Chapter Seven
There was an odd sense of surrealness the next morning and Neville along with Susan Bones who had come to sit with them after she had heard why the Weasleys were not at school that morning.
"Susan, how did you hear about it?" Hermione asked the Hufflepuff.
"I was in the infirmary when Professor McGonagall brought in a hysterical Ginny Weasley," Susan said soberly. "They took her straight to St. Mungo's. By the time I got back to the dungeons everyone knew. Amos Diggory sent a note to Cedric. He was worried about the news shaking him."
"Why?" Hermione asked with a frown on her face. "I didn't think Cedric knew the Weasleys that well. I know he lives near them but I have never seen them together or anything."
Susan sighed as she realized this was the gap between muggle and pureblood wizards knowledge that her aunt often discussed. "My auntie says that it isn't rare in the muggle world for people to do that but it's very, very rare in the magical world. Cedric was tutored by Percy Weasley in Potions a few years ago, so his dad was concerned."
"Professor Lupin told us. It just seems strange how everyone is reacting." Harry asked. "We were wondering about a funeral. Will they have one?"
"No, not for a suicide," Neville answered. "It becomes all about supporting the family and making sure that they get help if they need it. People will bring them food, cover for Mr. Weasley at work and generally support the family any way they can. The Unspeakables will go over everything he has dealt with and his suicide note to help deal with this."
"The entire Gryffindor house who knew Percy will also be talked to by someone. More than likely a mind healer will come and interview each of us privately." Neville replied knowledgeably. "Harry and you Hermione will more than likely be spoken to a bit longer than the rest of us because you would spend part of the summer with the family."
Lavender stopped Hermione as she entered the dorm after her interview with the mind healer two days later and asked "Hermione, are you going to Hogsmeade this weekend?"
"Yes." She answered. Looking at Lavender who was sorting through her trunk looking for something, she asked: "Did you do your interview yet?"
"I did." She said with a grimace as she pulled out the jumper she was looking for. "I barely knew Percy so all they really did was ask me if I wanted to talk about things. Anyhow, I have detention with Professor Snape along with Parvati and I was wondering if you could pick up some parchment paper for me."
"Yes, I can do that," Hermione said thinking that Harry needed to get away from the castle after his interview. He had not been very cooperative and had requested that Professor Lupin sit in on it. The healer had been rather unhappy until the Headmaster spoke to the woman.
"Thanks." Lavender said and handed her a few sickels for the parchment. "I just know that Professor Snape deliberately assigned us detention on purpose."
Harry and Hermione were quiet as they walked down the path towards Hogsmeade together. Neville had left to go see his parents with his grandmother and Ron was still being evaluated at St. Mungo's. The twins had been released after spending a week and had returned to school much more sedate than normal.
When Hermione and Harry had tried to speak, they had only smiled sadly and thanked them before telling them that they were going to be okay.
When they had questioned Remus, he did tell them that Charlie and Bill were both released along with Mr. Weasley. before encouraging them to enjoy themselves in Hogsmeade.
"What about Ron, Ginny and Mrs. Weasley?" Harry asked Hermione who had heard more than he had as they entered the village already crowded with Hogwarts students.
"Not yet," Hermione answered as they went to pick up parchment for Lavender and themselves before heading to the candy shop. Neither felt like purchasing much, Harry picking up some chocolate frogs before they went to the Three Broomsticks which wasn't that busy yet.
Getting two butter beers and soon seated at a table in the corner, Hermione and Harry quietly discussed who was visiting the town with who. They had seen Cedric and several others together in a group that including Fleur Delacour while his date to the Yule Ball was spending time with her own friends.
Luna Lovegood had been seen walking into Hogsmeade with a few Hufflepuffs and they had watched as Draco and she had met up. The two blondes had smiled at each other before continuing on their separate ways. Cho and the rest of her clique had been avoiding the press after the Daily Prophet article and were heading to Madam Puddifoots.
"Hey, may we join you." Harry welcomed the twins and was happy to see that most of their classmates had welcomed the twins back with open arms. Harry saw them watching the very shady Ludo Bagman at another table trying to avoid the goblins.
When the over the hill retired quidditch star saw Harry, he tried to speak to him about Neville and suggesting that he would be happy to help guide the other boy. "Neville will be just fine without your help."
Bagman was looking nervously over his shoulder at the goblins who were once again approaching. The man bolted out of the Three Broomsticks and Harry saw the twins were about to follow him. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."
"He owes us for the bet we placed with him at the Quidditch World Cup," Fred stated. "He paid us in Leprechaun gold."
"Didn't you see who was tracking him?" Harry asked. "I think he is in trouble with the Goblins."
Groaning, George said. "We bet all the money we had saved for our store."
Harry and the others were returning to Hogwarts and he was trying to figure out how to give the twins the money they needed for their store when they saw Remus Lupin waiting for Harry with an eager expression on his face.
Once in the Defense Against Dark Arts classroom, he handed over the mirror so that Harry could speak to Sirius. "Hey, Padfoot."
"How are you doing pup?" Sirius asked from wherever he was hiding. He looked much better than he had and Harry was beginning to see the man his father had known.
"I am fine," Harry said not wanting to bother Sirius with his problems.
"Remus said that you had a rough go of it with the mind healer. That she was pushing you on your home life and your parents." Sirius prodded.
"It was uncomfortable but it wasn't that bad," Harry answered looking at his godfather in the mirror. "I am curious, though, what do you know about Ludo Bagman? He has been very eager to help Neville have an advantage in the tournament. Plus he cheated the twins out of funds he owed them."
"Bagman was a suspected death eater who was found not guilty at his trial. He claimed to have been tricked." Sirius answered. "I think he was more stupid than culpable. He does have a huge gambling problem."
"Sirius, please don't worry about me, just be careful. Okay?" Harry asked before handing the mirror back to Remus. He had avoided using his own to talk to his godfather but it was clear that Moony had gone against his wishes and spoken to the wanted criminal.
Remus said something to Sirius that Harry couldn't hear before putting the mirror away. The sandy haired man saw Harry turn on him and held up his hand to forestall him from speaking. "Harry, he is more worried about you when he doesn't hear from you or when he doesn't know what is going on with you."
"I don't want to worry him, Remus. He has more important things to be concerned about than me." Harry said frustrated.
"Harry, we are talking about a man who escaped prison to protect you. He is not going to just forget about you." Remus gently stated. "Neither of us would."
Harry, whose frustration was growing snapped "Why not, it wouldn't be the first time you have forgotten about me. Nor that my GODFATHER has failed to protect me."
With that, he slammed out the classroom door, nearly running over Snape as he entered the Defense classroom carrying the wolfsbane potion. "Potter!"
Snape was furious when the boy just kept running. Entering the classroom just in time to see the werewolf throwing a book against a wall. "Problems?"
"Not now, Severus," Remus said growling as he turned to glare at his former classmate.
"I am responsible for your behavior during a full moon, so I suggest you explain." Snape tersely said as he looked at the thick book on the floor and then at the now closed doorway that a clearly upset Potter had just exited in a hurried manner.
"It's nothing." Remus lied.
"If it was nothing then you wouldn't have been throwing a book and Potter wouldn't have rushed out of here looking ready to curse someone. Normally only I receive that look from Mr. Potter." Snape replied as he handed over the chalice with the smoking potion.
Drinking it, Remus shuddered and grimaced before sitting down behind his desk. With a sigh, he said, "Harry believes that we forgot about him for the last ten years while he was growing up with the Dursleys."
"Have you ever considered telling him that you repeatedly asked the Headmaster to allow you to contact him?" Severus said conversationally. "As for Black, Potter might have a right to be angry. Black impulsively chased after Pettigrew instead of honoring his promise as his godfather."
"Sirius knows, Snape. He has huge regrets for what happened." Remus replied. Looking at their former foe, he said: "We were all so young, so sure that nothing bad could ever happen to us."
"So what caused this latest flareup between Potter and yourself?" Snape asked. When Remus wouldn't answer, he grimaced and said "I know that there was a problem with the mind healer attempting to question Potter beyond his purview. The Headmaster noticed that the man was attempting to record his interview with Potter."
"What?"
Snape realized that the headmaster had once again kept silent about something he should have told either Harry or at least his honorary uncle. "Minerva found out about it. I assumed she had told you."
Remus was about to leave and go confront the Headmaster when Snape stopped him and reminded him that it was a full moon. Throwing himself back into his chair, Remus was determined to get to the bottom of things regarding the Headmaster and his overreaching into Harry's personal business.
Entering the tower, Harry saw a certain bug and was just about able to catch her when he heard a familiar voice calling his name. His startled reaction allowed the animagus ladybug escaped and he turned in frustration and asked: "What?"
Backing up a bit, Colin Creevey stuttered "I-I uh, wanted to give you these."
Harry took the offered framed photo and taking a look found his tensions fading as he saw himself dancing with Hermione. "Thanks, Colin. You have no idea how much I needed this right now."
"You're welcome." The third year student said before asking. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
"No," Harry replied as he looked at the younger student and gave a small smile, wishing he could be as innocent as Colin. "I am sorry for snapping at you, though. The picture is great, thanks, Colin."
Colin gave him a cheerful smile and said "It's fine. My brother does it all the time when I startle him."
The boy pulled a camera out of his bag and then looking at the clock said that he had to go develop some film he had taken earlier that day.
Hermione came down the stairs and greeted Harry with the news that Neville had returned and had gone directly to the room where he was practicing his spell work. "Is everything alright?"
"Yes. Now, it is." He said showing her the picture.
"Colin gave me one too. I put it on my nightstand along with the picture we have of all three of us on Hagrid's steps." She said moving to sit down next to Harry. Resting her head on his shoulder, she said "I am worried about Ron and Ginny, about Neville and the next task, you and everything going on. I just want to sit here and forget for a while."
Harry smiled at her words and admitted: "I am worrying about way too much."
"You always do. It's your saving everyone habit." She answered. "I know that you haven't always had someone to depend on, but I am here and you can depend on me, Harry."
"I know that." He said quietly before turning to look down at her. "Remus tried to tell me the same thing earlier, but I was too upset to listen. He told Padfoot about the healer."
"They are worried, Harry," she said. "The night the Goblet of Fire caught aflame again and threw out that fourth name, I was so sure it would be you. That somehow someone had managed to drag you yet again into another confrontation with V-Voldemort. When it was Neville, I was torn between relief that it wasn't you and fear for him."
"That's how I felt too. I had been worried about something like that happening since the moment the tournament was announced. When Barty Crouch was exposed I was sure that everything would be okay. It's not." Harry said, his voice cracking as he recalled Percy Weasley's suicide.
"If it helps, the twins said their mom was released from the hospital. They also said that Ron and Ginny were feeling guilty for how they treated Percy recently. That it's why they are being kept longer." Hermione said as she burrowed closer to Harry's warmth.
The duo sat there for the rest of the evening without another word to anyone, just seated in front of the fire, finding peace in each other. They didn't notice the smiles as their housemates watched the two of them nor when they were the last two in the common room other than a hidden ladybug who was thrilled with the story she was about to write.
Over the next few weeks, things settled back into a routine regarding classes, the duo missing Ron in spite of his recent annoying behavior. Ginny and he had been released from the hospital but weren't returning to Hogwarts until the day after the second task. Molly had insisted on homeschooling them for the four weeks.
Neville was studying for his task with his friends and all three were learning hexes, charms, and jinxes way above their class level and it was beginning to show up in their magical skills in class.
They had requested that Professor Lupin sit in on one of their practice sessions and Harry had stayed afterward and declared peace with the man. They had talked about the past and Remus had told Harry what he had found out regarding the healer trying to record his session. "The Headmaster knew and didn't tell me. Why not?"
"I don't know," Remus admitted. "I was hoping we could talk about your relationship with Professor Dumbledore starting with your first year."
Remus listened to every single meeting between Harry and the Headmaster and each adventure the teenager had had and knew that he had to speak to Sirius before they went forward with their plan to have him speak directly to Harry.
Harry meanwhile had gone back to his dorm only to be told by Lavender that she hadn't seen Hermione that evening. Groaning as he realized that meant that Hermione had been grabbed as the thing that Neville would miss the most, Harry went to find Neville only to catch up with him speaking to Cedric, Fleur, and Victor.
"Neville, I know what they think is what you will miss the most." He stated as he joined them. "Hermione is missing."
"So is Millicent and Victor's girlfriend who arrived today to cheer him on in the next task," Cedric replied with a grim expression on his face. "I'm just worried because Millie is scared of the lake. It's why I asked them to meet me."
"Surely they will be unconscious or something?" Harry asked.
"Maybe, but I don't know who I will find down in the lake as my hostage," Fleur said fretfully. "I don't like this, I don't like it at all."
Neville said "Harry, Millicent is really scared of the lake. I mean, don't you remember when we had to gather water-lilies last year, she was excused from the assignment by Professor Sprout."
Harry and Neville walked back to the tower while Cedric who was furious with whoever decided to put Millicent into the lake continued to the owlery where he sent a letter to his father.
After breakfast, Neville and Harry went to speak to Remus and tell him what they knew and the werewolf is also furious on the Bulstrode girl's behalf. The professor and Harry ignore the request for them to sit in the stands as the four competitors defended their being on the dive platform with them.
To Harry's surprise, when the bell rang to begin the task, Neville grimly handed his competitors gilly weed before they all dived in and swam off. There was a growing restlessness to the crowd as what he had done spread among the spectators even as Harry felt into his pocket for the gilly weed Neville had handed him the night before.
Shivering in the February cold, Harry was staring rather intently at the placid water until he saw someone's head breaking the surface. Noticing it was Cedric and that he needed help removing Millicent from the lake, he bent down and helped her while the seventh year pulled himself up out of the lake.
Remus conjured a warming blanket for each of them just as Madam Pomfrey rushed over. Millicent was clearly terrified as she sobbed wanting to know if it was over. Cedric ignored Bagman's insistence of his staying for his score, instead going with Millicent as she was taken back on a hovering cot to the infirmary by a furious Severus Snape.
Harry saw two more heads on the surface as Victor came out of the water with his girlfriend. When the agile seeker came out still holding onto his girlfriend, he nodded gratefully at Remus Lupin for yet more conjured warming blankets and rushed off towards the castle with her himself not even waiting for a healer.
Karkaroff chased after his champion, clearly furious with the Bulgarian as he continuously called out his name as he ran towards the castle.
Harry was getting nervous as five minutes passed with no Neville or Hermione. Looking around, he saw that his Head of House was also clearly worried and that none of the officials were smiling by then.
Reaching into his pocket for the extra gilly weed that Neville had given to him, he took out some and began to chew on it. "Harry?"
"I am not letting anything happen to my friends." He told Lupin in a quiet tone as he kicked off his sneakers.
"Hand some of that over," Remus said and Harry looked at the man and did just that. They both felt gills grow and dived into the dark lake ignoring the gasps from the audience.
In the murky depths a couple hundred feet from the platform, Harry saw Neville and Fleur struggling with their unconscious victims and the spear holding Mermen who were attacking them.
Remus fired off a wordless hex and helped Fleur with the young girl she was trying to rescue. Harry just went for brute force and punched the merman whose spear was way too close to Hermione's chest for his comfort.
The sextet headed back to the surface, Neville bleeding severely from his shoulder and Fleur holding her arm close to her chest like it was broken. Once they had ascended out of the water, Harry pushed Hermione onto the wood planks before he pulled himself onto the platform and reach down to help do the same for Neville.
When he looked over, he saw Remus had the French champion and her sister on the flat surface and had grabbed blankets that an arriving Minerva McGonagall had transfigured. When all of the new arrivals were warming up, he saw Madam Pomfrey was treating Neville's laceration and checking over Fleur's arm.
"What happened down there, Neville?" Harry was asking from where he was seated on the planks and tightly holding Hermione close as he wrapped themselves tightly into the blankets. He didn't even notice he was quietly speaking nonsense to his friend even as he listened to what Neville was telling him.
"It was going fine. We arrived at the spot where they were being held and had begun to free them using that cutting charm you found when something happened. The guard merpeople began shouting at us and refusing to allow us to leave with our prisoners." Neville said as he winced at the pain of the biting wind blowing across the lake.
"And..." Remus prompted.
"T-they pointed spears at us and then a merperson who seemed to be in charge said something, the prisoners woke up and the warriors stabbed me," Neville said then added with a weak grin on his face. "For future reference, stunners don't work on merpeople. Victor knocked the one who stabbed me out and we had begun to swim off. Cedric was rushing with Millicent and we all seemed fine but then we ran into a grindelow which delayed us just long enough for the merpeople to show back up."
Madam Pomfrey was arguing with Bagman who was insisting they remain so that the scores could be announced but the Headmaster overrode the sports mad gambler. In the Infirmary, all of the students and Remus were forced by the healer to drink Pepper-up potion and put into dry clothes.
Once tucked into a hospital bed next to Hermione's, Harry saw Neville trying to get his attention from his left side. "What is it?"
"Harry, the merpeople were really after Hermione even more than the other hostages. I don't like this, I don't like it at all." He grimly stated as he lay back down on his bed and stared at the ceiling.
Harry didn't like it and the man who had been eavesdropping liked it even less. If the merpeople had rogue elements like the Headmaster suspected, then they should have changed the task. Instead, the Headmaster had been given a verbal assurance by the Merman chief that everyone would be safe.
Snape went to his private quarters to write a letter to the Bulstrodes regarding their only child. Millicent seemed to be fine now that she was out of the water, but Diggory and the others were right, the girl was absolutely petrified of the lake and someone else should have been chosen as Diggory's hostage.
When Harry woke up the next morning, he saw that Hermione was eating breakfast and talking to Neville. She looked over at Harry and said: "You missed it all."
"What?" Harry asked scooting over when she got up and came to sit next to him on his bed still wearing the hospital-issue pajamas. "What is going on?"
"Amos Diggory showed up here this morning, he brought Aurors and Millicent's father to arrest Ludo Bagman for endangering Millicent. The Headmaster showed them a copy of the rules for the Tournament which allows what they called informed consent from the adult competitors and while they were unhappy about it, they left."
Neville sat at the end of Harry's bed and rolled over the breakfast table that had been set up for the three of them by the strangest elf house he had ever met.
Taking up where Hermione left off, he said "The situation settled down a bit then the Bulgarian delegation showed up, turns out, Victor's girlfriend is the daughter of Count Vlad or something in Romania and the Romanians are blaming them and have threatened to declare war. While they were arguing with Bagman and the Headmaster, the Delacours showed up with Lucius Malfoy who looked about as thrilled to be with them as Draco would be to live with Hagrid."
"Anyhow, the Delacours are asking the Ministry to investigate Bagman for allowing a kidnapping of a child from French territory. This time, he might be in serious trouble because the French Ministry considers what happened to her a crime." Hermione said then told Neville to tell him what happened next.
"While they were arguing with the French government's authority to arrest Bagman, Amos Diggory showed up with my grams. The excuse that because Cedric and the other champions are adults and that they signed a contract and should have known what it said doesn't fit me."
Harry saw the smirk on Neville's face and asked: "What is it?"
"Bagman really, really messed up at that point. He said that because the tournament recognized me as an adult, it meant that I authorized him to do what he did. What you don't know is that my grams has been trying to get me appointed my parent's guardian because of some really archaic law. The Ministry has been fighting it because they have control of my parent's medical decisions since they were Aurors at the time of the attack and their legal next of kin is their underage son."
"Why would they have any authority?" Harry asked.
"It's how things work here, anyhow, Bagman's words seemed to have created some sort of magic because my wand began to smoke and the underage trace came off of it. Legally, the ministry is forced to acknowledge me as an adult if they want to prevent legal charges for my being allowed to enter the tournament." Neville said wearing a huge grin. "All of this, this work and worry, it is worth if it allows me to get my parents better help than the Ministry will authorize. There is a doctor who has returned people like my parents to full health after suffering from that curse, but he is a muggle so the Ministry refused to allow it."
"That is wonderful, Neville," Harry said as he began to realize that maybe this was the reason he was sent back in time, to allow Neville to save his parents.
"I see that you finally woke up." Harry heard and looking up saw the other champions and their hostages including Gabrielle Delacour entering the room. "We, all of us just wanted to thank you. We already told Professor Lupin but he was speaking to Susan's aunt who is here."
"I especially want to thank you. I was in such a hurry to help Millicent that I rushed ahead of the competitors." Cedric said with a guilty expression on his face. "You might not have had to dive into the lake if we had stayed together like planned."
"It's fine, Cedric. At least everyone only had minor injuries." Harry said weakly. Looking at the others, he said "Did everything get settled with Bagman and the tournament. What happened with the scores?"
"Bagman won't be getting into trouble, at least not for what he did with the task," Victor said in a disgusted tone. "As for the score, the officials declared us all even after everything that happened."
There was the sound of rushed footsteps and they all turned to see Ginny Weasley rushing into the infirmary. She didn't seem to see anyone but Hermione as she rushed over and said: "You have got to see this."
Hermione frowned and took the glossy magazine from the red head who seemed furious. Reading the article, she felt her jaw drop and then laughed before handing it over to Harry. "Who do you think is her source? Cho or Malfoy?"
"It's not Malfoy," Millicent said from next to Fleur. Looking at them, she said "He has been real quiet this year after a huge bollocking from his dad about his behavior. When he got turned into a ferret by fake Professor Moody, he received Lucius Malfoy's version of a howler which means Mr. Malfoy showed up and lectured him personally before assigning him additional school work. If his grades fall below an Exceeds on homework, classroom assignments or tests, he has to write lines and owl them to his dad."
"Wow, I never thought I would feel sorry for Malfoy," Cedric said shuddering. "Besides, my money is on Cho, she still has it in for Harry and Hermione after being outed for her bad behavior."
Neville read the article and then groaned asking "Do you think that everyone is going to believe this nonsense. Hermione, you are really really great, but I only like you as a friend."
Hermione laughed and said "What if I did like you as more, Neville. Those words would just break my heart."
Neville flushed and then heard her chuckles. "It's not funny, Hermione."
"Neville, it's nonsense and being reported by someone who is little more than a bottom feeding gossip columnist." Harry firmly stated as he crumpled up the newspaper. "It does raise a question, though, of how she knew about our falling asleep together in the common room that night."
"Or how she knew what you were saying to Hermione on the diving platform?" Fleur said while wearing a frown. "I doubt that Professor Lupin told her and Madam Pomfrey seemed awfully protective of the three of you last night so I doubt it was here."
"Good, you are up." Madam Pomfrey shooed off the already dressed students, including a disappointed Ginny who really needed to speak to Hermione. "You may resume classes this morning. I have spoken to your head of house and she has arranged for you to have a note allowing you to be late for your first class of the day."
TBC
