Chapter Six
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does and unfortunately I am not her.
Summary: After the Second Wizarding War, a Guardian was given to each child of the main families that helped in the war. They were all tasked with a simple job, protect their allocated person with their life. Somehow, Freya screwed it up in the biggest way. She fell in love.
There are going to be a lot of OCs, but the focus is going to be on Freya.
Pullynnhah: Yes, the Guardians look after their charges even after they graduate. Guardians have to look after their charge until they (the Guardian or charge) dies.
HARRY POTTER
Four days later
It had now been a week since Durmstrang and Beauxbatons had arrived at Hogwarts. Now, everyone sat in the Great Hall eating their hearts out at dinner time. The Durmstrang seemed to eat quite a bit, but the Beauxbatons seemed to be a bit more reserved about the food. Freya had already heard some of the girls complaining about the food. However, at the moment every Guardian seemed to be tense. That was because of the results of who the Champions and Shields for the schools would be revealed tonight.
Freya had been vigilant and made sure that James' name hadn't been put into the flames. But her job seemed to have been made easy since James didn't seem interested in entering at all. Someone in Gryffindor had made a joke about James entering to follow in the footsteps of his father. James didn't find it very funny and neither did Freya. In fact, none of the Potter-Weasley family seemed interested, which was a relief.
Freya knew it was time, they were going to be announcing the contestants for the Triwizard Tournament. Freya looked over to the Durmstrang boys who were sitting with the Hufflepuff's – which was an amusing sight to behold. The males from Durmstrang were big, bulky and intimidating while the Hufflepuffs were half the size of them. The Hufflepuff's looked extremely nervous around them. However, there were some Hufflepuffs that managed to make conversation with the huge brutes, which again wasn't very suspiring. Beauxbatons, however, were sitting with the Gryffindor's, and to say most of the male population was happy with this was an understatement. Freya watched as James made his move on multiple Beauxbatons girls; who looked all too happy to receive attention from James.
Freya rolled her eyes as she watched James whisper into a girl's ear.
Quickly, Freya looks at the girl James was giving his attention to. She was tall, maybe one or two inches taller than James. She was pretty and looked slim, she has blonde hair and brown eyes. She seemed bashful though, and so unlike the usual girls, James goes for.
Freya knew exactly what type of girl James goes for. She's been watching him for five years now. She knew James like the back of her hand, not by choice though. James tended to go for girls that were small, confident and sexy. Freya had never seen him go for the bashful type. Freya smirked to herself, that girl doesn't know what she's getting herself into. James was one of the biggest players in Hogwarts, with Fred right behind him. It wasn't unusual to find them with different girls every week or so.
McGonagall stood up once all the food disappeared. This gained McGonagall everyone's attention instantly and all the chatter evaporated. She walked around and stood next to the Goblet of Fire. McGonagall cleared her throat. "The time to choose our Champions and Shields has arrived." She said, trying to sound enthusiastic, but to Freya, it sounded forced.
However, Durmstrang applauded, not taking any notice of the sombre mood in the Hall. The Beauxbatons' seemed reserved and delicately clapped their hands together. The Hogwarts students also seemed a bit more reserved, particularly the Potter-Weasley family.
Headmistress McGonagall sent them all a look but said nothing on the matter.
"If your name is called, please come up to the stage," McGonagall said as she watched the Goblet intensely, waiting for it to change colour.
A moment passed and the flames of the cup changed colour. They changed from a white-blue colour to red and sparks began to fly from it. Suddenly, a small ball of fire burst from the Goblet. The flame grew smaller and when McGonagall grabbed it, the fire had completely extinguished. In McGonagall's hand was a piece of parchment, which was charred by the fire.
Freya took a deep breath. She knew that James was safe, she had made sure of that. But there was always that chance she could have missed something. If James did end up being picked, she would have to become his Shield. Freya had learned a lesson from an older Guardian and it was to always come up with back up plans. In this business, it will be more than likely that things will not go as planned. Freya had listened to that advice and had taken it to heart. Looking around the room, Freya could see that all other Guardians were holding their breath also.
McGonagall looked down at the parchment with a blank expression. "The Champion from Durmstrang is Roman Petrov!" McGonagall announced strongly and loudly.
Durmstrang cheered loudly as Roman stood up, a proud and smug look on his face. He was being petted and hugged by his fellow classmates, all proud of him for being picked. He swaggered his way over to the stage and stood in front of everyone smirking.
Freya rolled her eyes, he seemed to have more confidence than James. This only seemed to annoy her further.
Vladimir clapped slowly, a proud and smug expression on his face.
"And now, who will volunteer from Durmstrang to be his Shield?" McGonagall asked, looking at the Durmstrang who had quietened down as she spoke.
A few seconds of whispering later, a single hand raised itself. "I will." Said the booming voice of Ivan Krum as he stood so everyone could see him. It would be hard to miss him though, he was built like a bull.
Ivan went up to stand by Roman, both of them exchanging proud looks to one another. However, Ivan seemed more laid back and quiet. Vladimir stood up and walked out of the hall and into a side room for the Hall, with Roman and Ivan right behind him.
The flame changed to red once more, and a piece of parchment spat out and landed in McGonagall's hand. She looked at it briefly before announcing it to everyone. "Beauxbatons' Champion is Alicia Laurent!"
Alicia stood up, a happy look on her face. She was hugged by many of her fellow classmates, all happy to see her enter. Alicia gracefully made her way up to the stage, she looked around the room with confidence and winked at a few boys, making the swoon and chant her name.
Freya sighed silently and looked in James direction.
James was staring at Alicia with wide eyes.
Freya sneered, not surprised in the slightest. Alicia was definitely his type, and apparently, James was everybody's type, considering on how many girls he's been with.
Renée smiled at the choice as she delicately clapped her hands.
"And her Shield?" McGonagall asked, shooting the males in the room scolding looks. However, she was sending withering looks to the males of Hogwarts, expecting them to act with more decorum.
It was silent for a moment as people began looking at one another. "I will." A male voice said from the Beauxbatons side. The male looked delicate and resembled Alicia very closely, however, didn't look as confident as Alicia. Looking back and forth between the two, Freya quickly realised that they were both siblings.
Renée gracefully stood up and walked to her students, a wide and beautiful smile on her face. Looking happy, she guided Alicia and her brother into the side room where Durmstrang's Champion and Shield were.
The flame changed red for the last time as parchment was spat out of the fire and into McGonagall's hand. She looked at the paper briefly, and her face paled considerably.
Freya felt her insides turn to ice.
It couldn't be James, could it?
When McGonagall didn't read the name straight away, whispers began breaking out. Why wasn't she saying anything?
Finally, McGonagall looked up and said. "Albus Potter." The shock in her voice rang out loudly and seemed to echo against Hall's stone walls.
The Hall went silent, no one in Hogwarts was cheering and quite frankly, everyone looked shocked. To enter the tournament, you had to be seventeen years old with how dangerous it is, and Albus was only fourteen years old. However, just like his father, Albus Severus Potter had managed to get past that.
Slowly, Albus made his way onto the stage, looking at his family with fear in his eyes. McGonagall sent him a sympathetic look.
"Now for his Shield," McGonagall said, looking to Albus' Guardian and sending her a sharp look.
Freya immediately looked for Rebecca Singleton, she was Albus' Guardian. She had to volunteer, it was her duty to. Freya found her and saw Rebecca with her mouth wide open and her eyes wide in shock. She hadn't moved an inch and it didn't look like she was going to volunteer anytime soon. Freya sighed and shook her head, she wasn't going to get off with this lightly if someone else volunteered to protect Albus. Rebecca would be punished severely if word got to Lance. Word would get out as well, even if Freya didn't say anything.
Freya spared a glance at James and her heart nearly stopped beating when she did.
James was about to raise his hand and volunteer.
Freya mentally cursed James, what was that idiot doing? He couldn't volunteer, if he did then she would get in so much trouble and so would Rebecca. Freya quickly looked to Rebecca again, and she still hadn't moved, she wasn't going to volunteer.
James raised his hand and was about to stand up.
Freya's eyes widened as she jumped up. "I volunteer!" Freya shouted out before she even realised what had done. That's when she felt everyone's gaze on her. Freya looked around and saw people staring at her in confusion. Cordelia looked ready to scream. Katrina gasped loudly and Ryan nearly fell off his chair.
It took a moment for her to realise what she had done. For a moment, she panicked. But she hid that. Holding herself high, Freya made her way over to the front, standing next to Albus. Albus looked at her, confusion written on his face. He didn't recognise her at all. However, Freya didn't look at him and turned her head away from him.
Taking a chance, Freya looked at James. He was looking directly at her, confusion also was written all over his face.
"That is all, return to your dorms," McGonagall ordered sternly before motioning for the Albus and Freya to follow after her. McGonagall seemed tense and she slightly biting her bottom lip, something McGonagall didn't do often.
They walk into a room nearby, one that Freya hadn't been in before. It looked like a private office with a desk and lined with books. They looked like old books that had been used a lot. There were also vials of potions lined up on the wall.
Alicia looks at Freya and Albus. "What are you doing here?" She asked, a slight sneer in her tone. Her French accent was very faint and not very strong.
Alicia's brother, Isaak, looked at her with exasperation. He shook his head and sent apologetic looks to Albus and Freya.
McGonagall sighed. "They are Hogwarts' Champion and Shield." She admitted, but she didn't sound very happy with it.
There was a moment of silence, they were all processing this information. Freya was watching their reactions, particularly the Durmstrang's reactions. Roman looked ready to kill, while Ivan looked slightly shocked. He didn't seem to make a big deal of it. He more than likely heard stories from his father – Viktor Krum – about his experience in the tournament.
"Is this some sort of joke?!" Vladimir shouted out, his Russian accent was very profound and angry. His loud voice seemed to echo harshly against the stone walls. It almost made Freya want to cover her ears at how loud it was.
His tone did make Albus flinch. Albus seemed to cower away from Vladimir and he began looking for an escape route.
Freya reached for her wand, just in case. It not have been her duty to protect Albus, but she would make an exception. Freya didn't like Vladimir's tone either and she certainly didn't trust him or his students.
McGonagall sent Vladimir a glare, not liking his tone one little bit either. "I assure you, this is no joke." She said, holding her head up high, looking down at him.
"Well, what do you expect us to think? This is the second time an underage student has been placed in this tournament." Renée commented with a scornful expression on her beautiful face.
Alicia nodded her head, agreeing with her headmistress.
"Why don't we ask him?" Isaak suggested, sending his sister an annoyed look. His French accent also seemed to be very faint.
McGonagall nodded her head and turned to Albus. "Did you put your name in the Goblet?" She asked calmly, looking directly at the young Potter. She sent him an expecting look, already knowing the answer. Albus was a sensible boy and wouldn't have done something so stupid.
Albus shook his head. "I didn't." There seemed to be a look of desperation in his eyes, he wanted McGonagall to believe him. He genuinely hadn't placed his name in the Goblet of Fire, he had heard enough stories from his father to make him want to run for his life.
"Lies!" Vladimir shouted out in anger.
"How dare you mock us?" Renée sneered back, her hand itching for her wand.
Freya stayed quiet and watched everything happen in silence.
"Regardless of this, Albus has no choice but to participate. By his name being chosen, he is now contracted to this tournament." McGonagall said with a sigh in her tone. It was just like having Harry Potter back in Hogwarts once more. It seemed trouble would always follow the Potter family.
Alicia looked over at Freya. "And what of her?" She asked with a slight sneer in her tone. Even with such an ugly expression, her beauty really shined through.
Freya looked at Alicia directly in the eyes. "There are no age restrictions for the Shield." Freya simply said with a blank expression. She could fully understand Vladimir and Renée's anger. By her and Albus being in the tournament, it was looking down on both schools. It was almost saying that a fourth year and sixth year could beat the seventh years. It was like laughing in their faces. But that anger made them dangerous.
McGonagall nodded her head. "Exactly. If you have an issue with this, I suggest you take it up with Lance Johnson. He is the one who designed this tournament." She said a look of hidden disgust in her eyes.
Freya tensed, she did not know this.
Renée and Vladimir nodded their heads but said nothing more. They stormed out of the room with their students following behind them. As they left, Roman glared at Freya and Albus, but it was mainly directed to Albus more than anyone.
Albus seemed shaken by his glare, but Freya remained emotionless.
Sighing, McGonagall looked to them. "Now, off to bed." She said, but she looked at Albus and not Freya when she did.
Albus wordlessly nodded his head and quickly left.
Once alone, McGonagall placed a silencing charm around the room. "What happened?" She asked the moment it was safe too.
"James was about to volunteer," Freya said dryly, looking annoyed. She hadn't expected this at all. Out of all the possible scenarios she had invented in her head, this wasn't one of them. She had thought if James was safe then so was she, but it looked like she was wrong. She had volunteered without thinking because she knew that if James entered, she would face serious consequences. Letting her charge participate in the Triwizard Tournament would have basically been a death sentence for her.
McGonagall frowned, but she seemed understanding.
"I take it you didn't know that Lance was in charge of this tournament?" McGonagall asked, arching a brow at the younger Gryffindor.
Freya shook her head. "I was never informed." There was bitterness in her tone. Freya didn't like being surprised very much. She liked to know what was going on at all times and to be in control. The only surprise that Freya ever had were not good ones.
McGonagall thinned her lips. "Neither was I until recently. Apparently, Mister Shacklebolt took a lot of convincing to let him through."
Freya frowned. For Lance to have convinced Shacklebolt, that would have meant Lance was desperate to be in charge of this. Usually, Lance didn't take up extra jobs in the Ministry because he was happy running the Ministry of Guardians. But something must have changed. He had never mentioned anything in the review either. As much as Freya would hate to admit it, sometimes it was useful having Lance so close to her family because he would always tell her about any changes. Freya was usually one of the first to find out anything.
"Miss Williams, may I please see your pendant for a moment?" McGonagall asked.
Without saying anything, Freya pulled out her pendant so McGonagall could see it. However, she made no move to remove it from her being. Guardians weren't allowed to take their pendant off at all and if any Guardian did then there would be serious consequences. With the pendant visible, McGonagall took out her wand. Under her breath, she muttered a spell. The tip of McGonagall's wand lit up and the light engulfed the pendant before it disappeared entirely.
"I've added a healing charm to the pendant. This should provide you with protection in the Tournament." McGonagall said before putting away her wand.
Freya nodded her head and hid the pendant back under her robes.
"Now, off to bed with you," McGonagall instructed, waving her off. As she left, she took down the silencing charm around the room.
Freya wordlessly left the room.
She began her walk back to Gryffindor common room, but she soon did a U-turn and began heading down to the dungeons, where the Slytherin Common room was. As she walked, Freya could feel the anger bubble up inside her. It didn't take Freya long to reach the Slytherin common room. But she stayed outside and sent a magical note inside, addressed to Rebecca.
Within moments, Rebecca stepped out of the common room with an uneasy expression.
"Follow me," Freya ordered sharply before turning around. She began walking down the corridor until she came across an empty classroom. The air was awkward and tense. Rebecca didn't dare say anything and just looked at the ground with her head bowed. For some reason, this only annoyed Freya even more.
Once inside, Freya took out her wand and placed a locking and silencing charm on the room. Turning around, Freya glared at Rebecca with her icy eyes.
Instantly, Rebecca broke.
"I am so sorry!" Rebecca cried out, and her body began to shake. She held her hands together as though she was praying. "I just froze-!"
However, she didn't get to finish. "I don't care." Freya hissed lowly, making Rebecca freeze.
Rebecca's eyes widened as she stuttered, "B-but-"
"I said I don't care!" Freya yelled out, her magic reacting strongly to her anger. The atmosphere began to feel tenser, and Rebecca almost found it hard to breathe. But she didn't know if that was because of how scared she was or Freya's magic.
Freya took a step forward, backing Rebecca into a wall. "You have been Albus' third Guardian and the longest one at that. I thought you would have done better but obviously, I was wrong." She sneered at the end, her magic swirling around dangerously.
Rebecca shakily nodded her head. "I-I am I swear!"
Scoffing, Freya answered back. "Yet you froze when Albus needed you the most. Now you've put me in a bad position because you didn't do your job." She had now been entered into the Triwizard Tournament because Rebecca didn't react quickly enough. Freya had thought she would have been safe by making sure James didn't get entered into the Tournament.
Rebecca fell to the ground, her legs had given out from nerves. "Please, please don't tell Lance." She begged, holding her hands up. Desperation shinned in her eyes and tears began falling from her eyes. She was scared and terrified. No Guardian ever wanted to be reported to Lance due to the consequences.
"Give me one good reason." Freya hissed lowly as she glared dangerously. Her eyes almost looked like they were glowing in the dark room. Her magic swirled around once more, crackling dangerously. The papers on the desk of the classroom began to fly around and the tables began to shake slightly.
Rebecca fell silent. She knew she couldn't answer that. It was a Guardian's duty to report anyone shirking their duties and that's exactly what Rebecca did. She didn't fulfil her role, she had let someone else do it. Rebecca had thought her position was safe, she had already had her review with Lance Johnson, but she knew she wouldn't be safe after this.
"My family will be disgraced and they'll hate me," Rebecca whispered softly, tears running thickly down her face.
Freya stopped for a moment and frowned. "Oh, that's not all that will happen." She said, her tone edging onto a hiss. But she was calm, she no longer felt angry anymore. Her magic had now calmed down and was no longer making the air tense.
Rebecca looked at Freya, still crying and holding back a sob in her throat.
Freya moved her face closer to Rebecca's. "If you think that's all that will happen when you're a fool. You'll more than likely be punished severely by Lance, and I mean severely." Freya didn't actually say what would happen, but she let it hang in the air.
If Lance found out, Rebecca would die.
Rebecca's eyes widened in realisation as the sob left her throat and racked her body.
"No one leaves the role of a Guardian alive," Freya whispered softly. This was a hidden clause within the group. This little fact was never made known to Kingsley Shacklebolt or to anyone. Only Lance and the actual Guardians knew about this. The worse part was that they couldn't even tell anyone. If they did, they would face pain worse than the Crucio Curse.
Sobbing heavily, Rebecca fell to the ground and began to cry louder.
Freya sneered at her, finding the display of emotion disgusting. She didn't deal well with people that were crying, that was usually Katrina's job. Katrina always knew how to comfort someone, but Freya had no idea.
For a while, Freya stood there and watched Rebecca.
At that moment, Freya's thoughts began to drift. For a moment, Freya thought of Kyle – someone she hadn't thought of in a while. Kyle had made a mistake by leaving Caitlin Finnegan alone while he continued with his Guardian Training during the summer. This wouldn't have been bad, but then the Finnegan household had been attacked and she went missing. It was a mistake. No one could have guessed that the Finnegan Household would have been attacked. It was completely unpredictable and out of the blue. There was no warning and no signs that the Death Eaters were building up for an attack.
As a result, Kyle was killed for 'negligence'. The very thought of it made Freya angry.
Freya knew that she should report Rebecca, but she knew that if she did then she would be responsible for Rebecca's death. But, if she didn't report Rebecca then she would get in serious trouble if found out.
"Have you had your review?" Freya asked in a calm tone. Her magic had slowly calmed down, making the air less tense.
Rebecca nodded her head while still sobbing heavily. Her body was heavily shaking and her hands were covering her face.
"How is your Occlumency?" Freya asked.
Rebecca looked up, her eyes red and puffy with some snot running down her nose. "W-why d-do yo-you ca-care?" She asked, having to take deep gulps of breath.
Taking a deep breath, Freya frowned. "I won't say anything."
Rebecca's jaw dropped slightly in disbelief. "W-what?" She asked, her voice cracking and sounding breathless.
Freya crossed her arms over her chest. "Just make sure this doesn't happen again-"
She never got to finish properly. Rebecca had jumped up and hugged the older girl. Immediately, Freya tensed and gently pushed Rebecca off her. But the other girl didn't seem to care, the happiness in her eyes and the massive smile on her face made Freya not say anything. It almost made Freya smile.
"Thank you!" Rebecca exclaimed, wiping the snot from her nose with her sleeve.
Freya sneered, looking slightly disgusted.
"I swear you won't regret this!" Rebecca said, practically bouncing on the spot. She was certain that she going to die. She was certain that Freya would tell Lance and that would be it. Rebecca had always thought Freya to be an ice queen, but maybe Rebecca had judged too quickly.
Freya looked at her. "No one can know about this. You need to work on your Occlumency skills."
Rebecca nodded her head frantically, "I will! I will! I won't let you down."
Freya looked directly into her eyes. "Make sure you don't." With that, Freya turned around and undoes the charms she placed around the room before leaving.
HARRY POTTER
Later that night
James lay in his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He had left his curtains open and a nearby window open to let some air in. James was always a naturally warm person so he usually slept shirtless and he would more than often push his covers off. Turning his head, he saw all the people in his dorm were asleep. Fred was basically hanging out of the bed and nearly on the floor. He was always a restless sleeper and tended to move around a lot.
However, James felt very confused. For years, he had felt like someone was always there in the background. James wasn't an idiot. He had noticed the fact his school work would always end up getting better grades than it deserved. He hadn't noticed at first, but then he accidentally found out. He had seriously messed up in a test in Herbology and James knew he would have failed. But somehow he passed. Professor Longbottom could be a harsh maker at times. So, James began to test out this theory by doing terrible in some lessons, like potions. He knew that he didn't add wormwood into his potion that day, but somehow it ended up in there. James then started to get into trouble on purpose. He aggravated people on purpose, started fights on purpose and somehow James always never got hurt. James would make an enemy one day and then the next the person wouldn't even look at him.
Someone was protecting him, and he didn't know who. James had tried finding them, but he never could.
Every night, he would have these dreams of stormy grey eyes. James didn't know why, but he had a feeling that those eyes belonged to the person who was protecting him. James had tried searching for those eyes for two years and it was still a mystery to him.
He wanted to find this person and know why they were protecting him.
James had asked around, but no one seemed to know anyone with stormy grey eyes, so he gave up on asking people. He also couldn't find anyone in this school with those eyes either. It was almost like he had been making it up.
James' thoughts then strayed to earlier that night. He was going to volunteer to be his brother's Shield. There was no way he was letting his younger brother go in alone. The Triwizard Tournament was dangerous, their father had told them that much. As soon as James found out what was happening, he sent an owl to his father immediately. To say his father wasn't happy was an understatement.
James shuddered to think what his mother's reaction would be when finding out that Albus would be participating.
But that girl who volunteered to help Albus. He could see her, but her face was shrouded in mist, but he doesn't recall ever seeing her before.
Was she a new student?
Shaking his head, James dismissed that thought. Hogwarts didn't get new students so late in the year. That girl had to be at least sixth or seventh year. But James had never seen her before.
Had he?
HARRY POTTER
I did laugh to myself during their chapter. It was the part when McGonagall asked Albus if he put his name in the Goblet of Fire. This was kind of a dig at the Movie version when Dumbledore asked Harry the same question.
That was how Dumbledore was meant to ask Harry!
Tell me what you guys think so far!