Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Chapter 35 – The Unexpected Task
The silence that followed the dragon's departure was deafening. No one moved or spoke, none knowing what to say, except for one person that is.
"You're ok!" Ginny cried as she ran into the arena and launched herself at Harry. "You're alright, everything's alright." Ginny's arrival in the arena seemed to snap everyone else out of their stupor and a slow clap began though it quickly turned into all out cheering. "Of course you would find a way to get passed the dragon without even casting a spell." Ginny said as she released him. The judges, their family, some Ministry officials, and several of the dragon tamers were all approaching then, both Sirius and Remus looking ecstatic.
"Not a scratch on you!" Sirius crowed, and while some would see it as bragging since none of the other champions had come away completely unscathed, those that knew Sirius understood that he spoke in simple relief.
"I didn't know that Parseltongue allowed one to speak to any other animal aside from snakes." Remus commented.
"Neither did I." Harry said. "But then I heard her, she was scared I was going to hurt her eggs." He then turned to Charlie and the other dragon tamers. "You should know that the only reason you're alive right now is because you usually treat the dragons well and take good care of them. The Horntail wanted to incinerate you for taking her eggs away, shoving her in a cage and putting her and her eggs in a potentially dangerous situation. I talked her out of it."
"Oh…uh…thank you?" Charlie said though it came out as a question. He was still trying to wrap his head around someone being able to speak to a dragon.
"She's gone home, so you know, she didn't just run off somewhere. She didn't want to be stuck in that cage again and away from her eggs so she's flying back."
"She's going to have to go over muggle land though." One of the tamers groaned. "This is going to be a disaster with the ICW."
"I doubt it." Said Harry. "She seemed to have a general distrust of most humans and as she has her eggs with her I doubt she'll want to get anywhere near them." The tamer seemed a bit relieved at that, but he still had to report to the ICW about a potential breach in the International Statute of Secrecy.
"What else did you two talk about?" Charlie then asked.
"Nothing really." He replied with a shrug as if talking with a dragon was an everyday occurrence. "I told her there was a fake egg hidden with her real ones and she gave it to me. She did say though that if you ever cage her, or take away her eggs again, especially if you take her eggs away, then she'd burn you alive. The other dragons will too. Oh, and they'll probably want to fly back as well. If you want to use disillusionment charms or something to not rile up the ICW I can explain it to them."
"Right…and on that note, we should get back to the dragons." Another tamer said and.
"We'll be back for you, Harry." Said Charlie. "No way we're leaving before you speak to them all. And I'm sure once my boss hears about this they'll be an open invitation for you to come visit the reserve. I know Ginny's wanted to for awhile." He added as incentive, knowing that if Ginny wanted to go, they would. Charlie then turned to catch up with his fellow tamers and when they were gone it was the judges turn to speak.
"Well, that is certainly a most unusual way to complete the task." Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eye.
"It is illegal!" Karkaroff spat. "He must be disqualified for cheating!"
"I think you'll find, Igor, that no cheating took place." Crouch stepped on. "One cannot help it if one is born with certain gifts. I noticed that you didn't complain at all when Miss Delacour attempted to use her veela heritage to charm her dragon." Though still clearly wanting Harry disqualified, Karkaroff said no more and the scores were given. Dumbledore, Madame Maxime, Crouch and the French and Bulgarian Department heads acting as judges all gave him a perfect ten, while Karkaroff gave only a four, arguing that the point of the tournament was to use magic and Harry hadn't cast a single spell. The crowd booed as his score was revealed, but Karkaroff didn't care. Harry's near perfect score meant that he clinched first place and though there were still some who called him a cheat, no one could say that it hadn't been an impressive display. As such, Harry assumed that to be the reason for everyone's eyes on him the next day, only he couldn't have been more wrong. Entering the great hall for breakfast with Ginny, the two were immediately overwhelmed by the chaos at the Gryffindor table. Seeing it was a group of Slytherin's causing the commotion, and that they all appeared to be Hermione's suitors, the two rushed over.
"What the bloody hell is going on?" Harry roared over the din, pushing his way to the centre of the crowd were Hermione sat looking outwardly calm, though Harry could see both the fire and amusement in her eyes.
"Lord Potter!" Adrian Pucey was the first to speak. "We are absolutely scandalized on behalf of Miss Black and yourself! For such a highly respected paper to print such nonsense is unforgiveable. My family is the primary benefactor of the Daily Prophet, and rest assured I will be writing my father immediately to put a stop to it!" Harry raised an eyebrow and turned to Hermione who pushed today's paper in his direction.
Harry Potter's Heartbreak!
How the Handsome, Newly Minted Lord Potter is Being Hoodwinked!
It will come as no surprise to you, dear readers, that one of Britain's most eligible bachelors is none other than Harry Potter, age 12. Born into the Noble and Ancient House of Potter, Harry is the son of the late Lord James Potter and his muggleborn wife Lily Potter (neé Evans). He is, of course, famously known as The Boy Who Lived, the saviour of our world who before he'd even begun to crawl defeated the darkest wizard of all time: He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Growing up under the care of his godfather, Lord Sirius Orion Black, of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, and a dear friend of James Potter's, Remus Lupin – known werewolf and currently the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts – young Harry grew up wanting for nothing and was primed to take his place at the top echelons of our society upon his graduation from Hogwarts and assumption of his family's title, which, due to being entered as a fourth champion in the Triwizard Tournament, he has already assumed by emancipation.
However, this reporter can exclusively reveal that the plans of Lord Potter's caring family have been derailed by not one, but two scheming girls. In his first year at Hogwarts young Harry was introduced to fellow classmate Hermione Granger, 12. The devious and calculating Miss Granger plotted to steal the Potter fortune from day one.
"She's a nobody." Says a fellow classmate, who wished to remain anonymous. "Some mud-muggleborn who didn't even know who Lord Potter was before coming to Hogwarts, and now she's suddenly his best friend?"
"She's quite smart," Adds another classmate, who also wished to remain anonymous. "I wouldn't be surprised if she'd been feeding him a love potion to stop him from being with a proper pureblood lady." Smart is apparently an understatement for Miss Granger, who has never been anything but top of her class, and when she realized that not even a potion is strong enough she moved on from becoming the next Lady Potter, to the next best thing: a daughter of the Noble and Ancient House of Black. That is correct, readers, the former Miss Granger joined one of the oldest and most prominent families in our world as Lord Potter's sister! This has not, however, turned her sights away from him as this reporter saw personally just before the start of the first task in the Triwizard Tournament. If the photo above is anything to go by, Miss Black has wormed her way far into Lord Potter's affections and has no intention of letting go.
Miss Black's conniving doesn't stop there though. So determined is she to destroy House Potter that she orchestrated the meeting of Lord Potter and Miss Ginevra Weasley, youngest child and only daughter of Arthur Weasley, Head of the Use of Muggle Items office at the Ministry, and his wife, Molly (neé Prewitt). The Weasleys, who while an old pureblood family, are not a noble or ancient house, nor do they have a seat on the Wizengamot, or any influence throughout the Ministry. Having Lord Potter marry into the Weasley family would serve Miss Black quite well as it would tarnish the Potter name, and she seems to have done her job well if the kiss Lord Potter and the plain Miss Weasley shared prior to him entering the arena is anything to go by. And what, might you ask, has the devious Miss Black been doing while ensuring her 'brother's' downfall? Sources inside Hogwarts castle reveal that she has been insinuating herself further into the pillars of our society.
"As soon as she took the Black name she had all the most eligible boys panting after her!" Our insider reports. "She's been stringing them along for over a year now and knows exactly what she's doing. She hasn't turned any one of them away yet because she knows that having the sons of the most influential families after her will give her more power. I wouldn't be surprised if she's using love potions on them too!"
With the Triwizard Tournament bringing international attention to Britain, and to Hogwarts, this is the perfect time for Miss Black to extend her reach outside of Britain. Will she next set her sights on Cedric Diggory, the other Hogwarts champion? Or perhaps her hooks will sink into renowned quidditch player, and Durmstrang champion, Viktor Krum? Whatever her next plan, this reporter finds herself quite disturbed that Headmaster Albus Dumbledore has not done anything to protect his students from one who would tear at the very fabric of our world.
Harry finished reading the article with much more calm than he was feeling. How dare this woman insult Hermione like this? How dare she call Ginny plain? He wanted nothing more than to march down to the offices of the Daily Prophet and punch Rita Skeeter in the face.
"Well at least she got our names right, if not really anything else." He said with more calm than he was feeling. "Mr. Pucey, while I thank you for your swift defense of my sister, it will be Lord Black and I who deal with this attack against her honour." He said without even looking at Pucey.
"Lord Potter, while I recognize your completely understandable desire to guard Miss Black's honour, I must insist you allow us to deal with this." Harry now turned and looked to each of the boys gathered.
"Us?"
"We stand with Mr. Pucey, Lord Potter." Said Theo Nott. "We will not allow this to go unpunished." The other boys nodded their heads or made similar gestures and Harry tried not to smile.
"You have my thanks, gentlemen, and the thanks of Lord Black. If you are so determined then I leave it in your hands." With smirks worthy of their house, the Slytherins bid goodbye to Hermione and left. Harry took his seat then beside Ginny and filled his plate with eggs and bacon, waiting until the hall's attention was not so focused on him to speak. Finally though, Hermione's patience was gone.
"You're not going to do anything?" She demanded.
"Sorry, I didn't know you wanted me to." He feigned shock and Hermione narrowed her eyes.
"That's not what I meant and you know it. Normally no matter how hard I try to get you to let things go you're already halfway to London!"
"Normally yes, but in this case I feel it best to let others handle it." He took another bite of bacon.
"He's right, you know." Ron said with his mouth full before swallowing quickly to escape Hermione's glare. "If he defends you it'll simply look like your hooks sunk so deep you control him. At least to anyone stupid enough to believe this rubbish." He stared down in disgust at the paper and the red tinge on his face returned; he hadn't liked what she'd written about his family.
"Exactly." Harry agreed. "Skeeter miscalculated. She thought that a muggleborn worming her way into pureblood society would send all the old families running for their torches and pitchforks. Admittedly she's not wrong, if it were any other muggleborn."
"The power of the Black name again?" Harry nodded.
"Though also their own pride. Taking the side of the article being nothing but a lie means honour demands they defend you, their pride would accept nothing less."
"But they could have just as easily believed the article." She pointed out.
"Yes, but doing so would mean admitting they were duped by a muggleborn, that their parents were duped by a muggleborn. Given they needed parental permission to court you this last year their parents' pride is as much at stake here."
"And woe be it if a pureblood's pride ever be damaged." Hermione muttered.
"At least this time it works in our favour." Ginny pointed out. "We let them do all the work and reap the benefits." Ginny was mostly right, for although none of them did anything, Sirius most certainly did. He did exactly what Harry had wanted to, though stopped just short of punching Rita in the face. Barely an hour after the article was released, a furious Lord Black stormed into the Daily Prophet offices and began to rave at the editor in the main lobby. He was quickly joined by Alexander Pucey and Titus Nott who were just as incensed and with the pressure of three lords of noble and ancient houses, the paper was forced to run a retraction. Harry was impressed though that the retraction wasn't in response to having written something inflammatory and insulting about the daughter of a noble and ancient house, but rather that they had done so without proof. When confronted Rita quickly gave up her 'insiders' as Pansy Parkinson and Millicent Bulstrode, the two pureblood princesses who had been most vocal about their dissent at Hermione becoming a Black, and the girls themselves admitted they had no proof and were given detention for a month as punishment for spreading lies about a classmate. Sirius, along with Lord Pucey and Lord Nott, had demanded Rita be sacked, but the editor had refused, saying that while she could get ahead of herself sometimes she was his top reporter. Instead he said that any articles Rita wrote would henceforth be reviewed more thoroughly prior to publishing. It was the best they got, and it did stop any further ridiculous articles from being published in the weeks following, though Rita was certainly not happy about it.
-H/G-
In the first week of December it was announced that there would be a Yule ball held on Christmas Eve. Only fourth years and above could attend and, as McGonagall informed Harry, it was expected that the champions and their dates open the dancing. As such, Harry should not have been surprised when that very weekend he was summoned home alongside Ginny, Draco, Hermione and Ron.
"No dawdling, we only have a few hours." Narcissa said sharply as the five teens entered the ballroom at Potter Manor, all but Harry and Draco looking confused.
"Mrs. Malfoy what's going on?" Hermione asked.
"Dance lessons." Draco said. As heirs to noble and ancient houses both he and Harry had been instructed on many social necessities by Narcissa. Dancing had been one of them and both had put their skill to use at the annual Malfoy Christmas ball for the first time last year, both having been deemed too young to attend before that. Without any further prompting Harry and Draco offered Ginny and Hermione a bow and held out their hands, which the girls took blushingly. Ron looked around awkwardly for a moment as he didn't have a partner, but upon making a full circuit of the room he came face to face with Narcissa who was looking at him with a raised eyebrow. Having learned well that look, Ron quickly copied Harry and Draco's bow before taking Narcissa's hand as the lesson began. After a few hours they all felt like they at least wouldn't embarrass themselves, though Narcissa promised – or threatened, they couldn't quite tell – another lesson before the ball; she had been most displeased with her son and nephew who had apparently forgotten most of what she'd taught them. Returning to the school, they bid Draco goodbye and Hermione insisted they head straight for the library, wanting to get a head start on the charms assignment that wasn't due for another two weeks. Taking their usual table they hadn't been there long before they were interrupted.
"Miss Black?" Viktor Krum, of all people, was standing in front of them; Ron tried not to squeal in delight.
"Yes, Mr. Krum?"
"I wonder if you might go to the ball with me?" Hermione was surprised. Aside from a short conversation back in the champion's tent after the first task she couldn't remember ever even speaking to Viktor.
"Oh! Well, I…" No one had asked her yet, not even the person she wanted to, much to her annoyance, so she was stuck trying to find a polite way to say no without having the excuse of a date. Seeing his sister's discomfort Harry was about to step in, but it proved unnecessary.
"Krum." Draco walked over looking at the Bulgarian champion coldly. "Miss Black is spoken for. Run along." Viktor was taken aback at being dismissed like a child, especially by one who, until now, had only been nice to him. Before he could respond though, Hermione's sharp voice was heard.
"I'm 'spoken for', Mr. Malfoy?" Harry shrunk back at her tone and even Draco couldn't help but cringe.
"My apologies, Miss Black." He said quickly. "I did not mean to speak for you, I meant only not to allow another to ask you before me." Hermione's eyes widened slightly but her irritation quickly returned.
"And how do you know I haven't already said yes to someone?" She demanded. "It has been almost a full week since the ball was announced. One would think if you wanted to ask first that you'd have done so days ago." Draco actually had the audacity to scoff but he quickly straightened up when he saw Hermione's temper rising.
"I warned my housemates against asking you, and no one from another house would dare." He explained her lack of offers before swiftly moving on. "I had planned on asking tomorrow at breakfast, though now seems appropriate, I think." With a snap of his fingers a bouquet of flowers appeared before Hermione who took them gently. "Miss Black, would you do me the honour of attending the Yule Ball with me?" A smile crept onto Hermione's face.
"Yes!" She said happily, then without thinking, she wrapped her arms around Draco's neck and kissed him.
"Oi!" Harry's reaction was immediate but Ginny held him back and wisely so. Before he would have even had time to jump up Hermione and Draco had pulled apart, both realizing what had just happened.
"I'm sorry." Hermione murmured.
"Don't be." Draco said just as quietly, then with a courtly bow and kiss to the back of her hand, he departed before either of them could do something they'd both regret. Hermione returned to her seat and buried her nose in a book, though they doubted she was actually reading. Viktor, who'd been completely forgotten, chose that moment to leave.
"Poor sod." Said Ron. "If even a famous quidditch player can be completely ignored like that, what chance do the rest of us have?"
"A good question, Ron." Said Ginny. "You and Harry must be worried." Her tone was pointed and obviously hit its mark when Harry's head whipped around to face her.
"I thought we were going together." He looked worried.
"I don't know who I'm going with, no one has asked me yet." Ginny was the picture of innocence though through their bond Harry could feel a whole range of emotions that summed up his next words to Ron perfectly.
"I screwed up, mate."
A/N - A fourteen year old boy assuming things where girls are concerned...sounds exactly right. I toyed with still having Viktor ask Hermione to the ball, but obviously she wasn't going with anyone else but Draco.
Review please!