Chapter Nine: The Third Task, or the Unholy Sacrificing of the Quidditch Pitch
Charlotte, Isobel, Dean, and Seamus went down to dinner that night and began to eat quickly, for they knew as soon as the first years appeared, McGonagall was going to be on them immediately. Their charm worked perfectly, as every single first year was granted a new hair color. She risked a glance up at the staff table. Professor Dumbledore was chortling, Professor Snape was looking around, probably for her, and Professor McGonagall was furiously making her way over with Professor Flitwick. "You four best explain yourselves."
"Professor, it was us." Charlotte and Isobel said at the same time. "Seamus and Dean had nothing to do with it."
Snape had appeared on the other side of Flitwick. "They were not breaking any rules, either, Professor." He said.
Flitwick, however, beamed at the two girls. "This is extraordinary magic! However, it must be taken down."
"Yes sir." They raised their wands. "Finite Incantatem!"
The first years hair reverted back to its original color. "Ten points from Ravenclaw for using magic in the corridors." McGonagall said firmly.
Moody's reaction to his prank was much better, as he discovered it during class when the drawing kept talking. "Ole Mad-Eye's a nutter, they say. I'm no nutter!"
"What's going on?" Moody growled, stopping the class.
"Fear the Dark Arts? Scare the Dark Arts!"
Moody stalked toward the back, peering at the drawing. "Who did this?"
"I did, Professor." Dean admitted quietly.
"It's not bad, Thomas." Moody complimented him. "Now shut it up. Damn thing's annoying."
Dean let out a relived sigh and Seamus quickly cast a Silencing Charm on it so they could get back to the lecture.
After classes, Charlotte snuck down to the kitchens and recruited the house-elves for making cupcakes for Gryffindor and Hufflepuff before the final task. "Hey, guys!" She said, sitting down with the plan mapped out in front of her. "So, I need your help."
"Of course, miss." They said happily.
"I'm making cupcakes for Gryffindor and Hufflepuff to congratulate the champions and I need you guys to help me with it."
Within fifteen minutes, Charlotte was mixing up the cupcake batter, helped along by the house-elves, who'd enchanted the bowl to be sure they get enough cupcakes. Then, again thanks to the house-elves' magic, the cupcakes cooked rapidly and they all helped her frost them: Red and gold for Gryffindor, with 'Go Harry' and lightning bolts on them, and yellow and black for Hufflepuff with 'Go Cedric' and badgers on them. "Here you are, miss! We is glad we can help!"
"Thanks!" She hugged them all. "You guys are great! Bye, Dobby!"
With the trays of cupcakes floating behind her, she first delivered the Hufflepuff cakes to them. "What do you want, Potter?" Zacharias Smith snarled as he reached his common room at the same time she did.
"Cupcakes for your house, Smith."
Ernie pulled her in. "Cupcakes? Why?"
"For congratulating Cedric, of course." The handsome seventh-year smiled at her. "And to wish him good luck on the next task."
"These are delicious!" He grinned. "Thanks, Potter."
"You are welcome. Kick ass, Diggory." She saluted him before delivering Gryffindor's cupcakes to them.
"CUPCAKES!" Seamus yelled excitedly, tackling her. "You're feckin' amazing, Char."
"'Bout time you realize that, Shay." She kissed his cheek. "They're a good luck and congratulatory gift for Harry, since he has yet to die in the tournament, and as a fourteen-year-old wizard, that's quite an accomplishment."
Harry shook his head. "You're a nut, but thanks. I appreciate it. And so does everyone else."
"Anything, Mr. Boy Who Keeps Not Dying." She grinned. "You'll do great. Don't worry."
-HP-
The end-of-year exams, for Charlotte, at least, were a welcome break. People no longer had time to talk about anyone as they were too busying studying. The fourth years' last exam, History of Magic, took place the morning of the third task, but due to the fact Charlotte was Harry's cousin, she took hers the day before and now waited with her dad and Sirius in the chamber off the Great Hall. Mrs. Weasley and Bill were there, too, for Harry, and Charlotte, though she really liked Seamus, was glad the very handsome eldest Weasley brother was there. "Hey, Charli! Enjoying the tournament?" Bill asked as Samuel and Sirius talked to Mrs. Weasley.
"Definitely!"
"That's good. So, you're a Ravenclaw, huh?"
"Yup. Play Chaser for them, as well."
"Really? That's pretty cool."
Harry then arrived late, probably thinking the Dursleys were going to be there. "Surprise!" Mrs. Weasley shouted.
Harry beamed at them. "Thanks, guys."
After a long stroll around the castle, they returned for lunch. "How'd the test go, Shay?"
"Boring." He answered, his mouth full of food.
"We're going for another walk." Harry said. "You coming?"
"Oh. Uh, no. Sirius wanted to see the secret room Dean found."
The four Marauders led him to it, and he laughed, reading their list. "These are good. Keeps you four out of trouble mostly, doesn't it?"
They nodded, going back to the Great Hall for the evening feast. When dusk began to fall, Dumbledore stood up. "Ladies and gentlemen, in five minutes' time, I will be asking you to make your way down to the Quidditch field for the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament. Champions, please follow Mr. Bagman down to the stadium now."
"Woo! Go Harry and Cedric!" Charlotte yelled, applauding him and Cedric as they left the Great Hall.
Five minutes later, Charlotte and the Marauders chose the front row to watch, Sirius and Samuel right behind them. "What the bloody hell did they do to the Quidditch pitch?" Charlotte raged. "It's ruined!"
The champions separated and Ludo began to speak. "Ladies and gentlemen, the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin! Let me remind you how the points stand thus far! In first place with eighty-five points each, Harry Potter and Cedric Diggory, both of Hogwarts School!" The stands erupted in deafening cheers and applause. "In second place with eighty points, Viktor Krum of Durmstrang Institute!" The cheers weren't as loud this time. "And in third place, Fleur Delacour of Beauxbatons Academy!" Charlotte cheered for Fleur as well, feeling bad for not making cupcakes for her school. "So, on my whistle, Harry and Cedric!"
Both Hogwarts champions disappeared into the maze. Then Krum followed, and Fleur was the last to enter. It seemed an eternity to Charlotte, but in reality, only forty minutes passed until a high-pitched scream shattered the silence. "Was that Fleur?" Isobel asked worriedly.
"I doubt any of the others could get that high." Charlotte replied, still frustrated with the sacrificing of the Quidditch pitch.
A few minutes more of silence, and then deep yells broke it once more. "That was Cedric or Krum!" Isobel said. "Look! Red sparks!"
Sure enough, hovering near the edge of the maze, were bright red sparks. An hour and a half went by with nothing else, and then, Harry suddenly appeared, holding the Triwizard Cup and… "Why's Harry crying?" Dean asked loudly in order to be heard over the noise everyone was making.
"Oh god!" Isobel buried her head in Dean's shoulder.
Harry Potter was clutching the apparently lifeless body of…Cedric Diggory. Dumbledore and Fudge, along with a large crowd, rushed onto the pitch but Charlotte stayed were she was, tears silently falling, trailing down her cheeks. Seamus wrapped his arm around her, his eyes sad as well, but as Dumbledore and the others were talking, Professor Moody led Harry away from them. "What's he doing?" Charlotte asked, looking around.
"What?" Seamus followed her line of sight. "I don't know."
She pulled away from him. "Something's not right, Shay." She said, disappearing after Moody and Harry.
She stayed quiet, her wand out. For reasons she couldn't explain, her gut was telling her that this scene, Moody leading Harry away from Dumbledore, was wrong. So, she followed, hearing snatches of their conversation. "Voldemort was there…killed Cedric…got his body back."
Moody led Harry into his office and Charlotte stopped a few feet away. His magical eye could see through anything, so she flattened herself as close to the door as possible and still not be on the door, thinking she was safe. "Drink this…feel better…need to know exactly what happened in the graveyard."
"I-I don't think I said anything about a graveyard, Professor."
The door burst open and Moody dragged her in, clutching her arm tight. "Start talking Potter or your cousin dies." He threatened.
She tried to wriggle away. Harry, pale as death itself, told him how Voldemort used some sort of potion to get his body back, the call of the Death Eaters to the graveyard, and the knowledge of a Death Eater at school. "Ah, yes. I know who it is."
"Karkaroff?"
"No, Potter. Me!" His grip tightened on Charlotte's arm. She whimpered, once again attempting to move. "Shut up." He snarled at Charlotte.
"Dad trusted you! Dumbledore trusted you!" She snapped. "Now I know how you caught all those damn Death Eaters! What's going to happen when they get out of Azkaban, huh?"
He hissed a strange incantation under his breath and she collapsed on the floor. The last thing she saw was Harry's terrified face.
She awoke in the hospital wing, her vision slightly blurry and her chest hurting. The whole Marauder gang, along with Harry, Hermione, Samuel and Sirius were gathered around her bed. Before Charlotte could say anything, Madam Pomfrey bustled over to her, tipping some horrible tasting potion down her throat, and forced most of them out of the hospital wing. Samuel, upon noticing she was awake, hugged her tightly. "Charli!" He sounded relieved. "Oh, thank Merlin! I thought I'd lost you!" He looked as if he hadn't slept in days.
"Um, no?" She croaked out. The potion Madam Pomfrey had given her eased the pain of her chest enough to where she could sit up. "What happened?"
"You've been out for three days, sweetie. And, as none of us knew what curse Crouch hit you with-"
"It was Moody, not Crouch."
"Crouch's son, Barty Crouch Jr., was using Polyjuice Potion to impersonate Moody." He explained gently. "He set Harry up, intending for You-Know-Who to kill him."
Charlotte quickly looked up at Harry. "So, he's back then?"
"Yeah." He answered.
"And what? Fudge is going to send the Aurors after him, right?"
"Fudge thinks Dumbledore's lying." Samuel said. "And now, also thinks he's plotting to take over the Ministry and is unfit to oversee Hogwarts."
"What happens now?"
"We fight." Sirius said, his hand on the middle of her dad's back.
"Obviously." She said, wincing as a fresh wave of pain rolled over her. "Where's Isobel and Seamus?"
"They're waiting outside." Harry replied. "Er, actually, everyone but Seamus is. He threatened to hex Madam Pomfrey for kicking him out and Dumbledore made him go back to the common room."
"Alright, alright! You've all seen she's awake, now go. This girl needs rest!"
Samuel shook his head. "You all go. Madam Pomfrey, I mean no disrespect, but I'm staying in here with my daughter until she's fully recovered."
"Of course, Samuel. My apologies."
He then turned to Sirius. "You need to go and do what Dumbledore said."
"I know." Sirius kissed Samuel quickly. "I'll be back as soon as I can, Sam."
Harry squeezed Charlotte's hand. "Get better. I'll tell Seamus you're fine."
"Thanks, Harry."
Samuel settled down in a chair beside her bed and he kissed her forehead. "Go back to sleep. You need it."
