Part 1

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Cedric walked out of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom stretching. The final exam had taken three hours, and he along with most of the other students looked ready to faint. Professor Moody had tested them in every way imaginable.

The stone hallway clicked under his shoes as Max walked up to him. "So, how do you think you did?" She beamed with energy.

"All right I hope. How are you not ready to fall over after that?" He yawned.

"Uh, I get proper sleep. You on the other hand seem to cram like crazy the day before an exam. Seriously, your mind needs rest to think right." She rolled her eyes.

"This coming from the girl who stayed up for three weeks on a bet and still managed to hit the snitch with a bludger, sending it into my hand to win a match?" Cedric shook his head. "Seriously, how on Earth?"

Max shrugged as the two walked. They stopped when they heard some sort of animal growl. Cedric drew his wand. "Max, did you hear that?"

"Yeah." She drew her wand looking around as the sound stopped.

Cedric stepped carefully and the sound started again. "It's coming from below us." He stopped looking down at the floor, and the sound stopped again. "Wait, what the heck?"

Max looked at Cedric. As he started walking again, the growl came back. "Hang on. Cedric. Stop walking for a second." Cedric raised an eyebrow and stopped. So did the growling. "Ok, take one step." He took one step and heard one growl.

Cedric looked at his feet. "What is going on?" He put his wand away. Max and Cedric looked at each other confused as laughing came from the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Cedric rolled his eyes. "Oh, someone charmed my feet. I guess I'll just dispel it."

Fred and George walked out from the room smiling. "Yeah, good luck with that. It's a little beyond your skills."

"So, you think you're better with jynxes than I am. You know that's my specialty right?" Cedric smiled confidently.

"Oh no. We know we're better." Fred and George high fived.

"Really. That's a bold claim, even from the guys who got Harry out of the Hospital Wing. Care to put your money where your mouth is?" Fred and George both looked at Cedric with renewed interesrt. "Let's see who can do better on the Charms exam."

"A wager huh?" George raised an eyebrow. "Sounds interesting. I'm not a fan of tests, but I'm game."

He looked at Fred who smirked. "I guess we take our average vs. your score?"

Cedric nodded. "Sounds fair. But if I win, you two have to stop pranks for a week."

"Typical prefect." Fred rolled his eyes. "Ok, but if we win, you have to help us with our biggest prank yet."

Cedric raised and eyebrow. "All right sounds fair."

Max laughed at Fred and George. "You guys really think you're better than Cedric at charms? He got an Outstanding on his O.W.L."

Fred and George looked at him. "Oh yeah. You're going down."

Cedric shrugged. "All right." He stretched an arm out. "Deal?"

Fred and George each shook his hand. "Deal."

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Part 2

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Cornelius Fudge sat back at his desk thinking. The lamps filled his office with light and he could feel the warmth from the roaring fireplace, but there seemed to be a cold darkness seeping in through the black tile walls. He looked over a letter from Azkaban that didn't seem quite right, but he couldn't focus on that now.

Crouch was on the move. He was sure of it. Three people had gone missing in the last week, and something, and who else could be responsible? Ollivander thought it was Voldemort, but that didn't make sense. Even if he was still alive, which he had to admit was possible, he'd been in the shape of some creepy baby according to Diggory. He wasn't a threat yet. Right now he had to focus on Barty Crouch, Sirius Black, and the mysterious man who held Voldemort's wand. Harry had said it was Peter Pettigrew, but he must've just bumped his head of something. Pettigrew had been dead for 13 years, no one could hide that they were still alive for that long Right?

But none of them had popped up. If he let out to much information it would cause a panic, but he had to make sure people were safe. Fudge looked back at the letter the Azkaban letter. Why did he get a bad feeling about it? Could there be more danger than he was aware of?

His thoughts were interrupted when Dolores Umbridge stepped opened the door. "Oh Dolores! Good, I need to speak to you."

"Of course Cornelius. What seems to be the problem? You seemed urgent in your letter." She smiled

Fudge sighed. "I've had some concerns over the past few weeks, and I need advice from an old friend. With Crouch escaping, I can't help but feel that he's somehow responsible. I don't know what to do to stop them. And Ollivander seems to think Voldemort's alive. I'm just not sure what to do."

"I think old Ollivander may be going senile. You Know Who was killed by Harry Potter. And Sirius Black seems like more of a threat than this Crouch Jr. figure. After all, he escaped Azkaban on his own. You saw Crouch's will." She said taking a seat.

"I know." Fudge stood up and started pacing. "But what if this is something more?"

"What do you mean?" Umbridge raised an eyebrow.

"It feels like a growing conspiracy or something. There are answers I need to find before someone gets hurt." He kept pacing.

"Well...this all started with at Hogwarts didn't it? Maybe you just need to find answers there."

"But how? Dumbledore didn't seem to have answers. Moody got replaced by a death eater for months. Potter got hit by the killing curse. And the two people died, one of whom was the headmaster of Durmstrang!" He sat back in his chair. "What do I do?"

Umbridge was silent for a few moments faining thought. "Perhaps, you could send someone there. To gather information."

"Maybe. I guess I could send an auror find something out." Fudge thought for a moment then shook his head. "No. I can't risk wasting ministry resources with murderers on the loose. I need them tracking down major threats."

Umbridge looked at him for a few moments then her face lit up. "Oh! I know! Why not send me? Then you won't have to waste any of your best agents."

Fudge thought for a minute. "Send you? Well, Dumbledore did mention he was having trouble finding a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. You taught me back in the day. You still have the patience for it?"

"I would be happy to." She smiled as a dark glint ran across her eyes. "I'm always glad to help a child in need."

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Part3

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Madam Pince walked by Fred and George in the library, eyeing them suspiciously. "What are you two up to?"

"Shhh." George whispered at her. "We're trying to study."

She stepped back blinking, then narrowed her eyes. "Right...Well, sooner or later I'm gonna find out what you're really up to." She walked away looking back at them.

For the next week, Hufflepuff and Gryffindor had grown into a frenzy. The bet between Cedric and Fred and George had grown into a house war to see who had the most gifted students. Hufflepuffs were doing everything they could to help Cedric study, and Gryffindor was getting Fred and George ready. There were insults thrown around, much to the confusion of any teacher who asked what was going on.

When they talked to Hermione, she was skeptical, but willing to help. Ironically, by focusing on the bet so much, Fred and George had basically stopped pulling any pranks. The only exception was Filch who kept finding his shoes full of feathers and anonymous love letters.

Soon it was time for the Charms final exam, but the scores wouldn't be released for a week. As students grew restless to know which house had won the bet, Fred and George spent time initiating new members of the Giant Squid Cult. One student was getting initiated in Moaning Murtle's bathroom, and Murtle couldn't help laughing at the young Gryffindor.

Fred waved candle in front of the first year student. "What is our purpose?"

"To confuse teachers and cause chaos."

George nodded. "Correct. Who won the tri-wizard tournament?"

"The giant squid."

Fred nodded chuckling to himself. "Correct. Who's the baldest wizard in the world?"

The Gryffindor gulped. "Baldemort."

Fred and George smiled. "Welcome to the Giant Squid Cult Jimmy."

Murtle rolled her eyes. "You know, cults are supposed to be a bad thing."

"Exactly…" Fred and George laughed.

After a week had passed. Fred and George got their scores back, as did Cedric. Students from Hufflepuff and Gryffindor were gathered around to see who won. Cedric looked at his score smiling and showed a score of 95. Several Hufflepuffs cheered thinking no one else could get that high of a score.

George smirked showing his test score, 96. The Gryffindor students cheered, and Cedric looked at George stunned. The Hufflepuff students gaped, sweating. Finally it was Fred's turn. Everyone watched with anticipation. He flipped the paper over to find a 93. A very high score, but not enough to beat Cedric.

The Gryffindor students sagged as Hufflepuff cheered. Cedric smiled at Fred and George breathing a sigh of relief. "Not bad, but looks like I win."

Fred and George looked at each sighing in defeat.