A/N: So dudes and dudettes, Been a long time since I updated this site but I think I'm back now so yay! But anyway onwards we go mon petite peeps.
P.S: I'm thinking of making this have a Draco/Hermione pairing as well, would this be something people would be interested in?
Chapter 10- Those who protect.
One of the worst things about the aftermath of the second task was that everyone seemed keen on knowing the intricate details of the events that occurred down in the lake. At first she had divulged the information willingly but she soon began to growl at anyone who asked her after she had been asked one too many times about Cho and Cedric. She wasn't jealous of Cho contrary to popular belief, no she and Cho actually got on rather well together and she had been assured rather unnecessarily by the girl that Cedric was alike an older brother figure. And Rosalie had quickly assured the Asian girl that she trusted both her and Cedric. Hermione had also taken to the pretty Ravenclaw when they had begun to study together in the library and for Rosalie that was a breath of fresh air, now she could spend more time with Cedric.
So as they entered march and the weather remained cruel but drier. She reluctantly went tot he owlery to retrieve a letter since the owls had been stopped coming into the great hall due to the winds entering through the places thee owls were herded into. She shuddered as the wind nipped her fingers and blew into her face sending her tight ponytail whipping into her face, Spitting out hair she climbed the stairs and when she spotted the brown owl that had been Sirius's last owl when she had sent off the Hogsmede times. It was a small brown thing but with the high winds had its wings stuck up the wrong way and she gently returned them to their proper place much to the owls pleasure as it hooted happily at her.
She quickly tore into Sirius's reply and read it. Unlike the others this one was short and simple
Be at Stile at end of road out of Hogsmede (Just past Dervish and Banges) at Two o'clock this Saturday. Bring some food please
Padfoot.
"He hasn't come back to Hogmsede has he" Hermione asked once Rosalie had found and told her friend about the letter.
"It does seem that he has" Rosalie said a little tensely "If he's caught..." She began before Hermione cut her off "But..He's made it so far hasn't he"
"I know..I just worry about him" She said as he folded the letter thinking to herself, She truly wanted to see him again. She wanted to see if the haunted look that he had on his face the last time she had seen him had gone from his face. So as she entered the last lesson of the day that Friday she had a lighter feeling in her chest than she had in a while.
Descending the steps to the dungeon she was met with the sight of Blaise Zabini and Malfoy's old gang stood with pansy Parkinson and her clique. They glared at the pair before the dungeon bat himself stormed into the dungeon and for once he seemed to look at Rosalie with something other than contempt.
Rosalie walked to the dormitory confused. For one potions lesson, Snape had almost been civil to her and until Karkaroff had entered when she was cleaning he had said nothing Whatever the Bulgarian man had shown the man on his forearm it panicked Snape and that thought worried her more than she thought it would. Snape never seemed to be moved by anything and the idea that he was worried or scared terrified her coupled with Malfoy's warning "Worse than last time" gave her chills.
She was broken from her reverie of thought when her boyfriend came up to her smiling at her "Hey Ced" She said kissing his cheek softly
"Hey Rosie..What's up" He asked
"Well for one thing Snape was half decent to me this lesson" She said he chuckled at her and then asked again "and the other"
"My Godfather wants me to meet him this Saturday" She said
"Godfather?" He questioned slightly
"That, is a long story which I can't tell you here" She said motioning to the crowded corridor of people on their way to lunch.
"Then come with me" he said grabbing her hand into his larger one and pulling her towards the prefects bathroom and once they were safely inside he turned back to her
"We need to find somewhere else" She said taking off her robe as the moisture hit her like a wall of heat.
"Plenty of time for doing that after, now tell me about this mysterious Godfather" He asked looking at her intensely.
"Well I need you to promise me two things, The first one is please don't interrupt until I'm finished and the second is please don't freak out"
"Okay" He promised her
"Okay...Well I guess I should start at the beginning...My Godfather is Sirius Black"
Cedric took it...well, she supposed it could have been worse he could have flat-out refused to keep quiet and run off to Skeeter and blabbed about everything. So that was good she thought. In an hour she was to meet him in the entrance hall after he had filled a bag with food for Sirius after they both agreed that it would be something he would need, so while He and Hermione walked to the Kitchens to beg some food off the house elves that worked in the kitchens.
So while she waited she read through the book that Dumbledore had given her about being the head of an old house like hers. She had reached a chapter on protectorates within the house when the two appeared and she had to regretfully close the book.
The weather was milder than it had been since the start of the year and by the time they had reached the village they had abandoned the jumpers they had chosen to wear over their clothes. They had managed to procure from the kitchen a dozen or so chicken legs, a fresh loaf of bread and a large flask of juice for him.
As they walked down the street towards the place where they were to meet Sirius, Rosalie spied in the window of Gladrags Wizardwear, a large collection of brightly coloured novelty socks and she immediately rushed to buy them. smiling as she placed them in her bag she promised herself to wrap them for Dobby when they got back.
At half past one they made their way over to Dervish and Banges and out towards the outskirts of the village.
Rosalie had never bothered to go far into the Village of Hogsmede only relying on the shops she went to the most, so as they walked down the winding lane and into the wild overgrown countryside she took in every new sight and smell. There were a few sparse cottages here with bigger gardens than Rosalie had seen. They walked closer to the foot of the mountain that overshadowed the village, and there next to a stile in the road with his paws on the uppermost bar stood a very scruffy and large black shaggy dog with old newspapers hanging out of its jaw, was Padfoot.
"Hello Sirius" She said when they had reached him.
Cedric looked at the dog with slight confusion "Er, guys you do know this is a dog right" He said and when he had spoken the dog looked at him and growled until Rosalie tapped his muzzle, the dog whined and then lead them over the stile and then around the mountain.
The ground at the foot of the mountain was less grassy and had a mixture of rocks and boulders dotted around the area. Then instead of stopping the dog began to climb a winding rocky path up the mountain side. It seemed to be going easy for Sirius what with four paws that could curve around the uneven ground and added extra foot work but soon the trio that followed him were out of breath and sweating under the once pleasant sun that hung above them.
For over twenty minutes the climbed in silence, only the sounds of panting and the ag being shuffled around on Cedric's shoulders when the straps dug into his until finally, Sirius stopped and vanished from sight.
Following his path they spied an opening in the side and once they had squeezed into the gap they found themselves inside a cool and dimly lit cave. They saw Buckbeak tethered at one end of the cave and after both Cedric and Hermione had bowed and have been bowed back to they rushed to pet the giant animal.
Rosalie, however was looking at the large dog as it turned back into her godfather.
He was thin, much too thin for a man that had just been freed from Azkaban. His black hair was longer than it had been when she saw him last and it was greasy and matted with bits of dirt and leaves. He still wore the grey ragged robes that he had worn within Azkaban.
"Sirius...Here" She said pushing the bag of food at him, pulling it open he smiled and pulled out a leg of chicken and the flask and eagerly tore a chunk form the meat with his teeth "Thanks, been living of Rats mostly, can't steal too much food from the village might get noticed" He said "Who's he" He said jerking his head at Cedric who along with Hermione were stroking Buckbeak's feathery neck while the large animal preened under the attention. "That's Cedric...My boyfriend" She said to him and saw him freeze slightly
"Oh...And is he good"
"He's very good Sirius" She said firmly "What are you doing her Sirius" She asked him
"Fulfilling my duty as godfather" He said gnawing on the bone in a dog-like way, he smiled and said jokingly "Don't worry about it, I'm just a lovable stray"
"Sirius, we have people from the Ministry here! If you're caught then.."
"I won't be" He said finally noticing her anxiety "With the paper and your letters I figure it would be safer if I was closer to you" He said pointing to the folded up newspaper that he had abandoned in the corner. Hermione picked one up and Rosalie looked at the title
Bartemius Crouch still critically ill and then the second one stood out-
Ministry woman still missing
The article on Crouch went on to describe his illness as life threatening, and possibly the end of his life.
"He sounds as though he's dying" She said
"My dad works at the Ministry keeps saying that it's due to overworking" Cedric chimed in
"Well that could be it I suppose with Bertha missing lots of people will be overworked" Sirius agreed looking at the boy more closely.
"So...Whatevers happening now is something to do with Crouch" Hermione summarised
"Maybe, It isn't like Crouch to take days off work even when he's ill" Sirius said taking a large swig of the pumpkin juice.
"D'you know Crouch then" Rosalie asked
"Oh I know him all right" He said darkly "He was the one who sent me to Azkaban without a trial" He said darkly and his eyes took on a gleam that seemed to retell the tales of the island prison.
"He did what" Both Cedric and Hermione gasped
"But that goes against every just law the Ministry has" Cedric said in anger
"Old Barty never did seem to care about laws when the dark arts were involved, even sent his own son to Azkaban"
"His son" Hermione whispered
"What happened" Rosalie asked against her mind saying that she didn't really want to know
"Well years ago, amidst all the fear and confusion after You-know-who had vanished, Crouch's son was found with a group of Deatheaters who talked their way out of prison. It seemed like they were looking for ways to bring their lord back" Sirius paused and broke apart the bread splitting it between the four of them and tossed some chicken bones to Buckbeak "Nasty shock I'd imagine for old Crouch, maybe he should have left the office a bit early some days and gotten to know his son a bit better"
"Was his son a Deatheater though" Rosalie asked
"No-one knows really, all we know is that he was found among people that were defiantly Deatheaters around the time of the first war. But maybe he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time"
"Did Crouch try to help his son" Hermione asked
Here Sirius gave off a short bark-like laugh that made the others jump a little as it boomed throughout the small cave where they sat.
"Crouch help his son? Anything that even threatened his goal of becoming Minister had to go, including his own son"
"So, he just stood by and did nothing" Cedric asked the man
"Not likely, he organised a trial, flippin' sham is what that was. More of an excuse for Crouch to show people how much he hated his son"
"Was he there when you know..You were in there" Hermione asked totally engrossed in the story that she didn't notice Buckbeak stealing a bite of her bread.
"He was brought into a cell near mine, right ol' screamer he was. Course he quieted down after a while; they all do, until they slept that is" For a moment the deadened look in Sirius's eyes grew and became more prominent as thoguh soemoen had closed the blinds on the man that Sirius was trying to shwo that he was.
"Is he still there" Rosalie asked breaking her godfather from his reverie of memories
"No, eh died about a year after he was put in" He replied dully
"He died"
"Not the first time Rose, people go mad in there with only the Dementors for company. You'd always know when someone was going to die, the Dementors could feel it and they got excited over the prospect. Then again, I guess his death was inevitable, he was pretty sickly when he was brought in"
"And Crouch" Hermione asked
"He visited him once before he died along with his wife, she followed her son shortly after" Sirius threw aside his chunk of bread suddenly not as hungry as he had been and instead chose to drink more of the juice.
There was a long silence afterwards, and Rosalie took the time to reflect on what she had seen of Barty Crouch if Crouch reacted that way when his own Son was involved, it was no surprise that he had acted the way he had don when his elf had been found involved in some form of the dark arts.
"But where is Crouch" Hermione asked
"That Hermione is something that nobody knows, I mean I heard that his assistant is standing in for his place at the judges table"
"I could try asking my dad, he works near Crouch" Cedric put in
"Good idea, and while you're at it see where they're at with Bertha's disappearance" Sirius agreed.
"I overheard they hadn't, Bagman was telling Percy about it" Hermione said
"Ludo Bagman? He's quoted in here" Sirius said holding up a wrinkled copy of the Daily Prophet "Blustering on about how Bertha is prone to forgetfulness, but the thing is the Bertha I knew never forget anything, had a real knack for gossip. Probably why Bagman hasn't bothered to look for her for long, she was a liability"
"But why her? I mean why not some other official from the Ministry" Cedric asked Sirius
"Who knows...Anyways whats the time" He asked and Rosalie almost looked down at her watch only to remember that it had died when it had taken a bath for an hour in the ice cold lake.
"It's half past three" Hermione said
"You best be going back to school then I suppose" Sirius aid standing to walk them to the hole in the rocks. Before she could leave she noticed Sirius looking conflicted until he tentatively wrapped his arms around her as stiff as a board. She smiled and returned the gesture making the man ease a little "I'll be careful okay, I wont go looking for trouble" She said
"It's you that goes looking, I fear it's the trouble that looks for you. But do me a favour if you talk about me in public then call me snuffles okay" He said jokingly although she could see the underlying worry in his eyes.
"I'll be extra careful" She promised "Dragons and Mere-people excluded"
He smiled and then said "And tell the Hufflepuff that if he hurts you, then the Ministry will have to convict me" Before he turned back into the cave leaving a slightly pale Cedric and two smiling girls.
"So, what do you guys think" She asked them as they walked back across the rock strewn terrain
"I don't know, but maybe we need to be careful" Hermione said biting her lower lip
"I'll ask my dad as soon as I can" Cedric said as they neared the castle. As they entered the castle the fragrant smells of dinner wafted down the halls and each of their stomach gave a small rumble, bread and a few bits of chicken were okay but they were nothing in comparison to the splendor that waited in the hall
"Poor Snuffles" Hermione said "Imagine having to live of rats"
The next day while waiting for Cedric to finish sending his father a letter about Bertha and Crouch, Hermione and Rosalie both went to the kitchens to present Dobby with his new socks and to create a small care package of foo for Sirius.
When they entered the kitchen the house-elves gave them a very warm welcome, bowing and curtseying and then they rushed off to make them cups of tea, despite each of their protests that they were fine. Dobby remained in front of the pair smiling with his wide eyes looking at her.
"Here Dobby" Rosalie said handing the socks over to him, the little elf trembled with joy. His large ears bounced as he looked up at her "Rosalie Potter is too good to Dobby!" He squeaked wiping his large eyes clear from the large tears that had gathered there.
"You saved my life with the Gillyweed Dobby" She said to the elf who smiled at her brightly and then he hugged her legs tightly before rushing off to fix the tea and biscuits that the other elves had started to make.
"Dobby I don't suppose that you could make up a small care package for a friend of mine" She asked
"Of course! Dobby would be happy to help Miss Potter and her friend!" The small elf chirped and rushed off again to make a meal for Sirius.
"Is that Winky?" Hermione asked
"Yeah..It is" Rosalie said making her way to the fire which burned brightly in the corner of the room. And in front of the fire was a small lump that, as they neared it, became more distinguishable as Mr Crouch's elf, Winky.
The only thing that had changed about her was the way that she looked, before she had worn semi-clean rages but now they had become so filthy that the lump was discernible as clothing until they looked closer. All around here were empty Butterbeer bottles strewn across both the chair which she sat at and the floor beneath her.
"Butterbeer's not that strong" Rosalie said
"But it's strong for a house-elf" Hermione said shaking her head sadly at the elf in front of them.
As they talked Winky hiccoughed twice, and around them the other house-elves looked at her with disapproval as they worked on the meals of the school.
"What's wrong with her" Rosalie asked
"Winky is wanting to returns to Mr Crouch, her master. She thinks Mr Crouch is still her master, And nothing Dobby says will change her mind"
Rosalie looked at the elf and thought, she walked closer and bent down till she was eye to eye with Winky and said softly "Hey, Winky. You don't know where Mr Crouch is do you?"
"M-Master missing" She asked her eyes focusing on Rosalie her limbs swaying a little
"Yeah, We've heard he's ill" She said.
"Master Ill?" She asked swaying a little more and her bottom lip began to tremble and Rosalie felt a little bad
"But were not sure" Hermione added
"Master is needing his Winky!" She whimpered standing unsteadily to her feet "Master cannot manage all by himself..."
"Manage what" Rosalie pressed
"Winky is not only doing his housework!" She squeaked swaying harshly and a little slosh of Butterbeer fell down her already stained blouse "Master is trusting Winky with his secrets"
"And they were" Hermione asked gently
Just as the truth was in their grasp, Winky shook her head hard spilling even more of her drink down her top
"Winky Keeps her masters secrets" She said mutinously frowning up at the girls with her eyes crossed "You is nosing you is"
"I'm sorry Winky" She said
"You is nosing into my Masters private and secret, Winky is a good House-elf, Winky keeps her silence, people trying to pry and poke" She said as her eyes drooped and then without much warning to anything she lid to the floor and fell into a heap snoring loudly as the empty bottle she held rolled away from her .
At once, all the other house-elves rushed to them and pulled them away from the elf as they covered he from view.
"We is Sorry you had to see that" ONe of them squeaked
"She's unhappy" Hermione said
"A house-elf should not be unhappy when there is work to be done" Another countered
"But...But!" Hermione spluttered
"Hermione, Please don't" Rosalie said feeling that is her friend were to try to change them it would leave a bad impression on the elves
"But Rose! They deserve holidays, and decent wages and, and"
"But Hermione, they can't do anything, fight the battles you can win" Her friend said and her bushy bookworm friend
For a moment it looked as though Hermione would argue more but then sighed and nodded "Okay...I'll let it go, for now" Nodding Rosalie felt a small pulling on her trousers, looking down Dobby handed her a small wrapped up bundle of cakes, meat and bread
"We has you extra food" He said looking at her as though she would cast it aside in disgust and demand that he cook it again.
"Thank you Dobby, you're a good friend" She said crouching to hug Dobby who promptly burst into tears and hugged her back
"Mistress Rosalie Potter is too good to Dobby" He bawled and she awkwardly shushed him.
"Thank you Dobby, but I need to go send this to my friend She said
"Goodbye Rosalie Potter and Miss Grangy!" He called to them as they left the kitchen.
It was an irritable day after that what with Hermione mumbling under her breath about the unfairness of house-elf treatment. To escape she went to the owlery alone where she sent Hedwig off with the food and a small note about Winky and that they had asked Mr Diggory about Crouch.
Sighing she leaned against the lone window in the tower and looked out across the grounds. She could see Hagrid digging in his garden for, she assumed, his vegetables. For a man of his size he sure could could dig energetically, she thought. As she watched, Madame Maxine emerged from the Beauxbatons carriage and walked primly over to Hagrid who looked at her with an expression of adoration. She smiled at her friend as he seemingly mooned over the huge french woman. They began to talk with Hagrid leaning against his spade, but the talk wasn't a long one and neither of them seemed to be happy when it ended and shortly Madame Maxine walked back to the carriage.
Unwilling to go back to the tower where she was sure Hermione would be working steadily through book after book while she was one her 'free all elves' rampage, not that she disagreed with her. To be honest, she totally agreed. Whatever race something or somebody is they deserve to have the same rights, but she just didn't think what with everything going on at the moment; the tournament, her dream, the Crouch mystery. Surely this could wait until things had calmed down a little bit.
So instead of going to the common room, she detoured to the library and sat down with her book that Dumbledore had given her and began to read where she had left off.
Protectorates of ancient and noble houses
Since the beginning of emerging houses after the invasion of Whetton the conqueror who assumed power and formed the ground fo the Wizarding world we know today; Ancient and Noble houses have the power to accept ad refuse petitions of Protectorates.
Beginning with the Lord Haymes of house Draconis, a head of house may add those deemed worthy or in dire need of protection, a position within a house. Through a ritual of Goblin origin, a head of house can add a number of people to their house and in tun protect them from harm and vice versa.
Though this practice had dwindled over the course of passing times, the laws remain the same. All those who are protectorates of a house are under the house rule and are immune to those of the old house. However a protectorate will not excuse those who have crossed the law merely protect a persons of an opposing house or of no house from the laws of their original house.
The exact nature of the ritual of achieving this is known only to the Goblins and has been passed down through generation of Goblin families. Because of this Goblins have been granted positions of monetary power and estate management.
Only the head of an ancient and noble house may add protectorates to their house.
She closed her book slowly and looked out at the darkening sky, Draco's tear streaked face flashing back to her. And she smiled, She would save him.
A/N: So let me know what you think and if you'd like a Dramione romance in here to.