A.N. Sorry it's taken me so long to post. Evil parents grounded me. No computer for a week. Ahhhh!
Curious
They were back in Potions class. Snape was being atrociously cruel, as usual but that was about the only thing that hadn't changed since Harry and Bri's names had come out of the goblet. For one thing Ron and Adam weren't speaking to them. Adam had just said, "I thought you weren't like that," then pretended Bri didn't exist. Harry had received similar treatment from Ron. He was rather angry that Harry hadn't told him he was going to enter. Of course, Harry didn't even know that he was going to enter. But Ron refused to believe that.
A group of rotten Slytherins had created badges that said Support Cedric Diggory the True Hogwarts Champion, in front of the professors but that was the nice text on those badges. Some of them (Draco Malfoy, and his minions Crabbe and Goyle in particular.) went out of the way to flash the Potter Stinks side at Harry in the hallway. The Ravenclaws were being quite cold to Bri. Professor Sinistra gave her a failing grade on her Astronomy paper when the only thing wrong with it was spelling.
Potions was particularly awful because not only did the five have to deal with the Slytherins but each other too. Poor Hermione, with Bri and Harry on her right and Ron and Adam on her left, she was stuck acting as a go between.
"Hermione, I need some armadillo bile," Bri would say.
Ron would pass it to Hermione and she would pass it to Bri. Ron couldn't even remember why he was mad at Bri. It just felt right. If he was mad at Harry it only seemed fair that he were mad at Bri.
Hermione felt rather relieved when Colin Creevey came in and called Harry and Bri out. Of course, Snape used the opportunity to be snide by say something about Harry's public awaiting him but she felt she would get dizzy if she had to keep pivoting back and forth between Harry & Bri and Adam and Ron.
"Do you know what they want, Colin?" Harry asked.
"I'm not sure. McGonagall said something about weighing your wands or something,"
Bri pulled her wand out of her pocket. She had gotten it from a second hand store. It had lost the luster that it had for it's original owner and was a bit scratched up but Bri rather liked it. It was quite excellent for Transfiguration. There was an inscription on one side. KORITSI POIOS AFTI MAGIKO RABDI EPISIS POIOS ARTHERO MOIRA PARA FILOS. That was part of what Bri liked best. It looked as though it had been written in a hurry and it was in a language she didn't know. It was fun to wonder what the engraving meant and what the story behind it was but she was still a bit self-conscious of her wand.
"Er, I think this is the room she said to go to," Colin quavered. Bri found Colin quite funny he idolized Harry and always seemed so afraid that he was going to disappoint him.
"Thanks Colin," Bri said.
There were already nine people in the small room off the Great Hall. Fleur and Maxime, Krum and Karkaroff, Cedric and Dumbledore, Bagman and Crouch and a woman in hideous green robes that neither Harry nor Bri had ever seen before.
Mr. Olivander looked as though he were about to start when the witch in green robes swept up to Harry.
"Harry Potter, Just the little devil I was looking for! Rita Skeeter, Daily Prophet. I was wondering if I could have a word with you. Thought it would be a nice public interest story, the youngest champion," Gol, this woman could talk fast.
"Er, um, Bri better come too," Harry said, Looking at Bri and pleading with her with his eyes. Harry did not want to be alone with this woman.
"Ugh, all right," said Rita Skeeter, looking at Bri's robes. They were also second hand. There was a silver star over one knee. Although it was patched quite nicely, Rita could still spot Bri's humble roots. Everyone knows school robes aren't decorated.
"I don't see any tears in his eyes," Bri said.
Bri had this way of being incredibly blunt. This was the same quality that caused her to fall out of favor with Professor Snape on their first day of class when she shouted, "Professor Snape, with any due respect, I hope you realize that this Potion is entirely stupid for fourth years to make and that you are showing blatant favoritism when you assign potions based on house." Now, Adam and Harry found this trait rather endearing, but like Snape, Rita Skeeter obviously didn't.
"Just ignore the pen," she was loosing her patience now. She didn't want to speak to this obviously low class and uncouth girl. Harry was the real story here. Of course her quill didn't show the truth. No one would read Rita's stories if it did.
Bri was beginning to inform Rita that Harry hadn't said anything about his parents when Dumbledore rescued them.
"The ceremony is about to begin and we can't very well start with two of our champions hiding in a broom closet, can we?" he said.
"Ahh, Rita Skeeter. The only journalist I know that can so excellently twist other peoples words for her own benefit"
It turned out that weighing of wands meant making sure the champion's wands were in tiptop condition.
"Gabrielle, would you come up here so Mr. Olivander can inspect your wand," said Mr. Crouch.
Bri walked to the front of the room, attempting to shield her wand from view but she still heard a scoff from Fleur.
Olivander looked at the wand for quite a while then he made bubbles shoot out of it.
"Curious," he mumbled. Then he said it again, a bit louder this time, "Curious."
Aww, gee Harry thought. Here we go again. Can't the man at least develop his vocabulary?
He heard the same word 4 years ago when he found out that the core of the wand that best suited him was from the same animal that gave Voldemort his core.
" 161/2 inches, willow. Quite flexible," murmured Mr. Olivander.
"Yeah... So what's new?" Bri asked. Any moron could measure a wand and tell what wood it's made of.
"This is the only braid wand I ever made. They just wouldn't sell. They're incredibly powerful but they have to suit you perfectly. It has 3 cores feather of an ice bird, unicorn hair and star beam. All plaited together. It's almost miraculous to get it two fit two owners. And not even related or even from the same country."
"Oh," Bri still didn't care.
"Gabrielle, this wand was sold to one of the most powerful witches in my lifetime. In fact she is partially responsible for defeating Voldemort. Gabrielle, this wand belonged to Lily Evans Potter."
Curious
They were back in Potions class. Snape was being atrociously cruel, as usual but that was about the only thing that hadn't changed since Harry and Bri's names had come out of the goblet. For one thing Ron and Adam weren't speaking to them. Adam had just said, "I thought you weren't like that," then pretended Bri didn't exist. Harry had received similar treatment from Ron. He was rather angry that Harry hadn't told him he was going to enter. Of course, Harry didn't even know that he was going to enter. But Ron refused to believe that.
A group of rotten Slytherins had created badges that said Support Cedric Diggory the True Hogwarts Champion, in front of the professors but that was the nice text on those badges. Some of them (Draco Malfoy, and his minions Crabbe and Goyle in particular.) went out of the way to flash the Potter Stinks side at Harry in the hallway. The Ravenclaws were being quite cold to Bri. Professor Sinistra gave her a failing grade on her Astronomy paper when the only thing wrong with it was spelling.
Potions was particularly awful because not only did the five have to deal with the Slytherins but each other too. Poor Hermione, with Bri and Harry on her right and Ron and Adam on her left, she was stuck acting as a go between.
"Hermione, I need some armadillo bile," Bri would say.
Ron would pass it to Hermione and she would pass it to Bri. Ron couldn't even remember why he was mad at Bri. It just felt right. If he was mad at Harry it only seemed fair that he were mad at Bri.
Hermione felt rather relieved when Colin Creevey came in and called Harry and Bri out. Of course, Snape used the opportunity to be snide by say something about Harry's public awaiting him but she felt she would get dizzy if she had to keep pivoting back and forth between Harry & Bri and Adam and Ron.
"Do you know what they want, Colin?" Harry asked.
"I'm not sure. McGonagall said something about weighing your wands or something,"
Bri pulled her wand out of her pocket. She had gotten it from a second hand store. It had lost the luster that it had for it's original owner and was a bit scratched up but Bri rather liked it. It was quite excellent for Transfiguration. There was an inscription on one side. KORITSI POIOS AFTI MAGIKO RABDI EPISIS POIOS ARTHERO MOIRA PARA FILOS. That was part of what Bri liked best. It looked as though it had been written in a hurry and it was in a language she didn't know. It was fun to wonder what the engraving meant and what the story behind it was but she was still a bit self-conscious of her wand.
"Er, I think this is the room she said to go to," Colin quavered. Bri found Colin quite funny he idolized Harry and always seemed so afraid that he was going to disappoint him.
"Thanks Colin," Bri said.
There were already nine people in the small room off the Great Hall. Fleur and Maxime, Krum and Karkaroff, Cedric and Dumbledore, Bagman and Crouch and a woman in hideous green robes that neither Harry nor Bri had ever seen before.
Mr. Olivander looked as though he were about to start when the witch in green robes swept up to Harry.
"Harry Potter, Just the little devil I was looking for! Rita Skeeter, Daily Prophet. I was wondering if I could have a word with you. Thought it would be a nice public interest story, the youngest champion," Gol, this woman could talk fast.
"Er, um, Bri better come too," Harry said, Looking at Bri and pleading with her with his eyes. Harry did not want to be alone with this woman.
"Ugh, all right," said Rita Skeeter, looking at Bri's robes. They were also second hand. There was a silver star over one knee. Although it was patched quite nicely, Rita could still spot Bri's humble roots. Everyone knows school robes aren't decorated.
"I don't see any tears in his eyes," Bri said.
Bri had this way of being incredibly blunt. This was the same quality that caused her to fall out of favor with Professor Snape on their first day of class when she shouted, "Professor Snape, with any due respect, I hope you realize that this Potion is entirely stupid for fourth years to make and that you are showing blatant favoritism when you assign potions based on house." Now, Adam and Harry found this trait rather endearing, but like Snape, Rita Skeeter obviously didn't.
"Just ignore the pen," she was loosing her patience now. She didn't want to speak to this obviously low class and uncouth girl. Harry was the real story here. Of course her quill didn't show the truth. No one would read Rita's stories if it did.
Bri was beginning to inform Rita that Harry hadn't said anything about his parents when Dumbledore rescued them.
"The ceremony is about to begin and we can't very well start with two of our champions hiding in a broom closet, can we?" he said.
"Ahh, Rita Skeeter. The only journalist I know that can so excellently twist other peoples words for her own benefit"
It turned out that weighing of wands meant making sure the champion's wands were in tiptop condition.
"Gabrielle, would you come up here so Mr. Olivander can inspect your wand," said Mr. Crouch.
Bri walked to the front of the room, attempting to shield her wand from view but she still heard a scoff from Fleur.
Olivander looked at the wand for quite a while then he made bubbles shoot out of it.
"Curious," he mumbled. Then he said it again, a bit louder this time, "Curious."
Aww, gee Harry thought. Here we go again. Can't the man at least develop his vocabulary?
He heard the same word 4 years ago when he found out that the core of the wand that best suited him was from the same animal that gave Voldemort his core.
" 161/2 inches, willow. Quite flexible," murmured Mr. Olivander.
"Yeah... So what's new?" Bri asked. Any moron could measure a wand and tell what wood it's made of.
"This is the only braid wand I ever made. They just wouldn't sell. They're incredibly powerful but they have to suit you perfectly. It has 3 cores feather of an ice bird, unicorn hair and star beam. All plaited together. It's almost miraculous to get it two fit two owners. And not even related or even from the same country."
"Oh," Bri still didn't care.
"Gabrielle, this wand was sold to one of the most powerful witches in my lifetime. In fact she is partially responsible for defeating Voldemort. Gabrielle, this wand belonged to Lily Evans Potter."