A/N: HAPPY EASTER in advance to everyone who celebrates it!
Imagine, finally I've screwed up enough courage to post a story to FictionAlley! I'm so proud of myself! I posted Gadding with Goats into the Riddikulus house.
If you haven't looked at my art gallery on GTnet recently, then do so, there are loads of new arts and also old arts with new colouring (link to them is in my ffnet bio).
This chapter it dedicated to Rab, whose birthday was on the 12th, to Lupin's Angel, whose birthday was on the 14th, to Wood's secret lover who has birthday tomorrow, and Beauty in Disguise, who shares her birthday with Severus.
Chapter 25
Hard decisions
Before Daniel knew what was happening, hexes criss-crossed above his head and some hissing noise followed. The pseudo-basilisk had been hissing, all right, but now it seemed as though some other snake had joined in the hissing.
Dan didn't dare look up – he was lying facedown on the unconscious Kevin. Suddenly he heard something large hit the ground then felt someone tugging at the back of his T-shirt. Slowly, he raised his head to look into his parents' worried eyes.
"Are you all right?" Harry asked while Ginny crouched down and pulled him into a firm, motherly embrace. Her body was shaking, and Dan knew that she was on the verge of tears.
"What… what happened?" the boy looked around and saw several hit wizards standing around the disabled body of the 'basilisk'.
"Well, we saved you," Harry shrugged. "These gentlemen here stupefied the snake after Ginny and I persuaded it not to kill you and Kevin."
"So… that was the other hissing voice!" Daniel breathed. "You and mum."
His father nodded. "It might prove useful to have some Parselmouths in the family, right? Now come on, get off your poor cousin, you're crushing him!"
"Oh, yeah…" young Potter stood up, his legs feeling quite wobbly. Ginny pointed her wand at the other boy and whispered 'Enervate'.
"What…?" Kevin blinked.
"Tell you later," Albus Dumbledore's voice cut in. "I think that young Mr. Potter and I need to talk."
Daniel gulped. The headmaster's last sentence somehow didn't sound too reassuring. *I'm disqualified for sure.* he sighed inwardly as followed Albus off the pitch, into one of the changing rooms.
Albus took place on a bench and motioned Daniel to sit down opposite him.
"And now, son, would you care to tell me what this was all about?"
"The serpent?" the boy asked with a shaky voice. Dumbledore nodded. "I don't know, sir. I… I conjured it by imagining, but… I imagined a small, grey snake, and this huge one appeared instead. I don't know why, though. Such a thing has never happened to me, sir. I wanted to imagine-vanish the snake, but it just wouldn't go away. I felt as though I had no control over it, as though I couldn't control my own will. As though something had been blocking my imagination… as if it hadn't been me at all who was imagining all these things!"
"Not you?" the old wizard raised an eyebrow. "How is that possible?"
"I don't know, sir, but believe me, please, I did not want to conjure a huge beast, I didn't want to endanger Kevin's life… I totally understand if you disqualify me from the tournament. Kevin deserves the title Champion."
"I cannot tell you anything about this right now. I must discuss the matter with some trustworthy staff members. We shall decide about your future together. Now you may go back to your parents."
Daniel exited the changing room feeling as though his heart had sunk into his stomach - it felt so heavy. What if Dumbledore would not only disqualify him but also expel him from Hogwarts? He didn't dare imagine what would happen then. He did not want to be a Magical Garbage Man, but without adequate education that was the only job he could hope for in the wizarding world.
He saw the headmaster beckoning Professors McGonagall, Sinistra, Snape and Sprout – the four heads of houses - to himself and they left the stadium. He felt miserable.
Norbert joined Dan to question him about the events, but Gilda couldn't, given that she had to pose as the Queen in the top box.
"Come, I'll buy you a butterbeer," young Malfoy steered him off the pitch.
* * * * *
The four heads of houses plus Dumbledore disappeared into Hagrid's hut that was much closer to the Quidditch stadium than the Hogwarts castle.
"So, what is going on, Albus?" Minerva spoke up.
"Whatever it is, I don't like it," Severus added.
"I'll try and explain things," Albus said. "First of all, I must ask you to keep this a secret from everyone, even your fellow teachers. I have kept this a secret ever since Halloween."
"You scare me," Stella Sinistra Lupin frowned.
"No wonder, since it is scary," the headmaster replied. "Wonderful, but scary."
"Out with it, Albus," Snape growled.
The headmaster took a deep breath. "Daniel Potter is an Imaginer."
"A what?" Sinistra and Sprout asked in unison.
"A very rare type of wizard. There have been only a couple of dozen of such wizards in the whole world, and in England there has only been one before Daniel. It was Godwin Potter, an ancestor of his who lived a millennium ago."
"What does an Imaginer do?" Minerva knitted her eyebrows.
"He imagines, of course. Imagines things and makes them come true."
"Makes them come true by merely imagining them?" the Herbology professor gaped.
"Yes," Dumbledore nodded.
"You've known this since Halloween?" the deputy-headmistress asked. "Then… it was Daniel Potter who froze the spiders!"
"Exactly, Minerva. And it was also him who made the Snitch explode."
"Indeed?" Snape looked contemplative. So, young Potter had saved his life back at Halloween… an Imaginer… a very dark expression fell over Snape's face – the expression of someone who had just put two and two together...
"But Albus…" McGonagall cut in, "how could you hide the boy's powers all along?"
"Well, I was training him."
"Training???"
"Yes. A long story, Minerva. The main point is that Daniel has become a very powerful Imaginer, although, of course, his training isn't completed. He is powerful and talented… he hasn't mis-imagined things for months… that's why I'm so concerned now. He told me that he had imagined a small, grey snake, but instead there was a huge, green one. He said he lost control of his powers."
"But then… that boy's dangerous!" Sinistra said.
"He is only dangerous when he cannot control himself," the headmaster replied. "And truth be told, I really don't understand why he lost control today."
"Albus…" Minerva interjected, "if you knew what the boy was capable of, why did you let him compete?"
"Because it would have been rather suspicious if I forbade him to enter the tournament… people would have wondered why I did that."
"But this way you practically let that child cheat!" Snape snapped. "He was using his advantage over the others! That's how he beat them all, isn't it?"
"Well, Severus, this depends on your point of view. You all know that Daniel barely has any normal magic… he only has Imaginer powers. If we didn't let him use his special powers, then he'd be in disadvantage compared to the other students. Everyone should play to their strengths, don't you think? Daniel badly needed to prove himself and I just couldn't deny him the chance to do so. At those lessons I gave him he couldn't show anyone what he was capable of, he couldn't be sure whether he would be able to perform properly in front of a huge crowd with everyone looking at him… I wanted to give him a chance to test himself. He is a very special boy – special, thus a real asset. He needed the opportunity to test his potential, to let his talents blossom out… this is the only way he could be a useful Imaginer – an Imaginer who could do wonderful things for the wizarding world. Just think it over, Severus: if there's another fire, he could just imagine the flames put out and the house restored to its original state. If there's a flood, he could imagine perfect dams to keep the waves at bay. He can do practically anything imaginable. He is a real treasure, and has to be treated accordingly."
"A real treasure, eh?" Snape raised his voice. "Well, he was a real treasure today, wasn't he? Perhaps next time he imagines a Tyrannosaurus Rex for us. Wouldn't that be wonderful? Think, Albus! You know what wizards with great powers are capable of… Slytherin, Grindelwald, Voldemort... they were all special, exceptional… and what did they become? Evil."
"Oh, come on, Severus, don't say that this boy… this nice little boy is going to be another You-Know-Who?" Professor Sprout said with a pale complexion.
"I'm not saying he will be like Voldemort," Snape replied. "I said he could be like him. A lot of power drives people crazy. They start to think that they have power over everything… and they destroy the world. Every coin has two sides, Albus. The head might look pretty, but you may not always know what to find on the reverse when you turn it."
"I'm aware of that, Severus, thank you very much," the headmaster replied calmly. "I knew what a dangerous idea it was to train young Potter, however I knew that it would be even more dangerous to leave him without training. Anyway, my point of summoning you here was to tell you the truth and ask you to help me with a decision in the light of your newly acquired knowledge."
"What decision?" Sinistra asked.
"We do not have a Champion. The duel ended with no defeat or victory."
"Well, perhaps the boys could carry on duelling?" Sprout suggested.
"I don't think they're in any shape to carry on," McGonagall shook her head. "They've been through too much to expect another duel from them."
"Minerva is right," Dumbledore nodded. "And since the boys are too worn to keep competing, we must decide whom to name Champion: Kevin Weasley, who has fought nicely but definitely not as well as his opponent; or Daniel Potter, who conjured a beast, endangering their lives, but was ready to protect Kevin's life even at the expense of his own. Let's have a show of hands, ladies and gentlemen."
* * * * *
Daniel was sipping his butterbeer, grateful for the pleasant warmth of the liquid. The sun was just about to dive behind the horizon, and he started to feel a bit cold. Perhaps it wasn't because of the weather, since it was quite warm – his inners felt freezing. His whole body was shaking a bit, as though he had high fever. But he knew that it was just his nerves.
"Um, Daniel?" he heard a familiar voice and turned around.
"Kevin? What do you want?"
The Weasley boy (now properly dressed) blushed, even his ears turned red. "I… I heard that you saved my life."
"I did not save your life," Dan shook his head.
"But… you covered me when that serpent charged… it would have killed you, not me… you were really brave, you know."
"It was not bravery, Kev. I did it on instinct," Dan shrugged.
"I still thank you."
"You don't need to. It was all because of my stupidity. Had I not conjured that damned snake, neither of us would have been in any danger."
"You only conjured that snake because I mocked you into doing so," his cousin said, looking guilty. "If it was someone's stupidity, then it was mine."
"No…"
"Let me continue!" Kevin waved. "Please."
Daniel nodded.
"Listen, Dan, I feel like an idiot about this, but… there's something I need to admit to you. I haven't been mad at you ever since the three-hundred-points-incident. Not really, I mean. Of course I was mad at you back then, but later… my fury disappeared. And I was furious of myself because I couldn't hate you anymore."
"But then… why?"
"I don't know, Dan. I was being stupid. I was mad at myself, and I was mad at you because I couldn't hate you. That was what riled me: that I couldn't hate you. I wished I could, but… I couldn't. Not that I didn't try… I tried to hate you, that was why I was so nasty to you. I tried to persuade myself that I hated you… but believe me, I wasn't enjoying being nasty to you."
"I wasn't enjoying being nasty to you, either," Daniel grinned.
"Good," Kevin sighed with relief. "Couldn't we just… forget it all?"
"I'm game. If you promise to never get the twins to knock me off my broom again."
"Promised," the Weasley boy nodded. "So then… um... are we.. er, friends?"
"I'd be glad if we were," Daniel replied. "I hated being your enemy."
"And I hated being yours," Kevin answered.
"But Kev… what about the tournament?"
"What about it?"
"One of us will be proclaimed Champion. The other won't."
"I know. But I don't care anymore," Kevin said. "Honestly. I wish you were the Champion."
"I wish it was you," Dan countered.
"We aren't going to start quarrelling about this, are we?"
"No way, cousin," young Potter laughed. "Come, let's join the others."
* * * * *
As the five teachers walked back to the stadium from Hagrid's hut, Albus turned to Snape.
"Honestly, Severus, I do not understand you."
"What do you mean?" the Potions Master knitted his eyebrows.
"You are the head of Slytherin, and - forgive me for saying this -, but famous for favouring the Slytherins. So, why didn't you vote for Daniel Potter?"
"Because of my teeth," came the miffed answer.
* * * * *
"Well, since the last duel ended in a bit particular way," Albus Dumbledore said from the top box, "the heads of houses and myself decided to put the title of Champion to a debate. Taking all good and bad aspects into respect, weighing all alternatives, we have come to a decision. I must say that it wasn't an easy decision to make, bearing in mind that one of the parties will be unhappy with it. However, let me reassure both contestants, that the 'jury' thought highly of your performance. Both of you have fought wonderfully, but there can only be one Champion. Therefore I announce that the title Champion goes to the person who, although proved to be a bit careless, showed a great deal of courage..."
"It's you!" Kevin nudged Dan.
"No, you!"
"… Mr. Daniel Potter," Dumbledore finished his speech.
"Told you!" Kevin grinned. Norbert slapped his friend on the back, while Dan was unable to move or speak.
"M…me?" he stammered. "There's a mistake! It should be you, Kev!"
"You deserved it, old boy," his cousin said. "Go, go up to the Queen and let her give you that wreath!"
Daniel did not know how long it had taken him to climb up to the top box, neither did he hear the cheering of the crowd – the only thing he heard was the frantic beating of his heart. He dropped to his knees before the queen without even looking at her – he simply didn't know about the outside world – everything seemed to be a blur.
It was only then that he got shaken back to reality, when he felt someone's warm skin against his temples. The contact didn't last more than two seconds, but its warmth sent shivers down his spine and he slowly looked up to see the person who had touched him.
He gasped. He could not believe his eyes. This couldn't be reality, could it? He blinked, then took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes to make sure that he had seen it well… that he had seen her well.
"You have received the wreath of golden laurels as the symbol of our deep admiration. Let us congratulate you on your victory, noble knight," said the Queen of Beauty and Love in a sweet tone.
"Gil… is this… is this really you?" Dan whispered, his eyes still wide with surprise.
"Yeah, silly," she giggled.
"But… what happened to your hair?"
"Dad's book," she shrugged. "'1001 magical hairdos', remember? I just used a trick from there."
"You are… beautiful," he breathed with as much adoration as he hadn't given anyone before. But Gilda truly deserved it: her usually short and boyish hair now reached down almost to her waist. It was sleek and complimented perfectly with her huge blue eyes and long, pale pink dress (she must have changed after her crowning but Dan had been too occupied with worrying about the upcoming duel to notice it). She indeed looked like a queen.
"Why, thanks, Sir Daniel," she smiled. "Come on, stand up and show yourself to the people."
He got to his feet, helped Her Majesty up from her throne and waved down at the cheering crowd.
"You know, it's funny, Gil."
"What?" she slipped her hand into his.
"That we were the ones who didn't want to take part in all this madness… and now we are standing here because we've won."
She squeezed his hand. "Yes. It's funny."
* * * * *
For the first time for weeks, Daniel had a good night's sleep. It was a dreamless sleep, without any images disturbing it. Before going to bed he feared that he'd have nightmares about the 'basilisk', but fortunately he didn't. When he woke up the next day, he felt full of energy and happiness – the trials and tribulations were over, now he could just sit back and enjoy the parent-teacher Quidditch match. He felt so chipper and carefree that the snake didn't even come to his mind – neither did the previous day's worry about losing control over his powers. It must have been a mere accident, after all…
After breakfast he, Norbert and Gilda hurried down to the Slytherin common room to grab some binoculars, then headed upstairs.
"You know, I think the girls' questions were rather interesting in the third round," Dan told Gilda. "I particularly liked the goldfish-question."
"Wonder why," Norbert chuckled.
"Really, why?" the girl asked, smoothing her long hair. Originally she had only wanted to have long hair for the crowning-the-champion-ceremony then turn it back to normal, but Dan's open-mouthed admiration convinced her to leave it that way.
"Ah, yeah, you don't know yet," Daniel sighed. "Well, I think it's all right to tell you, too. So, I was born a squib, Gil."
"A squib?" she gaped. "But… but, then…"
"My father caught a magic goldfish at Durmstrang," Dan carried on. "And had three wishes. One of his wishes was to save Aberforth Dumbledore's life – he was seriously injured and dying. Another wish of dad's was to make sure that all descendants of his would be magic."
Gilda glanced at Dan, furrowing her brow. "So, you got magic powers from a goldfish?"
"Yes, I did."
"Wow… that's some story, Dan. Ah, the irony of life: you were born with absolutely no magic skills, and now you are better than all the others."
"You're exaggerating," the boy grinned sheepishly.
"Really, Dan… what was your dad's third wish?" Norbert asked as they neared a huge statue of a griffin.
"Well… I'm not supposed to tell this to anyone, but… you're my friends, after all, I trust you. So, his third wish was to rid Professor Lupin of his lycanthropy."
"The what?" Gilda breathed.
"Didn't you know that Professor Lupin used to be a werewolf? Well, he really used to be one. And dad made him become a normal person again. But dad never told him. He didn't do it for getting thank-you's."
"That's really noble of him," Miss Lockhart said.
The trio walked past the huge griffin, heading for the Entrance Hall. They had no idea that one James Lupin had been standing behind the statue and had heard every word.
* * * * *
"Ladies and gentlewizards," David Dursley's voice came over the magical microphone, "let us welcome today's Quidditch players: professors of Hogwarts and parents of Hogwarts students! Never in the school's history has a match like this taken place, and to add to its uniqueness, we have one retired Keeper and two retired ace Seekers from two wonderful British teams: Oliver Wood and Harry Potter from Puddlemere United and Neville Longbottom from the Whimbourne Wasps! Now both Seekers are Hogwarts professors, and captains of their teams. On team A we may welcome Virginia Potter, Ronald Weasley and Cho Chang as Chasers, Oliver Wood as Keeper, Fred and George Weasley as Beaters and of course Harry Potter as Seeker! Team B is swooping onto the pitch – let's give them a big hand ladies and gentlemen: Gilderoy Lockhart, Marcus Flint and Blaize Zabini Flint as Chasers, Severus Snape as Keeper, Aberforth Dumbledore and Remus Lupin as Beaters, and Neville Longbottom as Seeker! Finally arrives today's referee, the headmaster of Hogwarts: Albus Dumbledore!"
The spectators clapped fervently as all fourteen players took their positions over the pitch with Albus in the middle, holding the crate with the four balls and having a whistle hanging on a chain around his neck. No one had ever seen the headmaster fly a broomstick so far, but he seemed to be in his element.
"I like your dad's broomstick!" Dan whispered to Gilda at the Slytherin stands, pointing at a pink-painted broomstick Gilderoy was riding. Although team B was supposed to be wearing navy blue robes, Gilderoy had insisted on adding some lilac stripes and also wore a jaunty little lilac hat.
"Yeah, Gil, what is your father's broomstick called? Pinkus 2000?" Norbert added.
Gilda gave him a very patronising look that she had exercised as a queen.
Harry's team – team A – was playing in apricot coloured robes.
Harry gave Neville a grin that Neville returned. It had been a while since they had last played against each other. Harry also squinted at Remus, who diverted his stare at once. A shiver ran down Professor Potter's spine – he still felt terrible about being Remus' enemy, and he felt even worse by the current 'I-want-to-see-you-lose-Potter' look on Lupin's face. With a sigh he turned his attention back to David Dursley's voice and the referee hovering in the middle.
"Aaaaand the Quaffle's released! Marcus Flint intercepts, passes to his wife, she scores… Wood saves! The Quaffle's by Virginia Potter, no, Cho Chang, no, Ron Weasley… Cho Chang… Marcus Flint again… 10-0 to team B!"
"Argghhh…" Daniel groaned at the stands.
"Chin up, Dan, team A can equalise!" Norbert said.
"Ron Weasley in possession, passes to Chang, back to Weasley… scores… Snape saves! Wow, that was unexpected!" David commented, only to get a scolding look from McGonagall. "Okay, so Marcus Flint in possession, passes to Lockhart, hey, Professor Lockhart, that was a Bludger you wanted to catch! The red ball is the Quaffle! Aberforth Dumbledore sends the other Bludger towards Cho Chang, but Fred or George Weasley intervene, well done, guys! The other Bludger is taken care of by Professor Lupin, ow, that was close, Professor Potter!" Harry could barely jerk his 'Firebolt – The Special Edition' out of the way of Remus' Bludger. Up till now the Snitch hadn't been spotted, so he and Neville didn't have much to do, just keep their eyes open.
"Chang in possession, passes to… fault! Professor Lockhart, you are NOT supposed to be chasing after a Bludger, really! The red ball is the one you have to care for!"
"Uhhhh…" Gilda pursed her lips. "Not again!"
"Not again what?" Dan asked.
"Dad's periodical illness," the girl replied.
"What illness?" Norbert inquired.
"Colours-blindness. It is a returning illness. It comes then goes away. He very likely acquired it when his Obliviate curse backfired – it was some side-effect or I don't know but sometimes he cannot tell the difference between certain colours."
"Aha, so that's why he keeps wearing pink!" Dan grinned. "He thinks he is wearing blue when he puts on pink. Perhaps he's firm in the belief that he's riding a brown broomstick?"
"Noooo," Gilda shook her head. "His illness doesn't come too frequently. Once in six months, maybe, and doesn't last for more than a day… bugger, why did it have to come right today?"
Meanwhile, both teams managed to score three times, so it was 40-30 to team B.
When Gilderoy finally caught a Bludger and tried to score with it, hitting Oliver Wood rather badly on the shoulder, Albus gave team A a penalty which Ginny used and equalised to 40-40.
"Not fair! It isn't dad's fault that he cannot tell red from black!" Gilda clenched her fists.
"Oh come on, it's no tragedy, Gil. Just one penalty," Daniel grinned. He was, of course, rooting for team A.
The game was getting rather nasty. Aberforth and Remus were practically Bludger-duelling with Fred and George – the two pairs of Beaters were passing the two Bludgers between themselves, so the two black balls couldn't even get close to any other players. The Chasers of both teams used the chance for scoring as much as possible. Marcus Flint and Blaize Flint seemed to be very good at working together, but they must have got used to being together during their 12 years of marriage. The only bungler on team B was Gilderoy, who seemed to have started to mistake everything for everything – not only Bludgers for Quaffles, but also navy blue robes for apricot robes. That was how he passed the Quaffle once to Cho Chang, allowing the opponents to get into the lead. 70-60 to Harry's team.
Snape – however strange it may sound – proved to be quite a good Keeper, almost as good as Oliver Wood himself. Now that he was constantly hovering near the team B goalposts, making circles in front of them and gritting his teeth whenever someone tried to or even managed to score, everyone down in the stands had an opportunity to see his wonderfully shining row of teeth. Even those who had never got a chance to glimpse it before could marvel at its beauty. However, Beryl Bradley at the Hufflepuff stands wasn't marvelling at the beauty of Snape's teeth – she was eyeing the Potions Master in a sad way. Severus had been refusing to talk to her for weeks and she simply had no idea what to do to draw his attention back to her. She gave up counting how many times she had come close to burst out: 'I'm with your child, Sev!', but somehow she had always managed to hold herself back. Now she was ogling him dejectedly, hoping that nothing bad would happen to him up in the air.
No such luck.
Suddenly the two Bludgers that Fred/George and Aberforth/Remus had been passing between themselves jerked off course. "What the…?" George and Aberforth shouted in unison. George had definitely directed one of the black balls at Remus, and Aberforth had most definitely sent the other black ball towards Fred, still… both black balls took another course and swept towards Snape.
Down in the stands Beryl stiffened.
So did Daniel. He also gasped and went as white as a sheet.
"Dan?" Gilda shook him gently.
"No…" young Potter whispered. "Please…"
"No please what?" the girl furrowed her brow, looking up to see that Severus was madly jerking his broom away from the Bludgers that kept attacking him. Gilderoy Lockhart flew to his assistance, but one Bludger knocked his lilac little hat off his head and he went into a dive to catch it. Perhaps he should have played Seeker…
Before the Flint-couple could arrive to help the Potions Master in distress, one Bludger achieved its goal: while the other engaged Snape's attention by flip-flopping around his midsection, the other sneaked behind him and attacked: hit him on the back of his head. He lost consciousness at once. Although the Flints were already on the way to help, Harry was closer. Seeing Snape going limp on his broomstick then starting to slip off it, he spurred his Firebolt – The Special Edition, praying that he'd reach his once oh-so-hated-Potions-professor before it was too late.
Not for nothing, though, had Harry been one of the best Seekers in Great Britain – he went into a dive, swooping past Lockhart who was pushing his lilac hat back onto his dishevelled blonde locks. Practically flattening his body to the handle of his broom to lessen the air resistance, Harry flew downwards at a breakneck speed – he didn't remember ever having flown this fast. Mere two feet above the ground he caught Snape's body and jerked his broom upwards, performing a perfect Wronsky Feint.
"That was some spectacular save, Professor Potter, pity that no points can be given for it," David commented. "Oh, it seems that Professor Longbottom has managed to catch the Snitch!"
While most players' attention had been drawn to the Snape-incident, Neville – who had been at the other end of the pitch – hadn't seen it, only the Snitch that happened to fly by. By the time he had realised that there was some problem at the opposite end of the pitch, he had already had the tiny, golden ball in the hand. This was the first time he had won against Harry, and yet he didn't feel that he had won. Every time he had played against Harry and Harry had won, the crowd had been cheering Harry for having caught the Snitch. Now the crowd wasn't cheering Neville for having caught it – they were cheering Harry again, for having saved Snape.
Somehow Neville couldn't feel jealous of his old friend. With a sigh, he pocketed the Snitch, touched down onto the ground and hurried to the small group gathered around the unconscious Potions Master. Fred and George managed to catch the two rogue Bludgers and forced them back into the crate.
Since the mediwizards who had been present at the tournament had left the previous evening, it was only Madame Pomfrey who could help the injured Keeper. Remus and Aberforth lifted Snape's limp body onto a stretcher and headed for the castle.
The headmaster climbed up to David and took the microphone. "No need to worry, ladies and gentlemen. Everything is under control. We are going to investigate and find out what happened to the Bludgers. Professor Snape will be taken care of by the school matron. The match has been won by team B: 170-90." with that, he also hurried off to the castle.
"I can't believe it," Norbert whined. "To end it just like that!"
"Professor Longbottom caught the Snitch," Gilda reminded him. "The game's over. What got into you, Dan?" she turned to the other boy who was still sitting next to her with ashen face.
"You wouldn't believe it if I told you," young Potter turned to her, some unaccustomed light in his eyes. Gilda couldn't really put a finger on it, but it seemed to be fear what she saw in them.
"What wouldn't we believe?" Norbert knitted his eyebrows.
"I've got to go," Dan hopped up, and before either Miss Lockhart or young Malfoy could ask him what had got into him, he had disappeared into the crowd.
* * * * *
Harry dropped himself onto a bench in the changing room and propped his head into his palms. He was all sweaty and felt very cold. He well remembered his own case with Dobby's mad Bludger, but that was different. Now both Bludgers had attacked Snape and Harry didn't have the slightest idea why. Who would want to hurt Snape?
Then suddenly the Halloween incident came to his mind. Someone had tried to kill Snape back then, but had failed. Now it seemed that they had decided to try it again. And what if they succeeded this time? Getting a Bludger to the head was nothing to joke with… one could actually die if the concussion was serious enough.
Suddenly Harry felt someone touch his shoulder and he looked up to see Cho standing next to him, eyeing him with a small smile.
"You were wonderful, Harry," she said, sitting down.
"Wonderful? What if my 'wonderfulness' couldn't save him? He still might die, Cho."
"Oh, Harry…" she sneaked an arm around him. "See, that's what I particularly like about you: your huge heart. I know how much you disliked Snape back in your school-years, and now you're worried about him."
He shrugged. "Everyone's worried… aren't you?"
"A bit. But you know, when you went into that suicidal dive, I was worried much more about you than about him… I feared you'd die."
"Hey, I'm an ace Seeker, remember?" he grinned.
"Oh, really?" she grinned back. "Really, Harry… I was afraid. My heart skipped a beat… I feared I'd… lose you just like I lost Ced."
He reached out to squeeze her hand. "I'm sorry, Cho. It must have been hard for you to lose everyone you loved. Cedric…"
"…and you," she said. "I know I have lost you long ago and a part of me died when I left you all those years ago, but the other part of me would also have died if you had died now… seeing you being happy - even though you're not with me – makes me feel as though I still had a little bit of you. I love you, Harry."
"What about Cedric?" he whispered. "Don't you love him, too?"
"Yes, I do. I love both of you," she replied, looking deeply into his emerald eyes. "But he's dead and you're alive."
"I'm alive. But I'm married. To Ginny."
"I know," she sighed. "And I'm happy that at least you are happy… having a nice family and all…"
"Cho…" he started to feel awkward. "I'm sorry… I… I saw your reaction back at the girls' third round… I felt with you when your daughter talked about having no father and no proper family…"
She heaved a huge sigh. "I wish I could tell her the truth… that it was me who left Ross, not the other way around… then Liu wouldn't hate her unknown father. Ross wasn't a bad person… it wasn't his fault. His only fault was that he wasn't you."
Harry looked away, feeling embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I wish I could help somehow," he whispered to the coat rack.
She reached out and caressed his cheek. "You cannot. But I still thank you, Harry," she said softly, leaning towards him until they were mere inches apart. He felt her hot breath on his skin and felt memories rushing to his mind – memories of himself back at school, pining for the inaccessible goddess Cho Chang… longing for a single kiss that she had refused to give… one kiss that she finally gave.
Before he could pull away, she bent forward, turning his head to face her and gently pressing her mouth onto his. He was too surprised to push her back, too surprised to think over what was happening… so, without thinking he melted into her embrace, plunging into the pool of bittersweet memories of fifteen years ago… her lips pressed tightly to his made long forgotten dreams resurface – dreams that had made the teenage Harry wake up drenched in sweat and flushed with embarrassment… but that had been fifteen years earlier! And this was the present… he had to stop, his mind screamed. Stop, stop, stop – invisible walls in his brain echoed the word, reverberating until he felt strong enough to pull away.
"Argghhh… we shouldn't have…" he mumbled.
"How very true!" a third voice tore at the air.
Harry turned towards the door of the changing room to see his eldest daughter Lily standing there with eyes gleaming with fury.
"Lil, I…"
"No need to explain this, Harry!" she hissed. "You have been cheating on mum! Gosh, and I have held you for an honest man! Honest? Ridiculous! How could you? Tell me, how could you do this to poor mum? When she loves you so much? When there has never been anyone else for her, only you!?! How could you betray her love, Harry?" her eyes were not only filled with fury and disgust, but sadness and disappointment as well. She had deliberately used the name 'Harry' instead of 'dad' again.
"Listen, sweetie, it's not…"
"…what I thought it was?" she crossed her arms, giving him a 'don't-take-me-for-a-fool' stare. "You are a pathetic liar, Harry. You're pathetic and I have no idea how I could ever like you! Just to inform you: now I hate you!"
"Lily, let me explain!" he raised his voice.
"There's nothing to explain about this!" she snapped. "I've seen what I've seen! And I'm glad it was me who saw it and not mum… she'd be crushed! I bet you've been carrying on with this chick for a while!"
"First of all: she's no chick. Secondly: I haven't had any kind of relationship with her… It was just one single kiss, nothing more happened, and I was given the kiss, it wasn't me who gave it…"
"Oh, and you expect me to believe that?" she spat. "I really feel sorry for poor mum. She deserves someone better than you!"
He gave her a worried glance. "You don't intend to tell your mother… do you?"
"Of course I don't! I love her and don't want her to suffer! She's my mother… but you, you're no more my father!"
Before Harry could answer, the girl stormed out. He looked around devastated, but there was nothing and no one to speak to. Cho must have slipped through the other door while Lily had been pouring her tirade at him. Well, maybe it was better that way – he would have felt even worse if he had had to talk to Cho after this.
As for Lily… he had no idea what to do. Lily wouldn't tell Ginny for sure, but neither would she talk to him in the near future.
He sank onto the bench again and hid his face into his hands. Why, oh why did he have to let his one-time crush wake emotions in him? Had she woken emotions in him at all or was this just some stupid fervour-of-the-moment thing? It had to be! He loved Ginny! Ginny and no one else! But then… why on Earth did he let Cho kiss him and why on Earth did he kiss her back? And why was Lily behaving like this? Certainly she had to be mad at him, but… her reaction seemed to be stronger than it could have been expected from her in such a case.
Harry simply didn't understand Lily. Every time she seemed to turn back to him after some silly quarrel, something new occurred to turn her against him again… or was it just a series of coincidences? Either it was or not, Lily was very mad at him right now, and Harry couldn't blame her. He knew he would have felt rather miffed if he had seen say, his mother snogging with Professor Snape…
"…but you, you're no longer my father!" Lily's words echoed in his mind, shooting painful arrows into his heart. He had screwed it up again. And this time he really felt guilty – he had been kissing another woman while his wife was outside with her brothers… he had not only been unfaithful, but stupid as well. Was his daughter's hatred his punishment? He couldn't ponder this because Fred and George barged in, laughing madly at something.
"What's this great happiness?" Harry grunted.
"What's this great moroseness?" Fred countered. "Oh, come on, Harry, it's the first time you lost a match against Neville, don't take it to your heart!"
Harry gave them a sad smile. Of course, the twins were thinking that he was sad about the lost match.
"Really, mate, you're still the hero of the day, saving Snape's sorry ass!" George grinned. "But you know what we've just found out?"
"What?" Harry asked, feeling not at all interested.
"Lockhart's colour-blind!" Fred told the news. "That is why he has been trying to catch the Bludgers all along!"
"Really?" Professor Potter sighed. "How very interesting. How did you find out?"
"Er…" George's ears turned red. "We… kind of… fed him a painting-pasty…"
"..it turned him green…" Fred added. "And he started to scream 'help, I'm yellow! I've got to see Madame Pomfrey, I must be having a serious liver-disease!'"
"Yeah… and he hurried off to the infirmary," George smirked. "You should have seen him, Harry, it was a sight!"
* * * * *
The school nurse had just finished examining the unfortunate Snape when Gilderoy burst in. "Help, Madame Pomfrey!" he yelled. "I'm sick!"
"Well, you look green enough," she seized him up.
"Green?" he frowned. "Not yellow?"
"No, definitely green," she shook her head. "What have you eaten?"
"Just a… oh!" Gilderoy slapped his forehead. "Fred and George Weasley! Oh my, how could I be so stupid? Sorry to bother you, Madame Pomfrey!" he turned on his heels and marched towards the door with the intention of giving the twins a thorough dressing-down and demanding an antidote. At the door, he bumped into the headmaster.
"Oh, sorry, Albus!"
"Never mind, Gilderoy! Oh, why are you green?"
Lockhart waved indignantly and hurried off.
"So, how is our patient doing, Poppy?" Dumbledore turned to the school matron.
"Not well. He is going to survive, but won't be up for several days. He got a very nasty concussion."
"I see. Do everything in your power, Poppy, please," said Albus as the door of the infirmary opened again to admit the caretaker.
"How's he?" Beryl asked, her face as white as a sheet.
"He'll live," the headmaster sent her a reassuring smile.
"Oh, thanks heaven!" she sighed. "May I stay with him?"
The headmaster gave Madame Pomfrey a questioning stare. The matron seemed to be on the verge of saying 'no, definitely not', but seeing the pleading and devastated expression on Beryl's face, she nodded. "All right. But be quiet. He needs a lot of rest."
"Professor Dumbledore!" Daniel Potter yelled, ripping the door open.
"I SAID HE NEEDS TO REST!" Poppy stamped her foot. "Out with you, young man!"
"Er… Professor…" Dan looked at Albus. "We've got to talk. It's important. Very important."
Dumbledore nodded and left the hospital wing. "Come with me to my office, young Potter."
Daniel followed the old wizard down the corridor, up a staircase, to the ugly stone gargoyle he had seen so many times before. After muttering Ton-Tongue-Toffee, Albus entered with the boy in tow.
"Well, what is so important, Daniel?" Dumbledore asked, motioning Dan to sit down. But Dan didn't sit. He took a deep breath, as if bracing himself to say something he was afraid to utter and said:
"It was me."
"What was you?" Albus blinked.
"I did it. To Professor Snape. Though I don't know why and how…" Dan gulped. "I didn't want to… seriously, Professor, I'd never want to kill Professor Snape, it'd never occur to me… still it was me."
"Are you sure?" the old wizard asked.
"Yes. I felt it. Energy left my body just like it always does when I imagine something big, but it wasn't me imagining all these things! It was as if someone else imagined them, just I was the one who carried them out! I don't understand how it could be possible, but I felt so! You believe me, don't you, Professor? I would never deliberately imagine-kill a teacher!"
"Calm down Daniel, please," Dumbledore waved. "Calm down and sit down. I believe you and know that you're not a murderer. However, it seems that your powers have been out of control once again, just like yesterday with that snake…"
"Yes, it seems so… but yesterday I did intend to imagine a snake, and I just thought that I accidentally imagined a bigger one than I had wanted, but today… it didn't even occur to me to do anything to those Bludgers… I didn't imagine them attacking Professor Snape, still it had to be me doing it, because I felt the usual… that Imaginer-energy escaped my body… it had to be me. I just can't explain how and why… or perhaps…"
"Or perhaps?" the headmaster raised a silver-white eyebrow.
"You… you might expel me for this, Professor, but… I s'pose it's better if I told you…" the boy said with wavering voice. "I'd rather be expelled than to carry on endangering other peoples' lives just because of that book…"
"What book?"
Young Potter took another huge breath. "I've broken a school rule. Actually I've been breaking it for weeks…"
"And may I know what kind of school rule that is?"
"I've been sneaking out to the well… Well, not exactly to the well, but to Gryffindor's chamber."
"To what?" Dumbledore's eyes widened.
"Gryffindor's chamber. I found it the first time I fell into the well. It's down there in the cave, hidden behind a door that can only be opened by Gryffindor's heir. And there's a message from Gryffindor himself to his son Godwin, telling about a book on Imaginers. According to Godric there had only been two copies of that book and he got hold of one of them because in some vision he had seen that his son would turn out to be an Imaginer and that he'd need it. Since you have been teaching me from your ancestor's diary, I thought that Godwin had never found the chamber and never read the book… but I did. I read it. And learnt from it," he glanced at the old wizard, seeing that he was eyeing him curiously. "Maybe I shouldn't have studied from that book… I learnt lots of stuff from there, but also dangerous stuff… I don't know, but maybe that book turned my powers in the wrong direction and that is why I cannot control them… I really don't know," he heaved a huge sigh. "Now you can expel me, I'll understand it. But you had to know about the book."
For about a minute the headmaster didn't reply anything, just kept scrutinising the boy's features. Daniel was on the edge of his seat, waiting for the sentence, already seeing himself in his mind's eye saying good-bye to his friends and Hogwarts… suddenly Dumbledore spoke up:
"Take me to the chamber."
* * * * *
Severus Snape slowly opened his eyes, blinked, and the first thing he saw was a pair of worried brown eyes gazing down at him. Bradley.
"What… happened?" he whispered.
"The Bludgers," she replied. "Remember?"
"Oh… yeah…" he nodded then clutched at his nape. Nodding must have hurt him a lot, since he had a head-injury. "And what… what happened after it… knocked me unconscious?"
"You fell off your broomstick. And Harry Potter caught you before you could hit the ground."
"Potter?" Snape uttered the name with sheer disgust. "Potter again?!?"
"Well, it seems, Professor, that you keep being saved by Potters," she shrugged. She still remembered when Severus had told her about James Potter saving him from the werewolf Lupin, then Harry saving him at Stonehenge, and now this… poor Sev, she thought, it must be hard for him to accept that the Potters kept saving him all the time.
Not to mention that Beryl had no idea about Daniel also saving Snape from the spiders back at Halloween…
"And you?" he grunted. "What are you doing here?"
"Sitting up for you, what else?"
"Because you feel sorry for me, eh?" he hissed, though talking seemed to cause him great pains. "You feel sorry for me… because a Potter had to save me again, right?"
"No!" she snapped. "I don't feel sorry for you!"
"Then why – are – you - here?"
"Because I was worried about you!"
"Worried?" he furrowed his brow. "Worried about someone who hasn't been talking to you for… for…"
"Two weeks, three days, five hours? Yes," she nodded.
"Well, you shouldn't be."
"Why not? Because you don't deserve it? I agree. You really don't deserve it. I still worry about you. And you want to know why?" before he could say 'no', she clamped her hand over his mouth and leant over him, to look directly into his black eyes. "Because I love you. You don't deserve that, too, but I still do."
He tossed her hand away. "What about Neville Longbottom?"
"Neville?" she laughed. "I love him as my brother."
"You seemed to love him another way," he said accusingly.
She only grinned. "You're jealous."
"Am not."
"Are too."
"Am not."
"Are t…" she couldn't finish the sentence, because he suddenly pulled her down and kissed her thoroughly. She melted into his embrace, letting his hands caress her back… strangely those hands felt stronger than a sick man in Severus' condition was supposed to have.
"Liar," she whispered as she pulled back.
"Liar? Me?" he snapped. "You have been lying to me for months! You have been taking me for a complete fool! If someone can be called a liar, then it's you!"
"If only you'd give me a chance to explain!" she jumped up from his bed.
"I'm not interested," he crossed his arms and frowned petulantly. "My head hurts. Leave."
"All right! I'm leaving!" she shouted. "And don't expect me to come back, because I'm no longer interested in you! You could kick the bucket, I wouldn't give a damn!"
"Oh, I'm very hurt indeed!" he yelled after her as the door slammed shut. "Oh… this really hurts!" he clutched at his head again and slumped back into his pillow. "Women."
* * * * *
Daniel touched the tip of his wand to his index finger to produce one single drop of blood.
"May I ask what you are doing, son?" Albus asked.
"Well, sir, do you see this script over here?" Dan pointed at the door. "It's a riddle that I solved. The point is that only Gryffindor's heir with Gryffindor's blood can open this door," with that he pressed his finger to the small oval dent of the door.
The chamber opened and he entered, followed by Dumbledore.
"Hm… not bad," the old wizard looked around admiringly. "The good ol' Godric new some magic, huh?"
"He definitely did, sir," Daniel nodded and hurried to the red marble table on which Viviane Vablatsky's book on Imaginers lay closed.
"Ah, so this is that infamous book?" the headmaster picked it up and stared to turn over the pages. "Well, well, well, it looks pretty interesting. I cannot blame you for having been eager to learn from it, however, sneaking out of school isn't something I'd approve of."
"I know sir," the boy nodded sullenly.
"Now, would you look at that!" Albus said suddenly.
"What?"
"There's a page missing."
"Ah, that. Yes, I know," Dan said. "It must have been torn out by someone long before Godric put the book into the chamber."
Dumbledore didn't reply, just seemed to be looking very carefully at the page before the missing one. "Hm… the art of cont…"
"Oh, yeah, I have also wondered what that means. It could mean so many things, since many words start with 'cont', don't they?"
"Yes, that's true," Albus nodded. "However, given the circumstances, I believe I know what it means."
"What, sir?"
"The art of controlling an Imaginer."
Daniel furrowed his brow, then his eyes widened in shock. "Could it be? Could it be, Professor? That someone was… controlling me? Controlling my powers… using that page? The missing page?"
"We cannot rule out the possibility," the headmaster replied.
"So… whoever has that page is using it to make me do stuff that I don't want to?" Dan breathed.
"It's very possible, Daniel," Albus sighed. "Very possible."
"But… sir… how do they know that I'm an Imaginer? I mean… just mum, dad and you know. No one else…"
"At least we think that only your parents and I know. But it seems that someone else does, too. And that someone else has the missing page and has been using it for his own purporses."
"Could… could that person be the same who… who wanted to kill Professor Snape back at Halloween?"
"It could. I'd say it's very likely that the two persons are the same. We just have to find out who they are."
"And until then…?"
"Until then," Dumbledore gave the boy a sad look, "you are expelled."
A/N: the story's getting darker, and eviler and eviler cliffies are coming…
BigDaddy753: thanks :)
goldenstar555: yes, definitely evil!
PhoenixFire: I promise you that Albus won't die. What gives you the idea that Tatyana lives in Lily?
Red Ridding Hood: I was totally amazed when David Copperfield made a whole airplane disappear! And when he went through the Great Wall… wow. I have seen some Jane Austen movies, but never read the books, I know they'd bore me, I don't really like her style.
2Coolio: excuse me?
Inigma: I'm glad you're shocked :) No idea what kind of serpent it was… I'm no magizoologist ;) No, Dan's misimagining wasn't an accident. Your teacher is really weird :D I'll read your fic in May – I have sworn not to read any fics till the 3r of May. Please, remind me in May!
starheart20: I'm glad I still can surprise you… and you can't imagine HOW surprised you'll be soon.
Katrina: well, Dan won :D I'm glad you found Liu's answers moving. She isn't that terrible, after all, you'll see later that she does have a heart.
jennaration: I hope you'll feel the need to review for the next few chapters… there'll be things coming that you (hopefully) won't be able to leave 'unreviewed' (or put it this way: you won't be able to leave them without yelling at me;) See, none of the boys died. Hungarian lesson (it was a looooong time ago that you asked me to tell you something in Hungarian!): "Please don't do anything evil" is "Kérlek, ne csinálj semmi gonoszat!", the "screw you" means "kapd be!" ;) Feel free to shout 'kapd be' at me in chapters 27-29 :)
Autumn Dreams: yes, Dan is definitely Gryffindor material. Yes, John Williams was THE John Williams, I'm a huge fan of his!
Rab: glad you liked Snape's birthday :)
Houou: feel free to steal Gilderoy's mirror, he has nine spare ones!
Alexander Phoenix: I'll read your fic in May, I can't do it until then, because I have sworn not to read a single fic till the 3rd of May. Please, remind me after that, okay?
Tap Dancing Widow: are you also a Rowan Atkinson fan? Yes, Draco and Gabie WILL admit that they're married, just wait it out. Of course I wouldn't make Dan die saving Kevin!
Phoenix_Kiss02: well, I didn't want Kevin to win, because he had been so nasty to poor Dan all along… Dan had to win!
xaebhal: glad you liked the idea of the tournament on broomsticks and Gilda's answer ;) In fact I was a bit afraid that people would find her third answer scandalising, but no one did.
Aimee: more suspense coming! :D
Indigo Ziona: Pride and Polyjuice was already mentioned in chapter 11 of TGSaWCS, but there no one noticed it. Funny that you and Red Ridding Hood noticed it in the last chapter :)
Romina: glad you liked the quizzes and Gilda's answer. I'm glad I can make your life a bit more 'colourful' :D
VegaKeep: although I have never heard of the phrase 'fear is the mindkiller', I think you referred to my evil cliffie, right? Of course I might be wrong…
tyleet: your site is really cool! I took the quiz 'what is your fave ship', and do you know what results it gave me? It said I'm a Harry/Draco shipper! Hahahaha! Never in my wildest dreams would I ship H/D! I was giggling so madly when I got these results ;)
aprenticeofdobby: are you a Cassandra Claire fan, too? ;) Your email address told me so.
King Jasbon: thanks :)
C-chan: no, I haven't seen The Core and Phone Booth. Is The Core about that mass-destruction? Noooo, Dorothea Crockford doesn't shake the champion's hand :) April May was just a joke. Finite Incantatem is the spell that ends the effect of a previous spell. For example if you cast Petrificus Totalus on someone, then he gets petrified, but if you say Finite Incantatem, he'll get unpetrified. Poisoned Potter? It sounds cool, You're very imaginative, really! You have already proved it by writing Draco's questionnaire for Indigo Ziona. Btw… I've written Gilderoy's questionnaire, and Indigo Ziona promised me to put it into her next chapter! :D
X-Tow-Naga: not even Dumbledore can react quick enough, he's an ooooold wizard ;) No idea why the contestants who hadn't gone yet couldn't see the other's duels… I tend to make up stupid rules for Hogwarts, that's all. Haha, I loved the way you rephrased that quiz question with tying Voldie to a chair! :D Thanks for pointing out my grammar mistake, I tend to mistake some words for each other. Well, about the date of the Goblin Revolutions… Rowling always referred to it as 'the Goblin Revolution of 1612', so I just took it from her books. You wrote: "that pun about not being able to remember the ingredients of the forgetfullnes potion was pretty bad" – you know what? I hadn't even realised that it was a pun! It really didn't occur to me… funny that you had to make me realise WHAT exactly I had written ;) Fudge saying "hello, I am me, goodbye"? LOL. But I think that most people would have found that rather suspicious and would have thought that someone had tampered with poor Fudge… Yes, I think you still have the longest review for this fic.
thecrazygirl: more cliffies!!! :D
seashell: wow, you were the only one who managed to find out that someone was tampering with Dan's powers! Clever!
Another*Ginny: I miss Relic Hunter, too! *hugs Nigel* I'm glad you love Home Alone, too, it's really one of the best movies I've ever seen! Yes, of course I know that Chris Columbus did the two HP movies. Now I'm wondering what PoA will be like with a new director… Well, you got it: Harry and Ginny called the basilisk away. Why are you a 'Yeti Reindeer psychopath'? Just wondering… I love yetis and reindeer – you must have guessed it after reading TGSaWCS :)
Lioness-07863: I thought that Gilda's most interesting answer was the one about Voldemort, but everyone's fave one was the one about sex – wonder why? ;)
Lupin's Angel: no, Chris Columbus won't be a student – but you made me laugh at that, really! :D Voldemort and sex – not together… whew. I'm relieved. I can't imagine those two together, really! Well, I CAN imagine it, but the mere thought repulses me.
Nefertiri: yes, I totally love torturing you with cliffies – and the worst ones are yet to come! Soon you won't hate Liu, I'm sure of that. Well, now you know that it wasn't Daniel who imagined the Basilisk. Oh, I made a mistake! The queen's second maid of honour was Eliza, and the first was Liu. Thanks for pointing that out! What kind of religion project do you have to work on?
Altec: yes, the same person is behind it all. I'm going to read your last chapter in May, no sooner, since I've sworn not to read a single piece of fanfic till the third of May. Please, remind me after 3rd May to read it, okay? Thanks. Although Liu will never be Dan's girlfriend, she'll be quite close to him, so you partly get what you want.
Mage: just freak them out :)
maureen: I think Gareth and George are the only names I know from all those you mentioned. Do you know what 'kamion' means in Hungarian? It means truck (the vehicle)! Glad you like Daniel's name ;) Eric is also nice, but I like it more written with a 'k' – Erik just looks much cooler than Eric. Somehow seems 'stronger'. Yes, the same person is behind everything. You think it's Philippe? Hm… why would a common Muggle like Philippe want to conjure a basilisk or make Harry turn on Remus? No, it doesn't make sense.
sabby: see, Dan didn't lose! But he got expelled… the poor one.
Inken: see, Kevin didn't die! :) You got Beryl/Snape in this chapter, the next B/S will be in chapter 27. The story has 31 chapters put together.
Elfangor19: sorry, but the 'no more cliffies' petition cannot be accepted :D
Wood's secret lover: broadband must be cool, I still have a common modem connection. Haha… I loved your 'correction' of my 'typing mistake', LOL. For the time being I'm not likely to read the cliché collection, since I've sworn not to read any fanfics till the 3rd of May. I might read it after that.
Shazzman: yes, I also thought it'd be funny to make Gilderoy jealous of Snape's teeth :) Don't worry, I'll post the third chapter of Gadding with Goats in a couple of days, or if not before Easter, then next week.
SiriDragon: was the cliffie at the end of chapter 24 the worst so far? Hm… I don't dare imagine what you'll say in the near future… much worse cliffhangers are coming, so brace yourself!
Toby Haine: there'll be something in chapter 27 that you will hate because of its evilness, but you'll surely find it brilliant, too. I must admit that I was very proud of myself when I made up that particular thing, and sometimes I'm still amazed how it could occur to me… You wrote: "who says you have to be in love to go out with someone?" Well, I do, Toby. Believe me, I was going out with a guy whom I liked as a friend, but whenever he snogged me, I felt repulsed. He just wasn't my type of guy, and I'm glad it ended. I could never have fallen in love with him, and getting kissed by someone whom I didn't feel attracted to at all, was terrible… at least for me.
Sean Mulligan: of course Tom Parris is from Star Trek Voyager – I mentioned that I was using his name in chapter 3, when Tom got sorted into Gryffindor :)
Lavendar Brown: I'm glad you still think so.
CloverWeave: you're the only one who doesn't like the Norbert/Lily ship, then. Glad you liked the boxers thingie.
ruffled owl: no, the only Voyager tidbit was Tom Parris' name :)
Hermione We@sley: glad you like Daniel :D
kitch: the story has 31 chapters, and I'm glad you like it :D
Princess Ginny: glad you found it funny!
Wizzabee: no, the power isn't too great for Dan to control, but someone else is controlling it.
Lady Schezar: glad you liked the basilisk! CoS came out here on the 11th, too, but I don't have it yet. I've seen it three times in the cinema, I might buy it later on. You know what I found funny about its release date? 11th April is the 'day of poetry' in Hungary and we got CoS that day… somehow it's funny.
apple-pie: well, Dan did some imagining in chapter 24, didn't he? You'll find out why Lily's so 'crazy' in chapter 28. Snape finds out about his baby in the next chappie! :D
candycaneOgram: you made me giggle when you talked about you and your friend reading my fics :))) No, Kevin isn't that bad, is he? They've finally reconciled.
Missy: yes, I guessed that QoBaL was Queen of Beauty and Love :D
TaMaraR: you know that you're the only one who found Gilda's meeting-Voldemort answer the best? All the others loved the sex-is-the-most-important answer the most.
weirdo_without_a_clue: no, I'm not likely to kill off the main character. A Hungarian friend whom I have sent the whole story said she was sure around chapter 28 that Dan would die and she was sooo relieved when he didn't! :) Don't worry, in two chapters the story will turn dark, and in four chapters some characters will be killed off. Everything to my readers' pleasure!
Cassandra Anthemyst: hehe, it's funny that you were reading backwards! Tatyana/Draco? That's the weirdest ship I've ever read about! Nooo, I wouldn't be so mean to Draco to pair him off with a millennium-old-wench!
Black Ice: yes, I know that it was very obvious that Gilda would win, but I thought: 'let's make something obvious for a change, I'm making too many things totally unpredictable in this fic, I should add something that the readers can guess in advance!'
Lana Riddle: and the tendency to stop when it gets really good will continue… in a rather evil way, so be prepared!