[A/N: Wow, so much animosity towards Harry, Neville and Daphne! Think back to when you were their age and had big news to share. Did you remember to be considerate for the feelings of others? I seriously doubt it. I'm just trying to show the three as being normal teenagers and teenagers are sometimes inconsiderate little snots. For the record, Luna is my next favorite female character other than Hermione and as such, my Little Moon will NEVER come to harm!]

[I had to retcon Spice Girls' 'Wannabe' from its original release date. It's too perfect not to include it.]

Chapter 25: Misdirected Messages and Maps

Hufflepuff Common room, right after Peeves speaks with Luna

"Luna?"

The still teary-eyed blonde girl's head snapped up at the sound of her name. She spotted Hermione rising from her place at the main table and started trembling nervously, "Hello, Hermione. Aren't you up really late?"

Hermione had a small amused smile on her face, "I could say the same about you, Luna. Why were you outside past curfew?"

Luna's eyes dropped again and a moue of a frown appeared on her face. Peeves nudged her, "You should tell her. She might be able to help more effectively than I could."

Hermione led Luna over to the sofa and had her sit down, "What's wrong? How can I help?"

Luna's eyes immediately started tearing up again and she shook her head.

"Is this because of what you found out between Neville and Daphne?"

Luna's eyes snapped open as she stared at Hermione, "Y, you knew?"

Hermione canted her head, "Well, I knew from the train ride up here that you didn't want to be near Daphne and I heard from Harry that he suspected that you have a crush on Neville plus I saw your reactions to when they announced their betrothal so it wasn't so difficult to figure out."

Luna leant up against Hermione's shoulder and whispered, "I don't know what to do. How do I get over something like this?"

Hermione wrapped her arms around Luna's shoulders, "First thing you need to do is tell Neville. He's utterly clueless that you have a crush on him."

Luna sat up sharply, her protuberant eyes even wider in fear, "I couldn't!"

"Luna, I will be right there for moral support if you want? What kind of friend would I be if I left you to do that on your own?" Hermione smiled gently as Luna relaxed against her. She glanced up at Peeves who was being uncharacteristically quiet, "Thank you, Peeves."

The poltergeist bowed before them, "You're welcome. Now, if you'll excuse me? This is getting too sappy and I need to go reestablish my usual level of chaos before someone gets the wrong idea." He nodded goodbye to both girls and floated off.

Subconsiously knowing that it wouldn't be a good idea to let the younger witch be alone; Hermione led Luna back to her room and cuddled in besides the blonde. As Luna drifted off to sleep, she heard Hermione quietly singing her a lullaby.

The next morning and while Luna was busy getting bathed and showered, Hermione intercepted and informed Professor Sprout about what had transpired last night, "Would you please contact Professor Snape and have him bring Daphne so we can get everything out in the open? I'll go round up Harry and Neville."

"Why Mr. Potter?"

"The two of them room together and well; Harry needs to know so he doesn't put his foot in his mouth. He is a boy." Pomona chuckled and agreed with the plan.

Ten minutes later…

Neville and Harry were camped out on one of the sofas in the common room wondering why Hermione wanted to speak with them there as opposed to their dorm room. Luna appeared and took a seat nervously opposite them but didn't say a word. Hermione came walking up, "Okay, we're just waiting for…" The door opened and Severus plus Daphne appeared in the portal, "Ah, there they are." As Daphne took a seat next to Neville, the two professors sat down nearby to mediate if necessary.

Hermione rubbed her hands together and began, "Okay, I've gathered you all here because we need to clear the air about a couple of misconceptions and misdirected messages. First, I learned last night that Luna here is the 'Hogwarts Heartache Ghost' and is the one who has been singing those sad songs. (Everyone's eyes widened as they turned as one towards the girl) Apparently, she's been going through a crush on you, Neville." Said boy's mouth began to open but Hermione held her hand up for him to stop, "There will be time after I finish, Nev. So, Luna has had a crush on Neville and as I understand it, has been unable to express it properly. Luna? Would you please tell Neville your view on the matter?"

Luna took a deep breath, "I've been utterly in love with you since the first time we met on the train. Before that, actually... I have the ability to See and Hear things, we all know that. Well, the summer before I boarded the train, I had a Dream about a boy who turned into a tree and danced in a field of green grass while the moon looked down upon the two unable to ever reach the tree-boy and know what it felt like to be embraced by his branches. I had a lot of time to decipher what that meant after meeting you and Daphne whose last name is incidentally 'Greengrass.' Then when I heard Harry refer to Neville as 'Groot,' I did a bit of research and discovered what a Groot is…" She trailed off uncertainly.

Neville's expression was pale and he gulped several times, "Whoa… Luna… I, I'm so sorry that you had to dream that. I had no idea; I feel terrible now."

Daphne agreed with him, "I do too. I had no idea as well but I don't understand why you fear me."

Luna shook her head, "I don't fear you. I just get really saddened that you were the one to get to Neville first. I panicked on the train; I didn't want you to find out that I had a crush on your boyfriend-now-betrothed and then had you tease me for it. I was…terrified." She looked down at her fingers.

Harry held his head in his hands then leaned back and groaned, "And I teased you about it too in front of others. I feel like such an idiot, I'm sorry too Luna."

Hermione interjected, "Thank you for admitting it, Harry. You were utterly insensitive to poor Luna on the train by forcing her to share her feelings and secrets when she clearly didn't want to."

As part of her plan to help Luna get over her crush on Neville, Hermione suggested that the younger witch join in on the next Crafting Party, "Whenever I get upset by something, I find that working with my hands and switching my mind over to figuring out how to put something together can be a great way to clear out whatevers causing the problem. I would like your help to figure out a good playlist, Luna."

"I can do that. What's the theme of the project?" Luna was still red-eyed but no longer sniffling.

"I thought that 'reinventing yourself' would be appropriate. Maybe we could do a project that shows off our inner strength, beauty or whatever it is that's opposite of what makes us feel as if we're not worthy to the world? For myself, I've always hated how bushy my hair is or how my teeth stick out a bit. To counter that, I would want to sew something that can control my hair without hiding it. Someone might want to do a painting of themselves being free of whatever it was that's trying to bring them down. Finding new friends through artistic expression, those sorts of things."

"That's a wonderful idea, Miss Granger," Pomona complimented her.

Luna wiggled a bit in her seat, "I do know of a couple of songs that would fit."

Saturday 19 February 1994 Great Hall Crafting Party

"Welcome everyone to this month's Crafting Party! This time we're here to celebrate our very own Musical Maestro, Luna Lovegood!" Everyone burst out cheering. "Luna's going through her own journey of reinventing herself after facing her crush. We've discussed things and our Little Moon agrees with me that reinventing yourself is a good way to get over a breakup, or when you are feeling down about whatever or if you feel it's time to just change things up once in a while." Murmurs of agreement were heard throughout the hall. "So at the request of Luna, here is her playlist of songs to inspire change: Queen 'We are the Champions,' Gloria Gaynor 'I Will Survive,' Weezer "Buddy Holly,' Tag Team 'Whoomp! There It Is,' The Beatles 'Twist and Shout,' Len 'Steal My Sunshine,' and Spice Girls 'Wannabe!'"

So while Freddie Mercury was belting out, "…And we mean to go on and on and on and on! We are the champions, my friends! And we'll keep on fighting till the end…" Luna was busy with a paintbrush laying down the background to a scene that she'd been planning on making. As she sketched the outline, it slowly emerged as a silhouette of a butterfly emerging from a cocoon superimposed over a full moon.

Hermione glided by and smiled warmly at her, "Looking good, Luna. You have a real talent."

Luna just blushed and grinned shyly back, "Thank you, Hermione."

That night, the song of the 'Hogwarts Heartache Ghost' changed. The songs weren't sad anymore; they were more uplifting, more inspiring, "Do you ever feel like a plastic bag? Drifting through the wind, wanting to start again? Do you ever feel so paper thin? Like a house of cards; one blow from caving in?"

Severus paused in his grading of papers, listening to the build-up; his breath hitching as he thought about how close this song hit to home.

"You just gotta ignite the light, and let it shine…Just own the night…like the 4th of July!"

Hermione could feel her heart swell in pride while others in the castle were feeling the same.

"'Cause, baby, you're a firework! Come on and show 'em what you're worth!"

By morning, the student population of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry were walking that much taller and prouder. They still weren't sure who the midnight singer was but they were all subconsciously happy that whoever it was had found their stride again.

Ministry for Magic

Dolores could've used that bit of inspiration. She was sweating buckets trying to remember where it was that she met that hacker who designed the virus to take out the computers. She had to find out how to stop the virus! If Lady Malfoy and the others within her social circle found out that it was Dolores who caused their PA's to stop working, there'd be Hell to pay. 'I may have to leave the country if they discover it was me!'

The Toad paced and fretted back and forth in her office. She'd left word with her secretary that she wasn't to be disturbed for anything short of the death of the minister.

'What am I going to do? Where is that impertinent woman? I left word for her, she should be easy to find! Could she still be feeling miffed at that teensie-weensie misunderstanding?' The thoughts and memories of that last meeting whirled through her mind and it was driving Dolores nuts.

Heron's intercom buzzed, "Deborah? I need you to send a request to appear to Harry Potter. He should be up at Hogwarts right about now. Ask him to come down to clear out a virus that infected my PA. I need him poste haste."

'Deborah' pressed the reply button, "I'll get right on, Senior Undersecretary." She smirked at the thought of the Toad completely paranoid and panicking. She quickly composed an email to Harry outlining the problem but also including the true reasoning for the summons.

To: Harry Potter

Subject: Virus detected on Senior Undersecretary Dolores Umbridge's PA

Mr. Potter,

You may call me 'Heron' and I'm an Unspeakable assigned to watch over the Senior Undersecretary, Dolores Umbridge. After your demonstration of the Potioneer's Assistant to the Minister, the Senior Undersecretary as well as the Director of the DMLE; Madam Umbridge has since gotten it in her head that these devices should not be allowed to be free to share all sorts of 'radical' information without some semblance of oversight. Originally, she contracted a 'hacker' to create a virus to allow Madam Umbridge the ability to control the amount and subjects of online information an infected system was allowed to access. Recently however, she's changed her mind and wants the virus to completely destroy the computers.

Unfortunately for her, someone well-placed within the upper echelons of society has made it quite clear to her that if such a virus were to remove her ability to access information, life would be made quite…difficult for Madam Umbridge. The Senior Undersecretary is sending you a request to appear to 'solve' this virus problem. The truth is: the virus is a fake. No such thing exists except on the Senior Undersecretary's computer.

What I would like for you to do is to send an apologetic reply stating that the deletion of the virus is beyond your capabilities and that the only solution you can see is to completely wipe the computers' memories and reload everything. Remind her that by doing so would utterly destroy anything previously saved.

An hour later, the responding email came in from Harry to Dolores expressing his regret that this virus had infected her computer and those of her friends and coworkers. He warned that by reloading the computers from scratch would involve long hours and completely eliminate all previously saved information. Harry finished by saying that viruses are easily preventable by keeping her virus protection software up to date and not open or run suspicious emails from unknown senders and that he wished her well.

The resulting scream of impotent rage and fear caused Heron to grin smugly. 'It's so good to be bad.'

Monday 21 February 1994 Edges of the Forbidden Forest

Minerva, along with Pomona waited along the boundary to the Forbidden Forest hoping that their envoy using Hagrid was paying off. Minerva especially hoped that the school would be able to convince the Centaurs to take part in the upcoming Tri-Wizard Tournament. A rustling of the bushes and Hagrid's heavy footsteps were heard a few moments later. The half-giant stepped out of the leafy undercanopy followed by the Centaurian ambassador, Firenze.

Minerva bowed before him, "Greetings Firenze. May the stars and planets align favorably for you and your herd."

Firenze's face was indecipherable but his eyes shone with amusement, "Thank you, Professor McGonagall. May your students bring you joy and fewer headaches. To open, we are rather curious as to why you humans would need the herds to intervene in this tournament?"

"It's not so much an intervention but an opportunity to take part. How familiar are you with the history of the tasks for the tournament?"

Firenze waggled his hand, "Somewhat familiar. I know that they usually involve fighting a creature of some kind."

Minerva bowed her head in acknowledgment, "In the past that was correct however this year, we the staff have decided that what was past shall no longer hold true. The…organizers…have not impressed us with their lackadaisical planning and had originally thought to bring nesting mother dragons for our champions to try and steal an egg from." The tone of her voice made it quite clear what she thought about that subject.

Firenze lost the stoicism and stared in shock at her, "Nesting mothers? Are they insane?"

Pomona quirked up her lips, "That was our thoughts as well. To that end, we've devised more appropriate tasks that still provides the excitement that the tournament requires but not the inherent dangers of trying to tangle with such creatures."

Firenze reschooled his features, "So what is it that you require from us?"

"It was our hope that you would allow the three champions to enter your territory while you defend it. At the center of the 'engagement zone' the champions would then have to negotiate a peace treaty with your leaders. The one who negotiates the best possible outcome without resorting to insults, more violence and the like would be declared the winner of the task and receive a clue to the second task."

Another Centaur emerged from the undergrowth, "Just what sort of defense are we allowed to use against these champions?"

Firenze gestured towards the newcomer, "Professors, this is our herd stallion, Bane."

"To answer your question, we would like it if you were to aim to lightly wound only if possible," Minerva requested. If because of an unfortunate moment like slipping on wet grass or something and the injury is more severe, as long as it's not life-threatening, we're prepared to accept it."

"What will you give us in return?"

"What do you want in return?"

Bane and Firenze conferred for a moment. The whickers and neighs made both women wish Hermione was there to translate.

"We would demand that you remove the Acromantula nest from the Forest."

Hagrid looked startled and was about to interject but Minerva stayed him with her upright hand, "That would be acceptable to us."

Once their negotiations were completed, the two Centaurs disappeared back into the Forest while Minerva, Pomona and Hagrid returned to the castle.

"Um, P'fessor McGonagall, Ah'm not sure that Aragog wou' be takin' kindly to bein' relocated elsewhere," Hagrid rumbled.

Minerva turned and faced him, "They should've never been here in the first place, Hagrid. I know that Aragog is your friend but you can't deny that the colony is too big for the Forest nor that they are not a native species and disruptive to the natural order of things. I'm not saying that some of them might be killed but they cannot stay here."

Pomona clicked her fingers, "Miss Granger knows people in the Beast Control Department, maybe she can convince them to come up and assess what it would take to relocate them and where they could go."

While the adults were negotiating terms with the terms for the upcoming event next year, Harry was busy negotiating his own terms for the release of Hermione from some nefarious Slytherins. For some reason, she'd been taken by a couple of fifth years who would only speak with Harry. When he got down to the dungeons, he found Hermione tied to a chair with wands pointed at her head. Her mouth was gagged and her eyes wide with worry.

The leader of the group, partially hidden in the shadows, spotted him as he entered their 'lair,' "Ah, Mr. Potter! So nice of you to join us."

Harry took in the scene and frowned, "Why did you kidnap Hermione?"

"You have something we want."

"So you couldn't have just asked me?"

The sound of someone slurping was heard just behind the leader. Harry leaned and saw in amazement (and not a bit of utter confusion) Hermione was drinking from a cup now seemingly unconcerned with what was going on. She noticed his attention on her and quickly resumed her original appearance of being an unwilling hostage. Her eyes shining with amusement and apology for whatever it was the gang had planned.

"Um, what's going on?"

The leader stepped out into the light; it was Graham Montague, Halpern's younger brother and Chaser of the Slytherin Quidditch team. He now had a mildly annoyed look on his face now that Hermione had ruined his fun, "Thanks, Hermione."

"Sorry."

Harry cleared his throat, "Is someone going to explain what is going on? Why the kidnapping…and the cloak and dagger routine?"

Graham shrugged, "It was funny and Hermione's idea."

Hermione made a noise of indignation, "It was not!"

The others in the 'gang' were laughing by now and moving out from the shadows. All turned out to be members of the team, "What we needed was the antidote for that potion that makes people burp sticky pink bubbles. We're pretty sure it was the Weasley Twins who pranked us and it's making it impossible to practice Quidditch."

Harry slowly shook his head in bemusement, "You guys are weird. Yeah, I can give you the antidote. Did you want to pull any retaliation against the Twins?" Graham nodded.

"You got anything to prank them specifically? We don't have any problems with the others on the team."

Harry thought for a moment, an evil smile slowly growing on his face, "I might have an idea or two."

The day of the next Gryffindor Quidditch practice had the others flying out and taking their respective places. Fred and George were left behind; blinking furiously as they tried to understand what was going wrong with their brooms. Oliver swooped down and started berating the Twins to stop messing around and get in the air.

"We're trying to, Oliver!"

"Our brooms aren't responding!"

Oliver groaned in annoyance, "Try them again."

The Twins made to get off their brooms only to discover a whole new problem. They were stuck! Neither one could swing their legs over to get off the shaft. Their Chaser line was laughing themselves silly at the boys' predicament while their Seeker was spouting off what he would've done instead to reset the brooms.

Later in the Great Hall during dinner…

Harry was sitting at the Slytherin table holding a conversation with a couple of the kids who all had snakes for pets. He was explaining to them that even though the reptiles didn't show affection that a mammal would, didn't mean that they couldn't show some behaviors that would suggest comfortability with their presence. "Additionally, your snake will still need to have mental and sensory enrichment 'toys' within their enclosures."

He was just about to explain further when the Twins appeared, "Very funny, Harry."

Harry's face went impassive as he cocked his head and asked, "What was it you think I did that made you ask if I did what you'd thought I'd done?" A couple of the Slytherins were heard repeating his question again slower so they could try and understand it.

"You sabotaged our brooms!"

Harry gave them a nonplussed expression, "Are you sure it was me?"

George jabbed the table with his finger, "You're the only one who's been in our Common room. No one else knows the password."

"Come on, Harry. Fess up, we both know you did it."

Harry held up his hands, "I solemnly swear that I did not enter the Gryffindor Common room recently on my own."

Fred and George glanced at each other in silent conversation before sighing, "Fine, Harry. Just remember, pay back can be a bitch if what you said turns out to be untrue." They then left the table.

As Harry and his Slytherin friends were leaving, one of them leaned over and asked, "Did you? Prank the Twins, I mean?"

Harry grinned slyly, "I did but not in the way they think I did. I can honestly state that I wasn't the one who went into their Common room and altered their brooms. What I can say is that I had a little help." He held his hand at about the height of where an elf would stand. The other kid got the implication and burst out laughing.

Severus caught up with Harry the day before February ended and asked him what he'd really done to the Twins' brooms.

"What do you mean?"

"They wouldn't respond to commands. Madam Hooch and Professor Flitwick have been trying to solve the problem as to why the brooms won't fly."

Harry snorted in laughter, "That's because those brooms will never fly. Those brooms are nothing more than elf-transfigured tree branches to merely look like the Twins' brooms."

Severus' mouth was hanging open before he too, was laughing out loud, "Oh, that's perfect! So then you had a Sticking charm applied to the shafts?"

Harry shook his head, "Nope." He said it with a popping sound on the letter P. "I used mundane contact cement."

"Your mother would've been proud of you. Mundane solutions for magical pranks. She was an expert at them." Severus replied with a shake of his head.

Tuesday 1 March, 1994 Hogwarts

The opening of March saw significant changes occur on the surrounding land of the school. Three teams from Beast Control arrived armed to the teeth to root out and relocate if they could, the Acromantula nest from the Forest. Hagrid went with them in a last ditch effort to spare as many arachnid lives as he could. In the end, the loss of life was limited to the eight-legged variety; fifty of the horse-sized creatures lost their lives trying to attack the invaders. On the human side, there were a couple of close calls but in the end, the ministry prevailed. The survivors were rounded up and shipped off to an island recently made unplottable, off the west coast of Southern Ireland.

With the clearing of that potential threat, those students who had signed up for the Ritual Magic elective course took part in a Cleansing and Rejuvenation Ceremony to begin restoring the Forest to its previous state before the devastation caused by the carnivorous horde. Pansy was heard gushing about the effects and preparation of the rituals, "It's like there are rituals stacked upon rituals! Oh, it was ever so interesting. I still don't understand why they were stopped in the first place."

The answer to that was Albus Dumbledore though he'd never make the mistake of informing them. In his mind, those rituals which used blood and sacrifice smacked of Dark Magic and should've been discarded when the Age of Enlightenment arrived. It didn't help him in these matters when the Ghost of Ravenclaw spoke often about the rituals used to place the Cornerstone and later the Heart of Hogwarts itself, would be considered Dark Magic as well since the Four Founders used their blood to cement the stones in place.

Once the grounds were cleansed, work began on laying out where the Community Center would go. The Hogwarts and Ministry Department of Magical Construction teamed up to lay out a grid marked with colored runes to delineate the space available. The Magical Construction and Architecture classes were on hand to take part for some on-the-job experience. The one person who surprised everyone with his exuberance and drive in learning something new was Ronald Weasley.

Harry was chatting with Dean and Seamus about the red-headed boy who had seemingly vanished from the Tower during his off-hours. "Does he really spend every waking minute down on the grounds?" Harry wanted to know.

Dean made a noise of amusement, "Yeah, sometimes I think he'd sleep down there too if the teachers would let him."

"Ah'm sure the elves appreciate the change of pace," commented Seamus, "With Ron no longer getting in their way, maybe the elves could serve the food faster."

Hermione appeared out of nowhere and slid her hand into Harry's, "I'm just glad that he's found something that appeals to him. There's more to life than just food, chess, food, and Quidditch."

Dean made a crack about Hermione's home team's standings and the two devolved into another one of their arguments.

That Saturday saw the arrival of both Sirius much to Harry's surprise, "Hey, Sirius! What brings you by?" Remus appeared at the bottom of the stairs just as Sirius was giving Harry a hug.

Sirius smiled warmly as he gave Harry a hug, "I heard about this really awesome potioneer and I had to stop by."

"In reality, we were contacted by Professor McGonagall to come up and have a little chat with the Weasley Twins. According to her, the Twins' grades have been slipping and as per our agreement, their apprenticeship is dependent upon maintaining a minimum of an Exceeds Expectations."

Harry slowly nodded his head in understanding, "What are they at now if I may ask?"

"Both have slipped to an upper Acceptable."

Harry winced, "Ouch. Good luck then."

Justin approached Harry a few moments later and handed Harry a handful of coins. "What's this for?"

"If you remember from second year, you are the Heir of Slytherin, correct?" Harry again slowly nodded still confused. "Well, as Heir you own this castle. I'm paying you that so I can say that I own this part of the castle, at least temporarily."

Harry quirked up an eyebrow in silent confusion. Justin reached out and snagged a random girl from the hallway and started dancing with her. Everyone watched as the sandy-blond haired boy expertly performed a waltz, the girl was at first perplexed but soon relaxed into him and was smiling at being given this opportunity.

When they finished, the assembled crowd applauded politely, Justin bowed before the girl who in return curtsied back. Harry approached Justin and demanded an answer, "Ok, Finch-Fletchley; I'm taking you down to the infirmary to get you checked over. What the heck was all that about?"

Justin had a wide toothy grin on his face, "I overheard someone complaining that I waltzed around the castle like I owned it. I paid you so that way I could claim that it was true then danced in my castle."

Harry (and everyone else) blinked stupidly for a moment before the groans erupted at the lame joke. Harry whacked the boy over his head and chased him down the hallway promising more creative punishments when he got his hands on Justin.

Harry met up with Remus and Sirius later in the day for lunch and asked why both had to speak to the Twins when Remus was onsite for the weekdays.

"It portrays a united front, mostly. If the pair of us is asking about their grades then it makes the problem all that much more serious." Harry glanced over at Sirius to see if he would make a crack about the name pun but the older man refrained which surprised the boy.

"You didn't make a joke about the name pun!"

Sirius shrugged indifferently, "It's no longer funny. Thirty plus years and I've moved onto other things."

Minerva was walking past and overheard that bit of the conversation and deadpanned, "Sirius Black not finding something funny about his name in conversation? The world must be coming to an end."

Sirius maturely stuck his tongue out at his former Head of House and professor.

"So, Harry," Sirius picked up the conversation after Minerva left, "What's been going on with you here?"

While Harry was bringing Sirius up to speed on the Hogwarts Rumor Mill, Minerva joined her staff at the teacher's table and began building her lunch. Filius was picking at his lunch while going over the reports from the construction crew, Pomona was discussing something plant-related with Aurora while Severus had his headphones on and his cassette player…playing.

She had no idea where Albus was and frankly, she didn't care. It seemed as if the old man was finally learning that his input to the general running of the school wasn't needed. Merlin knew that in past years during mealtimes he was constantly passing her little notes to speak with various students about inane things or behaviors he wanted 'corrected.'

"Min?" She turned towards Filius, "Have you noticed that Mr. Weasley the youngest has been often out of the castle of late?"

A raised eyebrow was her only response for a moment, "Nay, I can't say that I've seen that. What of it?"

"I've got a note here from the grading construction foreman that someone whom he describes as a Weasley has been hanging around and pestering the crews to take him onboard to learn how they do the things they're doing."

Minerva looked up and scanned the Gryffindor table in search of the boy in question but didn't see him, "Okay, let me have a copy of that and I'll look into it after lunch."

Hogwarts Tournament Community Center Construction Site

"Ronald Weasley!" Ron jumped at the sound of his name being yelled so close to him. He whirled around and spotted Professor McGonagall standing before him with a sterner than usual look on her face.

"Yes, professor?" he tried putting on an innocent look but it came off as a pained expression.

"I've been told that you've been annoying the construction crew. Leave them alone so they can get this project done on time."

"But…I understand what they're doing while they're doing it. When I'm in class, it's just…confusing."

Minerva sighed, "I knew it was a mistake to let you advance to the more difficult classes. I should've had you repeat the second year instead."

"But…"

"Professor?" She turned to see the foreman approaching, "Mr. Weasley isn't a problem per se, it's just that we don't have time to teach him the sorts of things that he'd normally get in a class. What we have been doing is giving him simple projects and he's been doing just fine."

Minerva glanced at Ron who was still standing there with a hopeful look on his face, "What sorts of projects?"

"We've had him stringing up the grid string lines, marking spots on the map, etching simple runes so they'd be later incorporated in the site map."

Minerva looked rather impressed at the boy's eagerness to learn in a non-traditional setting and for something other than his usual obsession of chess or Quidditch, "Well, if you're sure?" The foreman nodded his agreement, "Then Mr. Weasley, you may continue to assist but only on the weekends. In the meantime, I want you inside cracking open those books and doing your best. If you have any questions, that's what your teacher is there for."

Ron beamed at her, "Thanks, professor!"

Gryffindor Tower

When Sirius and Remus went to speak with Fred and George about their falling grades, the two men found the boys poring over the Marauder's Map in its 'behind-the-scenes' technical format. Ghostly glowing symbols and arithmantic equations hung in the air as the Twins were making little comments to the map's personalities.

"Ahem." George looked up at the sound of a throat being cleared then nudged his brother.

"Professor? Mr. Black?"

"What have I said about calling me that?" Both boys looked chagrinned.

"Sorry, Padfoot. What brings you by?"

Remus crossed his arms over his chest, "Your grades have been falling and calling into question whether or not you want to continue with our arrangement."

George looked confused and reached for their notebook, "Our grades haven't changed, professor. Here, you can see for yourself."

While Remus was going over the contents of their notebook, Sirius gestured towards their current project, "Are you trying to recreate the Map?"

Fred nodded, "Yeah, it's our contribution to the upcoming Tri-Wizard Tournament Community Center project. If the staff could use it to track people, it would make security that much more effective."

Sirius was impressed, "Very generous of you. I'm actually impressed but why are you talking with the Map's personalities and not ask us directly? Moony's here nearly all the time."

George gestured with his hands widely, "We know that but sometimes he's too busy with his classes and if our questions pop up late at night, he's asleep."

"How long do you stay up to work on this new map?"

George shrugged indifferently, "Late, usually. Sometimes to midnight…"

Remus laid the notebook back on the table, "I found the problem and you're correct that you're still holding your end up of our bargain. I'll speak with the other professors about the discrepancies."

"Discrepancies?"

"Assignments are still being handed in but sometimes they're handing in their rough drafts and not the finished versions that you have here." Both boys blushed profusely causing Sirius to laugh.

"Hey, at least you're handing them in! It happens sometimes. You should've seen me during my time here. I occasionally did the same; drove my professors nuts."

"Well, now that's been cleared up; what progress have you made to your map?" Remus gestured to the parchment lying on the desk.

Headmaster's office, just before the end of the month staff meeting

Albus was sitting at his desk and fuming. This was becoming a habit of his of late, mostly because of how his staff was treating him as if he were an annoying little first year who kept offering suggestions on things he wasn't asked about.

'It's my school, dammit! I should have a say on how things are run here! On top of that, the staff has been neglecting to include me in on their planning sessions for the upcoming tournament. There was nothing wrong with the original plans. So what if the Champions had to face dragons and nesting mothers to boot; the Tri-Wizard Tournament has always had an exciting creature task and dodging territorial dragons would've made for an acceptable trade-off for a couple of burns. The Champions would also get the benefit of having 'cool' scars to show off.'

He got up and started pacing the floor, 'Then there's that 'Community Center' they're building. Inclusive nonsense is all it is.' "I should've been consulted from the first instance and I could've proven that the damn thing wasn't necessary. If our guests want to know more about the castle and its inhabitants they could just walk the halls like anyone else. This event was supposed to be my crowning glory next to the defeat of Voldemort. Speaking of which, I need to start making plans on how to enter the-boy-who-lived into the tournament so as to draw out Tom," he muttered to himself.

A knock on the door heralded the arrival of the staff. He plastered a grandfatherly smile on his face and welcomed them into the room but internally he was still seething, 'I will get my way. It's for the Greater Good that this tournament goes according to my plan.'