C. M. Black: Skin of a Dragon

Chapter X: The days get worse

There was never a time that Cassy could ever recall having missed a lesson on purpose. She was not always attentive, but she at least tried to look it even when large ink stars and swirls were littered down the side of the parchment. Although, she thought with an upturned lip as she jogged after Hermione, she had stopped doing that as much after Harry told her she was an awful artist. Instead, she just began scrawling over his work in even more ludicrous patterns.

She pushed that thought aside and opened the door to the girls' toilets. There was a quick bang. Cassy ducked in the room and moved to rest her back against the sinks, facing the slammed stall door. The paint was old and chipped. The one beside it had lost the top hinge, the bottom one bending beneath the weight of the thick wood. Cassy recognised the bathroom immediately.

It had been almost two weeks since Harry's name had come out of the Goblet and it had caused them nothing but trouble. The school had failed to warm up to the idea of Harry being a champion; in fact, as the idea of school glory truly began to set into the minds of the students, they only grew colder and crueller. Anyone who dared to associate positively with him was snarled at, accused of being friends with a liar and a cheat, building a fiery rage inside of Harry that had burst forth in one spectacular move of stupidity. Outside of their potions classroom, Harry had fired a curse at Draco and he had fired back. Both had missed their target. Harry's curse had hit Goyle, and Draco's hit Hermione.

The commotion had drawn the attention of Professor Snape. He had sneered down at her disfigured face, his lip curling as he told her there was no difference. The Slytherins howled with laughter. Hermione had burst into tears and fled down the corridor before anyone could utter another word.

'Hermione,' she said, gazing around the bathroom with interest, 'let's just go to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey will fix them easily.'

Hermione sniffed, 'Go away.'

One of Cassy's eyebrows raised and she rolled her eyes at the door. There sternness in the other's voice was lost with her inability to put her lips together.

'Go back to 'otions,' came Hermione's quivering voice through the door. 'You'll get into t'ouble.'

'I will get points deducted for being late anyway. I am here now.'

There was a long silence punctuated only by Hermione's short gasps of breath. Cassy crossed her legs at her ankles and inspected her nails.

'Do you recognise this bathroom?' she asked curiously.

'Should I?' said Hermione after a short hesitation.

'Last time I was in here I was speaking to you through the door too. You demanded I leave straight away and you refused to let me see you cry, although I do not blame you for that the first time. I hardly wanted to be here.' Cassy crossed her arms over her chest. A strange kind of smile on her face, one that she was not sure was appropriate and she was rather fortunate Hermione could not see it. She would not have found the memory amusing at all. 'In our first year, that Halloween, you know the one, I spoke to you here. This feels a lot like this.'

Then the troll had chased her, Harry and Neville down the corridors and into an old classroom, almost killing them before they managed to knock it out. She left out that part, but she could imagine Hermione's wary expression clearly in her mind.

'Last time you were crying because of something cruel someone said about you too, but last time it meant something more than now, I expect,' she said calmly.

'W-what do you mean?' mumbled Hermione, stifling her sniffs.

'Last time it was because someone insulted your character, not your appearance. That should hurt more.'

Hermione snarled through the door. A gruff huff escaped her lips in a sort of restrained laugh that sounded ugly and rough through her tears.

'What would you know about that? I doubt anyone has e'er called you ugly in your li'e,' she sneered.

Cassy's arms tightened across her chest and her nails dug into her upper-arms. She shook her head and smiled watery in spite of their division.

'No,' she said, 'they haven't in so many words.'

Not about to admit that there were several incidences of sneering parents and thinly disguised words of contempt aimed at her appearance, Cassy allowed silence to fall between them, worsening the air around them. There was no conceivable way that Hermione would understand that Cassy would have to be something truly extraordinary to never receive any sort of ridicule, she was aqueduct at best and vile at worst to those who cared for her blood. It was hard for some to understand tainted blood did not reflect on one's skin and bone. Those had always been few and far between.

'It's not like I care about what he said anyway,' muttered Hermione with a deep sigh. 'I felt so embarrassed that even a teacher would say something like that. It doesn't matter really, because I know that there are more important things than looks, like brains and knowledge, like wit, humour, cunning, loyalty, and bra'ery.'

'All of which you have,' interjected Cassy calmly.

'S-so, if people don't like me for my face, then they're not worth knowing,' finished Hermione forcefully.

If she had not been locked behind a door, Cassy might have believed that Hermione held those words to be true. She was still wiping tears away in the girls' toilets instead of being in class.

There was no doubt that Professor Snape had noticed their absence and whether he was expecting them to return was an issue that she was ready to deal with at the first sign of trouble from him.

Yes, she thought, a little letter to the headmaster is in order.

She smirked and looked up at the stone ceiling. That would deal with Hermione's mistreatment, but the badges that Draco had created were another problem entirely. They read 'Potter Stinks' in bold letters, swirling to change to 'Support Diggory' when they pleased. He had been so proud, parading them around as if they were ever so clever and while Harry had tried his best not to respond, Draco had clearly seen the rage bubbling beneath the surface. Whether Diggory liked the badges or not was yet to be seen. Perhaps he would, he was the rightful champion of Hogwarts and looked the part too.

Harry's support was unlikely to change unless the first task changed peoples' minds. Everyone was set against him and it would take no minor victory to turn that around. Cassy had considered cheating herself, perhaps nosing around to gather information on the task and the opponents, but Harry had not liked the idea much at all. He did not want to him, he told her firmly, he wanted to survive. He said asking them for help was not quite like snooping for information, yet had not been so opposed to Cassy's suggestion that he was not exactly cheating if she found the information and happened to tell him what she knew. Even Hermione, wringing her hands anxiously, had not outright objected the idea. That had not made Harry any more comfortable.

Luna had been both incredibly insightful and irritatingly useless with regards to magical creatures. She would mention useful disarming advice and habits of more dangerous beasts, then swap to something that had a questionable existence. By the end of each conversation, Harry could not remember what she had said for what and what even happened to be real anymore. Hermione always made sure to be present to deflect her comments.

Beyond that, there had been very little preparation for the task and it was drawing ever closer.

Sighing, Cassy shook the thought from her mind.

'Hermione, if we do not leave soon people will begin wandering to their next classes,' she said.

There was a slight shuffle, followed by the click of the old bold latch. Hermione stepped out and straight towards the mirror behind the sink next to the one Cassy lent against. Strangely, her eyes were not nearly as red or her skin as blotchy as she had expected. It looked as if Hermione had long since stopped crying.

The teeth hung low, long and thin; they curved painfully down to her collar bones, squashing her bottom lip awkwardly.

'C'mon,' muttered Hermione after assessing herself for a time.

She and Cassy strode from the first floor bathroom and straight down the silent corridors towards the Hosptial Wing. Noise from nearby classrooms had the pair walking quicker, until Hermione hesitated, her face pulling into a peculiar expression that Cassy thought might be her trying to purse her lips.

At the end of the corridor, the Hospital Wing in sight, stood a single student dressed in red robes. He had short brown hair and was gazing vacantly between the paintings and the lone suit of armour. A letter was held in his hand.

Hermione ducked her head the best she could with her protruding teeth.

Cassy called out to him. Her voice was suddenly thick and her tongue quick, seemingly never ceasing and the sound rolling effortlessly from her mouth. He responded in turn, looking shocked. He grinned at her and nodded his head as her arms extended and pointed back the way she and Hermione had come from. Her had waved left and he nodded again, then hurried out of sight.

Hermione stared at her in shock; Cassy was all ready halfway down the corridor by the time a sentence could form properly.

'What was that?' asked Hermione.

'I gave him directions. He needed to give something to the headmaster from Karakoff,' replied Cassy simply.

'Not that,' said Hermione with a frown, 'since when could you speak Russian – it was Russian, wasn't it?'

Cassy blinked at her. 'I began lessons from Narcissa when I was five. Do not look so surprised, it is one of the main magical languages beside Latin and Greek. Russian magic had a lot of influence on the East and much of that was idolised here not long ago. It leads to many Dark avenues, you know. The magic and law is somewhat different in that department there.'

Hermione waved her hand and said, 'It isn't the fact that it is that language, just that you speak one at all. You never mentioned it.'

'Most pure-blood children can. I thought it would just be assumed,' said Cassy with a light frown. She stopped outside of the doors to the Hospital Wing. 'I was taught because it is considered a triumph to be more educated than your peers, and it helps a woman to be a little bit more appealing to other families so that they are accepted easier if marriage is to occur. She has something to offer. I was told I needed all the help I could get.' Her voice had dropped into a mocking tone at the end, but Hermione did not look nearly as amused.

'So you were taught Russian to enhance your marriage prospects?' she asked flatly.

'Essentially, yes. I have no intention of ever marrying anyone that my family might approve of anyway. I appreciate Narcissa's efforts, but really I just view it as another tool,' said Cassy easily, as if grooming a child for later marriage was not an issue.

'I worry about you sometimes,' said Hermione with a frown.

'Why?' asked Cassy with the same expression.

Hermione did not answer, but pushed open the doors. She had not wandered ten feet before Madam Pomfrey had emerged from her office tutting. She sat Hermione down and told Cassy to go back to class, but gave up and allowed her to sit on the bed opposite when Cassy looked at the giant clock on the wall.

'Very well,' she muttered, fishing around in a cabinet for a large hand mirror. 'Now, Miss Granger, I am going to shrink your teeth back to their original size, but I need you to tell me when that is. So, hold this and say when, all right?'

Hermione took the mirror and Madam Pomfrey pointed her wand at the teeth. They began to retract and Hermione's nose scrunched.

'It might hurt a bit,' said Madam Pomfrey distantly. Her attention was focused on keeping the movement steady.

For several moments Cassy was not certain anything was happening. Madam Pomfrey's face was tense with concentration and Hermione still looked pained, but the teeth were not changing. She leant forward from the edge of the bed and squinted. Seconds ticked by and she could begin to see the smallest change. They were retracting, if slower than Blast-Ended Skrewts could stagger. The teeth shrank and shrank hitting their original size and then continued to shrink for a second more. Then, Hermione made a throaty noise and it halted. It had only taken an hour.

'There we are, Miss Granger, how is that?'

Hermione inspected her teeth closely, turning her head in all directions. She beamed.

'Brilliant,' she said and moved to hop off the bed. Madam Pomfrey held up a hand.

She rummaged around again and pulled out a thick, blue paste that read 'Skele-Tone'. It was a bone strengthening paste that Cassy recognised from when her Great-aunt Cassiopeia had broken an arm several years ago. It was absorbed to aid brittle bones or to aid in repairing bad fractures. Cassy narrowed her eyes, beginning to wonder why she had stayed at all. Hermione would have managed well on her own. She would have survived, but Cassy's dinner waiting in the Great Hall would not.

'Forcing bones to grow can damage them,' explained Madam Pomfrey at Hermione's enquiring stare. 'This will help keep them strong.'

She lathered it on Hermione's teeth painfully thoroughly and nodded to herself, satisfied.

When the pair reached dinner, dessert was all ready being served. They slipped into place at the end of Gryffindor table where Harry sat opposite Luna, with Neville beside him. Ginny was somewhere farther up the table with her other friends.

'What do you think?' said Hermione as soon as she had touched the seat. She beamed widely, showing off all of her teeth. 'I got them shrunk a little bit more than they were. My parents won't be too pleased, but I think they look great.'

'They do,' praised Neville brightly.

'I got detention with Ron tomorrow,' said Harry. 'We lost fifty points too. All you missed was a lesson on antidotes, which I didn't even finish because I had to go to a stupid champion's meeting. Skeeter wants to write an article on me.' His voice became heavy and flat with contempt as he continued.

Everyone grimaced when he explained his interview, his "eyes glistening with tears" and his "disfiguring" scar according to the Quick Quill that had taken notes. Cassy huffed a laugh that crossed poorly with a smothered scoff when Harry mentioned Professor Dumbledore's no less charming retort to seeing her.

Dessert only lasted another twenty minutes and then they all made their way back up to the common room, parting with Luna on the stairs. Cassy retreated to her dormitory to drop off her bag when she halted suddenly, half turned back to the door.

'Crin,' she said slowly. 'You are back. Have a good flight?'

The Great Grey Owl hooted, his little yellow eyes looking even more annoyed than normal. He stuck out his leg, revealing not only the letter tied tightly to it, but a parcel too. It had been almost two weeks, a very quick response, the quickest she had ever received.

'He is close, isn't he, Crin?' mumbled Cassy, turning over the letter to read 'Cassy and Harry' in small black letters. The parcel was addressed only to her and she knew it was most likely a birthday gift for tomorrow.

After scattering treats across her bed for Crin, she hurried downstairs. She called Harry's name before she could even see him, the letter held high. He was out of his chair and at her side instantly at the first sight of it.

'What does it say?' he asked eagerly.

'I haven't opened it,' she said. 'It is to both of us.'

He looked around quickly, green-eyes darting for a safe place to read it. The common room was busy enough with people filing in from dinner that it was unlikely they would be over heard, but their voices were low as they moved to their usual table. Hermione and Neville joined them, scooting their chairs closely and waiting for Cassy's and Harry's eyes to fully take in the words before asking. The two held onto an edge of the paper each and Cassy felt oddly eager.

Cassy and Harry,

I will keep this brief, but you must know that you are right in your assumption, Cassy. K cannot be trusted and must be watched. You have got the right idea, it's a good place to start and I'm very impressed you got all that within the few hours you had to think. I would like to think you got your brain from me.

While I don't think anything can happen while Moody and Dumbledore are about, it will do no harm to keep on your toes. I know you two can take care of yourselves, but just keep an open mind. Someone is trying their hardest to harm you, Harry, entering the tournament under Dumbledore's watchful eye is risky and no little feat.

Please ensure that you two can meet me by the Gryffindor Tower fireplace alone at one o'clock in the morning on the 22nd. We need to speak and I cannot put everything in this letter in case it is intercepted. I hope it isn't, as Cassy's gift should be attached.

Keep me up to date on anything at all, even if you think it is stupid, either of you.

Keep each other safe,

Blackjack

Cassy's birthday came and went in the same fashion it had done in the last few years. As much as she tried to pretend it was an ordinary day, something happened to prove her otherwise. Much in the trend of unwanted surprise parties and mysterious, potentially murderous gifts, Cassy received an extraordinarily ostentatious gift from Narcissa that was delivered by six owls that lay exhausted on the table at breakfast.

Cassy pursed her lips and tried to squash the rising blood to her cheeks when all the heads in the hall turned to her. She did not understand it. Narcissa was one for small, understated presents that were often the best, but what had arrived was anything but.

'It is beautiful,' said Ginny thoughtfully.

'Yet completely unnecessary,' grumbled Cassy.

It was a trunk. It was gleaming and patterned with gold that shone against the dark varnished wood. The golden skirting and matching latches made it known it was no cheap gift. No expense was spared and for the life of her Cassy could not figure out why.

'It can store at least thirty books though,' gushed Hermione, her hands running over the deep green lining.

'Yes, it is fantastic,' agreed Cassy quickly in the same unimpressed tone. 'It is a very grand present for my fifteenth birthday. She is up to something.'

'Everything is suspicious with you,' laughed Ginny. 'Can't you just enjoy it?'

It was not as easy as Ginny expected it to be for Cassy to remain in a cheerful mood for her birthday. Harry was in a foul mood for most of the day and it plummeted rapidly and suddenly at the mere mention of the newspaper. An article just as lovely as Alphard had assured her Skeeter's work would be emerged on the same day. It seemed that she had neglected everything Harry had said to her, instead pulling his strength of character from the memory of his parents, his tears at the thought of them, and his belief they were watching over him. Cassy might have thought it was funny if Harry had been in better humour about it. He was stormy continuously and had not been nearly as amused as Cassy and Neville had been at Skeeter's assumption he and Hermione were dating. Hermione just rolled her eyes at their giggling.

It was easy to see that Hermione was handling the article far better than Harry. She brushed aside the sneering rebukes of being 'stunningly pretty' as Skeeter had put it, not batting an eyelash. She often pulled Harry along side her; he was incapable of ignoring it. It was made worse, Cassy thought as she watched Ron squeeze himself beside Harry one evening. Animatedly, he questioned Harry about the first task, what he thought it was, what he was going to do, what others were going to do, if he needed any advice. It was a never ending torrent that had Harry retreating at first site of Ron for the next week.

Then the walls surrounding him shattered overnight. He did not realise it at first. From beneath furrowed brows, he kept glancing at Cassy, who grinned and averted her eyes. She would not tell him what she was so pleased about, but he soon noticed she was not the only one giggling and looking in his direction. Hermione was more subtle, while whenever Neville looked as if he was about to tell him the girls would hush him and redirect the conversation.

He growled down at the badges that were littered across the floor of the dungeons. Sharply, they were kicked from sight, missing the group of Slytherins waiting for their potions class to start as the Gryffindors filed out the room.

'Think it's funny, Potter,' hissed a sixth-year student.

'Did you do this?' growled another, baring his teeth.

Harry sneered and turned away, hardly thinking about it. He kicked another badge.

'I swear,' he grumbled, noticing another group talking behind their hands, 'if that Skeeter woman tries to write another article about me I'll hang myself first. That will give her something to talk about.'

'I don't think it's about that,' said Hermione.

'What's it about then?' he asked flatly.

No one replied.

There was a great deal of chatter in the Great Hall when they entered for lunch. Some of the Gryffindors began giggling and Fred winked, waving him over to sit with him and George. The four slid into the empty seats around them.

'Take a look at that,' said George, flinging a finger at Draco, where he sat with his friends at the Slytherin table. 'Smarmy git, isn't he?'

'As usual,' said Harry, picking at a ham sandwich.

'Well, watch this,' he murmured as Fred sprung from his seat and called straight across the hall, raising his arms as if opening them for suggestions.

'Malfoy,' he called, 'I thought it was a bit sad when you wore those badges last week, but really? Does your love for Diggory really know no bounds?'

Draco turned in his seat and sneered, 'What are you talking about, Weasley?'

'I think anyone can see what's on your badge. You'd have to be blind,' laughed George.

Other people began to snigger behind their hands. Harry strained his eyes to read the tiny writing on the bright yellow background. His eyes moved between the other Slytherins, who had quickly begun to pull at their shirts, ripping the badges off and flinging them down as if they were burning.

Beside him, Cassy and Neville were all ready giggling and Hermione was trying her best to appear unaware of the ongoing plight, digging at her soup idly, but her shoulders shook.

'What the hell did you do?' demanded Draco, lobbing his badge at the twins.

They moved an inch apart and let it smack into the wall behind them as they chorused a jovial 'nothing'.

Draco threw himself back down, muttering furiously to Crabbe and Goyle. Not another word was said from him, even as he eyed Harry plucking the scratched badge from the ground. In large, white letters it read: 'Support Diggory's Delightful Derrière' changing to 'Krum's Can't Compare' on a red backing.

Harry snorted loudly.

'I suppose this is your handiwork?' he asked Fred and George.

'Why do you think that?' asked Fred.

'For all you know Malfoy did it himself,' added George.

'I bet he did,' chuckled Harry under his breath.

'Do you like it?' asked Neville. 'We've been waiting all day for you to notice. Cassy wouldn't let me tell you.'

'I wanted you to discover it to your own delight,' said Cassy.

It was truly delightful, Harry noted. No longer did the students wear the badges and sneer as he passed. They scowled with a red flush brightening the faces of those who had worn the badges for longer. Oddly, he did not mind this at all. The look of utter embarrassment on Diggory's face made him feel the slightest bit guilty though, but it dwindled when he saw the older boy laughing over them as they left the hall at the end of lunch; a few people were still wearing them proudly.

Cassy, Harry, Neville, and Hermione got up to leave the hall early, ready to depart for Care of Magical Creatures down far on the grounds. They got to the main door when a sharp call sounded.

'Think that's funny, do you?' said Draco, his jaw set tightly.

'Yes, actually,' said Harry with a smirk.

'You should watch yourself, Potter. People won't take so well to you insulting two champions, you're not so popular, you know.'

Hermione laughed and Draco turned to her sharply.

'So, it's all right for you to try and humiliate Harry, but you don't like it when someone does the same back, do you? Not a fan of your own medicine?' said Hermione mockingly. She smiled broadly as Draco's face tightened further. Beside him, Crabbe and Goyle cracked their fingers.

'Oh, Granger,' he said, his eyes narrowing and his eyebrows folding at the centre in mock concern. 'I thought you went to Pomfrey to get your teeth fixed? I guess some things just can't be fixed by magic, your face for one – ugh!'

Draco recoiled, clutching his nose tightly.

'Just don't try it with me, Draco,' hissed Hermione. Her fist slowly lowered back to her side. 'I can hit a lot harder than that if you want to keep pushing. How dare you ridicule Harry and how dare you continue to insult me over and over. I won't have it anymore.'

She turned on her heel, her head held high as she strode out of the castle. Cassy, Harry, and Neville watched her go with open mouths.

'Cassy,' muttered Neville.

'Yes?' said Cassy back just as lowly.

'I think you're a terrible influence on Hermione.'

Cassy's face scrunched up, snapping her out of awe. Her head whipped to Neville and she said, 'How exactly was that my fault? I have never hit him in front of her!'

'But you have hit him then.'

Harry laughed all the way down to Care of Magical Creatures. Hermione seemed to have removed the last nail keeping him confined to his sour mood.

Hagrid's lesson was more enjoyable than any they had had that year. It did not matter that they were still trying to coach the Blast-Ended Skrewts into some sort of intelligent action as they had been doing every lesson, the sour look on Draco's face all lesson was enough to see them through with broad smiles.

They had not seen as much of Hagrid as they thought they should have. He was usually attending the animals, especially the golden horses of Beaubatons to which he had taken a keen interest, often lingering around their pen at unusual hours.

However, in the early hours of Saturday morning Cassy and Neville wandered down, their feet crunching beneath the newly fallen leaves. The air was cold; the Durmstrang fur cloaks did not seem so ludicrous as students began fastening cloaks over their coats and rummaging deep into their trunks for their thickest woollen gloves. Neville breathed out deeply, watching the steam from his breath rise high into the dull morning sky.

'I hope Harry's task is indoors,' he said.

'I doubt this will pass in three days,' muttered Cassy reluctantly.

Neville cringed. Harry and Hermione had chosen to stay in the castle until the first Hogsmeade visit of the year was scheduled to begin. They, along with Ginny and Luna, had agreed to meet them in the Entrance Hall at ten. Until then, Harry and Hermione were focussing on the summoning charm that Harry had yet to fully get his head around.

'I hope Hagrid is in,' said Neville.

'He better be,' said Cassy. 'We have something we need to ask him.'

Neville gave her a long sidewards glance. He looked down at the little folded paper in his hand, knowing that it was that he intended to ask. Biting his lip, he asked, 'What is it that we are going to ask?'

'Firstly, about your allusive Winter Storm Crab. Secondly, we need to ask about the First Task,' she said firmly.

'What?' cried Neville. 'Why would Hagrid know?'

'If the task involves any sort of creature he will know about it,' she said cheerfully.

Neville looked at her dubiously.

'Oh, come on, Neville,' said Cassy flatly. 'Hagrid cannot keep a secret for the life of him.'

'He'll know immediately what we're after though. He'll chuck us out. It's a Ministry kept secret,' he said warily.

Cassy grinned and said, 'That is exactly why you are here. He may expect it from me, but if you were to ask he would be more convinced by your earnest character! He will find himself agreeing before he has really thought about it.'

Groaning, Neville knew it was futile to argue. Cassy was smirking at her simple yet brilliant plan and there was no way Neville could opt out of it. The idea of forcing Hagrid to tell them everything he knew made him feel queasy will premature guilt, but the idea of letting down Harry in a certainly life threatening situation weighed heavier. He sighed deeply and Cassy's smirk grew just a little wider.

Hagrid's head popped out the crack of his door straight after the first knock. He peered down at them in surprise, clearing his throat in an attempt to disguise the disappointed sigh that slipped from between his lips.

'All righ'? Just you two then?' he asked, stepping aside to let them in.

'Just us,' said Neville. 'Harry's still preparing for the task on Tuesday.'

'Ah, how is he?'

'Not brilliant. We are trying to help him the best we can, but he is up against people far older than him. More skilled and more willing. It is not fair on him at all,' said Cassy, heaving a large sigh. She shook her head and Hagrid did the same, more feverishly with a deep frown, losing his beady eyes beneath his bushy brows.

'Terrible, terrible,' he grumbled, putting the kettle on the stove.

'Neville and I have been looking for anything to help him, we all have, but it is so hard to prepare for something unseen,' she continued.

Hagrid seemed to have no idea what she was doing. Instead, he agreed at every word she said, humming and scowling in all the right places. He set down cups in front of each of them and slid into his oversized armchair.

Cassy kicked Neville sharply.

'Ow, er – Harry could die, Hagrid,' he blurted out.

Cassy could not stop her eye twitching. It was more dramatic than she had intended and from the pink hue on Neville's cheeks, he had not meant it to be either. He fumbled around with his cup, waiting for the moment Hagrid caught on to what they were doing. The moment never came.

'I know,' he said gruffly. 'I'm really worried fer him. He's a bright lad, but he's going against dangerous creatures.'

'Creatures,' echoed Cassy.

Hagrid shook his head slightly and sighed deeply into his steaming mug. He set it down and said, 'I know he's at a disadvantage, Durmstrang can be a nasty lot, filled with dark magic. I wish I could help, but there is nothing I can do.'

'You said there were creatures,' began Cassy, but Hagrid was waving his hand to hush her quickly.

'I can't,' he said, 'yer know I can't do that.'

'Why not?' she pressed.

'Because it's not fair-'

'Fair? You think Madam Maxine and Karakoff are not helping their champions in every way they can? Hagrid, Harry is fourteen against what you described as dangerous and you thought a baby dragon made a good pet!' she said firmly. She stared him down, her gaze unwavering as he tried to look everywhere else, fidgeting.

Neville managed to catch his eye for a second; he silently pleaded with Hagrid to just tell them what was to happen, if just to stop Cassy's intense presence following him back up to the castle. Hagrid's face crumpled a bit and he glanced around quickly. Then, he beckoned them forward. Hushed he said, 'Look, I want ter help you, so I'll tell you what – tell Harry ter meet me here tonight at midnight. I'll say no more.'

Cassy frowned at Neville.

'Harry is a bit tied up tonight,' she admitted. There was a chance he could find out and get back to the castle in time, but it might be a close call to catch Sirius' fire-call in time. If he missed that then not only would Cassy have to pass on the message, potentially not receiving all the information he wished to tell Harry alone, but also having to deal with a thunderous Harry, sulking for the next month.

'Well... it has ter be tonight,' said Hagrid worriedly.

'We can find someone else to go,' said Neville. 'It doesn't matter if it is someone else, does it? You're still helping and this way you're not even helping Harry directly. It's less of a problem.'

Hagrid hummed and reluctantly agreed. After promising someone would appear at his door at midnight, Cassy and Neville were pleased to change the topic. Curiosity bubbled in their guts, but it was allowed to fester and the relief of finding out the first task reigned supreme. Hagrid pointed Neville in the direction of his Winter Storm Crab he wished to find to cultivate his moss plant. He was thanked warmly and the two hurried back up to the castle. They grinned from ear to ear as the shapes of Harry, Hermione, Ginny, and Luna appeared in the entrance.

'Something good has happened,' said Luna with a dreamy voice.

'Yeah,' grinned Neville. 'We found something pretty amazing.'

'Sure to cheer Harry up, at least,' added Cassy.

Harry looked down at her with raised eyebrows. No one spoke. Neville bobbed excitedly with the largest smile Harry had ever seen him wear. His eyebrows rose higher still, urging them to continue.

'Hagrid is going to show you what the first task is,' said Cassy, throwing her arms outwards as if revealing the task itself. 'It is some sort of creature.'

'A really dangerous one, he said. He wants you to go tonight, but he agreed to let someone else get a proper look so you won't miss Sirius,' said Neville.

They waited, their joyful anticipation dwindling quickly the longer the silence stretched on. Harry stared blankly at them and Hermione's mouth had opened into a wide 'o'. At least Ginny and Luna looked pleased, but then the latter rarely looked anything but. Eventually, Harry stopped staring at Neville and looked past them to Hagrid's hut.

'How?'

'Cassy kind of brought it up,' said Neville.

'Neville made him guilty,' said Cassy, passing the attention straight back.

'Er – great. So, we'll make a plan and we'll figure it out in advance. Maybe this won't be so bad,' he stuttered, beginning to nod.

'This is great!' burst Hermione. 'Who's going to go? Not Harry or Cassy, obviously. We'll have to hit the library straight away tomorrow morning. You said it is a creature...'

'We can figure all that out later. Right now, Hogsmeade is waiting for us,' said Ginny.

'Why are you so excited? It's not like you have never been before,' teased Cassy as they began to descend the steps. Other students hurried past and it was easy to spot the third years, who bustled by with barely contained joy. Groups of older students formed behind them and Harry found his eyes drifting uncontrollably behind him again and again.

'You stare at her a lot,' said Luna airily.

Harry jumped, almost slipping on wet, dead leaves on the stone pathway. He straightened quickly, pushing his glasses farther up his nose with a faint flush.

'What?' he asked.

'Cho Chang. You stare at her a lot,' she said.

Cassy turned to watch the exchange.

'Luna, do you know much about her? You're in the same house, right?' he said curiously.

Luna nodded and smiled slightly. Her hands linked behind her back and she looked up at the sky pleasantly. She said, 'She is quite smart and smiles a lot, but she isn't too strong willed. She's popular though and has friends in many houses.'

Harry was nodding along at each statement, cataloguing them mentally.

'She's currently dating Cedric Diggory of Hufflepuff.'

Harry slipped on a leaf again.

Cassy suddenly looked forward again.

'Oh?' he said highly. 'Since when?'

'Since the beginning of this year, I think. She speaks about him a lot in the common room, but then she's always done that,' said Luna. Perhaps she knew that Harry was fond of Chang, or perhaps she did not, but she spoke honestly anyway. She squeezed his arm tightly.

Harry descended rapidly into a terse mood. While he tried his best to appear unaffected and interested in what was said to him, he growled and grumbled, not laughing at what was said and tailed behind with less enthusiasm for Hogsmeade than they had ever seen.

By dinner, the mood had not improved. In fact, it got worse with the presence of Ron, who had reacted rather poorly to Skeeter's article.

'Laying it on a bit thick,' he had asked the day it was published.

'What?' said Harry sharply.

'Your parents,' said Ron, waving the paper he was holding. 'Laid it on heavily about them watching over you.' He tried his best to smile, yet it was tense at the edges and the slightest hint of irritation had crept in.

'I didn't say any of that crap,' snapped Harry. 'You don't really believe that, do you?'

Ron had. His joy for Harry's involvement in the tournament was beginning to wan the more attention the latter received; Harry's obvious resentment appeared not to register at all. It was only little things at first, like snide remarks about his strengths and weaknesses, but then moved onto questioning exactly how Harry had been entered. His envy grew into a bitter acceptance that Harry had his secrets. Harry was not so accepting of this and had set out to avoid Ron as much as he could.

Ron had settled himself down near them at dinner. He prodded Ginny in an attempt to get her attention away from Luna; the pair were huddled and muttering. It had been decided that they would go to see the creature. Luna was good with animals and Ginny would be able to take to cloak and one half of the magic mirrors, upon Cassy's insistence. Hermione would have the mirror to begin making plans that night and Neville was needed on hand to calm her down if her enthusiasm peaked too high at any point – the latter had been agreed secretly.

At half eleven, Ginny slipped out of the portrait hole, the cloak in hand and the mirror tucked beneath that. She was meeting Luna outside of her common room so they would creep down together with no chance of capture with the cloak. Harry watched carefully, his mirror on his lap and the map in hand, just in case. It was lucky that everyone had been tired from their trip to Hogsmeade and retired early that night.

Hermione and Neville gave a little nod before departing to their individual dormitories. Hermione took the mirror and Neville made a motion to Cassy to call him if Hermione could not be settled to sleep. Cassy laughed and Hermione gave them both a suspicious look before disappearing. Cassy moved to follow her, but Harry grabbed her wrist.

'You can stay, you know,' he said hesitantly. 'Sirius is your dad.'

Cassy made a small, non-committal noise before sitting back down beside him. They muttered to each other for a time, watching the flames of the fire flicker. While their eyes were on the fire, their ears were set on everything else, waiting for a door to open, or footsteps to sound at any moment, just to ruin it all.

The clock ticked on and one o'clock came and went. Cassy thought what Hermione might be doing in the dormitory. She wondered if the other all ready had a plan forming in her mind, or a list of books they would need to check out at eight o'clock sharp tomorrow. Perhaps she was panicking, not knowing anything about the creature and Cassy felt the overwhelming desire to just peak upstairs to see what the task was. Harry looked more concerned about the fire.

Just then, as Cassy was about to rise from her seat, a face appeared in the fire. Sirius still looked ill, his cheek bones sharp beneath his waxy skin. His hair had been cut to his chin and his face was clean shaven for a change. He looked younger, but the way his eyes darted frantically made him look more paranoid and aged than he ever had.

'Sirius!' chirped Harry in delight. 'How are you?'

'More to the point, how are you?' said Sirius sternly.

Harry faltered. He looked as if he was going to brush everything aside for one moment, then a look of irritation flicked over his face before settling. He shrugged and said, 'Better. A lot better in the past few days.'

'Are you sure?' asked Sirius. 'I heard a pause.'

'It's fine. I mean, it's not great, but things have got better and my house support me, even if half of them won't believe that I didn't put my name in the cup. The other houses aren't happy though, but I mainly ignore them.'

'I need to warn you of a few things, Harry, it's very important,' said Sirius firmly. His eyes, even as the flames that formed them danced, remained sharp, if concerned. 'I am currently in Remus' hotel room. It's cheap, so they shouldn't monitor the calls, but I don't want to chance it and stay here too long, so you have got to listen carefully to me.'

Cassy made a small wave with her hand to signal that she was going upstairs and would be back in a moment. Harry nodded to her and she disappeared silently up the stone steps. The quiet warning tones of her father quickly vanished as she turned up the spiral staircase. She peeped into her dormitory, where Hermione's curtains were drawn. She jabbed her wand sharply at one.

There was a fumble and bushy brown hair emerged from the seem. Hermione waved her hand hurriedly.

'You'll never guess what the first task is,' she said, patting around for the mirror she had rushed to hide beneath the duvet. 'Dragons.'

'Dragons?' repeated Cassy.

The thought of Norbert from her first year popped into her head, only twenty times larger and in front of a crowd of hundreds of children. There was no way Harry could kill it, she reasoned quickly, so what was he to do with it?

'Nasty ones too,' said Hermione. 'I was thinking of looking them each up. I wrote down the names as Hagrid read them off to Madam Maxine-'

'Madam Maxine was there?'

When Hermione nodded, Cassy groaned. She did not bother to hide her unhappiness. There was most likely a silencing charm over the bed and her voice would surely be lost to the others over the muffled roaring emitting from the mirror to the others in the forest.

'There goes Harry's advantage,' she said, rubbing her temples.

'I know. If Madam Maxine knows then I bet Karkaroff will find out too. Which only leaves Cedric with a disadvantage. Not that it matters. As long as Harry lives it doesn't matter where he places,' said Hermione quickly.

Cassy could see the red ripping through the darkness the mirror showed. Ginny and Luna were very quiet and she could not hear Hagrid or Madam Maxine speaking either, but there were loud shouts and sharp calls somewhere far away.

'I know that is all that matters, but if Harry does well then people will stop challenging his right to compete and his life will be easier all around. He might stop sulking so much if he had more support,' she said and Hermione was nodding along. 'Anyway, I best go and tell Harry and my father. He might have a starting point for us to work with.'

With that said, Cassy slipped from Hermione's bed and silently descended the stairs again. She emerged to find Harry sitting very close to the fire, frowning.

'So,' he said slowly, 'what you are saying is that Karkaroff is trying to kill me?'

I am gone for five minutes and they have a conspiracy, thought Cassy distastefully.

'I am just saying it is best to be careful. Have you heard about Bertha Jorkins who went missing recently, worked for the Ministry of Magic? Well, she was last seen in Albania, where Voldemort was last thought to be.'

'That is quite a theory,' Cassy found herself saying before she could stop it.

Harry jumped. 'Cassy! I didn't hear you.'

'Evidently,' she drawled, returning to sit on a seat some distance behind him.

'Look, I know it sounds unlikely, but Jorkins was in Hogwarts when I was. She was a few years above us and notoriously nosey. Incredibly stupid most of the time too. She would have no chance against a child's trap, let alone one Voldemort set up. I do believe, with absolute certainty, that whoever put your name in the Goblet is trying to use this as an excuse to hurt you and make it look like an unfortunate accident. I don't know if that is Karkaroff. He hardly strikes me as the type to return unless Voldemort was back to his old power, but someone is acting against you. It will not hurt to be wary of him for now,' said Sirius.

Harry and Cassy considered this and they fell into a short silence. Sirius looked as if he was thinking of something else to say, if just to keep the conversation alive for as long as possible, but it was Cassy who broke it.

'I know what the first task is, by the way. I thought you might be able to help,' she said, looking straight at Sirius. He perked up, curious.

'Oh, good,' said Harry with a grimace. 'Go on, then.'

'Dragons,' she said simply.

'Dragons?' repeated Harry in much the same way she had to Hermione earlier.

Sirius' eyebrows dipped down and the concern flared in his eyes again.

'I think the attacker has done a good job. No need to hand me to Voldemort. He just needs to let the dragons do their thing and I'll be dead in no time,' announced Harry grimly.

'Don't speak like that,' scolded Sirius quickly. 'You just need to know their weak spots. From what I know they have very tough, armoured skin. This means that stinging and cutting hexes won't work on them unless they are very powerful. Dragons have their own powerful magic. You will not have to kill one, I can guarantee that. It takes a dozen wizards to bring one down. Your best bet will be to blind it or distract it, but that depends on the dragon you get, if I remember...'

'We have their names written upstairs,' said Cassy.

Sirius nodded, muttering to himself for a moment. 'Their eyes and their mouths are the weakest points.'

'Okay,' said Harry. 'So if I don't have to kill it, what am I supposed to do to it?'

'Get past it, perhaps?' suggested Cassy.

'Oh, Cassy,' said Sirius suddenly, looking at her as if her presence had just registered in his brain properly. 'Did you like your gifts? How was your birthday?'

Cassy blinked. 'Fine, thank-you. I enjoyed them both. I have never seen that stone before. It was beautiful.'

A deep purple stone had been carved into the position of a sitting dog, roughly cut but all the more noticeable for it. Patil and Brown had cooed over it, asking who had sent it and Cassy had told them it was from Alphard. They insisted that she ask him where it was from but she shooed them away with claims of his ill health. The second gift she had received from Sirius was a bright scarf of red and gold made of fine silk, tiny golden coins hung from the ends. Cassy had not missed the Gryffindor colouring.

'Good,' replied Sirius, breathing out. 'We were in Turkey, you see and I got Remus to buy them as we travelled through a market on our way back up here. I don't really know what you like, so...'

'They are wonderful,' said Cassy with a wide smile, enjoying the tiniest bit that her father seemed genuinely relieved he had done well.

They spoke for a few minutes longer before Sirius forced himself to depart. While the call was unofficially monitored, he did not wish to risk anyone becoming curious and listening in. They bid him good-night and Harry crawled onto the sofa beside Cassy, his face sinking once more into a frown.

'What am I going to do about a dragon?' he asked.

'We have got a few days, so let's plan for the toughest and agree to adapt for everything else,' suggested Cassy.

Harry nodded, rubbing his temples. 'They're going to be a lot bigger than Norbert, aren't they?'

Cassy laughed, 'Yes, and the only Champion unaware of them is Diggory.'

Harry's head jerked up.

'Hagrid took Madam Maxine and I have no doubt Karkaroff will have seen them fly in from his ship,' she clarified with a commiserating smile.

'Oh, great. I don't suppose anyone will tell Cedric... I will try and catch him tomorrow or something then, at least that way we will all be on fair terms...' he mumbled to himself.

Cassy sighed heavily, unable to stop a smile creeping onto her face.

'You really are impossible,' said said and Harry just looked at her in confusion.

This is the longest chapter I have ever done. It wasn't this long when I planned it, but fleshing it out seemed to take more words that I expected. I thought about splitting it into two, but there wasn't enough substance in either to warrant it being a chapter by itself.

This is all the same stuff that happened in the chapter 'The Hungarian Horntail', they cover a lot of ground quite quickly.

About the speaking Russian thing, I hinted about her interest in the country a few times previously. I am using a traditional upper-class structure for the Black family. By that, I mean I am working on the assumption that they were not dissimilar to their muggle counterparts in what was expected of them. Thus, they were to be very well educated, even the women, know how to dance, and know at least one other language. It was considered best if they also knew how to play an instrument, could sing or draw, and men could play well in sport. The women were to be particularly educated, against popular assumptions, so this is the model I based them off. I cannot see it being unusual that most pure-blooded children would know another language to make themselves more acceptable and simply better than their peers. Children were to be shown off. Also, this shows Cassy's acceptance and ignorance of her culture. I couldn't help her being fine with it and Hermione being mortified – haha.

If I am honest, I had a small crisis with this story. I was so focused on finishing this year so I could begin the next that I took all the enjoyment out of it. I hit a point where I simply did not want to do it anymore, so I took a week off and did nothing Potter related, read back all the chapters I have done for this year and have yet to publish, and settled back into a good routine. I am currently planning fifth-year, but there was a few days where I didn't know if I ever wanted to get there. I have hopefully sorted that feeling out now, because I managed to finish a 6000 word chapter in two hours, which is pretty good for me. I must have been enthusiastic! This is just to let you know that I will be updating regularly, but I may taper off for a few days longer than usual because I have some stuff I need to get my head around and sometimes I bore myself. It will go ahead though!

Thanks!