Part 7
~* 10 A.M. in the Hogwarts Medical Wing *~
Infirmary at Hogwarts
"I must insist!"
Amelia Bones, the head of the DMLE, had to restrain herself from rolling her eyes at the antics of Lord Malfoy.
She had just finished her morning reports when one of the new aurors, Nymphadora Tonks, had come in to tell her that Dawlish had just received a message from Malfoy to arrest someone at Hogwarts. Amelia was very glad she had had Tonks spy on her aurors to see discover who had other allegiances than to her. It had paid off and had arrived at Hogwarts to catch Dawlish trying to arrest the eldest Greengrass daughter without checking to see if he was in the right or wrong.
While Lucius Malfoy stewed, Amelia had Dawlish floo-call Daphne Greengrass' parents so that she could have her parents there to represent her. Once her parents heard their daughter's explanation of how Draco Malfoy and several of his ilk had tried to accost her on two separate occasions, they were livid.
Even then, Lucius declared he must have justice for his son's injuries, which he claims were excessive and possibly could make it so that Draco could not sire an heir.
"Oh, please!" Daphne said, rolling her eyeballs in a way Amelia only wished she could. "If the shower room talk is true, Draco isn't interested in what it would take to produce an heir." She was exaggerating, but after being put through all this, Daphne was more that willing to embellish some of stories that Tracey came up with.
"You slanderous little-"
"Enough, Lucius," insisted Alphonse Greengrass as he stepped between him and Daphne.
"I will have her prosecuted!"
"For accidental magic?" Daphne asked.
"You claim to have caused a snowbank to bury one student, an ice wall to trap another in a broom closet, a snow monster to chase another, and then encase my son's wand and hand in a ball of ice, causing his wand to break, and then encase his-his-his testicles in a ball of ice!"
"Well, I was threatened by a bully aiming his wand at me. I wasn't able to use my wand in time to protect myself, so I just let my magic go forth… in hope it would protect Tracey and I."
"Likely story," Lucius spat. "As if a child your age could expect perform wandless magic."
"Hmm. I'd like to see her try," Dumbledore spoke.
"I agree," Madam Bones added.
Never was Daphne so glad that Xander had provided her with ideas of how to display her abilities when they would inevitably be revealed.
She walked over to a small tray that was next to a hospital bed. She allowed her features to give a look of profound concentration. Then, just before she thought Malfoy was going to give another scathing remark, she allowed her new abilities to produce just a tiny bit of frost on the tray.
"Well, that is rather incredible, Miss Greengrass," McGonagall said before anyone else. "I think I can arrange for some training to see if-"
Lucius was furious. "This proves-"
As Xander had suggested to her earlier, Daphne feigned surprise, and pushed her power out. A row of spiked icicles sprouted out of the floor and towards Lucius, each roughly four to five feet long.
"My darling daughter, this is incredible!" Alphonse Greengrass exclaimed, and broke out in laughter.
Severus Snape had to grab Lucius' arm to keep the man from drawing his wand. "This does change matters," he said smoothly. "Miss Greengrass may be an elemental."
Poppy Pomfrey's shocked gasp seemed to break some of the tension.
"Perhaps," Albus began, hoping to regain some control over this meeting, "Poppy could you give Miss Greengrass a thorough examination. Maybe something could be learned about-"
"No!" Daphne proclaimed. "No one is going to turn me into a laboratory animal!" The room suddenly became much colder and everyone's breath except Daphne's could be seen.
"No one will force you to do anything you don't want, my dear," stated her father calmly as he embraced her despite the cold radiating from her person.
"I demand an unbreakable marriage contract between our children!" declared Lucius Malfoy. He knew power and opportunity when he saw it. And he wanted this power in his family line.
"Never!" screamed Daphne. A small snow creature about two feet tall formed in front of her and began to pelt Malfoy with snowballs. Her look of surprise made it appear to have been another bout of accidental magic.
Still refusing to allow Lucius to draw his wand, Severus pulled out his own wand and petrified the small snow troll.
"Incredible," Dumbledore said softly as he stroked his beard. "I've read about such things, but the legends are so old; it is hard to tell which are true and which are fiction."
Daphne, still feigning surprise, let go of her father to sit in the floor. From there she traced her fingers over the small troll creature as if trying to deal with the facts before her eyes.
"She either marries my son, or she goes to Azkaban for her attack on my heir."
"Your son attacked my daughter first!" roared Alphonse.
"My son has more credible witnesses!"
"Your son wouldn't be able to survive the wedding night," came Daphne's surprised response. And a frozen male figure appeared sculpted on the floor as if it were a naked ice corpse that was broken in several places. Daphne gave it another incredulous look as if she hadn't meant for that to happen. "I don't know if anyone could survive a wedding night with me." There. That should keep the suiters at bay. At least for now. Saying that had been another suggestion of Xander's. And from the sour look on Malfoy's face, she thought he must have believed her.
A bed screen fell down to the floor from where Draco had evidently been spying. Draco stood there hunched over with one hand protectively over his pained groin. He stared at the ice sculpture of himself on the floor. Seeing the broken off segment of the sculpture's groin was too much for the boy. His eyes rolled up into his head and he fainted.
Daphne couldn't help the smirk on her face. "I believe Draco is against a possible union between us as well."
~* Noon outside Hogwarts *~
Harry was flipping up and down while avoiding the deadly strikes aimed at him. He laughed as he avoided another blow that threatened to remove his head from his shoulders.
"Harry, it's done. You can stop now."
"Awww." He flipped through the air out of reach of the Whomping Willow and landed a few feet from Neville Longbottom. "That was fun."
Neville gave a shake of his head. "You have a strange way of having fun. But then you think Quidditch is fun."
"Playing Quidditch is much more fun than watching it. You should give it a go."
"Brooms and me don't get along, Harry."
"Nev, mate, broom are made from plant material. I think you might have better control of a broom than me now."
"Huh, that is something to consider." Neville considered that. "I suppose we could check on that later. But right now it is time to finish this chore from Isabel's list." With that said, Neville raised his hand toward a small plant he had planted while Harry had kept the Whomping Willow busy.
Using the powers he had gained from his amalgamation with the template of the Chlorophyll Kid, Neville made the plant mature before their eyes, growing until it was the same size as the Whomping Willow.
The Whomping Willow stood still as any normal tree for a moment as it took in the new Whomping Willow next to it. Then it attacked.
The new Whomping Willow was landing blows just as hard as it was receiving when Harry and Neville walked away.
"Are you sure about this, Nev?"
Neville nodded. "When Whomping Willows are moved, er, transplanted, next to any other plant, they will attack it. Whomping Willows will pound on each other until they see themselves as equals. After that, they will be totally supportive of each other. Eventually they will even fertilize each other to produce seeds for more Whomping Willows. Did you know that-"
"Stop! Please!"
"Fine. Let's go find the girls."
"Oh, is there one girl in particular you are looking to see?" Harry teased.
"Don't make me see if I can make some of the seeds you have eaten recently grow inside you."
Harry thought of the poppy seed muffin he had eaten at breakfast. "Peace," he suggested.
Neville laughed.
As they walked back towards the castle, they noticed some of the Durmstrang students heading over to cut them off. Krum was leading the way.
"Is this going to be trouble?" asked Neville.
"Don't know," Harry answered. "Hope not, but let's play it easy."
"Potter," said the older by with a harsh accent as he walked up. "We have words."
"Sure, Krum. What do you have to say?"
"I wish to know. Did you place your name in Goblet?"
Harry gave a slight exasperated sigh of annoyance. "I can honestly say I did not put my name in the Goblet of Fire. Nor do I know who did. I think it is someone trying to get me killed, just like someone tries to do every year since I came to Hogwarts."
"Someone try and kill you every year?" Krum repeated with a frown.
"I can recommend several people to check that fact out with, but Malfoy isn't one of them, and neither are his friends."
Krum snorted. "We already find him with many lies. Braggart he is."
Harry nodded. "His father is worse. So is Snape. And to be totally honest, I don't trust the headmaster either."
"But he is your headmaster," Krum said in surprise.
"Do you trust your headmaster?" Harry asked in response.
"Dumbledore is said to be leader of the light."
"Don't believe everything you hear," Harry deadpanned.
Krum broke out in a laugh. "I think I like you."
"Just so you know, I have a girlfriend."
At that all of the Durmstrang students broke out in laughter, including Viktor.
"That brings up other matter." Krum motioned for Harry to follow him. Neville moved to accompany them, but Harry waved him to stay.
They stood up on a small hill and could just see the two Whomping Willows bashing each other.
"Being famous can be difficult," Krum began.
Harry snorted his agreement. "I don't know why anyone would want to be famous."
"There are…things…perks, yes? But much of time can be… tiresome."
"That's one word for it," Harry responded with a grin. "What did you need to talk about?"
"You know of other events in tournament? Events that are not challenges?"
"…no. I just know of the three very deadly challenges."
"Your headmaster does not talk with you?"
Harry shook his head. "Not if he can help it. He likes to treat me like a mushroom."
Viktor gave a confused look.
"He likes to keep me in the dark and feeds me-"
Viktor broke out into laughter. "I know this one! Funny!"
"Not when it's being done to you."
The Durmstrang champion stopped laughing but remained amused. "Yes, sorry. What I was to say… what I was about to say, there is tradition of a Yule Ball dance. We need partners… dates."
"Oh, well, sorry, Krum, but I already have a girlfriend."
Viktor laughed. "Ah, you joke! But seriously, being famous makes it difficult to find girl who would not be date just because I am Quidditch star. I would find… would like to find girl who would see just normal Viktor Krum."
Now Harry understood where the Bulgarian was coming from. Most people just saw him as the Boy-Who-Lived. Few people saw him as just Harry Potter.
"Well, despite being so well known, I don't know a lot of the female population of Hogwarts. I could ask my girlfriend if she knew of any girls that are not 'fangirls'."
"What is 'fangirl'?" the Bulgarian asked with a furrowed brow.
"Girls that follow you everywhere. They listen to everything you say like it is the most important thing in their world. Girls that buy every magazine that even mentions you just so they can try to know more of you. But they are not interested in you as a person."
"Ah, yes," Viktor nodded. "Yes, I do not want fangirl for date."
Another thought came to Harry. "You might want to mention this to Cedric Diggory. His house in Hogwarts is more mellow. He is also closer socially to more people. He might know someone that would be right for you. Just make sure that he points them out to you without their knowledge, that way there will be less hurt if you don't choose them. You could just introduce yourself and get an honest opinion of them if they don't know about the dance."
"Diggory, hmm. He seems… I think word is 'honorable'."
"Hufflepuff House is known for hard work and loyalty. And I've heard people say that Diggory is the best of them."
"That may work. Thank you, Potter. You are helpful. I had plan to stay in library and see if any girls ignore me. Maybe find a - no, maybe see if one would be a date for the ball."
"Hmm, maybe. But since you have extra time before the announcement of the ball, you could ask the girl to go to Hogsmeade, which is the small Wizarding town down the road. That way you could see if both of you are compatible for a Yule Ball date. If not, you would have time to ask another girl to go to Hogsmeade and see if she is a better possible date."
Viktor frowned. "Dating is not like Quidditch. I do not chase after any shiny thing that eye sees. I want one girl. I am not one of those guys who date every girl he sees to sex them."
Harry nodded. He wasn't going to bother correcting Krum's grammar. "I wasn't suggesting that, but I am glad to hear it. The Hufflepuff House are very protective of their own. You don't want to tick them off, even if you are a foreign superstar."
Viktor smiled now. "I like them already."
They watched as Neville and the Durmstrang students came up the hill and started to watch the two Whomping Willows smack each other about sending leaves flying into the mild autumn breeze.
"Glad to help. Hope it helps you," Harry said.
They continued to watch as the two trees slowly stopped trading blows and seemed to accept the worthiness of each other's company.
~* Evening *~
Hermione ducked as the Jester swung his deadly yo-yo at her. She had timed it right at the yo-yo missed her and instead tangled around the telescopic legs of the Stilt-Man.
Hermione sent a pellet from her utility belt to glue the metal wire of the yo-yo onto the legs of the Stilt-Man.
Swinging her legs around, she got the Jester in the gut with a strong kick, making him drop his rubber chicken.
She was already moving toward a clothesline on the dark New York roof. The Owl screeched in anger as his metal claws racked the clothesline instead of her.
She leapt to the side as a part of a gargoyle was tossed at her by Mister Hyde. She doubled back, leaping over the still unconscious form of Bullseye only to get a kick to the side of the head that she only partially blocked from Typhoid Mary. As Typhoid Mary moved to impale the girl, Hermione pepper sprayed her in the face, which she followed up with a throat strike. Typhoid Mary lashed out with a blade blindly, managing to clip the Owl who had been trying to get another hit on Hermione.
In less than five minutes later, Hermione had managed to win her simulated fight in the Room of Requirement.
"All in all, except for that bit of how you finished off Tombstone, I think you have acclimated to your additional amalgamation of Batgirl very well." Xander Harris was looking at a series of screens that showed different angles of her battle. "If a foe shows some rudimentary invulnerability, don't rely on a kick to the groin to bring them down. Just assume that they many be invulnerable there, too. Only in extreme situations should you attempt it, but still don't count on it."
"It worked on Mister Hyde, so I just figured Tombstone…"
"You figured wrong. All guys are not the same. We all have different weaknesses." He shuffled awkwardly as he considered the weakness she had gone for in her attacks.
Hermione's fifteen-minute training regime had her solely using her Batgirl persona to familiarize her with the physical side of fighting. Her Starfire amalgamized side could have easily ended the fight with a couple of starbolts, but Xander insisted that to be part of a greater whole, she had to exercise all the abilities from both sides of her amalgamations. Somehow, Xander was convinced that this would help make Hermione more comfortable with Starfire's flying abilities.
"In a week, I am going to put together a team of opponents that will make you have to use both your Batgirl and Starfire abilities. This will involve at least some fighting while flying."
"What about her magic? When will she use that during her training?" asked Luna who was off to the side typing away on a computer terminal.
"A week or two after that," Xander stated. "I haven't forgotten that she is a witch. She's been using magic going on four years now. I just want her to also get in the habit of using her new abilities, too."
"Ok, is that everything on me?" Hermione asked.
Xander shrugged. "I guess, unless you or Luna want to add something."
"We want to discuss adding something to you," Luna said, turning to give Xander her full focus from her chair.
Having been one of the few males in a Slayer army, Xander knew when he was being set up for something. "How do you mean?"
"Well," Hermione began. "You been a very good sport about being brought to our universe and all and help us plot our way out from under Dumbledore's thumb, not to mention helping Harry be able to survive the Tri-Wizard Tournament. You've been stuck in that crystal cage for days even though it was originally only supposed to be one night."
"I've dealt with worse situations. This one witch doctor in Africa once had me trapped in-"
"We found a way to get you out of that cage," Luna interrupted, tracing the edge of the crystal cage he was sitting inside.
"Actually, Luna found the way to do it," corrected Hermione. "I just asked her if she could figure it out."
"Color me intrigued," Xander said, giving his best grin.
"It was rather simple since I became amalgamed with Valeria Richards," Luna stated. "I just need to see a problem, and soon I've already got most of it worked out."
"Considering that the problem was that I couldn't exist in this universe since I am from another one, and that stepping out might mean two possible things: I get zipped back to my universe lickity-split or, and this is the very sucky choice, I just cease to exist at all, which I am against because I like existing."
"The answer," began Luna, "is the very one you have been helping us with. You need an amalgam to keep you here. To make you 'legal' to be here. The only difference is that you need an amalgam with someone from this universe. And I have the perfect one right here."
She motioned with her eyes toward the screen.
Xander looked at the screen from his side of the glass wall, while Hermione joined Luna. Seeing the picture and name of the person led Hermione to gasp and cover her mouth.
"Um, I can see at least one person other than me having a problem with this," Xander commented.
"Actually, I think he'll approve of it."
Xander gave a nervous laugh. "Did I mention that I and magic have a really wiggy relationship? Magical things rarely go well around me. Prophecies are allergic to me as well. And then there is my dating history."
Hermione snickered. "Sorry. Had some of Starfire's memories come to the forefront of my mind. You're reminding me of Beast Boy with how he rambles verbally."
"That's not fair to use someone else's memories that you have amalgamated with to find me amusing!"
"Xander," Luna spoke quietly. "What is the real reason for your unwillingness to accept this?"
"I… I don't know. It's a big step. I mean, I know you kids were doing it, but to do it to myself?! It's kind of like never thinking about getting a tattoo before, but then your friends suddenly walk you into a tattoo parlor and you are definitely not drunk enough to just point to a tattoo you want on your backside… or armside or legside! And everyone is expecting you to get one or two tattoos because I already helped them into picking their tattoos!"
Before they could continue, the door to the hallway opened, admitting a platinum blond Slytherin.
"Daphne?" Hermione glanced at the others, knowing that their talk with Xander was on hold for now.
Daphne's eyes glanced around at the different people in the room, trying to understand what she had just walked into. "Hello, I was wondering… the magical energies stored up for the amalgamations? Is there enough to do an augment on one of my friends?"
Luna made the connections first since she had the incredible mental abilities of Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman's daughter's mind. "Is this about Tracy Davis?"
Daphne's shoulders fell. "Yes. My little tiff with Draco and his goons may have marked her as my biggest vulnerable spot. And then there is Astoria, too."
"Your sister, right?" asked Hermione.
Daphne nodded.
Luna nodded. "Fortunately, I've tweaked our magical battery some with Isabel's help so that we can still get several more amalgamations if we need to. However, it is still hard to say how long before and amalgams start to fade away. Some of the abilities may always be there, or they may all just dry up. It is hard to say even for me."
"But," Daphne spoke with a pleading look, "can we do something for Tracy and Astoria? I am very worried about them."
"There is more than enough power to change them," Luna said. "In fact, I was going to add a second amalgamation to myself tonight as it is."
Xander regarded Luna in surprise. "You were? This is the first I heard of it."
Luna nodded. "I may be a witch and a super-genius. But I can still be taken down in a fight easily, so I thought I'd add a little punch to my punch."
"You want to be a fighter?" Hermione asked in surprise.
"I want to be able to put up a good fight, if necessary," Luna clarified.
Hermione nodded. "Having socked Malfoy in the face before, I can understand that."
"That is something to aspire to," Luna said dreamily.
"It was rather pleasant," Daphne agreed. "I think my father is rather proud of what I did to Draco."
"Should we consult Harry and Neville first?" Hermione exchanged glances with everyone. "I mean about Tracey and Astoria."
Xander ran a hand through his hair. "You have them waiting out in the hall right now, don't you?"
Daphne blushed faintly. "I did say I was worried about them."
Hermione gave an exasperated sigh. "Let me have Dobby get Harry and Neville. I doubt they will object, but they will at least want to be here for the process."
~* Dumbledore's Office *~
"-and I can't get close to him because Granger is always there!"
Ginny stomped around the office, nearly mad enough to kick the table holding several of the headmaster's knickknacks.
"It'h truul," Ron agreed around a mouthful of lemon drops.
"Ronald, you really must stop putting so many sweets in your mouth at one time. I won't always be here to magically stop you from chocking to death."
Ron gave a slight roll of the eyes, having heard that many times before. Dumbledore considered making a decorative pin for Ron to wear that would magically keep his pawn from chocking to death. It would take him a month or so to construct properly, but he liked little projects like that in his spare time. He could probably present it to the boy as a Christmas present as a cover story. Maybe try and add a tiny portrait to spy for him as well. He hasn't been able to make a miniature portrait work before, but it is said that an American wizard once made several before some witches discovered them and obliviated his mind to that of a two-year-old.
"Somehow, Harry has been able to do some rather daring feats in rescuing Ms. Lovegood and Mr. Longbottom. I've only been able to get a few clear reports from the portraits on the stairs. They said Harry was leaping incredibly high and swinging from some sort of twine that he conjured."
"Of course he was," Ginny said with exasperation. "Have you never seen Harry on a broom?"
"He wasn't on a broom on the stairs, Ginevra."
Ginny winced at the family name her mother had given her. "I'm saying the portraits have never seen Harry on a broom, so they couldn't possibly know just how reckless he can be."
"I wanna know how we are going to punish the cheater!" Ron said, having swallowed his sweets. He glanced over at the candy bowl on Dumbledore's desk, but the headmaster sealed it over with magic so that he could have Ron's attention.
"Have either of you noticed any interactions between Harry and the Greengrass girl?"
"The Slytherin Ice Queen?" Ginny looked at the headmaster in alarm, "Has she set her eyes on my Harry, too?"
It could be as annoying as useful the way the two youngest Weasley siblings had their focus. "I do not know, which is why I ask. The elder Greengrass sibling has displayed some rather unique accidental magic earlier today. I am trying to determine if there is a correlation between the two of them."
"I saw Longbottom talking with the Slytherin bint the other day after Herbology."
"Language, Ronald."
"-whatever. Longbottom has basically taken my place in the Golden Trio. The squib could easily be passing messages between the snake and the traitor."
Dumbledore drummed his fingers on his desk as he considered that.
"Ginevra, are you able to get closer into Harry's group of friends?"
"I have been trying, unlike some." Ginny looked coldly at her brother. "But Granger won't let me get close to my Harry."
"What about the other friends in his group?"
"Fred and George? They aren't being very helpful lately. I don't know why," she pouted. "Granger assaulted me right in front of them and they didn't do anything to stop her."
Dumbledore sighed. "Are there any other friends?"
Ron snorted. "What, like Looney?"
"Ronald, I have told you that those kinds of derisive remarks will only drive Harry away from your company." The elder wizard considered the use of the imperius curse on the boy, but didn't think the boy had the intelligence to follow his instructions well enough to not give away the fact he was under the influence of the curse. "Befriending Ms. Lovegood could gain you access to valuable information."
"Headmaster," Ginny began. "Have you ever even tried to have a conversation with Luna?"
Dumbledore's pinched slightly as remembered the one time he tried to use legilimency on her when she was just a First Year. It felt like trying to dogpaddle while going down white-water rapids with rocks and boxing clowns hitting you as you are washed away. "Um, no. Not exactly. Though I have communicated with her father at times. It can be challenging to understand the Lovegoods."
"We'd need help for that," Ron muttered.
Dumbledore twisted a strand of his beard between his fingers. "Hmm, I may be able to provide some help with that."
"Any help would be appreciated," Ginny spoke.
"Oddjob!"
A small house-elf wearing a child's Alpine Lederhosen outfit appeared using a small cane to stand. "Oddjob here! What will Oddjob do?" The house-elf glanced around the room and at the two students.
Dumbledore rapped his knuckles once on his desk at gain Oddjob's sole attention. "Oddjob, this is Ron Weasley and his sister, Ginevra. They are working on a project for me. There may come a time when they require your aid. If they call for you, you will come to them." Seeing the glee in Ron's eye, Dumbledore added. "You will not supply them with food. Do you understand?"
The house-elf bobbed his head, flapping his ears. "Oddjob can do that! Oddjob can!"
"But food," whined Ron, looking rebellious.
"Ronald, if you can focus on the task I give you, and accomplish it, then I will have the house-elves make a private feast of all your favorite foods."
"Deal!" the boy declared.
"But what should we do?" Ginny asked. "How do we find out what is going on with them? How do I get my Harry?"
"We must be patient. It may take a while. Hopefully by the time of the First Task, they will have embraced you in their group again."
Ginny looked grim but nodded. "I can do that."
It took several more minutes, but he soon had the two Weasleys on their way to their dorms.
As soon as they left, Snape stepped out of the shadows. "Are they really the best we can use to get into Potter's inner circle?"
"Our options are limited, Severus."
"The girl may be of use. She has intelligence despite her focus on Potter. But the Weasley boy…, he is a disaster waiting to happen."
Dumbledore grimaced. "As I just told the children, we will have to be patient and see what comes available for us."
"Will Edgecombe and her two cohorts be returning to us any time soon?"
Dumbledore sighed heavily. "I am afraid Dowager Longbottom is insisting on harsher measures for the damage inflicted on her son's wand. Also, Madam Bones has obtained positive proof of Edgecombe, Bergiser, Spanner's culpability for the pregnancy of Sally-Ann Perkins by means of love potion."
"Still, she is only a muggle-born. Edgecombe and her group are pure-bloods."
"And Madam Bones is trying to make an example of them. Dowager Longbottom is lending her political aid to accomplish this." He raised his hands to forestall any more discussion on that. "What are your observations on the elder Greengrass girl?"
"Headstrong and independent. Bright. Cold and aloof. Somehow, she is close friends with Tracey Davis, a half-blood in her year. Daphne is also very protective of her sister."
"Any connection between Greengrass and Potter?"
The potions master paused in thought. "Possibly through Granger. The bookworm takes Runes and Arithmancy as does Greengrass and Davis."
"It's possible." He frowned. "So many different possibilities. We might not even be looking at the right pieces."
"They may be totally unrelated," commented Snape.
"In my experience, coincidences are very rare and unlikely. We just have to look harder."
"What about Moody? Couldn't he be used to spy on Potter and his ilk?"
"Alastor seems to have become even more peculiar in his old age. I am uncertain how he would react to such a request. In his paranoia, he may warn Harry of what we asked him to do."
"Are you saying that 'Mad-Eye' Moody… is mad?"
"Enough, my witty friend, but for now, let us try and be constructive."
They talked for two hours into the night and made no headway.
AuThOr'S NoTeS: 11/26/2021
Ok, just went through a bout of covid. It officially sucks. I do recommend getting some Ivermectin to get through it if you are older. It probably saved my life. Now I just have to deal with leftover bronchitis.
As for the story, I do have Xander Harris getting an amalgam from someone in the Potter-verse. I intentionally left it blank for now. I also didn't mention who Luna was planning on amalgaming with, but it should be fun.
As for Tracey Davis and Astoria Greengrass, I really haven't decided on their amalgams. I think I had something planned before I got sick, but my brain is only slowly coming back. Hopefully it was well enough to write this chapter.