Chapter 53
A week after the international dueling circuit, Harry and the others flooed back to Magical Britain and Miwa, who asked to join to attend the Quidditch World Cup. The dueling tournaments were as spectacular as always, with Harry managing to come out on top in both competitions. Daphne had it made the semifinals, for the magical duels and the sword duels, even though she lost. She still learned a lot about her opponents and their fighting styles when compared to hers. Thanks to the training she would do with Harry and Miwa, her skills became more refined.
After completing a morning workout, Daphne showered, got dressed, and went downstairs for breakfast. While walking down the stairs, the young heiress's mind drifted to the O.W.L.s she would have to take at the end of the year. Those thoughts followed her into the dining room, where she found her parents and younger sister already eating.
Cyrus watched as his oldest daughter filled her plate with food, though he could tell her mind was elsewhere. Then, taking a sip of his morning coffee, "Daphne?" When she didn't answer, he tried again, "Daphne!"
That snapped her back to reality "sorry, daddy, I was distracted."
"I can tell," he commented. "What's on your mind?"
"Probably thinking about snogging Harry in a broom closet," Astoria joked. Cyrus briefly choked on his breakfast while Roxanne patted him on the back.
Daphne sent a cold glare at her laughing sister that made her shut up. Ever since Harry and she were found asleep together in Japan, Astoria had become a nightmare. The little snot would often make jokes and tease her about their relationship. "If you must know, I was thinking about the O.W.L. exams I'd have to take at the end of the year."
Just then, a brown owl came delivering their school letters. Daphne hopped to her feet and retrieved her letter from the bird. She quickly swiped a strip of bacon off Astoria's plate and fed it to the owl. "Hey, that was mine."
Daphne grinned at her and sat back down while the bird flew off into the horizon. Her letter had a bit more weight to it, and when she opened it a green and silver badge with the word "Perfect" fell on the table.
Roxanne's eyes went wide when she saw the badge. "It looks like you made Prefect."
"That's my little girl" Cyrus had a big smile on his face and felt a rush of pride. He then looked at his watch "oh, I got to go," rising from his seat, he kissed his wife and daughters before leaving the manor. A wizengamot meeting was scheduled for the day, meaning that he wouldn't be home until later in the evening. The Minister had scheduled a Wizengamot meeting today, and Cyrus had a feeling that it was going to be important.
They continued with their breakfast. When done, Daphne and Astoria left for Davis manor. Tracey invited them along with Lilith, Miwa, Emily, and Luna the previous day for some girl time. After walking through the floo, the two were met by Lilith and Emily. Both girls wasted no time pulling the Greengrass sisters outside, where Tracey was adamantly talking with Miwa.
The brunette turned around and saw the others coming from the manor "glad you all could come today." She cast a look towards Daphne, "well, you seem particularly happy," leaning forward.
Daphne rolled her eyes as she knew Tracey was going to find out sooner or later. "I made prefect," pulling the badge out of her pocket.
Tracey's eyes went wide. "Damn, congratulations, you lucky duck." The others, except for Miwa, marveled at the badge in Daphne's hand. Luna, of course, had a dreamy expression on her face. "Now, if Malfoy or any of his cronies try to make life difficult for us, you can give them detentions."
"That's not the only good news either," Lilith came in. "Nicole sent me a letter saying that she obtained the required score to become Professor Snape's apprentice and was named Head Girl."
"Really?" Astoria asked.
"Really!" the said voice of Nicole was heard, causing them to turn around and see that she came. "Sorry, I'm late. I had to deal with a couple of things before coming over." She looked at Daphne "is it true? Did you become a prefect?"
"You tell me" Daphne showed her the badge that came in today.
"Amazing! Well, if the decision was up to me. I would have chosen you as well."
The girls went to sit on the lawn chairs and talk about what they've done most of the summer.
(0^0)
Meanwhile, Harry and Dora went to Borgin and Burke's shop in Knockturn alley; their task was to bring the swine to Blacks Castle for questioning. Harry had his elves follow the man for a few days and report back with anything of interest. During that time, Nymphadora was brought into the loop agreed to take his place so no one would suspect anything out of the ordinary. Before arriving in the shop, they hid in a private section of the alley and used their metamorphmagus abilities to change their appearances. Harry changed his skin tone to make it darker, his eyes became brown, and his hair became shorter. Dora turned into the oily manager, being metamorphmagi's certainly had its advantages. After making herself look like the man, she pulled out an invisibility cloak and covered herself.
Harry tapped the watch on his right wrist to let her know to keep communications up. She gave him a curt nod and waited outside for all clear. The disguised Harry walked out from his hiding place, entered the store, and walked towards the register. He rang the bell on the desk, and the proprietor emerged from his office. "What do you want?" he asked in a dangerous voice.
"Borgin, I require your services," the disguised Harry said, taking out a large bag of gold from his robes, placing it on the counter.
The moment Borgin saw the bag of gold, a big smile appeared on his face revealing his yellow teeth. "How may I be of service?" he asked again in a more neutral voice.
"What I require are things others shouldn't know about. Can we speak privately?"
Borgin licked his lips "this must be important," he commented. "I should warn you I don't come cheap" idly wondering how much money he could worm out of this person. The only thing on his mind was money.
A smirk appeared on Harry's face. "I assure you money is of no object to me. Should I get what I'm after, the reward will be great."
At hearing those words, Borgin's eyes twinkled, and he led the customer to his office. Harry grabbed the bag and followed into the office, all the while flickering his wand from its holster. When Borgin closed the door, Harry immediately hit him with a stunning spell and bound him in chains. He also removed the wand from the man's pocket and searched him for any emergency portkeys. Another few waves from his wand, the man had a blindfold over his eyes and an ear buzzing charm so he couldn't hear. "It's done," he said into his watch.
The next moment the disguised Dora walked in "act as if everything is normal. Be careful not to draw too much attention to yourself."
"Good luck," she nodded.
Harry mentally called Suzaku. The phoenix flamed in the room, landing on his shoulder, and nuzzled his face. When Harry grabbed Borgin by the collar of his robes, Suzaku trilled again and flamed the both of them to the Black's family dungeon, leaving Dora to mind the shop.
After depositing them in the dimly lit dungeon, Suzaku flamed out of the room again. Harry looked out the corner of his left eye to see Jack, Alex, and Arcturus in the corner waiting for them. The three came over. Arcturus wore a predatory smile as he summoned a chair and conjured a table with manacles. While he removed the chains from Borgin and placed the fool's hands in the manacles of the table, Harry quickly put his battle gear and mask on. Arcturus activated the wards in the dungeon and had them centered on Borgin. He wasn't going to take any chances with the swine, especially not after doing a thorough background check on him.
He briefly looked at the other; after getting affirmative nods, he revived the man and removed the ear buzzing charm. Borgin blinked his eyes to clear his vision and significantly paled the moment he saw the other four occupants "what the fuck is this? I haven't done anything illegal," his angry voice tried to mask his fear.
"Cut the bullshit, Borgin," Arcturus snapped. "We know how you operate" reaching into his robes, he pulled out a thick folder, "this is a list of all the illegal shit you've been involved in over the years. And pretty soon, you'll be placed in a holding cell to await your trial, but before that, we're going to have a chat." An evil smile appeared on his face when Borgin tried to move away, only to feel the effects of the wards around the dungeon. The pain was unlike anything he'd ever felt before.
"What… the… hell," Borgin hoarsely said while twitching.
"The pain you feel is a result of the wards in my dungeon. However, that was only a taste of what you will get should you try to escape. Make no mistake, you're going to Azkaban for a long time, though in what condition depends on how cooperative you are," Arcturus coolly warned him.
Borgin was many things, but he was no fool and knew that the old Black wouldn't hesitate to kill him. The Blacks were a dangerous family, and anyone stupid enough to cross them will either be dead or wishing they were. "What do you want?"
Jack gave him Salazar's locket. Arcturus dangled the object in front of Borgin, who was now ghostly pale "you know what this is, don't you?"
Borgin swallowed the lump in his throat. "I and I use to own it?"
"Where did you get it?"
"We bought it off a pale pregnant witch years ago" he stared at the locket as if it was a part of him. "This locket use to belong to Salazar Slytherin himself. It's priceless, and we only got it for ten galleons," laughing at the memory of the day they got it. "It still makes me laugh remembering how we got it so cheap," he continued laughing.
Shadow got behind him and slammed his head against the table. That made the man groan in pain "we're not in the mood for games, and slamming your head will be the least painful thing that happens to you today. Now, what else do you remember about this locket?"
"The woman we got it from said that it's been in her family for generations; obviously, she stole it from her family. Years later, Caractacus sold it to old Hepzibah Smith for a small sum. The old heifer just had to have it. As if it wasn't enough that she already had Hufflepuff's cup, she wanted the locket for her collection."
Arcturus gave Shadow a knowing look, telling him to continue. "Does the name Tom Riddle ring a bell to you?"
Borgin sneered at the mention of his former employee. "Caractacus little pet. The boy was a real charmer and could do his job well. He made us a lot of gold before disappearing on us."
"Did he ever meet with Smith?"
"A few times," he grudgingly admitted. "Caractacus sent him to her trying to regain the locket, but the bitch was dead set on not selling it. Even after she died, I tried to go to the Smith's estate to reclaim it, but it was long gone, along with our biggest moneymaker."
Alex grunted. "Very convenient!" Something was about to click. He could feel it. However, a cold feeling ran down his back. "Is that all?"
"Look, that all I know," Borgin dismissively said.
Alex narrowed his eyes at him, not believing for a minute what the man just said. "Shadow see what he knows?"
"Wait… what" he didn't get to finish as Shadow penetrated through his mind with legilimency. His shields may have been slightly above average, but he eventually broke them, gaining access to the man's mindscape. Shadow mask shielded the angry look on his face as he tore through the bastard's mind viewing all of his dirty secrets.
Ten minutes later, he pulled out of the man's mind and delivered a hard punch to his face breaking his nose in the process. "You're done!" He hit him with the mage's blast and stunning spell before ushering the others to follow him out of the dungeon.
When they were out of earshot, Harry explained what he saw in Borgin's mind; having looked through the man's portfolio was one thing. But his mind was another. He saw many things the man and his former partner did before and after the war. This clarity made his stomach turn as he made a mental note to add to the list of crimes the man had been involved in. After explaining everything, Harry left to go back home to his lab. All the while, his thoughts were about Luna's mother, Pandora. He would need to look more into how she passed away as Borgin had a secret meeting with some who wanted the woman out of the picture.
(0^0)
Three days later, Emily and Harry were invited to Luna's house. The pair asked their parents if they could leave and were given the green light. The two dressed in casual street clothes, Byakko and Suzaku, agreed to come and make sure nothing crazy happened. After looking at the clock, Harry and Emily walked to the apparition point of the castle, where he took her hand and apparated them to the Lovegood's house.
Appearing outside of the wards around the house, the two proceeded forward to the door. Although Emily used her ability to feel through the electrical fields, her senses told her that the majority Weasley family was home. She silently prayed they could avoid them. Harry placed a hand on her shoulder and sent a wave of comfort to ease her discomfort. The two shared a look, and Harry knocked on the door.
A moment later, Luna opened the door wearing her usual dreamy expression, along with radish earrings. "Hello Harry, Emily, please come in" she opened the door more so they could come in. "Daddy, my friends are here!" She said to her father, who was in the living room/workspace.
"Bring them in," Xenophilius said.
Luna lead them from the kitchen up the corkscrew staircase to the next floor, where her father would write the quibbler. When they arrived, the two siblings noticed the room was smaller and more cluttered than the kitchen. The circular room appeared somewhat of a labyrinth with piles of books and papers covering every surface. The ceiling was dotted with small, delicately made models of creatures that could flap their wings or snap their jaws. On the wall was an Erumpent horn.
Xenophilius was sitting at his desk "hello Mr. Potter, Ms. Stevenson," he greeted them warmly. "Pardon the mess, things have been busy for me at my job, and the number of subscribers for the quibbler has skyrocketed. Would you two like a cup of tea?"
"No, thank you," Emily politely declined. Harry shook his head.
"So, is Professor Snape coming?" Luna asked in a dreamy voice, making the two of them freeze. "I mean, he is your father, isn't he?" she looked at Harry.
"Damn those wrackspurts," he muttered. "Yes, he is my father. But, Luna, I cannot begin to express how confidential this information is. Should anybody from the outside find out, then it could mean trouble."
"It's alright, Harry, I understand," she said. "I've had a feeling the two of you were close, giving the way he's so strict with you."
"Before we go on," Harry took a breath, "I'm going to need you and your father to swear a magical oath saying that you will not reveal that information to anyone."
Luna saw the concern in his eyes and agreed. So together, she and Xenophilius made the vow, swearing not to intentionally or unintentionally say anything to anyone about Harry and Severus's relationship.
Xenophilius summoned some chairs for them, which they greatly accepted. Harry saw a picture of the man with his wife and daughter on his desk. He could see where Luna got her looks from, and her hair looked more well-kept. "So, what is it that you needed to speak to me about?"
Harry and Emily looked at each other for a minute before letting out a breath. "Mr. Lovegood, is that your wife?" gesturing to the picture on his desk.
"Yes! My Pandora" Xeno looked lovingly at the picture of his wife. He never got over the fact that she died and still missed her greatly.
"She's a very beautiful woman. I can see where Luna got her looks from," giving her a sad smile. Luna told him how her mother died when she was young. Pandora was an extraordinary witch who worked in the Department of Mysteries as a professional spell creator. One day one of her spells went badly wrong, and it cost her life. Composing himself, he spoke again, "I have some news for the both of you regarding her."
"What do you mean?" Xenophilius looked at him with a grave expression on his face. Emily maneuvered herself next to Luna and held her hand.
"What I'm about to say isn't going to be easy for me to say and won't be easy to hear," he warned. "But I have reason to believe that your wife was murdered" he saw the sorrowful look on the man's face. The dreamy expression on Luna's face changed into one of sadness. "Luna told me how she died a few years ago. I am truly sorry to be opening up old wounds. I just figured you should know this information."
Xenophilius looked at him "what do you know about my wife's death?"
Harry thinned his lips. "From what I know, she worked in the Department of Mysteries as a spell creator. Apparently, she was one of the best they ever had," he said in a neutral voice. "You see, a powerful friend of mine told me that someone purposefully went after her and wanted her out of the picture. He even found one of the people responsible for her death."
"Did this friend of yours tell you how many were involved? Or why she was targeted?" he asked in a shaking voice. Luna was now being comforted by Emily, for she now had tears streaming down her eyes.
"To his knowledge, he could confirm that Borgin of Borgin and Burke's had a hand in her murder," he explained. "According to him, Borgin had a secret meeting with two others, where he gave them a few things to help get the job done. Harry sucked in a breath "forgive me for being blunt, but do you still have your wife's wand?"
Xenophilius got up from his seat and went to his room. Five minutes later, he returned with the wand in hand "this is one of the few things I have left of her. Please don't destroy it!"
"I promise" Harry nodded. The moment his fingers touched the wand, he felt a rush of dark magic. Then, using his elemental sight, he read the magic in the wand, only to see a few things that weren't supposed to be there. "That's concerning!"
"What?" Luna asked. Harry gave the wand back to Xenophilius and sent a mental call to Severus telling him to come to his location. "They're some lingering traces of dark magic embedded in your mother's wand. I've sent a message to my father as this is forte. He should be here soon."
Xenophilius got up when he heard someone knock on the door. Going downstairs, he returned quickly with a man who looked to be in his mid-thirties. The man took his wand out and waved it over himself, dropping the glamour charm. A second later, Severus was back to normal "why am I here?"
Harry filled him on what he found in Pandora's old wand and how they're two different magical signatures embedded in it. "Since curses are your specialty, maybe you could identify who the signatures belong to."
Severus grunted before turning to Xenophilius "let me see it," he said coolly. Xeno held the wand up so he could examine it. Running an archaic diagnosis charm on the wand, he narrowed his eyes after getting the results. "The curses are taught at Durmstrang. As for the signatures, I know them well. One belongs to Leon Parkinson. The other belongs to Patrick Flint."
"Patrick Flint? As in Marcus Flint's grandfather?" Harry asked.
"The very same," Severus confirmed. "Both are death eaters who escaped Azkaban by claiming they were under the imperius curse."
"Can anything be done?" Xenophilius narrowed his eyes. They were now red with rage, and his face clearly said he wanted justice.
"Unfortunately, we can not do much," Severus replied. "Fudge will do everything he could to make sure his financial supporters stay out of prison."
"There has to be something," he insisted. "What about this powerful friend of yours? Can he do anything?"
"I'll pass the information to him and his partner" Harry began thinking about how he was going to deal with this situation. "At the moment, it can be another charge to Borgin's crimes. So you'll probably have to wait!"
Mr. Lovegood didn't like it but accepted his words, nonetheless. "When is the trial going to be?"
"Tomorrow at noon!"
"I want to be there," he said in a resolute voice. "That man took Pandora away. The love of my life! I want to be present when he gets his due."
"It will be done," Harry answered. "I will be at the meeting, so you will have to attend with me as my guest."
Luna got up from her seat and hugged him; tears were still in her eyes. "Thank you" was all she said before going up to her room. Harry turned to Emily "go on be with your friend." Emily didn't need to be told twice and followed Luna upstairs.
When the girls were gone, Xenophilius looked at Harry. "I don't know how to thank you enough for what you're doing for us. Even for Luna! She is all I have left in the world."
Harry waved it off. "Luna has been a good friend to Emily and me, and I know what it's like to lose someone you love."
The days leading up to the Quidditch world cup passed by relatively peacefully with hardly any issues. Harry kept his promise and allowed Xenophilius to accompany him to the wizengamot to witness the trial of Borgin. Alex and Jack delivered the oily man along with the information they had on him to Amelia. She carefully looked over the illegal activities the man had been involved in, either directly or indirectly. Her eyes were laced with anger as she read the charges on the man. During the trial, she had him questioned under veritaserum, and after reading through the charges, Borgin was convicted and sentenced to the dementors' kiss the next morning. Along with that, all his possessions would be seized, either destroyed or given to the people he'd wronged.
Harry didn't miss the irritated look on Dumbledore's face. He figured the old man probably knew all about Borgin's illegal activities or that Voldemort was his former employee. Either way, the man was going to be history come morning.
After the trial, Harry spent most of his time either working on his project or practicing his wandless magic. The only time he would come out would be to get some air or grab something to eat. A few times, Emily, Miwa, and Daphne had to pull him away from the lab as they didn't want him to burn out. He tried to argue that he was fine and that they didn't need to worry about him, but it fell on deaf ears as the girls were determined to make sure he got out every so often. Of course, it didn't help that Byakko and Suzaku found the whole thing amusing. More than once, Harry would glare at the pair.
(0^0)
That night in the outskirts of Little Haggleton sat a manor at the top of the hill. The cranky old caretaker was Frank Bryce. The man was seventy-seven years old, bald, mostly deaf, and had a bad leg. In 1945 he was accused of murdering the former tenants but was found innocent when the autopsy showed that they died of heart failure. His leg woke him up during the night as it began to hurt him more than usual. Deciding to go into the kitchen, he made himself a cup of tea. That was when he saw flashes of light coming from the old manor. "Damn kids," he muttered. The kids around the village were notorious for loud parties, grabbing a flashlight and keys to the manor. Frank left his small cottage and went to the manor to see what was happening, moving through the cemetery and entering the manor. He moved through the house to hear some voices and looked through the cracked door.
In the dark, barely lit room, a fire was crackling, and there were some dark hooded individuals all facing someone who was sitting on a chair. Then a sudden chill ran down his spine when he heard the person on the chair.
"Where is Nagini?" said the cold voice.
"I - I don't know, My Lord," said the first voice nervously. "She set out to explore the house, I think..."
"You will milk her before we retire, Wormtail," said the second voice. "I will need feeding in the night. The journey has tired me greatly."
Brow furrowed, Frank inclined his good ear still closer to the door, listening very hard. There was a pause, and then the man called Wormtail spoke again.
"My Lord, may I ask how long we are going to stay here?"
"A week," said the cold voice. "Perhaps longer. The place is moderately comfortable, and the plan cannot proceed yet. It would be foolish to act before the Quidditch World Cup is over."
"The - the Quidditch World Cup, My Lord?" said Wormtail. "Forgive me, but - I do not understand – why should we wait until the World Cup is over?"
"Because, fool, at this very moment, wizards are pouring into the country from all over the world, and meddlers from the Ministry of Magic will be on duty, on the watch for signs of unusual activity, checking and double-checking identities.
They will be obsessed with security, lest the Muggles notice anything. So we wait."
Does it have to be the Potter boy, my lord," Wormtail immediately shrunk away to compose himself, "not that I have any feelings for the boy, no, none whatsoever but another wizard would be easier to get at and take," Wormtail muttered. He still remembered the pain the boy inflicted upon him and had a bad feeling that what he got was only a sample of what the boy was capable of.
"You have some nerve questioning Dark Lord Wormtail" a female voice was heard this time and made Frank pale heavily at the cold, dangerous voice. "I should pick up where he left off and end your pathetic existence right now."
A cold laugh emerged from the man "as much as I enjoy your bloodlust Bellatrix. I will deal with this" the woman called Bellatrix backed away but still kept her eyes on Wormtail. "To your small brain Wormtail, Harry Potter is the one I require. While another wizard could be of use, he is the one I want. Once I get what I want from him, then I will kill him, then I might feed you to Nagini if you don't stop questioning me."
The more Frank listened, the more terrified he became, then heard movement behind him in the dark passageway. He turned to look and found himself paralyzed with fright.
Something was slithering toward him along the dark corridor floor, and as it drew nearer to the sliver of firelight, he realized with a thrill of terror that it was a gigantic snake, at least twelve feet long. Horrified, transfixed, Frank stared as its undulating body cut a wide, curving track through the thick dust on the floor, coming closer and closer - What was he to do? The only means of escape was into the room where the two men sat plotting murder, yet if he stayed where he was, the snake would surely kill him –
But before he had made his decision, the snake was level with him, and then, incredibly, miraculously, it was passing; it was following the spitting, hissing noises made by the cold voice beyond the door, and in seconds, the tip of its diamond-patterned tail had vanished through the gap.
There was sweat on Frank's forehead now, and the hand on the walking stick was trembling. The cold voice continued to hiss inside the room, and Frank was visited by a strange idea, an impossible ideal...This man could talk to snakes.
Frank didn't understand what was going on. He wanted more than anything to be back in his bed with his hot-water bottle. The problem was that his legs didn't seem to want to move. As he stood there shaking and trying to master himself, the cold voice switched abruptly to English again. Frank was about to turn to leave when he heard the person's hissing become normal again.
"My loyal death eaters, Nagini tells me that the old muggle caretaker is standing outside of the door listening in on our discussion. A small hand pointed to the door "turn me around so I can give him a proper greeting." The one called Wormtail complied and turned the chair around, revealing a hideous, deformed baby-like thing. It was the last thing Frank Bryce saw as he was immediately hit with an eerie green light.
(0^0)
The next morning, Harry got up early dressed in a green forest shirt, blue jeans, and dragonhide boots. He then went downstairs with Byakko and Suzaku, either resting on his shoulder or walking next. The three arrived in the dining hall and took a seat as the elves started bringing in the breakfast. Byakko received a few slabs of meat, Suzaku got a collection of different fruits, Harry dug into his porridge. While the three of them were eating, the others started coming in. Miwa was the first to enter. Her hair was in its usual ponytail; she had blue jeans and a light blue shirt on. Next was Emily. Her attire comprised a teal color shirt that said I am the sea and a pair of jeans.
Once they sat down, the other adults came down and began eating. Sirius was sporting a grin befitting a child who ate a few chocolate bars. Out of everyone going to the match today, he was the most excited. For the better part of a week, Sirius talked about the match between Ireland and Bulgaria. He even tried to make a bet with his godson, and each time Harry declined the offer.
Miwa looked at him "you ready for today?" eating a strip of bacon.
He nodded. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a military dog tag with the letter 'M' on it and wrapped the silver chain around his neck. "I'm not taking chances today. When I woke up this morning, I felt a rush of cold, as if something was going to happen at the World cup."
"Smart thinking" Miwa revealed that her I.D. tag was already around her neck. "I'm still amazed you were able to create these in a short amount of time."
"Just a little something I've been working on during my free time," he casually replied.
Before he could continue, Sirius spoke up, "relax, you two, this is the world cup. I'm pretty sure Amelia has everything taken care of."
"Still, it wouldn't hurt to be cautious," Harry said.
Miwa soon added, "and given how magical Britain has been lax with security. So I don't want to take any chances."
Sirius shrugged his shoulders "alright, let's go. We need to check-in and grab our tent."
Harry lifted his shirt to allow Byakko and Suzaku to assume their tattoo forms. After that, the three of them left the castle and made their way to the apparition point. Sirius told them the location of the World cup, and one by one, they apparated away. Emily, of course, had to hang onto Harry's hand so he could side along apparate her along for the ride.
She didn't miss the familiar sensation of being squeezed through a tube when he apparated them both to their destination. When their feet hit the ground, they watched as hundreds of tents were spread out across the land.
Harry felt a breeze of wind from behind, and his nose caught the familiar scent of vanilla and mint. Turning around, he saw that the Greengrasses arrived along with Tracey. His attention, however, was on Daphne. Her blonde hair was freely flowing into the wind; she had a navy blue blouse followed by a pair of blue jeans and a touch of lip gloss. "Morning, Daphne, I must say you look as radiant as usual."
She smiled at him. "Why, thank you, Harry. I must say you don't look half bad either," giving him a once over.
They were interrupted when Sirius cleared his throat "keep the hormones in check." That made their cheeks turn pink as they looked at him with indignation. "Don't give me those looks. I remember what it was like when I was your age."
Harry groaned. "Let's go. I don't want to hear anything about this mutt's adventures with the opposite sex." Sirius pretended to look affronted. At that moment, the Zabini's arrived, and they walked to the check-in station for verifications.
After signing in, they were allowed to wander the area. The teens went to the big stadium where the match was held and purchased various goodies. Harry bought everyone a pair of omnioculars for everyone. They met a couple of students from Hogwarts and other wizarding schools before finally returning to their tents. Sirius had recently returned with some firewood and was currently talking with Cariana, Cyrus, and Roxanne. It wasn't long before Roxanne noticed that the kids have returned.
"You all got your souvenirs. I take it" a smile was on her face.
The kids fervently nodded their heads. Harry placed his stuff near the table. "I'm going to check around the campsite and make sure everything is alright. I should be back before the match starts" he turned to leave and almost made it out of the tent but heard Sirius say, "keep your communicator on."
Daphne looked at her parents and, after getting a nod, left to catch up with him. "Want some company?"
"Of course, Sapphire," smiling at her and using the nickname he coined for her. "Shall we?"
Daphne rolled her eyes, and the two began walking around the stadium talking about what was to be expected at school this coming year. "So, what's your opinion about the tournament this year?"
"Honestly, the whole tournament should have been abolished," he replied honestly. "Why the Ministry chose to bring it back, I'll never know. That thing is well-known for its high death tolls, and I have no intentions of dying yet."
"The only thing I want is a quiet and peaceful year!"
She giggled at what he said. "Glad to see you still have your commonsense skills." A mischievous smile then appeared on her face "speaking of things happening this year. You remember our bet, don't you?" raising a delicate eyebrow.
"Yeah, yeah, I remember. So what's the other N.E.W.T. exam I have to take" he silently hoped it is anything other than astronomy, history of magic, or muggle studies.
Daphne placed a finger on her cheek as if she was thinking and giving him a mischievous smile. "What should I have you test in?" she began tapping her chin. "You decide!"
"Really?" his eyes opened wide a bit.
"Unless you prefer I decide for you," poking him in the ribs. "I could have you take Muggle studies," she teasingly said.
"No!" Harry waved his hand in fear that made her laugh.
"You should see the look on your face," Daphne continued laughing.
"Oh, I'll be getting you back later," he promised. "Don't forget I know where your tent is!"
Daphne gave a mock pout pretending to look innocent "you wouldn't do that to me, would you?"
The two laughed and kept on walking through the grounds.
Their good time didn't last long when the hairs in the back of Harry's neck spiked up, and he heard a familiar irritating voice. "What are you two doing here?"
Looking over their shoulders, they saw that the Weasley clan, except for their mother and Hermione Granger were also here. "We're here for the quidditch match," he said as it was obvious. "Why else would we be here?"
"No need for you to be snarky" Hermione narrowed her eyes at him.
"And there's no reason for you to be talking to us or for you to start being a miss know-it-all," Daphne retorted. Harry was silently amused.
"Shut it, snake. Hermione is the smartest witch in the entire school" Ron narrowed his eyes at her as Hermione's cheeks became pink, and she nodded in agreement.
"Very original," Daphne drawled, rolling her eyes at him. "And if she was the smartest witch in her year, then why was she not moved up a year?" she challenged. "The only talent she has is regurgitating what she reads out of a book, which doesn't say much about her magical abilities."
"Says you," Ginny stepped in. "The only reason you were allowed to skip was because of your family's influence. That's the only way they would have ever allowed you to skip ahead." Ginny didn't like the Greengrass girl for various reasons; chief among them was how close she was to her Harry. Well, that will soon end this year as she could attend Hogsmede this year and be able to show Harry that she was the one meant for him. But, of course, when he saw what she was capable of, then Greengrass will be out of the picture.
"I earned my spot through hard work and dedication," Daphne rebuked.
While they were talking, Harry was speaking with Bill and an agitated Charlie. "I thought you were still in Egypt with your tombs," Harry joked.
Bill laughed a bit. "The goblins gave me a little time off. So, I decided to come here and watch the match with this lot," gesturing to his siblings. "New topic now. Any ideas on what you want to do after you graduate?"
Harry shrugged his shoulders "go work as an agent of the I.C.W."
"An agent of the I.C.W.," Bill said in surprise. "That's pretty ambitious of you. What about becoming a curse breaker? You certainly have the right disposition for the job, and the rumors about you got my bosses intrigued."
"No thanks, I'm good!"
"Well, if you change your mind, let me know" Bill looked a bit disappointed but respected Harry's decision. Harry gave him a genuine nod.
"So where's Nymphadora at?" Charlie came in. He was still sore from how Bill chastised him about how he treated her when they were back in school. "I need to speak with her."
An agitated look appeared on Bill's face. Harry narrowed his eyes at the second eldest Weasley child. He may be taller than Harry, but he wasn't scared of him. "Oh, it's Dora now, is it! Since when did you ever give a damn about her?" flexing his magic as he moved closer. "From what she told me about the way you treated her, I'm surprised that she even stayed with your pathetic arse. And just so you know, she didn't want to run into your selfish butt."
"She's still my girl, and I have a right to know where she is" Charlie tried to defend but suddenly felt small at the power Harry was radiating. "Besides, I treated her the way she deserved to be treated. The way she always changed her appearance made it all that more" he didn't get to finish as Harry delivered a punch to his face breaking his nose.
"Just so you know, that was for the way you treated and played with her emotions" he delivered another punch, his jaw breaking it along with some teeth. "That was for claiming that she was your property."
Charlie tried attacking him with a punch to the face, but Harry dodged right and delivered a kick to his kneecap, breaking it. Charlie cringed at the pain and tried to hit Harry again.
Harry caught his fist and delivered a strong punch in between his elbow breaking his arm in the process. He then twisted his hand, broke it, delivered a few powerful blows to the bastard's ribs, and heard a crunching sound, which means that he broke some of his ribs. And when Charlie was on the ground, Harry brought his fist down on the fool's collar bone and shattered it. Then finally delivered a spinning kick to his face breaking a few more of his teeth and knocking him out.
"I trust you will handle things from here," he said in a neutral voice to Bill, who was completely shocked at what just happened. His only reply was a single nod. "Daphne, you ready to go back to the tent?"
"Yes," she said, and they began leaving. Harry turned around, "and Bill gives your brother a message for me. When he wakes up, tell him that I was holding back and if I ever hear him speak about Dora like she's some sort of object. Or next time I will not be so lenient with him, you've been warned."
"Damn," Fred and George said in unison as Harry and Daphne walked through the crowd of people. "We have got to learn how to fight like that!"
William shot them both a look before taking out his wand and reviving his brother. Part of him wanted to leave him there as he did deserve it for the way he treated Dora, but Charlie was still his brother. With a wave of his wand, Charlie was conscious again.
"What the fuck happened" Charlie groaned in pain.
Bill gave him a look of contempt "short version: You got a much-needed arse whoopin' and if I may add myself here. You deserve those injuries. I'm half tempted to leave you here and watch the game with the others."
"Potter attacked me first," Charlie retorted.
Bill glared at his brother. "He had every right to beat your arse. Were if it me, then you'd have a lot more broken bones. Now shut your trap so I can get you to St. Mungo for treatment." He then turned to Fred and George "tell dad and Percy where I've gone" the two nodded and took their siblings back to their tent. Bill apparated himself and Charlie to St. Mungo.
When Harry and Daphne got back to the tent, they saw the Vaisey kids and Adrian talking with the others. The adults were busy discussing politics. Harry placed a finger above his mouth before any of them could say anything. "Sirius Orion Black, you miserable brat, get on your toes" his voice was identical to Walburga's, and it made his godfather hop to his feet in fright.
"Yes, mother," he said much to everyone's amusement as they were laughing. Sirius then remembered that his biological mother was dead. Whirling around, he glared at his laughing godson. "That is not funny! I curse the day you, Phineas."
Harry laughed a bit more before calming down "on the serious side here. The security around here is shite."
"You know I am Sirius" Sirius gave him a cheeky grin.
Rolling his eyes, Harry ignored what he said and continued, "they're only five Aurors on duty. One would think that an event like this would have better security."
"I'll give Amelia a call," Sirius said.
Adrian then came in "where were you two anyway?" looking at the pair. "Wait, wait, don't tell me. You beat down a bloke while you two were out walking."
"How'd you know?" Harry asked.
Adrian's eyes went wide. "Wait, you did? I was only guessing," wondering who had the unfortunate fate of crossing Harry this time.
"Who did you beat up this time?"
Harry turned to Blaise. "Charlie Weasley! Dora's prick of an ex-boyfriend." The others just looked at him with surprise. "Don't look at me like that. The bastard had it coming" he spent the next few minutes explaining why he beat Weasley up. "All things considered; the git got off easy."
"You are one dangerous man," Aaron commented.
(0^0)
As the sun was beginning to set, Harry and the others entered the stadium and climbed the stairs. Surprisingly the Weasley's seats were high up, which was surprising given the way they lived. They shot Harry looks of anger and fear when they saw him but chose to move away from him. Ron, however, looked at Harry with rage intent clearly in his eyes and had to be forcefully dragged away by the twins before he could make an arse of himself. Hermione gave a disdainful look before joining the others.
When the group got to the Minister's box, they were met by the Malfoys. Narcissa was the first to speak "hello, Cousin Sirius. I trust you are well today," she spoke in a neutral tone. While her relationship with Sirius was platonic at best. She had to, at the very least, be civil with him.
"I am fine, Narcissa," Sirius replied in the same voice. "You look well today. I am, however, surprised to see that you are here this evening."
Narcissa then turned to Harry and gave him a gentle smile. "Hadrian. How are you?"
"I'm great, Lady Malfoy. Thank you for asking," he responded in a respectful voice. "Lord Malfoy, Draco, a good evening to the both of you," greeting the both of them. "Lord Malfoy, I am glad to see that you are doing well."
"Yes, very well," Lucius replied. "I have to say that I wasn't expecting to see you here this evening." He was still mad that Draco failed to gain the Blacks family heirship and made a point of showing his son his displeasure. While it killed him on the inside, to admit, but Potter was indeed a better candidate than his son. Draco was lazy and needed to shape up, that was certain. So he used his influence to get the boy's schedule changed. Why Draco took Divination, he'll never know.
Speaking of Draco, he sent a cold glare to his cousin. Parts of his body still hurt from his father's punishment. The man had punished him severely for failing to gain the heirship to the House of Black; his father grounded him for most of the summer. As a result, he was barely allowed to attend the World Cup if not for his mother; he'd be at home cleaning right next to the house-elves.
As they continued speaking, the familiar portly voice of the Minister of Magic came "oh Lucius, I am so glad you and your family could make it today," he jovially said. "And Harry m'boy, it so good to see you again."
Harry internally cringed at the site of the Minister but held his expressionless mask. "It's good to see you as well, Minister" he shook the man's hand. "I hope things are not too busy at the ministry for you."
"Worry not, dear boy," Cornelius said. "Things are back under control" in truth, they weren't, as he was hoping to use the Triwizard tournament to get back into the people's good graces. If things went well, then the other magical governments will stop hassling him about making changes. "I see you brought your family and friends with you. Thank you for coming, Mr. Black. I hope you enjoy the match today."
"Yes, it should be a good match," Sirius replied with a fake smile. "I have a feeling I know who is going to win."
"Indeed now, Minister, if you excuse me, my family and I need to find our seats" with that, he turned around and led Narcissa and Draco to their seats.
"Yes, of course," Cornelius said. "Sirius, Harry, if two of you and your guest will please follow me there some guests who are most eager to meet you."
Harry and the others shrugged their shoulders and allowed Fudge to lead them to the Minister's box overlooking the entire stadium. "Harry allow me to introduce some very important friends of mine" he paraded Harry like he was a show dog and made him sick. They stopped in front of a few foreign ministers and other high-ranking individuals.
"This is the Bulgarian Minister of magic, Mr. Obalonsk- Oblansk," Cornelius corrected himself. "My apologies, I don't speak his language."
"Allow me, Minister," Harry said before turning to the foreign Minister, who didn't appear to be happy that Fudge messed up his name. "Министър Обланск, добре е най -накрая да се запознаем." (Minister Oblansk, it's good to meet you finally.)
Both Cornelius and Oblansk were shocked that Harry was able to speak Bulgarian. The latter regained himself "it's a pleasure to meet you as well, Mr. Potter. The rumors surrounding your person are very interesting, and I trust that the ladies behind you are Minister Kawada's daughter and your younger sister." He spoke in English, though his accent was present.
Cornelius looked at him with bewilderment. "Oblansk, why didn't you tell me you speak English? I've had to mime everything you say."
"It was funny," the man replied.
"Well, it's nice to see some familiar faces around here," a familiar voice in the group.
"Ah! Harry, this is Lucas Delacour, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement for the French Ministry of Magic," Fudge said happily, turning Harry towards the new addition to the conversation. Monsieur Delacour was an inch or two taller than Harry. However, the two were already familiar with each other. Standing next to him was his wife, who was the same height as him. She had long silvery hair and striking blue eyes; not only that, but she was also the representative for Magical France. Harry did a complete background check on the Delacour family, and after a couple of letters and thanks to his meeting with Arcturus, they were now united.
His attention soon fell on Fleur "set ees gud to see you again, 'Arry," giving him a warm smile. Being the gentlemen he was, he kissed her knuckles and greeted her back in her native language.
« C'est bon de te voir aussi Fleur. Comment ça se passe à Beauxbâtons ? » (It's good to see you as well Fleur. How are things at Beauxbatons ?)
This time she spoke in French. « C'est étonnant ! Je serai dans ma septième année. » (It is amazing ! I'll be in my seventh year.)
Before he could say anything else, a smaller version of Fleur jumped on Harry, hugging him. "Hello to you to Gabrielle."
As the three continued speaking, Harry briefly felt a rush of annoyance coming from behind. Turning his head, he saw a frown on Daphne's face. She wasn't the only one frowning as Tracey was shooting daggers at Blaise, who was staring intently at Fleur. It was pretty clear that the girls knew or were aware that Fleur and Gabrielle were veela's. Harry mouthed, "it's ok! I know," to Daphne.
Cornelius, however, was amazed that Harry could speak both Bulgarian and French. He was making a mental note to review the boy's file and stay on his good side. But, instead, he went to speak with Lucius.
After Harry was done speaking with the Delacour's, he and the others went to find their seats near the wall. Taking a seat next to Daphne, he grabbed her hand, bringing her attention to him, leaning into her ear "it's alright, I already know that Fleur, Gabrielle, and their mother are Veela's. Their allure doesn't affect me."
Daphne mentally let out a breath. "How did you know they were veela's?" she whispered back.
Harry chuckled. "You forget I can read magic," he reminded. "That and I'm pretty skilled at occlumency, courtesy of my guardians. Though Blaise, however, seems to be struggling with keeping his emotions in check."
"Oi genius, time to wake up" he clapped his hands together, bringing Blaise back to reality. "What happened?" he asked, looking around.
"I'll explain after the game is over" Harry pulled out a pair of sports glasses from his watch "here, this should help." Blaise excepted the glasses and put them on.
"Thanks, man. I owe you one."
Harry gave two other pairs to Adrian and Aaron so they could stay in control of their emotions. He explained that the glasses were designed to block out a veela's allure. As he sat back down, he missed the grateful looks from both Nicole and Tracey.
The man next to Fudge was Ludo Bagman, a portly man who was the Head of the Department of games. Ludo whipped out his wand, directed it at his own throat, and said, "Sonorus!" and then spoke over the roar of sound that was now filling the packed stadium; his voice echoed over them, booming into every corner of the stands.
"Ladies and gentlemen. . . Welcome! Welcome to the final of the four hundred and
twenty-second Quidditch World Cup!" The spectators screamed and clapped. Thousands of flags waved, adding their discordant national anthems to the racket. The huge blackboard opposite them was wiped clear of its last message (Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans - A Risk With Every Mouthful!) and now showed BULGARIA: 0, I.R.E.L.A.N.D.: 0.
"And now, without further ado, allow me to introduce. . . the Bulgarian National
Team Mascots!" On the right-hand side of the stands, which was a solid block of scarlet, roared its approval. Many of the males were hoop and hollering as the Bulgarian cheerleaders came out onto the field as they were veela's. Harry, Blaise, and the other males next to them were able to keep their composures thanks to the glasses.
"And now, kindly put your wands in the air… for the Irish National Team Mascots!" As Ludo finished, a wave of green and gold swept into the stadium. It made a circuit around the stadium before separating and shooting to each goal post, and then a rainbow appeared between the two clouds of light. The crowd was roaring like they were watching a fireworks display as the two clouds formed up again and then formed a shamrock in the sky. The shamrock danced overhead, and Harry realized it was made up of tiny red-bearded me holding green or gold lamps. Finally, the shamrock faded, and the leprechauns took their spot on the pitch across from the veela.
"Typical! Leprechauns" Aaron muttered.
"Now, ladies and gentleman, help me welcome the…Bulgarian National Team," Bagman roared, "Here's Dimitrov!
A scarlet and black flier flew out from the entrance far below them to the applause of the Bulgaria supporters. The man was a blur as he flew around the stadium.
"Ivanova!" Another scarlet-clad flier came out from the entrance and zoomed out across the pitch to join Dimitrov. "Zograf! Levski! Vulchanov! Volkov! AAANNNDDD… K.R.U.M.!"
Harry focused his omnioculars on Viktor, another person he knew. Viktor was a talented seeker. Even though he played professionally, he was still in school. Giving his athletic build as a seeker, Harry thought he looked like an overgrown bird of prey on his broom. As Krum was announced, the crowd went insane; everyone was cheering for the young seeker, even Irish fans.
Ludo introduced the Irish team, and soon the game began. The match went into the night around nine o'clock, with the score ending with Ireland winning the game with 170 to Bulgaria's 160. Even though they won, Viktor ended the game by pulling off an incredible Wronski feint to catch the snitch before Lynch as he crashed onto the ground. However, Viktor didn't get out unscathed as he had a broken nose that was dripping blood.
(0^0)
Later that night, back in the tent, everyone was in high spirit as a bit of a victory party was going courtesy of Sirius. However, while the party went on, loud anguished screams were heard outside, causing them to stop celebrating. Roxanne and Cyrus went outside to see what was going on, only to return with fearful expressions. "We have to get out of here, now," Cyrus said.
Everyone in the tent grabbed their things and leave. When they emerged from the tent, they saw people running around scared, trying to get to safety. In the far back were a group of masked individuals in black robes, throwing spells around, causing chaos, and setting things on fire. Harry's anger grew as the Aurors who were supposed to be patrolling the perimeter were not present to repel the attackers.
"Fucking death eater," Harry grumbled. Looking back at the others, "everyone head back to Potter castle," he ordered.
His friends wanted to protest but didn't get the chance as their parents apparated them away, leaving only Sirius, Emily, and Miwa. "Sirius, take Emily back to the castle. Miwa, you're with me," giving her a knowing nod. Then, pulling his I.D. tag off his neck, he channeled some magic, and his attire changed into that of his combat uniform. Miwa did the same thing, and she too was now in her battle gear, taking their visors off; they looked at Sirius and Emily.
"As soon as this mess is over with you, get yourselves back to the castle. No questions asked," Sirius said in a non-negotiable tone. Emily was able to wish them luck before being apparated away by Sirius.
Harry and Miwa looked at each other, and with a nod, they reattached their visors to their masks and ran outside with their wands. Together the two rushed toward the death eaters and started throwing curses at them. The death eaters stopped their attacks when they spotted them and began to fight back or apparate away. One, in particular, aimed his wand in the sky and said, "morsmordre." A green cloud of smoke rose up into the air and formed a skull with a snake protruding from its mouth.
It was the dark mark. A unique signal used only by Voldemort and his death eaters. The caster then conjured some black smoke and fled into the darkness, leaving his companions behind to deal with Shadow and Hakugarai. Both death eaters threw the Cruciatus, Avada Kedavra curses at the pair, and other painful curses meant to kill.
Shadow and Hakugarai, however, were more skilled and managed to force them on the defensive. As Hakugarai sent a couple of fire missiles. Shadow hit the ground with an earthquaking spell and rushed forward at the death eaters who were trying to both dodge the fiery missiles and maintain their footings. Nearing them, he took out a set of shurikens and hurled them at the death eaters. The shurikens impaled their arms, making them drop their wands. Shadow did not give them a chance to grab their wands. He performed an acrobatic kick on one, knocking him a few feet away and delivering a vicious combo to his partner.
Hakugarai ran to deal with the one who was kicked away while he dealt with the other. She quickly used the blasting curse to take his right arm off, followed by the mage's blast, along with a stunning and full-body bind spell. Turning to her partner, she saw that he was making short work of his opponent. After breaking his arms, Shadow fired a point-blank bombarda hex at the man's chest, taking his life.
"Let's find out who these bastards are." She nodded in agreement and went to identify her opponent while he did the same to his.
A smirk appeared on her face, but it was blocked by her mask. "This one is Leon Parkinson," she identified him after taking his mask off.
"Well, well, well, it looks like today is our lucky day" a cruel smile was hidden behind Shadow's mask when he removed the man's mask. The face of Patrick Flint was revealed. "You know I've been wondering as to how I would deal with this swine. At least he's now dead" waving his wand, the shurikens that impaled the death eaters came back to him.
Before Hakugarai could ask what he was talking about, they heard several pops and shouts from behind. Using her enhanced eyesight, she saw a group of ministry personnel surrounding a group of teenagers "let's get some answers." Together with a wave of their wands, they levitated both death eaters and ran toward the others.
"Which one of you conjured it? You've been found at the scene of the crime?" the distressed yet authoritative voice of Barty Crouch was heard.
"Barty their just kids," Arthur Weasley said in defense of both his kids and Hermione.
"Crouch, you worthless piece of shite" everyone froze when they heard the angry voice. "How about you stop interrogating teenagers and question the ones responsible" Shadow and Hakugarai came into view.
"Who are the two of you?" Crouch's face was masked with fury. Instead of answering, they dropped the bodies in front of Crouch's men and showed their badges making the Head of the Department of Magical Cooperation freeze in fear. "You're Magi's," he exclaimed as cold shivers ran down both his and everyone else's spines.
"No shit, asshole," Hakugarai said in an angry voice. "Now, where the fuck were you and the other security officers on duty?"
Crouch gulped and responded, "the personnel assigned to the World cup came back to the Ministry and reported that the people were under attack. We were, however, delayed because the Senior Secretary to the Minister of Magic said we had other tasks to deal with first. Only after completing them were we allowed to leave."
"Are you telling me the reason you failed in protecting the people at this stadium was because of that toad-faced bitch Umbridge" the one called Shadow spoke in a dangerous voice. "Further, did the security officers here have to go back to the Ministry? Are they incapable of dealing with a couple of death eaters? And since when does Umbitch have any authority of Ministry Aurors? She is only a paper pusher and note taker."
Taking a few steps forward and getting in Crouch's face, Shadow pulled him close after grabbing a handful of the man's robes. "Listen to me, you motherfucking piece of shite, this evening affair was a complete and utter embarrassment. Not only was the security around here too lax, but you idiots failed to actually apprehend the criminals responsible for this debacle." He then threw him to the ground. "Now I suggest you actually do your job and deal with these two idiots as they took part in the attack."
When Crouch got to his feet, two of his subordinates checked over the bodies. "Mr. Crouch, we've identified the both of them," one of the Auror's said. "Leon Parkinson has lost his arm and will need medical treatment for his other injuries. Patrick Flint is dead."
"Sir, they're both have the dark mark" the other Auror showed the marks on their left arms.
"There was another," Hakugarai said before Crouch. "The one conjured the dark mark was over there," pointing to where the caster was before he disappeared.
"Search the area," Crouch ordered his team. "If you two would be so kind," he didn't get to finish as Shadow threw some smoke pellets on the ground causing black smoke to manifest and making the others cover their eyes and mouths. Then, with them distracted, the two apparated away.
A/N: The gang is now back in England. Yes, I know Luna's mother died after doing spells, but I figured that there had to be more to it than that. I'll be completely honest with you all. I like to hear everyone's opinion about how Harry dealt with Charlie. Was I too hard on him? Next question do you all not find it curious as to why the Quidditch world cup didn't have enough of a security force waiting? I read the book and watched the movie and let's face it here. I mean come on! It would have been more logical to place a squadron of Aurors around for protection.
Last question: Why do you think Crouch tried to blame children for conjuring the dark mark? That spell is exclusive to only Voldemort and his death eaters. How would a bunch of kids know the spell?
Sidenote: Harry and Miwa's battle gear is exactly like the costume Nightwing uniform from Titans minus the blue as the uniform is all black.
Next Chapter: The reveal! And Dumbledore's announcement.