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Chapter 14.
Fourth Year.
Revelations and Freedom.
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Narcissa Black smiled at the vultures ... or reporters as they liked to call themselves. She raised her hand to quiet them. Rita Skeeter was the closest to her and she looked like she wanted to peck her eyes out. Narcissa was glad she was able to take control of the Daily Prophet. Now, the blasted bug would serve their purposes. She shuddered to think what would have happened if Harry did not have the support he now enjoys. Fudge would have ordered a smear campaign and Harry would have become a black sheep. Of course, this did not stop Fudge from doing exactly that. Fortunately, he was not very successful, and now she would drive another nail in the Minister's coffin.
"Lady Black, what can you tell us about the duel between the twins-who-lived?" asked one of them. "Was it only a prank?"
"It was not a prank," replied Narcissa.
"So, does that mean that you-know-who is back?"
"That is unknown. However, we have received information that seems to point that way. It seams that someone that calls himself Voldemort has begun to rally the pureblood extremists."
"Are you saying that someone is impersonating you-know-who?"
"I did not say that, but it is a possibility, though I consider it faint. Three years ago his shade possessed a Hogwarts teacher and tried to steal a valuable artifact that hidden by Dumbledore. Fortunately, he was stopped and fled after his defeat. That seems to point that he is not as dead as we hoped. It seams that he somehow gained a corporeal body or he possessed someone again. Which one it is, I am unsure. I am however certain of other facts. First is that the death eaters are becoming active again and were summoned by him. Second is that the Dark Mark that all death eater's have is active again. When he died, the Dark Mark faded, but now it is completely restored."
"How do you know that Lady Black?"
"We have spies in their ranks."
"Does that mean that what was shown in the Potter twins demonstration really happened? Was there a spy in that meeting?"
"Yes, that is correct. I can not reveal the identity of the spy, but he was present at the meeting. That is how we found out about it."
Skeeter's eyes begun to shine. "Does that mean he is among the two dozen names that were spoken in the twins duel?"
"Yes."
"And those names are the names of death eaters?"
"Yes, that is correct miss Skeeter."
"Are the Potter twins not worried?"
"What do you mean?" asked Narcissa.
"I mean are they not afraid of any legal consequences if one of those people that were named decides to press charges?" asked Skeeter.
"Of course not. All those named are death eaters. If they want to go on trial, they are more than welcomed to."
"So you are not worried of any possible slander accusations?"
"Of course not. They are cowards. They will not risk a thorough investigation under Veritaserum. This means they can't legally do anything."
"Does that mean you are certain of their guilt?"
"Yes. Unfortunately, We can not legally do anything about it. Most of them - like Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape were judged not guilty and set free, so there's not much that can be done. The others ...the Minister is certain of their innocence and has forbidden any action to be taken against these ... upstanding pillars of the community."
"So the Minister is aware of these facts?"
"Of course," replied Narcissa. "I personally informed him a week ago. He of course, did not listen. He is certain that his friend and most loyal political ally and greatest campaign contributor - Lucius Malfoy is trustworthy."
"What about Dumbledore?"
"What about him?" Narcissa asked.
"Did you inform him of this situation?"
"No."
"Why?" shouted a reporter.
"Why should I. After all He did not inform me, and he must have been informed by Snape before I received my reports. Snape, who was at that gathering, is a death eater and he was not sent to Azkaban because Dumbledore said on his trial that he was a spy for the Light side."
"If that is true Lady Black, are you not endangering his position? Won't he be killed by you-know-who?"
"Unfortunately no. Snape is a vile, spiteful double agent. But, he gives information to both Dumbledore and Voldemort and they all know it. Voldemort has no reason to kill Snape. After all he is doing his job. Also, Snape is a valuable asset as a potion master. In the war, Snape helped hurt and kill many aurors and innocents with his art."
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The same day Narcissa had her press conference, the twins were invited to Dumbledore's office after dinner. Ginny and Su Li entered behind them.
"Mr. Potter, Ms. Potter, I believe I only invited the two of you," sighed Dumbledore in a disappointed grandfatherly voice. The newcomers were of course immune to the subtle manipulation. Their mental shields were too strong. Since most of the students also had rudimentary knowledge of occlumency, they too were immune, or at least resistant. Dumbledore always used legilimency to manipulate the people around him. He did it for so long that it was now instinctual. A few years earlier, he could inspire or shame anyone with just a look. The situation was now completely different. Not only were the students good at mental defenses, they were also wary of him, especially the younger kids who found Dumbledore surprisingly similar to the evil court wizard from the Legend of the queen, the prince, the princess and the nundu who did unspeakable things to little children.
"What do you want headmaster?" asked Harry.
"I wanted to talk about Narcissa's statement. I assume you were informed?"
"Of course. We knew what she would do even from before the third task."
"It was not a wise thing to do."
"Wise or not, it was an order from the Gray Lord and we agree completely with what she said.
"I see. May I ask why you did not tell me about Voldemort's resurrection?" asked Dumbledore.
"We had no reason to do so. We are no longer allies. Our trust in you was destroyed by your actions. You tried to send us to Azkaban."
"I only did what I thought was right. You killed a man."
"Stuff it Dumbledore," sneered Lucy. "You were obviously trying to get us in trouble for some reason. You also tried to interfere when Narcissa arrived to help us. And if that is not enough, you tried to mind-rape us."
"I am sorry you think that. I was just trying to do what I thought was best. I hope you will one day understand."
"Anyway, enough about that," said Harry. "You also did not tell us about his resurrection. Why should we tell you things if you don't?"
"I see."
"Good. Anything else?"
"It is about Narcissa's attack against Fudge. If she continues, Fudge may be forced out of his office."
"I see no problem with that," Harry replied unconcerned,
"Now that Voldemort is back, it is time to work together. This is no time for petty disagreements. Fudge may not be the perfect Minister, but he is better than the alternative. Who knows who the next Minister will be? We can not afford to be divided now."
"I disagree," replied Harry. "Fudge is doing more harm than good. He is corrupt and he does whatever Malfoy tells him to do. Also, I am not worried about the next minister. I am sure that if you publicly support a candidate from the Gray faction, coupled to our fame we won't have any problems."
"From the Gray faction?"
"Of course, headmaster. After all, we can't have a death eater as a minister and your Light side doesn't have the votes. Anyway, Fudge needs to go. Anything else?"
"No Harry," sighed Dumbledore. "That is all. Goodnight."
"Goodnight, headmaster."
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The next day, Harry and the girls were discussing the newspaper in the privacy of their quarters. "What do you think?"
"It's brilliant," said Daphne. "We told the people about Voldemort. We released the name of his inner circle and we made fun of them. The minister is discredited ... again. And Dumbledore is in trouble."
"Yeah, but why did he not respond to our accusations?" asked Susan.
"He doesn't have much of a choice," answered Lucy. She was obviously satisfied with the result of their last scheme. "He can't say that we are lying. If he does, he risks being discredited in the future when the truth comes out. He also can't say we're telling the truth because of Snape. If he says Snape was at the meeting, Fudge falls and we get the chance to get a minister from a new faction."
"Why is this bad for Dumbledore?" asked Tracy.
"Because the most likely winner would be us - someone from our side. He does not want us to become more powerful. If we do, we would kill the death eaters and he knows it. It is unlikely that someone from the Dark faction would be elected. And for someone loyal to Dumbledore to win, Dumbledore must invest a lot of political capital and show his public support. If that happens, it will be Dumbledore's responsibility to win the war that is coming and I do not think he wants that. If the Light side gets the ministry, they'll bungle the job. When Fudge was elected, he was supported by both Dumbledore and Lucius. I think Dumbledore wanted to keep Fudge in power and let him fail, then come save the day, probably using us in a suicidal battle that kills both us and Voldemort. However, since he tried that stunt - trying to arrest us in a bid to control us better, he began to realize that he was never in control. He also realized that the Gray side is gaining in strength."
"There is something wrong with Dumbledore's actions," said Luna. The others concentrated on Luna. They learned that Luna was surprisingly insightful when she was serious. "After he defeated Grindelwald, he became the most influential wizard in Britain. He was one of the leaders of the war against Voldemort. However, it was a disaster. It was a war and most of the death eaters were known, or at least suspected, but no one did anything about them. They let them kill, rape and torture. It is relatively easy to see if someone is under the Imperius or has the dark mark. However, no one tried to do that, it was allowed to spread. After the war, most of the death eaters escaped Azkaban Why is that? Dumbledore could have used his influence, but he did not. From what we know, he actually had a negative effect on the war, helping the death eaters. Another thing: Hogwarts - it is supposed to be the best magical school in the world, but since he became headmaster, the graduates are more and more unprepared. Look at the DADA teachers. Students should know how to defend themselves, but they know nothing. The other major problem is Snape. To become an auror, you need an outstanding in potions. However, most of those who get the grade are Slytherins and a couple Ravenclaws and come from pureblood families that have sympathies with the pureblood agenda. No matter his intentions, the fact is that he is helping the enemy.
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Towards the end of June, the fourth and last final task of the tournament was about to begin. Harry, Lucy and Fleur were standing together before the entrance to the maze. In little more than an hour, the fourth task would begin. The rest of the girls except Tracy were with them.
Five minutes later, Tracy finally came. She looked worried.
"What happened?" asked Harry.
"You remember that guy whose back you broke? He's healed."
"Damn, I thought he'll never recover."
"That's not all. He was talking to the other champions. They know they have no chance to win since you are too strong, so he convinced them to band together until you, Lucy and Fleur are out of the race. Since that guy tried to kill Fleur last time, I don't think he'll be content with a simple incapacitating spell; he'll try to kill you.
"You're right. Unfortunately for him, we too will stay together. This time I'll make sure he'll stay down."
Hermione, Ron and Neville came towards them.
"We came to wish you good luck," said Neville. Since third year, Neville became friendlier. Harry gave him a few good books and some pointers (like getting rid of his second-hand wand). Since then, Neville grew in confidence and skill. He was now one of the strongest fourth years after Harry and the girls. He even got into a fight with Malfoy and won. Ron on the other hand was still the git he was in the first year. Hermione, as the teachers' pet she is, was upset that Harry was hostile to Dumbledore.
Just then, a house-elf popped with hot mugs of chocolate milk. The twins and the girls each took one.
"Harry, how could you?" shrieked Hermione.
"Oh, how inconsiderate of me. Three more."
"Yes master." The elf bowed and disappeared wit a pop. A few seconds later, he appeared with three more drinks.
Ron and Neville both got one, but Hermione looked as if she was about to explode. "Harry, how can you do this? They are slaves."
"Granger, shut up!" shouted Daphne when she realized that the griffindork was about to go on one of her crusades. "If you want to talk about house-elves rights, we can do that after the tournament. We don't need your nonsense now."
"It's not nonsense. This is important. They are ..."
Hermione was interrupted by Neville. "Come on Hermione. We can't bother them now."
"But ..."
"Good luck," Neville said after he gave Hermione a poke.
Harry looked at the departing trio and broke into an evil grin as an insane idea and an even more insane elf came to his mind.
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The fourth task was to enter the maze, get passed its many dangers and touch the cup in the center of the maze.
Harry and Lucy entered first. They walked a few feet towards a wall and disillusioned themselves.
Next, Viktor Krum entered. He didn't even glance around as he sped through a side passage. Next Cedric came and took the opposite passage.
Finally, Fleur came. The twins appeared from thin air and walked together with Fleur on the third passage.
"You could have started without me," said Fleur. "You risked losing the cup."
"It's fine. We care less about the cup than about all our safety. It would be nice to get the cup, but it isn't all that important in the scheme of things," said Harry.
"Harry's right," Lucy added. "At first we wanted to win the cup. We wanted to distinguish ourselves. But we already did that in the previous three tasks. Besides we wanted to prove ourselves for political reasons, not because we want fame. We already accomplished our goals here. In any case, while Harry and I are capable of defeating the other six champions, you are not there yet. That guy would try to kill you if he got to you alone."
"I don't think he wants to kill me anymore," said Fleur.
"Yes he does," said Harry grimly. "You have a tracking charm on you. It belongs to him."
"What? Take it off."
"Not yet."
"Why?" asked a bewildered Fleur.
"I want to get rid of that bastard. I couldn't do that in the duel. But here, we don't have anyone that can see what we're doing." Harry motioned the other girls to stop.
"What is it?" asked Fleur.
"It's one of Hagrid's cute pets," groaned Lucy. The damn lobster appeared from behind a corner and rushed them.
Harry hissed a spell, but nothing happened for a second, then, the lobster froze.
"What happened?" asked Fleur. "What spell was that? I didn't see it."
"It's a variant of the Imperius curse," Harry explained. "With it, I can control an animal."
"Why do you want to control it?"
"Because, we have to make that bastards death look as unsuspicious as possible."
"You're going to kill him? Is that wise?"
"Yes. It's very wise Fleur. I won't let my enemies live if I can help it. He tried to kill you. His life is forfeit."
Fleur nodded in acceptance. Harry silently ordered the animal to follow them and Lucy disillusioned it.
Not even ten minutes later, Harry sensed someone following them. He ordered the assassin shell-less lobster to hide and stay quiet. When Harry felt the human assassin pass by the hidden animal, Harry ordered it to attack. The skrewt's tail hit the Durmstrang student in the back and Harry released the control he held over the beast, who started to rip apart the body.
The trio walked for a few more minutes and stopped. "Now that we took care of our little problem and we're far enough, it's time to get the cup," said Harry.
Lucy cast a spell and pointed to a wall. "The cup is that way."
Harry nodded and launched the same spell he and Lucy used in the third task to destroy the floor of the arena they fought on. Harry and the two girls passed through the hole made by the spell.
They continued to walk towards the cup in a mostly straight line. Sometimes the walked on the passages, sometimes they walked through holes in the walls.
Harry walked through another wall and ducked. A spell exploded where his body should have been. Harry attacked one of his attackers - Krum. Lucy flew through the hole and attacked Cedric. Finally, Fleur came through, saw one of her Beauxbatons colleagues. Lucy narrowed her eyes and launched some cutting and bone-breaking spells at the girl. The girls' eyes widened in fear and tried to shield herself. Fleur's spells battered the shield and the girl fell down in pain as some of the bone-breaking spells hit her. The twins were finished with their opponents and they launched some sparks in the air so that the three downed champions would receive medical attention.
The three champions continued their journey, encountered nothing. Finally, they arrived in the center of the maze, in front of the cup. An acromantulas attacked them, but Lucy killed it instantly with a well aimed cutting curse through the head.
"So, what now?" Lucy asked. "Who gets the cup?"
"We could share it," Harry suggested.
"You two should take it," said Fleur.
Lucy shook her head. "Nah. Everybody is expecting we share the cup. Now that we're here, we should fight for it."
"Fight?" asked Harry.
"Yes. We'll play rock, paper, scissor. The winner gets the cup."
"That sounds fair," agreed Harry.
Fleur grinned at the idea. "That's a great idea."
"Okay. Rock! Paper! Scissor!" Harry's had rock. Lucy and Fleur had paper.
"Damn," moaned Harry.
Lucy and Fleur grinned at each other. "Rock! Paper! Scissor!" Fleur had a scissor. Lucy had rock. "I win!" cried Lucy.
The three champions approached the cup. Lucy drew her wand and cast a few diagnostic spells. "It's clean," Lucy proclaimed.
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The same day, the golden trio accosted the twins after dinned.
"I suppose you came to talk about house-elf rights?" Harry asked Hermione. At her nod, Harry walked towards an empty classroom. The rest of the girls followed since they knew something was about to happen.
"Harry, how could you ..."
"Give it a rest Hermione. You don't even know what you're talking about."
"What?"
Harry shook his head in disappointment. "Hermione; do you know what happens to an unbound elf? He slowly goes insane and loses his power."
"That can't be."
"Yes it can. Even if it wouldn't be, you don't have the right to try to forcefully give them freedom. What you are doing in your common room, leaving clothes for the cleaning elves to pick so they would become free is disgraceful. They are happy with their life."
"No! They are just brainwashed and I won't stop trying to set them free."
"You can't. You are not their master. That means you can't set them free. Only Dumbledore can do that. Anyway, Dobby and Winky are free elves and they are slowly going insane. They need a master. We already have enough elves, so we can't take them. I was thinking of asking you to take them in since you won't abuse them, but since you are so against it, many Ron should do it."
Hermione looked horrified at the idea. If Ron ever got a house elf, he would laze around all day and eat like a pig not only three times a day, but continuously.
"Or maybe I should ask Malfoy to take him back. Even that life is better than going slowly insane."
"You can't."
"Yes I can. Dobby will listen to my advice. Maybe I should find someone that has a lot to do. A house elf can work till he drops of exhaustion..."
"Okay!"
"What?"
"I'll do it," she grumbled.
"Excellent. Dobby! Winky!"
"Harry Potter sir asked for us?"
"Yes. How would you two like to become a proper elf again? To serve a family again."
"Oh, I thought Harry Potter sir would never ask," cried Dobby.
"Winky wants to be a proper elf, too"
"Excellent," said Harry. "This," Harry said pointing at Hermione, "is Hermione. She is my friend and is a very good person. I'm sure she will make a proper master."
Dobby's ears drooped, but Winky was excited.
"And I'm sure you two will be able to take proper care of her. I know I can trust you with this, Dobby."
Dobby perked up. "Yes Harry Potter sir. I will take good care of Harry Potter's Hermione."
"I'm sure you will. Since we got is covered, you can begin."
"Will Hermione Granger accept Dobby and Winky as her elves?" squeaked Dobby.
"Uh, okay."
"Congratulations," said Harry.
"What happened?" Hermione asked.
"You just got two house-elves."
Hermione nodded dumbly, wondering again how she got herself in this situation and left.
As soon as the three Gryffindors and the elves went away, Harry broke into a large smile. "Finally! I finally got that crazy elf off my back."
"Is this why you went to all this trouble?" asked Daphne.
"No. Dobby betrayed Malfoy to warn me. He could do it again. Since Hermione is a teacher's pet, and worships Dumbledore, I am certain that she will one day work for him. Dobby might be of use on that time.
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Author Notes: Finally finished with fourth year.
There are so many fics where Harry and Dobby are friends even if Dobby annoys the hell out of him. Harry already has ... proper ... dignified elves so he passed the annoying little bugger to another annoying person.
Next year, we'll see Bellatrix a couple of times.
Reviews are much appreciated.
Published: November 28 2008.
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