Author's Note: First of All- I AM SO SORRY IT'S BEEN SO LONG SINCE I POSTED! I swear, I didn't mean to leave everyone waiting so long. I fell into an extreme depressive state and couldn't seem to pull myself out of it no matter what I tried. But, I'm back now, everything is looking up, and I can't wait to get the next chapter out to everyone!
Chapter Eleven: Of Potions, Merpeople, and Unsavory Schemes
Time might as well have thrown by after Harry shared his childhood pain with Hermione. Though he went back to using the concealment charm when he wasn't alone with Hermione, he didn't hesitate to tell her the stories associated with every scar he had. For her part, Hermione never wavered in her support, never judged him, accepted everything with an open mind and heart, and continued to comfort him when he truly needed it.
Only a few days passed before Hermione began to brew the potion, and Harry usually accompanied her, though there really wasn't much for him to do. Even though Harry had suggested that they brew the potion in the room of requirement so that no one would run into it on accident, Hermione disagreed. She argued that the potion was very complex and delicate, sensitive to outside magic. Because they didn't know enough about the room's magical properties and capabilities, she didn't want to risk anything damaging their work. And that was how they ended up brewing the animagus potion in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.
Before the couple knew it, the second task was the next day and the day after that Charlie's team would be arriving to render the Basilisk. It was a good thing their potion was half finished and could be moved temporarily by Dobby and Winky so that the team Charlie put together wouldn't run into it and ask questions.
And so there they were, brewing their potion in the middle of Myrtle's bathroom. Or rather, the cauldron was in the middle of the floor, and because they really didn't have anything they needed to do with it at that moment, Hermione was practically seated atop one of the sinks, her legs wrapped around Harry's waist and Harry holding on to her thighs. She moaned as he pressed the undeniable evidence of his arousal against her pulsing core. It was a subtle pressure, nothing compared to the feeling of his dick filling her deliciously, but still, it sparked a familiar flame in both of them as Hermione tugged harder on Harry's shirt, urging him to keep kissing her.
"At it again I see," a voice broke into their haze of lust and need. "Do the two of you really have no self control?" Myrtle asked, almost taunting the couple.
Hermione grumbled and slid off the sink. "Need I remind you that we called a truce, Myrtle?" She reprimanded while Harry attempted to straighten his clothes.
"Part of our truce is that you not turn my private residence into another place in this castle for the two of you to shag like rabbits." Myrtle bristled, rather annoyed with the two of them snogging in her bathroom.
"We are not that bad," Harry growled, the territorial sound bounced off the stone walls, so full of predatory challenge. "And we're not rabbits," he added for good measure.
Myrtle laughed at that. "Well that's for damn sure, I've never heard a growl like that from a fluffy bunny." Harry quirked an eyebrow at her. "You two love birds go have fun. Somewhere else," she felt the need to emphasize.
Hermione rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at Myrtle before the ghost girl dove back into her toilet. "She's such an annoying ghost," Hermione commented. Then she turned back to the sink and traced the decorative snake on the tapp with her index finger. "Harry, when you go back down into the Chamber with Charlie in order to render the Basilisk… I want to go with you."
Harry narrowed his eyes, not sure where this request was coming from. "Please tell me you're not serious. Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?" He asked.
She nodded and crossed her arms under her bust. "The danger is gone at this point. The Basilisk is dead, the diary is destroyed, and there really shouldn't be anything else down there that poses a threat," Hermione argued. "And it's not like I've ever backed down following you into danger before. Every year so far I've been involved in a dangerous adventure with you, except second year." Harry still didn't look very convinced. "Besides, I could use a little closure, don't you think? That giant snake took away a month of my life. A month that I could have spent harping on you to do your homework, cheering you on during Quidditch matches, and reassuring you that you aren't crazy."
Harry nodded and sighed. "Fine," he finally conceded. "I may need you there for me anyway. I couldn't let Dumbledore catch on to anything he may mistake as weakness, but I'm not looking forward to returning to the chamber." His eyes grew dark for a moment. "It's not a memory I like reliving."
Hermione nodded and pulled Harry back to her by his tie. "I'll be as careful as possible, I promise. Now, why don't we go find somewhere to be affectionate where we won't be walked in on?" Harry smirked at the flirtatious look in her eyes and they took off running.
It was late once they finally wandered up to Gryffindor tower. They were laughing together and nearly dancing past the fat lady's portrait. They had planned on cuddling up together in the big chair by the fireplace. Unfortunately their plan was cancelled by the Weasley twins, who were waiting for them with smiles on their faces.
"Sorry to interrupt you darling love birds-"
"But Dumbledore and McGonagall said they need to see you, Hermione."
The couple looked up at the twins together. "Just Hermione?" Harry asked and they nodded. Hermione turned to Harry and he nodded. She was summoned to see the headmaster, a man that neither of them trusted.
"Well, I have to run to the restroom real quick. Would you two mind waiting just a bit longer?" She asked politely.
"Of course we'll wait," George answered without hesitation. Hermione thanked them both and began to walk up the stairs to her dormitory so she could put on her dragon leather suit that Harry had gifted her. There was no chance she was going to walk into a possible trap without her armor and her daggers.
As Hermione disappeared up the stairs, Harry attempted to figure out just what was going on. "Do you know what they want to talk to Hermione about?" He asked politely.
Fred shook his head and George shrugged. "All we know is that Hermione isn't in any trouble."
Harry nodded and smirked. "How did you two get roped into delivering the message?" He asked, genuinely curious.
"Oh, we got caught helping you out, actually," Fred admitted with a massive grin. Harry raised an eyebrow and George laughed.
"Our baby brother decided he was going to try and attack you while you were asleep so we temporarily trapped his wand with a potion of our own invention."
"It's designed to redirect magic at the caster."
"He's still in the hospital wing attempting to get his favorite appendage returned to its proper size."
"Would probably already be fixed by now if he stopped trying to lie about his actual size."
Harry's eyes widened comically as Hermione came back down the stairs. "So, I suppose the two of you are my designated escorts to the head master's office?" Hermione asked as she settled next to Harry and he wrapped an arm around her waist.
Fred and George nodded, holding out their hands in a gesture of politeness. "And we will be perfect gentlemen, cross our hearts and hope to die."
Harry quirked an eyebrow and kissed Hermione's forehead softly before dropping his arm. "Just don't flirt with my witch and you won't have to die at all," Harry said with a laugh. Hermione hit his arm good-naturedly and hugged him tightly before looping both her arms through the twins'.
"Not a chance that'll happen Harry-"
"We've already got girlfriends-"
"Not that Hermione isn't wonderful of course."
The small group left through the portrait hole, laughing at the twins' banter. Harry sat down in his favorite chair by the fire and summoned his girlfriend's favorite book from her dormitory, Hogwarts A History. He opened the book and began reading where she had most recently left off. It certainly wouldn't hurt to read Hermione's favorite book while he waited for her to come back, right?
Unfortunately, he fell asleep after an hour of waiting for her and was claimed by an awful dream. Everything was black, and all Harry could hear was muffled screaming. "Harry!" The screaming voice gurgled out to him. He knew that voice, and he tried to get to Hermione, but he couldn't. He could still hear her screaming as he shot upright on the chair he'd fallen asleep on.
Harry looked over at the clock and his blood ran cold. It was eight in the morning. Hermione couldn't have come back while he was asleep. She would have either woken him the moment she returned or curled up in his lap to sleep in his arms. And since it was obvious she hadn't come back from her meeting with Dumbledore and McGonagall, she was somewhere else that probably wasn't pleasant.
A thought raged in his head that he couldn't have ignored if he tried. 'We've taken what you'll sorely miss,' the song had stated. There were only three things he valued enough to jump into the lake to retrieve. He ran up to his dormitory, praying to the Gods for the first time that they'd stolen his father's cloak. But no, his cloak was safely packed away with the marauder's map. And even his broom, which he only valued for his love of flying and it's sentimental value as a gift from his godfather, was still resting next to his bed.
Harry's eyes welled up on instinct and he fell to his knees, feeling utterly shredded. He couldn't understand how he hadn't seen it coming. 'What,' should have been, 'who.' "Dobby!" He called out, his voice shaky with unshed tears. The elf appeared in an instant, holding out the gillyweed and shuffling his large feet. "Dobby, do you know where Mione is?" he asked, hoping beyond hope that his headmaster wasn't cruel enough to throw Hermione into the Black Lake.
Dobby nodded slowly. "Dobby is knowing Harry Potter sir. Harry Potter's miss Grangey is in the Black Lake." The elf's legs began to quake in terror, a mark of his past abuse at the hand of Lucius Malfoy.
Harry nodded and took notice of the fearful stance his friend had taken, and the pain in his golf-ball sized eyes. He might as well have been looking at himself. He took the gillyweed from Dobby gingerly."I have to go," he said softly and hugged Dobby. "Thank you for everything Dobby, you're one of the greatest friends I have ever had, and I don't blame you for what Dumbledore did." The teenage wizard released Dobby from his embrace and started pulling on his dragonhide suit. Then he pulled the suit for the task over it and slipped the gillyweed into his pocket.
Harry seemed to move robotically as he ate breakfast in the kitchens and then made his way to the Black Lake with the rest of the students. 'Hermione is in the lake,' he kept telling himself silently. 'Hermione's in the lake. She needs me. Hermione isn't safe. Hermione is waiting for me. Hermione's in the lake.'
He took his place with his fellow competitors, all dressed in their swimsuits and ready to dive into the lake to save a hostage. Did the others know they had to save a person rather than an unknown object of value? Was Hermione at least safe under the surface of the water? Would he find her in one piece or ripped apart by a bunch of creatures that didn't take to having a human invading their lake? Harry was almost overwhelmed by his fear for Hermione's safety and his rage at the cruel indifference the tournament organizers had for innocent people that hadn't even entered the damnable tournament.
Finally, Dumbledore stepped forward. Harry turned a generous glare on the elderly wizard. Dumbledore could not remember the last time he had to restrain himself from flinching, but the rage-filled flames in young Harry Potter's eyes nearly brought back that instinctive reflex. He could see the threat burning through the boy. 'I'll deal with you later,' his eyes seemed to say. All the Headmaster could do was fake an apologetic look before turning to the crowd.
"Welcome to the second task of the Triwizard Tournament!" Dumbledore announced, his voice magnified magically. The crowd roared in excitement. Harry loathed the shouts of the spectators. Even though he knew that the rest of the student body was blissfully unaware of what had been done, Harry hated that they enjoyed themselves when his witch was in danger. "Something has been taken from each of our champions, and they will have to navigate through our black lake in order to retrieve what has been stolen. They have only one hour to collect their treasure and return to the surface."
Harry stuck the gillyweed in his mouth and chewed it into nothingness. He jumped into the lake with his fellow competitors when the word "Begin," was shouted out and hit the water before the singular word was done echoing. At that point, Harry felt his neck and found that he had gills, and he kicked his legs to find that his feet were webbed and much longer. It didn't take long to come to grips with the effects of the gillyweed, and he was off looking for Hermione.
Propelled forward by fear, Harry attempted to keep his focus off the amount of time he was in the water, and worry more about the obstacles in his way, of which there were actually very few. By the time he heard the song again he had run into Grindylows that he easily fought off. But once he heard the song he shot forward like a bullet from a gun. The sight he was greeted with was something he hoped he would never see again. Hermione, along with Cho Chang, Fleur's younger sister by the looks of it, and the Durmstrang girl that Krum had attended the Yule Ball with all looked dead. They were each tied to a rock by one ankle and simply bobbed to the movement of the water. Considering the structures they were surrounded by and the presence of at least twenty people that were obviously a mix of fish and human somewhat nearby, Harry concluded that they were in the merpeople's city.
Harry shook himself mentally and swam up to Hermione. He placed both his hands on her face and swore to himself that he would keep her better protected from now on. He never wanted to see Hermione like this again, it reminded him too much of his visits to see her in the hospital wing while she was petrified. Without another moment of hesitation, he untied her and began to pull her up to the surface of the water. He wanted to grab everyone else as well, hated leaving them behind, but he chose to trust that each competitor would reach their hostage in time, and Hermione needed him more than they did.
Hermione couldn't see anything, she was incapable of drawing breath, and her body felt floaty and numb. Yet she was still conscious in a way. Similar to when she was petrified her second year. Perhaps this was as close to death as one could get without actually dying. The thought scared her, but she somehow stayed calm. All she registered physically was numbness, until she felt Harry's hands gently caress her face, and though her eyes were shut she was sure the expression on his face must have been one of absolute guilt, she could sense it in his touch, his touch that she knew so well she would recognize anywhere.
She longed to lean into his hands, his arms, to wrap her own arms around him in a comforting hug and press her lips to his, reassuring him that she was safe. Spending the night in the dark of the Black Lake with no sense of time instead of the warmth and comfort of her boyfriend's arms was one of the most unpleasant experiences of her young life. Hermione was thrilled when they broke the surface of the water and she could finally open her eyes and move again.
Harry was struggling to bring them both to the wooden boards they needed to get to, which prompted Hermione to look down and see a grindylow pulling on Harry's ankle. On instinct, Hermione grabbed Harry's wand and shot a banishing spell at the creature that was hindering her boyfriend. They made it back rather quickly after that, and they both ignored the cheers of the crowd, none of it mattered to them.
The moment they made it out of the water, Dumbledore came rushing forward, smiling for everyone to see as he congratulated the first Champion to return from the depths of the Black Lake. But inside, Dumbledore was a mess of fear and rage. Now that the Granger girl had survived when she should have drowned, she was an enduring threat. This was a disaster! And because Albus was too lost in his thoughts, he didn't even notice that Harry had pulled his wand, and was pointing it directly between Dumbledore's eyes. "Mr. Potter-"
"How dare you!" Harry shouted. The crowd, upon seeing Harry's movement and hearing the yell, had gone almost deathly silent. They were in absolute shock. "I'm half tempted to jump back into that Abysmal Lake and rescue the remaining hostages! You're sick! You're evil! I never thought I'd say that about anyone other than Voldemort, but you've proved me wrong a second time you unforgivable sadist!" He roared in indignation. Harry stood with his wand still aimed between his headmaster's eyes, his entire body shaking in fury, his mind eagerly imagining violent vengeance. "I wonder," he began again, the shakiness in his voice from the cold of the lake and his own rage did nothing to hinder the strength of his next words. "If you could so easily place students you are responsible for in deadly danger, what else are you capable of you demented coward?" Harry shook his head and lowered his wand. "I hate you."
With those final three words, Harry yanked the towels intended for him and Hermione away from whoever was holding them out to him and led his drenched girlfriend to a bench where they could sit down together. Harry helped Hermione wrap a towel and a blanket around her, and then he pulled her into a tight embrace that would have hurt her incredibly sensitive skin if she didn't have layers to cushion his grip. Either way, Hermione didn't care one bit, she held on to him as if her life depended upon it. "You did it Harry," she said in an effort to comfort him. "You found me, you brought me back safely, and from the looks of it we're the first one's back."
Harry shook his head. "I don't care about getting back first, Mione. I could have lost you," he nearly whispered in her ear and kissed her neck softly. "You know my life doesn't mean much to me, but you're a much different story. I can't imagine being without you again, and I doubt I would survive it." He let go of her then, holding his girlfriend at arm's length so he could gaze into her eyes. Hermione was his world, and he couldn't lose her. Hermone felt a good kind of odd feeling at being looked at by Harry so intensely. He seemed to be memorizing every detail of her appearance as if it were the first or last time he was seeing her.
Then he quirked an eyebrow and plucked something out of her hair, which turned out to be a rather large and ugly beetle. "That's weird…" she commented as he dropped it onto the wooden boards beneath them. "Beetles aren't active in water, are they?" She asked.
Harry shrugged. "Not my expertise," he said with a smile before pulling her back to him, and this time his embrace was gentler but no less protective. It was clear to Hermione that he was not completely reassured of her safety and didn't want to give anything the opportunity to hurt her again.
Only moment's after Harry pulled Hermione back into his arms, Fleur was pulled out of the water and revived, having been knocked out by a vicious attack by several grindylows. Then the other two champions returned with their hostages, and Fleur, having realized that her sister was still in danger began desperately trying to dive back into the depths of the water. She was saved the embarrassment seconds later when little Gabrielle was carried up to the surface of the lake by a mermaid and helped to the wooden boards. The moment the little girl was out of the water, Fleur took hold of her sister and embraced her tightly, sobbing and berating herself in french.
Eventually, Fleur was calmed by her sister and Headmistress. Dumbledore, after conferring with the merpeople, came back to the champions and announced that Harry had come in first place, with Cedric in second, Krum following closely behind in third place, and Fleur in fourth. Harry didn't care the slightest bit that he had been awarded first place, that he and Cedric were now tied overall, none of that nonsense mattered to the furious teenager still coming off his panic induced adrenaline rush.
"Mr. Potter, I would like to speak with you and Miss Granger in my office immediately," Dumbledore demanded quickly. "And no, that is not a request, and yes my status as the headmaster of the school you attend does give me the right to give you orders. Do not argue with me." There was a very large part of Harry that wanted to scream bloody murder, smash everything around him, and rage in righteous indignation, refusing to apologize or even recognize Dumbledore's authority. Yet with Hermione gripping his hand firmly and urging him forward so they could just get it over with, he didn't fight, he didn't argue, he reigned back his previously foreign instincts to attack and destroy everything in sight, except his loving girlfriend. He took a deep breath and gripped Hermione's hand tighter, allowing her to lead him forward.
Somehow, Harry didn't feel all the eyes on him as he marched to Dumbledore's office. Hermione on the other hand was buckling under the scrutiny of her classmates and she wasn't sure how she made it past the gargoyle without screaming at everyone to quit staring at her.
Dumbledore sat down behind his desk and gestured for Harry and Hermione to take the two available seats across from him. The elderly wizard cleared his throat as his students sat down. "I have several things I wish to express before you are welcome to speak, so please do make an attempt to refrain from interrupting me. I hope that is agreeable."
Harry felt a steadily building return of the need to destroy something, and wanted to smash the desk in front of him until there was nothing left but splinters. He didn't know where the impulse was coming from, but he didn't question it, nor did he follow through on it. Instead, he gave an almost imperceptible nod and growled lowly. Hermione didn't like it any more than Harry did, but she nodded anyway in the hopes Dumbledore would just say what he wanted to say so they could leave already.
"I am aware that I owe you both an apology, but before I apologize, there are things you need to understand," the elderly wizard began. "I am not the one who decided on the three tasks. Contrary to popular belief, I am not in charge of this event," he defended himself. It was a weak defense, he was doing little more than pointing fingers and redirecting blame at anyone and everyone other than himself. Harry was not moved, nor was Hermione. "I also put forth as many protections and precautionary measures as I could. The hostages were guarded by the merpeople, who were given strict orders to protect the students we placed in their care." Now he was attempting to cast himself as a benevolent hero with limitations, when that couldn't be further from the truth. Harry had seen himself that the merpeople weren't even paying attention and were swimming off to the side, away from the hostages. "You both have plenty reason and right to be angry, but I want you to be angry for the right reasons, not the wrong ones."
It was at this point that Harry could no longer contain the swirling waves of fury running through him any longer. "Do you ever stop lying? You just don't want us directing our anger at you even though you deserve it!" He shouted. "I'm not going to apologize for what I said out there, I meant it when I said it and I still mean it now!" Harry wasn't sure how he had managed to stay seated so long as he rose to his feet. "You placed non-champion students in direct danger! Anything could have gone wrong, and that awful song gave the impression that the hostages were at a genuine risk of disappearing forever if their respective champions failed to retrieve them in time! Fleur was terrified she had lost her remarkably young little sister! I was scared out of my mind the entire time Hermione was in that bloody lake! I will never forgive you for what you did to Hermione and the rest of the hostages!" Harry yelled. "How can you ever justify anything like that?!"
Hermione gripped Harry's hand and shook her head. "You're not going to make a difference here, Harry," she said softly and Harry took a slow, deep breath to calm himself. "Headmaster, I have a feeling you will comprehend our point of view about as well as Harry and I comprehend yours, and because of that disconnect I believe it is needless to continue this discussion. You will not be receiving an apology from either of us, and we don't want an insincere apology from you. So unless you're going to start handing out detentions, I think it's time Harry and I left your office."
Dumbledore's eyes were wide in shock. He never anticipated a reaction like this from either of them. "I have no intention of giving either of you detentions…" he admitted reluctantly. "I expect that once we have all had time to calm ourselves, the three of us can return to this topic at another time and come to a better conclusion."
Harry shook his head. "I wouldn't count on it," he countered and walked out of Dumbledore's office with Hermione's hand in his. Hermione could feel Harry's rage vibrate through him and she knew on instinct that they were going to the Room of Requirement. She was angry too, but she had nothing on Harry. The few minutes of travel through the castle passed more like seconds and before Hermione knew it, they had walked through the door and her back was against a stone wall as Harry crushed his lips against hers and pinned her hands over her head. "I hate the thought of you in danger," he confessed, whispering in her ear before gently biting at her neck. Hermione whimpered as Harry's grip on her wrists tightened and his free hand wandered down to her waist. "I'd never forgive myself if you were hurt because of me," he added and released her wrists to grip her thighs, encouraging her to wrap her legs around him.
Hermione didn't hesitate to wrap her legs around Harry and use her newly freed hands to grip his shoulders. "I'm safe, Harry," she assured him and kissed his neck. "I'm here with you and I'm not going anywhere," she added and Harry growled in her ear. "I love you Harry."
With that, Harry pulled Hermione away from the wall and they crashed onto a bed that the room had conjured. They were a frenzy of limbs and flying clothing until they were both completely naked. Neither teen could stop themselves or reign in their chaotic need. Harry needed to know without a doubt that Hermione was safe and real. Hermione needed to know that Harry was okay. She needed to feel his panic fade away.
Hermione shivered as she slid down onto Harry's dick and mewled as Harry groaned and gripped her hips. With each rocking motion of Hermione's hips, every upward thrust from Harry that Hermione never failed to respond to, every hiss, groan, mewl, and whimper, they drove themselves toward the brink of ecstacy. Minutes passed with the two teens at a steady pace that chipped away at their restraint until Harry growled and pinned Hermione under him forcefully.
Hermione smirked at Harry above her, then she gasped as Harry lunged forward and began ramming into her warmth with no warning. Hermione bit her lip and hooked her legs over Harry's, raking her nails down his back hard enough to draw blood. They reached their bliss together and laid down beside each other, holding on to one another and falling asleep almost immediately. While the two teens were lost to the bliss of sleep while safe in each other's arms, a twisted plot was forming.
Dumbledore was furious! His plan to turn the second task into a tragic accident had failed. The charm meant to keep the hostages safe was supposed to wear off of the Granger girl five minutes before the hour limit was up and young Harry was supposed to be attacked by the Grindylows enough times to delay him reaching miss Granger on time. But of course, the creatures were angered by the presence of a quarter-veela in their lake and they abandoned their task to delay young Mr. Potter so that they could instead attempt to drown Fleur Delacour. Without the necessary delay, the Granger girl broke the surface of the water seconds before the charm could break.
With a sigh, Dumbledore came to the conclusion that subtlety might not be the way to remove Hermione Granger's influence. And that was how he came to the decision of enlisting the assistance of the least subtle person he knew. "So Dumbledore, what can I do for you?" Rita Skeeter asked, her eyes narrowing from behind her ugly and obnoxious glasses.
Albus maintained his neutral expression, unwilling to rise to her attempts to irritate him. "Miss Skeeter, I have a problem that I need assistance with. My previous attempts at resolving the issue alone have failed, and I am hoping that you will be able to use your unsavory talents to accomplish my goal. Are you interested?" He asked softly, his confidence unwavering.
Rita smirked. "You need me to be enchantingly nasty?" She asked, to which Dumbledore nodded. "You do know I don't work for free, right?" She reminded him and clicked her nails against his desk.
"I have no intention of hiring you without payment," Albus assured her. "Five thousand galleons should be more than enough, I'm sure. And my silence in regards to your status as an illegal animagus should buy your silence in regards to this arrangement." Albus liked to believe he was above finding pleasure in disarming people, but he was far too pleased when Skeeter's jaw dropped. "Shall I assume we understand each other?" Albus asked softly.
Rita paused for a moment to consider before she smirked and nodded. "Two questions, and then I'll be clear as a bell." Dumbledore gestured for her to continue and asked her questions. "Why is it you don't want anyone to know about your involvement?" After a minute of waiting for the elderly wizard to respond, she realized he didn't plan too, nor did he need to. His reason was the same as her own. If people knew, it would cost him way too much. "I see," she finally conceded. "Well then, who are the targets?" She asked with a venomous grin.
"Harry Potter and Hermione Granger," Dumbledore stated without hesitation. "I want you to focus significantly more on miss Granger."
Skeeter's grin turned more determined. "Well, I already planned on teaching the little witch an important lesson, but now I'm wondering why you want her taken down." She tapped her fingernails against his desk again. "And obviously if you want me to drag her name through the mud, I have to know why. I can't exactly do my job correctly without that explanation."
Albus quirked an eyebrow. Apparently Skeeter's curiosity wasn't going to go away. He sighed. "I really don't have an issue with her on a personal level, but she has a damaging influence on young Mr. Potter. I need him unsure of himself, malleable and loyal to me." He paused for a moment, angered by the results of Hermione's influence on Harry. "Ever since their friendship became more romantic he has been more confident, self-assured, quick to challenge me, and is now beginning to even turn against me."
Rita Skeeter was thrilled that she didn't have to hide her excitement. "Well then, I assume you'll want me to break them up?" she asked, to which Dumbledore nodded. "Expect my first article by lunch tomorrow." She stood up to leave and blew a kiss to the aging headmaster.
Albus was actually pleased for once this year. Rita Skeeter may be an untrustworthy and unpleasant beetle, but she was too afraid of him to stab him in the back, and Albus even possessed blackmail to keep her under his thumb. What Dumbledore didn't know was that he had just given Skeeter the signal she had been waiting 26 years for.
Admittedly, Skeeter's grudge against Albus Dumbledore began over something rather petty and childish, all things considered. He wouldn't let her start a school newspaper, which she had been petitioning for during the entirety of her time at Hogwarts. After graduation she wanted payback of some kind, but the more information she uncovered about Albus, the more motivated Rita became to take him down, and now her motives were no longer petty and childish. Albus Dumbledore was a certifiable monster of impossible proportions, and the entire wizarding world was blind to it!
But the young couple he asked her to destroy could be the most powerful secret weapon in her arsenal. Had she known ahead of time that she would benefit from an alliance of sorts with the sole surviving Potter and his girlfriend Hermione Granger, she would have refrained from writing the article about the half giant that he cared about. But now, she was being paid to attack them, and Rita was an expert at using attacks to corner someone until they finally broke down and agreed to her terms. All she wanted was to talk with them, and now, she had a means to force their hand. This whole thing couldn't have worked out better if she tried!
One day soon, Dumbledore was going to lose everything. That day, Rita Skeeter would breathe easy for the first time in over two decades.
Author's Note: I'd love to get opinions on what everyone thinks of this new development! I've already written ahead all the way to year five… so I'm not really going to change my new game plan for this story, but I would still love to hear from anyone that has something to say on the new developments I'm making. Next chapter is pretty much completely new.