Harry Potter and the Goblin of Fire Ants

Chapter Four

What if someone stated the obvious?

By

Jason Richard

After the game, they all walked back to their tent, talking excitedly about what they had just seen.

"Wow!" said Harry. "That game was amazing!"

"Yeah!" said Ron. "It was the best game I've ever seen!"

Harry: "Incredible!"

Ron: "Stupendous!"

Harry: "Waiting five hours for you to show up was worth it!"

Ron: "Walking for hours to get there was worth it!"

Hermione: "I did quite enjoy myself. It might even be worth it for the horrible things that are inevitably going to happen this year."

Harry and Ron stopped walking, and Hermione turned around to watch them. She rolled her eyes.

"Oh come on," said Hermione. "You know it's coming. Quirrell and Voldemort going after the Sorcerer's stone? The Basilisks attacks? Sirius causing a ruckus, not getting proven innocent and the real killer getting away? We have a bit of a pattern of horrible things going on, don't we?"

"Well yeah," said Ron. "But you don't have to say it out loud. We don't need to jinx it."

Hermione: "Don't be silly Ron. I'm not going to jinx anything."

Random wizard: "Run! Death Eaters are attacking!"

As the man ran by, magic spells sounded in the distance, and the boys looked at Hermione with angry glares.

Hermione: "Oh. Right. We're wizards and witches. Of course I can jinx things. Sorry."

They run, and unfortunately, they could see, in the distance, people in creepy masks levitating some poor muggles in the air. For a moment Harry wanted to do something, but then something occurred to him.

Harry: "My wand is gone!"

He was reaching inside his clothing for it, but couldn't find it.

Suddenly Winky the house-elf flew past them, screaming, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" as if pulled along by an invisible force.

"Huh," said Ron. "That was weird."

Harry: "Never mind about that! My wand is missing!"

"Morsmordre!"

And a skull with a snake slithering out of its mouth appeared in the sky like an aurora.

"Oh I knew it!" cried Hermione. "This years horribleness has already begun!"

"Hermione!" cried Ron. "Don't…"

Suddenly Aurors popped up with their wands and shouted, "You're all under arrest!"

"Jinx it…" said Ron, exasperated.

"Oh come on!" said Hermione. "I'm not that powerful!"

"Silence!" said the head of the Aurors. "I'm Barty Crouch, and you're all under arrest. Which one of you summoned it? Hmm! The Dark mark!"

"None of us summoned it!"

Crouch: "A likely story. So if you didn't summon it, who did?"

Random Auror: "Sir we found a house-elf with a wand."

Crouch: "Ah hah! I knew it couldn't be a bunch of schoolchildren!"

Ron: "Could have fooled me."

Crouch: "Silence! Alright, you little house elf. Your master is going to be in big trouble for what you've done."

Auror: "It's your house-elf sir."

Awkward silence.

Crouch: "Oh."

More awkward silence.

Harry: "Hey! That's my wand!"

…

Winky the house-elf was given clothes from her master, gaining her freedom. This seemed to upset her for some reason. Harry got his wand back, and the four of them left the scene. As they walked back, they remained silent.

"Don't say anything," said Ron. "No one talk about bad things happening. We don't want to jinx anything else."

"We heard you the first time Ron," said Hermione.

They continued to walk, slowly and silently.

"You know," said Harry. "I've actually got a good feeling about this year. Nothing bad is going to happen, we'll get good grades, and Gryffindor will with the Quidditch cup."

1 Week Later:

Dumbledor: "Quidditch is cancelled, will be replaced by a tournament that threatens dismemberment and death, and your grades will likely suffer as a result."

The pair of them glared at Harry.

Harry: "But I was talking about something good! Not something bad!"

Hermione: "The results speak for themselves Harry."

Harry: "Doggone it."