A/N: So much for getting better at reliability…Anyways, here we go. More adventures of Tig the mad little lion. :)

Not sure how well this one works, especially towards the end and whether it seems forced or not, but we shall see. Again I'm not great at dropping the comedy side of Faith for the more serious. Also I borrowed some dialogue from the book for accuracy type purposes, but as usual I own nothing but Faith (including any obscure references I made).

Right, enough rambling excuses, on with the random brain spewing generally known as story. :D

Chapter Nine: International Elf Rescue

"How d'ya think they're getting here?"

It was Friday 30th October, the fourth year Gryffindors had escaped Potions early and Faith, Neville, Dean and Seamus were now making their way back down to the Entrance Hall after depositing their bags and books in Gryffindor Tower.

"I think riding squirrels." Faith informed the boys, looking thoughtful.

"What is it with you and squirrels lately?" Dean asked, looking at her like she was mad "You were going to breed mutant ones the other day."

"Yeah well, they're cute" Faith pointed out "And who knows, these other schools might be getting a head start on the program. Why not?"

Neville and Seamus just looked at her, while Dean pointed out "Because that's mental."

"And?" Faith shrugged "So's Seamus, but he still exists"

"I'm mental?" Seamus objected, as the other two chuckled "I'm not the one going on about giant squirrels"

"Nobody said anything about giant squirrels" Faith remarked.

"Well how do you propose someone rides an average sized one?" Seamus questioned.

"Shrinking spell" she shrugged, as if this had been the obvious answer.

By this point they had reached the Entrance Hall and the bickering match that was bound to break out soon between Faith and Seamus was prevented by Professor McGonagall ordering them into a line with the rest of their House. Faith fell into line behind the boys and watched in amusement as trying to ensure her students were organised and presentable seemed to cause McGonagall to have a minor nervous breakdown.

"Weasley straighten your hat" she barked at Ron. Faith watched as he did so, only for it to tip over the opposite way instead.

"Miss Patil, take that ridiculous thing out of your hair" came the next snapped order, in response to which Faith could clearly hear Parvati (who stood just behind her) muttering grumpily under her breath.

Then the inevitable happened.

"Miss Higgins, try to act your age instead of like an excited five year old."

Faith who, as could be expected, had been bouncing excitedly on her heels and grinning like a fool, scowled and tried to stand still. She could distinctly hear the three boys and slightly further away, Fred, George and Lee sniggering at her.

Faith attempted to compose herself, if only to stop the boys mocking her when McGonagall had to tell her off again, but when the Heads of Houses began to lead the students outside she couldn't help but grin excitedly. Two minutes after they had been lined up on the front steps she was bouncing again. George, who stood between Fred and Lee two rows behind her, leaned around the fifth year Hufflepuff who stood between them.

"Careful sis" he muttered, with a grin "Or you're gonna be sent home and made to wait until you're actually old enough to come back to Hogwarts."

Faith stuck her tongue out at him, which all things considered, was not really helping her case.

They were not stood on the steps long before the contingents from the two other schools arrived, not on giant (or indeed regular sized) squirrels, but in much more spectacular and attention-grabbing ways. The party from Beauxbatons were the first to arrive, swooping down out of the sky in a huge horse drawn carriage. Then, as the Beauxbatons students retreated into the castle complaining about the cold, the Durmstrang group arrived, rising out of the depths of the Black Lake in a pirate ship (or at least it was a pirate ship in Faith's eyes). The most exciting discovery the Hogwarts students made however was that amongst the Durmstrang students was Victor Krum, Bulgarian Quidditch legend.

"D'ya think he'll give me lessons?" Seamus asked the other three excitedly as they filed back into the castle behind the foreign students.

"Sure Seamus" Dean replied sarcastically "I'm sure that's exactly why he came all this way."

"To teach some random Irish boy Quidditch, why not?" Faith added, in an equally sarcastic tone.

"Well I can hope" Seamus grumbled.

"You might stand a chance of an autograph" Neville suggested then, looking about him added "If everyone else hadn't had the same idea."

They had just passed a group of girls squabbling over who could get Krum's autograph in lipstick and there was also a group of young Slytherins nearby who seemed to be debating if they could get away with running back to their common room for something to write with.

"Yeah shouldn't be too hard Seamus" Faith told him brightly "You only have to fight the whole school for it"

Seamus humphed and the four friends headed across the hall to the Gryffindor table.

They sat down next to Fred, George and Lee who, like many people in the hall were still peering over their shoulders towards the entrance where the Durmstrang students stood.

"Can you believe it?" Lee said by way of greeting "Krum, here, at Hogwarts! What d'ya reckon the chances of him introducing us to other players are?"

Faith just gave him her 'are you an idiot' look.

"About the same as him giving Seamus Quidditch lessons?" Dean guessed.

"Quidditch lessons?" George's attention turned from the Bulgarians.

"Yeah, Seamus reckons it's likely to happen" Faith informed him.

"It could." Seamus was adamant.

"Good luck with that mate" Fred said, as they all watched the Durmstrang students sit down at the Slytherin table. "Looks like you might have to deal with lovely Mr Malfoy and his cronies for that."

Seamus pulled a face "I'd rather not."

"Yeah, that's Faye's area of expertise" Neville supplied, smiling at her.

Faith smiled back. "That's true" she nodded "although they were all a lot smaller then."

The conversation continued for a few minutes longer, descending, as usual, slowly into madness, before it was halted by Dumbledore calling the hall to silence.

After a few minutes of Dumbledore speaking, greeting the guests and introducing the tournament that was to take place that year the feast appeared on the plates spread along the tables. The selection was rather more exotic than the Hogwarts students were used to. Faith pulled a face as she inspected a dubious looking plate that had appeared in front of her. She prodded at it with a knife.

"Is it just me or is that snails?" she asked, looking up at Seamus, who sat across from her. He just shrugged and reached for the Steak and Kidney Pie which sat slightly further down the table.

"It's Escargot I think." Lee informed her.

Faith gave him a confused look "Pardon?"

"French delicacy" he explained, doing his best to look knowledgeable on the subject.

"Snails" Dean added, when Faith's confused look was showing no sign of disappearing.

Faith's nose wrinkled and she pulled a face. The boys laughed at her reaction.

"S'matter sis, do you not fancy something exotic?" Fred chuckled

"You never know, you might like it." George added.

"I'd rather my food was never capable of producing slime thanks" Faith informed them. Then, pointing the spoon she had been using to ladle vegetables onto her plate at them threateningly added "and I am not trying frogs' legs either."

"Well you're no fun." Fred informed her.

"I don't see you lot grabbing for the plate" Faith pointed out, gesturing at it "or searching for frogs' legs either."

"Well I can't" Neville put in before they had a chance to drag him unwillingly into the challenge "Trevor would never forgive me."

"Oh yes, how is old Trevor?" Fred asked a touch of false concern in his voice.

"Not showing any strange signs is he?" George added.

The others all gave them a suspicious look.

"What did you do to him now?" Neville groaned.

"What do you mean now?" George feigned hurt
"You say that like we've done something to him before." Fred looked aghast at the accusation.

Dean began the list, counting them off on his fingers. "Trying to give him wings, seeing how high you could charm him to jump…"

"…giving him fur when you tried to turn him into a rabbit…" Neville supplied.

"Alright, alright" Fred held up his hands defensively "We admit Trevor has, on occasion, been a slightly unwilling test subject"

"But we haven't been near him since we came back" George swore.

"Well, apart from when he got lost and hopped into our dorm"

"But we haven't put any charms on him."

"Or potions" Fred added quickly, as Faith opened her mouth.

"There's not a lot of scope testing things on a toad" George informed the younger students.

"First years are much more useful" Fred added, grinning slightly manically.

Faith rolled her eyes and privately swore not to accept any food or drink off the twins if it had been out of her sight.


Later that evening Faith sat cross-legged on her bed in her pyjamas listening to Hermione rant. Lavender and Parvati, who were bustling around at the opposite side of the room getting ready for bed, seemed to be doing their best to tune her out.

"You know there are hundreds of them, all across the country and here! At Hogwarts!" Faith nodded, only half listening. Hermione had spent a lot of time ranting about elf rights over the past few weeks.

"It's awful, they're mistreated you know. Just by living here and ignoring it you're participating in the abuse of House-Elves!" her insistent voice rose as she spoke and as she finished her sentence she turned angry eyes on Faith.

Faith instinctively held her hands up defensively "Hermione, I'm sorry but no matter how much you go on I am not going to buy one of those badges."

"Why not?" Hermione demanded "Your best friend did."

"Yeah, I heard about you cornering Nev." Faith said, raising her eyebrows.

"I did not corner him." Hermione objected.

"No" Faith's tone was sarcastic "You just found him while I was with the twins and Dean and Seamus were awol and glared at him for about twenty minutes"

"So?"

"So he hardly counts as a willing participant." Faith's exasperation was beginning to show.

"Yes, well, that is irrelevant." Hermione insisted "Why will you not buy a badge?"

"Because the House-elves enjoy it!" Faith exclaimed, frustrated at Hermione's insistence "They love their work, they're always really chirpy and cheerful when I go down there"

"Yes, that's what your partners in crime claim too." Hermione humphed

"Who?"

"Fred and George" Hermione explained "But you are missing the point, they're only happy because they know no different. How could they possibly be happy being oppressed like that! Could you be?"

"Well no, but I'm not a House-elf." Faith pointed out the obvious.

"And to be fair she's hardly a normal human being either" Lavender chipped in, glancing over from where she now sat on the edge of her bed.

"Thank you Lavender?" Faith was unsure if this was an insult or a compliment.

Lavender smiled in her direction and explained "I mean there's plenty of people enjoy cooking and some who enjoy cleaning too. My mum definitely does."

"Yes, but they're not forced into it." Hermione's glare was now focused on Lavender "If all their rights were taken away and they were forced to be someone's slave they wouldn't"

"That's humans though Hermione." Faith reasoned "House-elves are different, they're wired differently somehow. They enjoy the work!"

Hermione sniffed dismissively. "So you say. Isn't that convenient, when we need them to do the work?"

Faith groaned in frustration "I'm not just saying it though 'Mione, I've been down to the kitchens, I've met them, talked to them, they love it. They potter around quite happily in their little tea towels."

"Tea towels!" Hermione exclaimed, voice rising several octaves and increasing in volume. Faith flinched and shot Lavender and Parvati an apologetic look, as Hermione rounded on her again.

"We oppress them and can not even give them the dignity of clothes!"

Before Hermione could get up to steam again Faith interrupted her. "Er, I'm really sorry 'Mione, I've just remembered I need to ask the boys something."

"It's nearly 11pm on a Friday night." Hermione pointed out "What could you possibly have to ask them that desperately?"

"Oh big, important things. Very important, vital even." Faith rambled. Then, giving Lavender and Parvati another apologetic look and mouthing 'sorry' she shot out of the room and down the stairs at top speed, not even stopping to grab her slippers or a jumper.


Faith knocked frantically on the door of the 4th year boys' dorm, all the while bouncing on the balls of her feet attempting to keep warm. It took a couple of minutes for it to open.

"Thank you, you are my saviour, I love…oh, Hi Harry" Faith grinned slightly sheepishly.

Harry grinned back. "Hi Tig, not who you were expecting?"

"No" Faith admitted "I thought Seamus and Ron were closest to the door."

"Yes, well, this lot all spontaneously lost the ability to work their legs about a minute ago." He informed her, stepping back to let Faith into the room. She wandered into the room, stopping near the middle where she could see all three of her boys, all sat at the heads of their beds reading, Neville a Herbology book, Dean what looked like a muggle novel and Seamus a brightly coloured comic. She received a 'Hi' from Neville and Dean and a small wave from Seamus.

"Fat lot of good you lot are in my hour of need." She glared (only half jokingly) at them, hands on her hips.

"And what exactly do you need?" Seamus asked, his comic still in his hand.

"Sanctuary" Faith informed them matter-of-factly.

"Why should we give you sanctuary?" Seamus challenged "You did just wake us up."

"I did not, you're never asleep before midnight unless you have to be."

"Oh yeah, how do you know?"

Faith raised her eyebrows and starting listing reasons off on her fingers "Three and a bit years of crashing this dorm at all hours. The five or six times you tried to do the same before realising the stairs would tip you off every time no matter how quickly you run. Three days sharing a tent with you and Dean at the Quidditch World Cup. Oh, and you were reading when I came in." she finished, giving him an insightful look.

"Ah…" was all Seamus could come out with.

"What do you need sanctuary from Faye?" Neville asked.

"Hermione and her Mad Elf Liberation Movement, or whatever it's called" She explained, settling herself cross-legged on the foot of Dean's bed. She looked across the room towards Harry and Ron.

"How do you get her to stop?" she implored.

"We bought her badges." Harry shrugged.

"And that made her stop?"

"Well, no." he admitted.

"But she did calm down with it a bit. For a while at least." Ron explained, looking increasingly dubious as he spoke.

"So basically she'd only stop nagging if I became an active member of International Elf Rescue?" Faith complained.

The two boys nodded, smiling sympathetically. Faith groaned and flopped backwards onto Dean's bed.

"Great. That's just brilliant. At least you lot can escape it come bedtime." She moaned

"I don't know about that" Dean said "You're not the only unauthorized visitor we get."

"Huh?" Faith, head upside down as she was still laid on her back, gave him a confused look.

"Hermione" Harry put in "She discovered she could get up here in first year, before even you I think."

Faith groaned again "Oh great, you mean even sanctuary's not safe from The Elf Protection Brigade?"

"Nope" Harry replied, as the others shook their heads.

Faith huffed and lay prone on the end of Dean's bed for a minute or so before a shiver ran through her and she realised how cold she was. She sat up and tried to pull the patchwork quilt off the bottom of Dean's bed to wrap around herself.

"Hey" he objected, shifting from his position and trying to fend her off his blankets. There then ensued a short and fairly violent tug of war match over the quilt which ended with a loud thump when Dean gave a particularly large tug, causing Faith to loose her grip on the quilt and topple off the bed.

"Oow! Bully!" she complained from her position flat on her back on the floor.

"Not my fault you have no balance. Besides you started it." Dean pointed out.

Faith, grumbling to herself, levered herself up. Just as she got to her feet she was hit by something from Neville's direction.

"Hey! Don't you…oh, thanks" she smiled, changing track mid-sentence when she realised he had tossed her his thick black and grey cardigan. She put it on, fastening the front right up to her neck then, grinning wiggled her arms around a bit, showing the boys how her hands had disappeared a good three inches from the ends of the sleeves. She then settled on the end of Neville's bed where she hoped she was less likely to get tipped off. She snuggled into her spot, tucking her feet under the bottom of Neville's blankets and wondering to herself if she could sneak off with his cardigan. It was warm, comfortable and smelled like Neville which, in her book, was definitely a good combination.

"I'll go back in a bit." She sleepily informed the boys "Just let me hide out here 'til there's a chance Hermione's asleep"

She heard Seamus mutter something sarcastic in response but was suddenly too sleepy to bother working out what, let alone responding.


The next thing Faith knew it was light outside, Neville was no longer in his bed, and she was buried under a heap of pillows, with Dean and Seamus stood at either side of the bed sniggering.

"Oh yes, and where have you been?" Lavender greeted as Faith wandered into the girls' dorms a few minutes later (after she had chucked all of the pillows Dean and Seamus had piled on her back at them). It was nearly half eight in the morning.

"Told you last night" Faith yawned, rubbing her eyes with hands curled into the sleeves of the cardigan she still wore "The boys'"

"Yes, but we expected you to come back." Parvati pointed out.

"I did" Faith gave a small cheeky smile, spreading her arms out "Here I am."

"I meant last night" Parvati reiterated, as if talking to a small child.

"Yeah…so did I" Faith admitted, sitting down heavily on her bed.

"And?" Lavender prompted impatiently.

"And what?" Faith asked, confused "I accidentally fell asleep."

"Are you sure?" Lavender asked, Faith just gave her a blank look.

"Pretty sure" she said, looking thoughtful "It would explain why I woke up to Dean and Seamus playing 'How many pillows can we pile on Tig before she wakes up and beats us with them'"

"Oh yes, I'm sure that's all that happened." Parvati said, sounding unconvinced.

"What do you mean?" the two girls had Faith thoroughly confused.

"Well I think we all know you like some of the boys more than others." Lavender grinned, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Yeah, usually whichever one hasn't beaten me up or thrown me in a ditch recently." Faith replied, oblivious to what Lavender was hinting at.

"Well, yeah" Lavender conceded "But not what I meant."

"What? What did you mean Lavender?" Faith asked, befuddled "And why are your eyebrows doing a jig?"

"Oh nothing." Lavender feigned innocence.

"Just we don't think you like all the boys in quite the same way do you?" Parvati teased.

"They're all my friends." Faith pointed out, feeling particularly slow this morning.

"Yes, but that's not what you want is it?" Lavender challenged "I mean we've seen the way you are with Neville"

"…the way you look at him" Parvati added.

"…how close you two are" Lavender continued.

"…how it's always him you run to when Seamus is trying to murder you"

"You so fancy him!" Lavender exclaimed excitedly.

"No I don't!" Faith protested "You're being ridiculous, and don't you two start the finishing each others sentences thing, I get enough of that from the twins."

"Are we being ridiculous though?" Parvati asked, smiling knowingly.

"Yes!" Faith assured them.

"Whatever you say Tig." Lavender gave her a smug smile, showing she clearly did not believe a word of it, then she and Parvati wandered out of the dorm. Lavender stuck her head round the door grinning still and wiggled her eyebrows before closing it.

Faith continued to stare at the door after it closed behind them. What had just happened? Lavender and Parvati were mad, she has suspected as much for a while now, but this was definite concrete proof. She did not fancy Neville. Sure she loved spending time with him, trusted him completely and was finding him more attractive by the day, but she did not fancy him.

Faith groaned in frustration and flopped backwards onto her bed. Who was she kidding? She had been trying to deny it, convince herself it would pass, but she had known for weeks now. Something had changed between her and Neville since the summer. Yes she fancied Neville and why should she not? He was kind, sweet, funny and a lot smarter than most people gave him credit for. He was also her best friend though, she was not about to risk that for anything, so it was not like she could do anything about it.

Could Lavender and Parvati really tell though? Was she making it that obvious? The boys hadn't commented, which they surely would have done if they had noticed. Then again they often were not the most observant of people. So, were Lavender and Parvati being serious, Faith pondered, or were they just winding her up. After all she had spent the night in the boys' dorm and come back wearing Neville's cardigan. She smiled as she remembered this. She was definitely going to have to hide the cardigan and hang onto it as long as she could without Neville complaining. She might not be able to have Neville, but she could certainly try to keep that. It's not like she hadn't stolen items of the boys' clothing before, although that more often than not, was just to annoy them.

Faith lay in the unusually quiet dormitory for a while longer, contemplating her conversation with Lavender and Parvati. Then, realising that the boys would be waiting for her to go down to breakfast (or more to the point, wouldn't wait very long) she swiftly shook herself out of her reverie and started hurriedly getting ready.

Lavender and Parvati were sure to bring the topic up again soon and it would no doubt be a long time before she heard the end of it. Much like Hermione and her Elf Empowerment Club she thought. All in all it was starting to look like Faith should consider looking for somewhere new and more peaceful to sleep.