(54) The Morning After
Harry didn't think life would get more miserably hectic than what it was now. Ever since Rita's article had hit the papers, Harry was assaulted by people of all three schools wanting to either console him about his father, sympathise with reasons why he put his name in the Goblet (while others condemned him for it) or just plain talk about his plight.
Harry scowled to himself. His 'plight' would be much easier if they all just shut up already. To make things worse, now Ron & Hermione were having problems. Again. Harry was often stuck in the middle. Again. Harry wasn't even speaking to Ron anyway, which was weird. Oh yeah, let's not forget Hedwig having a major fit of 'Irritable Owl Syndrome' & was hating on Harry to.
It got worse as time went on. In a more mellow moment when they were getting along with each other, Ron had resorted to using Hermione like an owl (which she was very displeased about) to simply tell Harry that Hagrid was looking for him one day. Or rather that someone had told someone else to tell someone to tell Ron to tell Harry—by using Hermione—about Hagrid.
Or ...whatever.
Harry officially had a stress headache over it & finally decided he couldn't care less what crawled up Ron's arse & died in there. He went to see Hagrid. But he soon wished he hadn't as there were four large monsters locked up in the Dark Forest & worst, Ron had known about them since this whole thing had started. Dragons were going to be part of the first task & Ron's brother, Charlie, was there taking care of the blazing beasts. Harry decided he would never speak to Ron again. How could he not tell him? Was he really that jealous over a stupid paper coming out of the stupid Goblet with Harry's stupid name on it for all the stupid idiots to see & mock? Harry was in the process of thinking 'Screw Ron anyway' but decided against that thought halfway through, trying to forget what that phrase could actually mean.
In payback for Cedric trying to help get rid of the badges, Harry let him know about the dragons. He also managed to make amends with Hedwig & sent a note off to James about the reptilian monsters in the Forest. But beyond that, there wasn't much else Harry could do. He was going to face a dragon in a few short days & had no idea what the purpose would be apart from not getting eaten & that after not getting 'well done' in under a second. Apart from Hermione, Harry didn't really have anyone around to talk to about anything at the moment since he & Ron were still not speaking to each other. Harry was starting to feel quite alone.
His only relief was the satisfaction of seeing Draco scurry away like the ferret he was whenever they came across each other. But then he would see Snape & hate him even more.
It was Mad Eye Moody who saved Harry in the end. Though James, Sirius & Remus had sent him nothing short of a book on how to deal with dragons that Harry would be lucky to read entirely in his lifetime, Moody had taught Harry a nifty little spell. It turned out that the dragons weren't exactly the main issue but actually a large golden egg was the target.
Harry was the last one out. He kept checking through the tent's flaps for his father or anyone else but couldn't see anyone. He knew they'd be out there. James had promised they would all be there so Harry assumed they were lost somewhere in the stands.
It wasn't until he returned after knocking his dragon out, broom smoking, but gold egg in hand that Harry noticed Remus on the ground. He was standing by the lowest row of seats, leaning against the support beams, looking up at Harry. James & Sirius were near by.
"We missed half of it," Remus admitted when Harry finally managed to make his way over. He noticed James was withdrawn & distant, staying behind the Wolfstar pair. "We got here as soon as we could."
"That's ok," Harry shrugged.
"Orion's first trial," Sirius stated simply. "Lasted longer than we thought. I was in that courtroom glaring at him for most of the day."
Harry instantly knew what was wrong with James. "You all saw him today?"
"Only Sirius. Jim wasn't allowed in as everyone thought it would cause problems so he has to wait his turn," Remus sighed heavily, glad that James had yet to see Orion but knowing the time was drawing nearer. He had so far successfully dodged James's request, often making up excuses as to being busy & he himself had stopped checking up on Orion just to get James off his back. James had never asked again & Remus hoped the incident was forgotten. "I stayed in the waiting room nearby with him. It was a long hard wait."
"We heard him just fine whenever the door was opened," James finally spoke. "What are you doing with that egg?"
"I have no idea," Harry half-smiled, recognising a demand for a topic change.
James moved in closer, hands clasped behind his back as he studied Harry for a moment. "That was some excellent flying, Harry."
"Thanks," Harry glanced at his smoking broom. "I better get this fixed."
James suddenly hurried after & caught Harry from behind. He held his son close. "Harry, I never want to see you around dragons again."
"I'm used to them," said Harry. "There was a baby one here during my first year."
"I hate that you're stuck in this thing," James said. He looked Harry over, then suddenly jumped away with a shriek.
Harry stepped back, holding his broom away. James patted the right leg of his trousers down, finding a nice burned hole in the back of it. Harry tried not to laugh. "Sorry!" He turned & headed into the change rooms to fix the broom.
James shot a dark look at Remus & Sirius who were giggling like little girls. They only laughed harder. "You both suck!" James marched past them.
"We both could make very rude comments about that one," Remus said.
James looked at them. "Go ahead. I dare you."
"Fine," Remus said. "Wouldn't you like to know?"
"As for me, you already do."
James rolled his eyes shut, then continued on his way to the castle. "Oh I don't need to date you to know, Remus. I've walked in on the two of you often enough." He smiled widely, knowing Remus was glaring.
They stayed for the party in the Great Hall that evening. James found it hard to extract Harry from the pressing crowds which were excited that their second Hogwarts champion had won. James didn't like crowds as usually he was the center of attention but for once he was mostly ignored. Either Sirius or Remus was by his side at all times as well, keeping an eye on him.
When James did get Harry alone, they both examined the egg but neither knew what to do with it. Harry slowly but surely pulled himself away from the masses, making it a point to head towards the stairs.
"Would you three want to come along?" Harry asked. "Won't be as many people there."
"To the Tower?" James asked, slightly surprised. He hadn't been in that Tower in years.
"Sure. Why not?" Harry shrugged. "Aren't you all lions?"
"Yeah," answered Sirius. "I guess we are."
"Well come on then," Harry turned & hurried up the stairs.
James, Sirius & Remus entered last & felt as if they stepped back in time. It was still the same old common room. Same old arm chairs & fire places. Only the faces were new mostly, apart for Remus who knew most of them from the year before. In fact, several of the older lion cubs soon clustered around him despite the fact that he was a werewolf was now well known in the school. Only the new First Years held back, unsure, as they didn't know him but even if they had tried, they wouldn't have been able to get near him anyway.
Harry was borne up on the shoulders of several people as he held the egg up. The only thing he & his father had found was some sort of lever that seemed to open it though they hadn't had a chance to try until now. "YOU WANT ME TO OPEN IT?" Harry called out over the noise of the crowd.
He finally did so & the most painful unearthly sound came screeching out of it. The party was stopped. Harry had a new-found dislike for floors as he landed face first on it. Remus roared while slamming his hands over his poor sensitive years, sending lion cubs scurrying away from him in all directions. Dead silence followed for a moment.
"What was THAT?" James gasped from the dorms. He & Sirius had gone upstairs to check out the old dorms.
"WHAT?" Sirius screeched, ears ringing.
Remus slowly sat straight, lowering his hands. "Harry, do that again, I'll kill you!" He began rubbing one ear at a time.
"Sorry!" Harry scoffed, not really caring. He was busy nursing a bruised arm from being dropped hard to the floor.
"What the bloody hell was that?" Ron demanded as he slowly entered the room.
Now the silence was awkward. Everyone knew by now that Harry & Ron were at odds with each other. Fred shooed people away. Remus tried to coax the younger cubs back, all the while rubbing his ears. Ron moved in closer, looking glum.
"I reckon you have to be barking mad to put your own name in the Goblet of Fire."
"Caught on have you?" Harry snapped. "Took you long enough!" So what if Ron finally figured that out? Still didn't change facts that he knew about the dragons all along but never said anything. Then it came out. Harry wanted to kill something again. "Who—who could possibly figure that out? That's completely mental!" *
After that, they were finally friends again. James came tumbling down the stairs with Sirius close behind. James got to his knees. "What was that?"
"It was the egg," Harry pointed at the thing lying on the floor nearby.
Sirius walked past & put a hand on Remus's shoulder. "You ok?"
Remus spoke in an agonised whisper. "No. No! Don't speak! It hurts!" He was now rubbing his head, working through a migraine.
/I bet./
Remus just whimpered. The link hurt even more. Even Sirius felt bad, though he wasn't as bad as Remus. James stood up. "You're in Moony's bed, Harry."
"Moony's?"
"It is the one that got the least amount of moonlight," James explained. "We had to keep dark colored thick curtains around his bed, just to be sure. Ron's in mine. I think that fellow from your Quidditch team has Sirius's, um Dean?" Harry nodded as James finished. "Some boy named Neville has Peter's."
"Uh Dad? There's someone you should meet." Harry took his hand & pulled James along to the fireplace. "Hey Neville. This is my Dad." They shared a look. "Dad, Neville …Longbottom."
James gasped. "Oh my God! Are you really?" He collapsed into the chair. "I was in school with your parents. Good friends of mine. I saw you twice as a baby!"
"You knew my parents?" Neville asked apprehensively. "They're ...uh…
They—they're not..."
"I know what happened," James stated.
Neville looked down at Trevor sitting in his lap. "How long did you know them?"
James understood the real question. He leaned forward & said softly. "Would you like to go somewhere & talk a bit?" Neville hesitated, then nodded, still looking at Trevor.
"Dad, what's going on?"
"Later Harry," James took the toad & gave it to Harry. "Take care of this. I'll be back later." At that, he & Neville got up & left without another word, leaving Harry in total confusion.
Harry didn't get an explanation for their behaviour any time soon either. James, Sirius & Remus soon left, promising to be back for Christmas. All Harry got was an owl from James telling him to not bring up the subject. Neville will talk in his own time. It made Harry all the more curious about it, but coming from a long line of tragedies, he understood the need to let the other person come out first & so kept quiet.
Harry soon had bigger problems that drove Neville from his mind. McGonagall had taken on a new class to teach & all students had to take it. Dance class! It would be no ordinary Christmas this year. They were going to have a Yule Ball. Harry didn't know what was worse. Trying to dance or trying to find a girl to dance with. Cho was already taken by Cedric which for some reason annoyed Harry but he didn't understand why. Ron asked Fluer, a girl from Beauxbatons. Didn't quite work out the way Ron intended it but it still sent shock waves through the school that he would even get the nerve to ask someone like her. Hermione was rarely seen when Ron was around, though Harry did see her chatting to Viktor Krum a few times.
When the ball was finally upon them, Hermione & Cho were the prettiest girls there. But the men who truly wanted them on their arms had been cast to the side. It fractured Hermione & Ron's relationship even more & Harry decided he could never compete with Cedric over Cho.
Hardly any of the partners were with who they wanted. Hagrid & Maxime seemed to hit it off after some awkward moments. But eventually, both Ron & Harry were single as other men stole their girls. The only ones who didn't seem mismatched (besides Hagrid & Maxime) were Sirius & Remus, perfectly within their element together. James did dance with both of them briefly but he soon left the pair to their own devices.
He sat by Harry, watching Remus share wine with Sirius at another table. "So Harry, you do have a girlfriend. Where is she?"
"She's not my girlfriend," Harry grumbled irritably. "I don't know where she is any more."
"She was quite pretty dancing with you earlier."
"I had no choice," Harry shrugged. "I was supposed to dance with her."
James sighed, giving up. He handed a package over. "I never thought a day like this could come. Me here, sharing Christmas with you. Here. I know it doesn't begin to make up for what I missed, but it's a start."
"What is this?" Harry opened the box. Several video tapes were inside.
"They're from a drawer in our family vault," James said. "Your mother was muggle born. She filmed a lot when we started dating. Right up to after you were born. Right to ...well all she could before then."
"...Dad..." It took all Harry's willpower not to burst into tears. Videos? Of him? Of his family? For the first time ever, Harry couldn't wait to go back to Privet Drive. He could watch them whenever the Dursleys were out. He leaned against James "Dad this is more than enough."
"You'll learn a lot with those," James slowly but surely tried to hold his son closer.
The ball went on for most of the night. Harry eventually went to bed, more so to avoid an angry Hermione than anything else. Neville was one of the last ones in & he was still dancing.
Late the next day, people slowly pulled themselves into the Great Hall. Nearly all had various degrees of a hangover & many had never even left the Great Hall at all. Several students & even a couple of Professors were slumped over tables passed out. Snape was in the hospital wing; though apparently, it was due more to James hexing him severely in a drunken row.
Madam Pomfrey was doling out potions to cure the worst hangovers. She poked people with her wand to make them wake up, force fed the potion, then let them drop right on the spot. She worked her way slowly through the school.
Harry wasn't too bad until he found his way outside. There, the bright light of the sun intensified by the bright white snow all but killed him. He stumbled into the nearest tree, desperate for shade. After nearly fifteen minutes he recovered & was adjusted enough to blink out across the grounds.
James & Sirius sat across from each other at a long wooden table nearby Herbology. Sirius was laid back against the wall for support. He sighed heavily. "I think if Harry ever recovers & we get to see him, we should get going."
James watched as a man slowly emerged from one greenhouse, then simply stared with mouth agape. The man looked ready to fall over & seemed to have absolutely no clue where the bloody hell he was. James half smiled. "We won't be going anywhere until that," he pointed at the sorry sick drunk. "is capable of apparating."
Sirius blinked blearily in the direction James was pointing, only to see the man turn & topple over a wilted rose bush. They heard gagging sounds. "He never learns, does he?" Sirius mused. "Alcohol & Lycan symbionts just don't mix."
"Neither can Madam Pomfrey fix him," said James.
"I know," Sirius nodded slowly. "The wolf messes everything up. He just has to recover the long way & man, it's going to be long this time."
"Why aren't you that sick?" James asked. "I thought you two felt everything with that link of yours?"
"Oh I cut him right out."
"I thought you guys weren't doing that anymore?"
"There are exceptions to every rule," Sirius winced as more retching sounds were heard. "I suffered a werewolf hangover once. I am NEVER doing that again! He'll live." Another gag came from the browned rose bush. "Unfortunately."
"He sounds like he's coughing up that worm of his." Both James & Sirius wanted to laugh, but they still had their own hangovers to worry about. Granted, no one in the whole wide universe was suffering half as much as Remus at the moment.
"Ohhhh Moony will make him pay dearly the next full moon," James managed to say.
"We'll help him," Sirius said.
"Well," James slowly got up & steadied himself. "I'm going to look for Harry. I'll leave you to take care of Remus. See ya." He walked backwards three steps before determinedly forcing himself to move forwards. "I'm too old for this!" He muttered on is way by. Sirius tried to laugh softly as he slowly stood up.
Sirius made his way to Remus & looked down on him. The werewolf was lying face down on the ground with his head under the rose bush. With groggy eyes, he looked up at Sirius through a haze. "Ugh! I'm sick as a dog."
"You are a dog," Sirius shook his head & sighed. "Get up." Remus just continued to lay on the ground, moaning pathetically (though he did manage a rude hand sign aimed in Sirius's direction). Sirius stood by. This would be a really long wait.
* Taken from Goblet Of Fire book/movie
(AN: British Top Gear fans will understand the drunk scene all too well.)
