here. "Here, I'll cast it," he said.

Renesmee handed him her cloak.

"Calentus," he murmured, sliding his wand around the outer hem. But he could tell nothing had changed. "Calentus," he said with frustration, pointing his wand at the cloak once again. Stubbornly, his magic remained unavailable to him, bubbling just beneath the surface of his skin, leaving him tired and itchy.

"Calentus!" he intoned, forcing every ounce of will he possessed to dispel the unsettled feeling that had spread all over him. This time, the spell exploded out of his wand with ugly, brute force. It battered the cloak in his hands, engulfing it, quite suddenly, in white flames.

"Oh sh—bollucks!" said Edward, "Aguamenti, Aguamenti."

"Aguamenti," said Alice, awake now. She yawned. "I daresay that might be a touch too warm, Edward."

"Right."

Renesmee giggled. Alice smiled. "Here, take mine, Nessie. I'm headed back up to the castle anyway."

"I'll go with—."

"No, you stay here with Renesmee and Rose. We've been over this before, Edward. Rosalie may be a bit prickly, but she still needs someone out here supporting her today. Choosing six people out of the whole school is a lot of pressure."

"But her Slytherin friends—," began Edward.

"Will be quite distraught with their lack of representation on the team. She needs a real friend, Edward."

"But we're not—oh, fine Alice. Have it your way."

She winked at him and descended the steps back onto the grounds. Edward turned his attention back to try-outs. Rosalie had lined up the two remaining beaters on either side of the pitch. The chasers on the other hand were meant to fly back and forth as fast as they could from one set of goal posts to the other while the beaters used them as target practice for their bludgers.

"Quidditch is a brutal game," mused Edward.

Renesmee grinned. "Isn't it? I can't wait until I can try out for the team next year."

"How did your flying lesson go?"

She flushed. "Not so well actually. But Rosalie offered to train me up a bit. She says I can be her protégé. And Jacob said he'd take me flying over the holidays."

"Do you see Jacob often then?" asked Edward, once again considering the trio of Gryffindor chasers. They may be trouble-makers off the pitch, and Edward could hardly imagine that they would do well listening to a Slytherin captain like Rose—but there was something incredibly magnetic about their playing. Black, Call, and Ateara all flew as if they possessed one brain—they communicated without even speaking, anticipating exactly where they ought to be to catch the quaffle. The remaining chasers, two Slytherins and a Hufflepuff were good—but the Gryffindors were unstoppable.

Edward suspected that Rosalie had made the same conclusion hours ago but simply couldn't yet bring herself to let her team have more Gryffindors on it than any other House.

"Oh yes, I saw Jacob all the time over the summer," answered Renesmee, "After I got my Hogwarts letter I went to stay with Bella and Charlie in Norfolk. Jacob's dad and Charlie are very close so Jacob practically lives there too he's over so often. And then Quill and Embry go where Jacob goes and Jacob's sisters, Rachel and Rebecca were around sometimes too."

Edward felt the briefest stab of jealousy at the thought of those raised in the wizarding world. Before he had his apparition license, Edward would spend the whole summer without seeing a single wizard until he and his parents made their annual trip to Diagon Alley. He wondered what it would have been like to be Jacob Black, whose family name was nearly as old as Hogwarts itself. What would it have been like to know all along that the strange things he could do was magic, and that he wasn't alone in his abilities? And what's more, what would it have been like to spend his summers with wizards like the Swans in Norfolk?

At last Rosalie called the trials to an end. Kate Denali, the Slytherin beater was made a reserve beneath Garrett Lee. And that left the chasers. The call was inevitable. And by the scowl on Rosalie's face, she knew it.

"Black," she said, voice strained, "Call, and Ateara. You're in."

The Gryffindor boys whooped and high fived each other. Rosalie's scowl deepened. She bent over without another word and began stuffing the various balls into their case. The newly appointed Hogwarts Quidditch Team made its way off the pitch and into the locker rooms, congratulating each other as they went—even Kate Denali, who didn't look nearly as furious as the other Slytherins in the stands.

Once the team was off the pitch, the stands began to clear out as well. Edward and Renesmee, seated near the top, were some of the last to make it down which meant they took a while in reaching Rosalie. The Slytherins all but ignored her on their way out, but Rosalie's brother Jasper was there. He, along with his friend Emmett McCarty had apparently been watching the try-out from the ground level. They went right up to Rose after the rest of the team left the pitch, but the look on Jasper's face, Edward thought, was anything but congratulatory.

When Edward and Renesmee made it within hearing range, they realized that the Hale's were arguing.

"I'm not bloody doing it today," spat Rose, glaring at Jasper.

"It has to be today," he replied, voice thick and persuasive, "Chaferson's called a luncheon with the Board. When else could we do it?"

"Find someone else then," she said, "I'm not in the mood."

"Rose—." said Jasper.

"No, and you can't force me Jasper. Go find Swan or someone. Or better yet, make Newton do it. He wouldn't even need to pretend to be a bloody idiot."

"You're really not going through with this?"

"I don't know how much clearer I can be."

"Rose, we waited for you during this whole try-out. The governors are already beginning to arrive at the school. We don't have time."

"Not my problem."

"Unbelievable. Rose, you are completely unbelievable."

"And you're incredibly thick if you're just realizing that now."

"This whole operation is going to go pear-shaped thanks to you."

"Find someone else. I'm not your girl. Not today."

"Fine."

Jasper turned on his heel and began storming back toward the school. Emmett lingered a bit. "You're really not—."

"No!" exclaimed Rosalie.

He put up his hands and Rose's expression softened somewhat. "No, Emmett. I just—I just can't today. I can't let myself look like some sort of helpless victim after I didn't pick a single Slytherin for the Quidditch team. You don't know how it is in Slytherin. I mean, yes it would take a lot for them to turn on me completely. I mean for Merlin's sake, I already hang out with muggleborns and halfbloods and no one says a damn thing because I'm a Hale and my family has influence, but more importantly, they know I could curse them as bad as Salazar Slytherin himself. But if I do this, then…"

"It's alright Rose, I get it."

"I know it seems selfish, but what can I say, I am selfish. I look out for myself. I don't want to be a victim ever aga—I just don't want to be a victim, okay?"

"Really Rose, I get it. Livingstone never should have asked you in the first place."

And with that, Rosalie's face contorted into a half smile that immediately brought Edward to a gaping halt. It was certainly not a beaming flash of her teeth or anything of the sort, but it was one hundred percent genuine. Beside him Renesmee said, "Aw, she likes him."

Edward had to stifle an ungentlemanly snort, and then summoning his most grave tone, "Best not let her hear you say that," he told her.

Renesmee grinned, "Our secret?"

"Only because we know what's good for us."

And though the idea of Rosalie with a crush was highly amusing, it did not completely overshadow the fact that Emmett had mentioned Livingstone. That man was never good news, not as far as Edward could tell anyway. The meeting of Dumbledore's Army had been informative, certainly, but it also served as a sort of warning. Dark times were on their way to the British Isles. Livingstone wanted them to fight it. But what exactly had he planned for Rosalie?

When Emmett finally left to follow Jasper, Renesmee dashed forward, crossing the few remaining feet between them. Without a second's hesitation, Renesmee wrapped her arms firmly around the Hogwarts Quidditch Captain with an exclamation of, "Rose, you were brilliant!"

And for some reason, even after a month of witnessing this softer side of Rosalie, it still surprised Edward to see Rose return the hug so readily.

"I had to be brilliant, didn't I?" she replied, "What with Chaferson making me the captain over any of his precious Gryffindors, what choice did I have? It may well be the first sound decision of his entire career. Now he needs to be conditioned with positive reinforcement, I think."

"You make him sound like a dog to be trained," said Renesmee, snickering slightly.

"All men are dogs, Renesmee. It's best you learn that now."

Renesmee giggled.

When Rosalie looked up, over top of Renesmee's head of thick bronze ringlets, she spied Edward, quickly interpreted the look on his face, and then resumed her earlier scowl.

"Speaking of dogs," she muttered, "You're a bloody eavesdropper, that's what you are."

"Learned from the best," said Edward flippantly, but he sobered quickly, "Rose, what were you talking about with Jasper and Emmett?"

"It doesn't concern you, Edward."

"Doesn't—? Rose, you're joking. You have to be. How could this not concern me? Livingstone—this is about the adders, isn't it?"

"You know what, fine," she said dramatically, "Merlin, Edward, you can never let these things lie, can you?" She grabbed up the box of quidditch equipment and began hauling it toward the locker rooms.

Edward and Renesmee hurried to keep up.

"It's today isn't it?" At Rose's stiff nod, Edward rushed on, his heartrate beginning to quicken in his chest. He'd been dreading this day. "Only I don't understand exactly what Livingstone meant for you to do. In Hogsmeade he said they were going to confound some Italian smugglers when they arrived on the Low Coast. The plan was to make them fly over Hogwarts instead of Dufftown."

Rose nodded again, "Are you sure you want to say this all in front of—," she tilted her head toward Renesmee, "Well, present company."

"I think she's a right to know if the school's about to suffer an attack, pretend or otherwise." And more than that, Edward wasn't entirely convinced he had time to spare. He felt oddly convinced that things were not as they seemed at that moment and it was making his limbs feel tenser by the second. His heart was beginning to beat even faster in his chest, and the world around him was becoming clearer somehow, more defined. There was something horribly off about this whole sordid affair, and somehow it would be up to him, Edward, to put things to rights. "Just talk to me, Rose. Tell me what's going on."

"Suit yourself. But don't blame me if this all blows up in your face."

"Rose," he said.

"Listen, Edward, I know you. I know you're going to try to take things into your own hands as soon as you know what's happening. But you don't need to, Edward, Livingstone is handling it."

Edward didn't say anything. Only focused on his breathing, trying to even it out. His apprehension was only growing with everything Rosalie said.

"Fine, Edward. And you say I'm stubborn. Why don't you just—I don't know, tell me what you know already, right?"

"I know that once the smugglers were over Hogwarts, Livingstone was to arrange for them to accidentally drop their cargo," said Edward very quickly, "The sand adders, magically confined, would then escape and proceed to terrorize the school until Chaferson, the aurors, Enriquez, or some combination of the three recaptured them. All of this was supposed to happen without causing any actual harm to the students. He trained us as back-ups, in case anything got out of hand."

"True enough. But you have to ask yourself, Edward, do you really suppose that will be enough to convince the Board of Governors to create a Defense against the Dark Arts Course again at Hogwarts? The post has been cursed for centuries, some say it was cursed by Voldemort himself. Fear is a powerful motivator, yes, but will the Board even sense it? Will scaring the students of Hogwarts really be enough to change their minds?"

"So, you're saying Livingstone changed his mind instead?"

"Livingstone didn't like the idea of the sand adders terrorizing the students after all," replied Rosalie, "Especially if it wasn't guaranteed to work to his favor." She still seemed a bit discomfited by the fact that Renesmee was watching so raptly. But, she continued nonetheless, "His aim is to scare the governors, not the students."

"And how—?"

"He thought it would be better to have the sand adders target one particular individual," said Rosalie, not letting him finish. "The rest of the students would be safe from any potential mishaps, and the targeted individual in question would be someone whose attack would unquestionably leave the Board members wary."

Edward thought he was beginning to get the picture. "Livingstone wanted the adders to target you because of your mum? Because she's on the Board?"

She nodded. "First of all, it had to be one of the older students, to show that anybody, no matter their age, could be vulnerable. And it had to be a pureblood, from a very well-known family with all of the right resources and connections to train up their children before they ever step foot in Hogwarts because Livingstone wanted to show that wouldn't be enough."

"He meant for you to become the poster child for defenselessness."

"Yes," said Rosalie, angry again, "My own brother volunteered me for the job."

"But now they're going to make Newton do it?"

"His family owns Wiseacres, and everybody knows them. He's Headboy, daft as that is, and Merlin knows he'd play the part perfectly. Swan would work better politically of course, her father's Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Her grandmother on her mother's side is a Selwin. With Swan as the victim…"

Rosalie trailed off, taking in Edward's expression.

"Leave it, Edward," she warned.

"Something's going to go wrong," he said, unable to shake the feeling.

"Who are you, Alice? It's going to be fine."

"Bella doesn't like snakes," piped in Renesmee, speaking for the first time in the entire conversation.

Rosalie exhaled heavily. "Listen, Edward, Rensemee, you need to stop worrying. They probably won't even use Swan anyway. They'll find Newton and—." She stopped abruptly. The door to the locker rooms were cracked open, and inside Edward could make out two people standing very close together. "What the hell is this?" snapped Rosalie.

Edward peered inside and felt suddenly very cold. It was Newton, and apparently it was Jessica Stanley, comforting him after his humiliation on the Quidditch pitch. Only, if Newton was here, and Jasper and Emmett were up at the school to handle the adder attack, then that meant—"Bella!" exclaimed Renesmee who'd put the pieces together just as Edward had.

She turned around and ran for the school.

Edward made to follow her, but Rosalie grabbed his arm, her expression venomous. "Don't go, I need someone to witness as I give detention to our Head Boy for gross disregard of propriety and school rules."

"Shove off, Rosalie." Edward pulled out of her grasp and ran after Renesmee.

He sprinted over the long path back up to the school, passing those who were still returning from the Quidditch Trials. The icy air whipped at his face but Edward found he could hardly even feel it. There was a large gathering of students and teachers up ahead, and Edward knew that was where he'd find the snakes and Bella.

He heard a scream and he ran even faster. Renesmee was already there, pushing through the crowd to the front and soon Edward was doing the same. "Move," he said, "Watch out!"

He was terrified at what he might see when he reached the front. And when he finally made it, he scanned over it all very quickly. The school governors were gathered in the front, gaping with fear. The students behind them looked much the same, and none of the teachers had yet arrived to contain the situation.

It was a scene straight from a nightmare as far as Edward was concerned. The sand adders were bigger in reality than the false ones they'd used for practice at the Hog's Head. The blue flecks on their tan bodies were the size of gold balls. They were long as two or three broomsticks and wide as a first year. And all four of the adders lay coiled with their heads up, poised to attack. And there stood Bella Swan, face alarmingly blank, in the center of it all.

One of the snakes opened its mouth revealing long ivory fangs and the air seemed to ripple around Bella. She doubled over as her skin shimmered and Edward felt colder than ever. "Bella!" he cried. One of the governors screamed.

Bella looked over, their eyes meeting for barely a second, but still Edward could not read her expression. Why wasn't she doing anything?

Emmett was holding on to Renesmee while the other governors stood gaping.

"Stop it!" screamed Renesmee. "Stop it! Get away from her!"

Emmett let go of Renesmee in shock. "W-what did you just say?"

The snakes all seemed to pause and then turn their attention toward Renesmee. She ran straight towards them and Edward could wait no longer. His wand was already in his hand and suddenly, almost without a conscious thought at all, he was yelling, "SALVIA OSTIUM!"

"IMMOBULUS!"

"REDUCTO!"

A brilliant blue light exploded from his troll tooth wand, and then all four of the snakes exploded. It was absolutely awful—at least a hundred times worse than the splinters that'd shot everywhere from the false adders Bella had destroyed at the Hog's Head. Tan scales and bits of tooth whirled around like a tornado, coating the ground and Bella herself in what Edward could only describe as entrails.

Bella looked like she'd like nothing more at that moment than to be quite sick.

The governors and the other onlookers from the school all turned to stare at Edward now. He felt himself flush somewhat, and he awkwardly adjusted his glasses. Chaferson himself had arrived at some point, and he stepped forward and placed his hand on Edward's shoulder.

"Well done, Edward," he said, "Well done, indeed."

Professor Berty, who'd come from Hagrid's Hut only moments after Edward arrived, echoed this and even began to clap. "You saved her Mr. Cullen!" More joined in and Edward was absolutely positive he'd never felt so embarrassed in his entire life. His face was burning in the frozen air as suddenly people were converging on him, trying to clap him on the back and tell him he'd done brilliantly, trying to tell him he was some sort of hero.

Eleazar Enriquez was there too somehow, but Edward could only vaguely make out what he was saying. "Edward was, of course, one of my finest students of Defensive Strategies and should certainly prove to be a leader in my new..."

Renesmee was hugging Bella just beyond the reach of the swarm. Jasper and Emmett stood beside her, conversing quietly, looking tense.

Edward wanted to apologize. He wanted to tell them he hadn't meant to ruin their operation. He recognized the importance, now, of learning defense. And now more than ever he wanted the whole school to have the chance to learn to defend themselves from dark magic or dark creatures. But he'd boggled it now, hadn't he?

"Fifty points to Ravenclaw, I should say," Chaferson was announcing, "For outstanding bravery, and excellent spellwork, beyond what any of his peers could have accomplished."

Rosalie joined them then and the five of them, Renesmee, Bella, Emmett, Jasper, and Rose, all began walking towards the courtyard on the other side of the school. Jasper said something to Rose, and Bella pulled Renesmee closer to her side. They all looked very grave. But what were they discussing? Were they very angry with him? Did they think him a complete moron now, because, as Rosalie said, he couldn't just let things lie?

Edward pulled away from Chaferson and ducked under the hands of those who reached for him. He made his way slowly back through the crowd and then ran once again, this time toward the courtyard by the clock tower.

"Wait!" he called, but they'd already disappeared into a chamber beneath the tower.

He tried the door, but it was locked. He took out his wand again and said, "Alohamora," calmly and carefully.

The door remained locked, but Edward stubbornly tried again. "Alohamora!"

"Alohamora, Alohamora, ALOHAMORA!" he exclaimed, but though his wand grew hot in his hand, the lock on the chamber door did not budge. He turned his back to the door and slid down to the ground. He'd never, in his seven years of attending Hogwarts, ever seen this door here before, and now, Bella, Renesmee, Rose, Jasper and Emmett were all using it to—to what? To avoid him? Were they that upset with him?

"Edward?" said a quiet voice and he looked up to find Alice, looking down at him with a curious expression. "Is something wrong?"

"I thought you were going back to your dormitory?" said Edward.

"I did, but I had another strange dream."

Edward sighed and struggled to gather some sympathy for what was, in effect, his very best friend in the world. "What was it about?"

"It was about you," she said softly. "I've been having a lot about you lately. The one with the gorge, you know, I didn't mention it before, but you're in there—in the gorge with the remembralls. And the one today too, you were—."

"Alice, please don't tell me anymore."

She nodded, "Alright, Edward."

Edward smiled at her weakly. "Thank you," he said, "Erm, you don't, by chance, know how to get into this chamber do you?"

Alice's somber expression lightened at once. "And how do you expect I would know anything about that?"

"Please Alice. Not now. You always know things you oughtn't."

"Things I oughtn't?" she replied, "Really now, Edward. Who's to say what I ought and oughtn't know."

"Alice," said Edward warningly.

"Fine. No, no I don't know how to open it. But I expect he does."

Edward looked up again, this time to find Brian Livingstone striding towards them, dressed once again in the burgundy shop robes of Flourish and Blotts. There was a house elf following close on his heel and there was an owl on his shoulder.

"I understand some congratulations are in order?" he said, upon seeing Edward, slouched there on the ground.

Edward hurriedly stood up. "Erm, they are?"

Livingstone chuckled. "Of course, you defeated the sand adders didn't you? Rescued Miss Swan?"

"But I ruined your plan," protested Edward.

"Plans are meant to be ruined, I think," said Livingstone, "You spend weeks and weeks imagining every possible scenario, you line up your pieces and finally you strike. And then everything goes completely different than how you'd thought, but most of the time, it still turns out alright, doesn't it?"

Edward glanced at Alice. She was nodding along sagely, but Edward just couldn't see the logic in that sort of philosophy.

Livingstone smiled his grim smile and said, "Well come along then. I expect Miss Dwyer will be a bit distraught after her big revelation. We ought to go help cheer her up, what do you say?"

The house elf stepped forward and snapped his fingers to open the chamber door. Edward warily followed him inside to find, not a room, but a long, winding staircase. The house elf bowed and disappeared, and then Livingstone started up the stairs. Edward and Alice followed behind.

"Sorry, sir," said Edward, "But, exactly, what revelation were you referring to? Because I don't exactly recall—."

"That she's a parslemouth?"

"What?"

"She speaks snake language."

"I know what it is," snapped Edward, "I've read about them, haven't I? But I thought only dark wizards and, erm, witches were parslemouths. Salazar Slytherin was famous for it… and Voldemort of course. And let's see, there was Herpo the Foul. There were rumors about Morgana."

"You're leaving out Harry Potter."

"Harry Potter?"

"I believe you've heard of him?"

Alice grinned, but Edward, aware that nobody was looking right at his face, rolled his eyes. "Westfall never said anything about that."

"Well, like I told you before, Westfall is an idiot, isn't he?"

They made it to the stop of the stairs to find Renesmee tucked in between Bella and Rosalie, all staring at the back of the clock face. The gears were moving in a somewhat hypnotizing motion, but other than that, Edward couldn't fathom what they found so interesting.

Emmett was standing behind Jasper, who was seated in a lone chair behind a table in the center of the room. Jasper was writing a letter on a piece of parchment while Emmett read over his shoulder.

Livingstone waved his wand to extend the table and it grew to encompass most of the empty space in the room. He summoned seven more chairs and then waved everyone over to have a seat.

"Well, if it isn't the biggest Gryffindor I've ever had the misfortune of knowing," said Rosalie, standing and leading Renesmee by the hand to a seat. "Dear Rowena must be rolling in her grave to know that you're in her House."

"Oi, there's nothing wrong with a bit of Gryffindorishness now and again, eh Bella?" said Emmett with a wink. He took the seat between Jasper and Rosalie. Renesmee sat between Rosalie and Bella, Alice next to Bella, and then Edward next to Livingstone.

Bella blinked at the attention now focused on her. "Erm no, there's nothing wrong with being a Gryffindor."

"You don't mind that I ruined the plan?"

"You saved Renesmee," she said simply, "How could I possibly mind? And anyway, didn't you hear Eleazar? He was telling everyone you were his finest student. Chaferson will have the Board convinced by tomorrow to hire Eleazar to teach Defense. It all worked out in the end."

"Except now everyone will know Renesmee's a parslemouth," said Rosalie.

Bella sighed. "There is that."

"You know what I don't get," continued Rose, "How on earth did you, Swan, manage to keep your parsletongue hidden for more than six years?"

"Bella's a parslemouth too?" said Edward, before he could stop himself.

Bella looked pained. "Why do you think I hate snakes so much?"

Edward shrugged.

"They find me," said Bella with a shudder, "They whisper things, sometimes awful things about how they want to kill small animals."

Emmett made a face.

"Have you finished the letter?" said Livingstone to Jasper.

Jasper looked up. "Almost, is there anything you want me to include about the tournament?"

"Not for now. Not until we have anything new to report."

Jasper sealed the letter and handed it to the owl on Livingstone's shoulder. "Chief Charlie Swan, Department of Magical Law Enforcement," he told the owl. Immediately, the owl, a large brown creature with a crowned head sprung up and flew through a crack between the wall and the face of the clock.

"Okay, now that's taken care of. Next, I think we really need to discuss—."

"Excuse me," said Edward, "But what's this about the tournament? Is there something dangerous happening with the Triwizard Tournament?"

"You mean, more than usual?"

Edward scowled. Emmett chuckled.

"Yes then. There is something dangerous happening with the Triwizard Tournament. More than usual. I believe Voldemort is using it to invade not only the United Kingdom, but Hogwarts itself. But then again, last time he used it to resurrect himself from the dead."

"What?" said Edward, astounded. "Can't you cancel it then?"

"Maybe. But I'm not convinced that'd be best."

"What are you talking about? You'll put all of the students in danger."

Livingstone drew himself up. "Believe me. No one values the students' safety more than me."

"But—."

"Edward, Dumbledore's Army has been fighting Voldemort for more than two hundred years," cut in Jasper. "This is our one chance to draw him out into the open—to finish him once and for all."

"The work of the Master will finally be done," said Alice. Livingstone leveled her with a hard look.

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Edward.

"Nothing," snapped Livingstone. "But I need all of you to be completely alert and watchful when the delegations from the other schools arrive—particularly those from Durmstrang. Their Headmaster, Fernand Versteckt, is the one who chartered the tournament this year. He's the one that wanted it at Hogwarts. So, more than likely, he's in league with Voldemort."

"This is mad."

"And one more thing. It'd really be best if someone from Dumbledore's Army was the Hogwarts Champion. So, do me a favor and make sure, Edward, Rosalie, Bella—make sure you all enter your names when the time comes."

"Fine," said Edward, unhappy, "But it's not like we have any sort of control over who will actually be chosen. It's the Goblet of Fire, isn't it? It's up to magic to decide whom it deems most worthy."

Livingstone glanced at Alice again. "I like our odds."

Disclaimer: This work of fanfiction is in no way affiliated with the likes of J. , or any of their publishers or filmmakers. Obviously no one's making money off this. It is a tribute to two of my favorite fantasy worlds and characters. Now, to anyone out there representing the wizarding world... I seem to have misplaced my ticket for the Hogwarts Express. Please send another!