Harry Potter and the Curse of the Gypsy

Author's note-Hello, and thank you for reading my first fan fiction! I only recently found this site but have been writing fan fiction for as long as I can remember. This is a story that I started right after reading Goblet of Fire, and it has been really fun! I hope you enjoy reading it!

Disclaimer-I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters from these fine books. The only characters that I own are Cory Johnson and her managers. J.K. Rowling owns the others, and she has done a fine job with them, so I could never take her place as much as I would like to. The plot is mine, though. Got it? Good.
Chapter Three

Harry stood with the family as Mr. Weasley went to the advance ticket sales booth to collect their day passes

"See," Mrs. Weasley said, "All of your passes will have your photo and signature. Security is...tight. Especially after the Quidditch Cup Finals last year." Harry nodded, remembering the Death Eater attack. Mr. Weasley returned shortly with the passes.

"You can get your picture over at the gate. We'll all go over and wait until everybody is done." Harry nodded as he walked to the booth. A young man with grayish eyes and long black hair stood there.

"Is he a gypsy?" Harry whispered.

"Probably." Ron shrugged. "Looks like one, anyway."

"I though...well, in History of Magic...gypsies are..."

"People used to hate them. They realized their mistakes when..." he gulped, slightly pale.

"When what?"

"They...whole clans of them were killed by him. Some say he stole ancient magic to come to power. He stole the magic right out of them. They wanted revenge. So that is why so few of them are left."

Harry shuddered. "Wow. So, people finally decided they were all right?"

"Yeah." Ron sighed. "Most anyway. Malfoy, for example, is the type that condemns them."

"No surprise there." Harry said darkly. They stepped up to the counter.

"Name?"

"Ron Weasley." He handed the man the pass.

"Sign here." Ron quickly scrawled his name. "Now stand back." Ron responded; just not quickly enough. A blinding flash went off in his face. He blinked as the man handed him the pass. "Next?" he looked down at Harry. "Name?"

"Harry Potter." The man jumped slightly at the name in surprise and looked at Harry's forehead, his gaze flickering at the sight of the scar. To his surprise and pleasure, the man didn't respond with the usual awe or admiration-he smirked with blatent humor.

"So you are." He said thoughtfully. "Sign." Harry took the quill and quickly wrote his name. "Step back." Harry was quicker than Ron, and had already recovered his vision by the time the man handed the pass back.

"Let's go." He said to Ron. The twins and Mr. Weasley were standing at the gate. They only had to wait for Mrs. Weasley and Ginny. Fred and George had already pinned their passes on. Their photos were pulling odd faces.

"Ready Harry?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"Of course." Harry smiled warmly.

Mrs. Weasley and Ginny finally wandered over, both looking quite dazed by the flash. "All right, Arthur. Everybody has their passes."

He nodded. "Ready to go, Molly." He handed them all brochures of silver paper. "These are maps of the entire park, with all of the events. We'll meet at one at the Moonwater Café. All set?" Everybody nodded. "LET'S GO!"

The twins left eagerly in the direction of the nearest joke shop, while Mr. and Mrs. Weasley wandered off to the old part of the grounds, where they had had their first true date. Ginny met up with a few friends from Hogwart's and left with them.

"Where do you want to go?" Ron asked, goggling at the options.

"Erm...they are having Quidditch games on Jupiter Avenue."

"Doesn't start until eleven. What about the magical menagerie?"

Harry thought. It wasn't too far away, and it might be interesting to see some creatures that weren't Flobberworms or Blast-Ended Screwts. "All right." He said. "We'll go there."

They waded through the crowd that was forming until they got there. It reminded Harry of the muggle zoo he had once visited, except there were no bars. Just magical barriers guarding the paddocks.

A pair of gypsies were standing near the entrance. Harry thought to himself that it was odd that they should look so beautiful and frightening at the same time.

"Let's look around a bit." Ron led the way around the paddocks.

"What do you want to look at?" Ron said. "Unicorns, that's a girl thing. Tentrids..." he shuddered, "Like I really want to look at a half- spider, half-squid." He cringed. "And....ugh...a Gypsy Snake."

This caught Harry's attention. "A snake?"

"Yeah, why....no! Absolutely not! C'mon, Harry...."

"Everybody already knows that I'm Parseltongue." He said.

"Yeah, but...." He protested in vain and ran after Harry, who had already started toward the exhibit.

They approached it carefully. A man in gray robes watched. "I'd be careful if I were you." He warned. "That thing gets a bit rough."

Harry wasn't listening. He leaned over and glanced at it. It was oddly beautiful, with pearly white scales and eyes that glittered like ebony beads. It was at least three feet long.

'Hello,' it whispered, in a feminine voice.

'Hello' he answered back. The snake blinked.

'You talk to me? Not many sssspeak the language...I know one other'

'Yeah,' he said. 'You live here?' Harry asked in what he hoped was a congenial tone.

'Not for long. My massssster is leaving the festival. I will go with her.' The snake curled around, eyes on Harry.

'Your master?'

'My friend. Sssshe is good. Ssssshe protectssss me from him...." Harry looked at the snake as she flicked her tail.

'Where is she going?'

'Hogwartsssss....' He jerked back. Other than himself, there was no other parseltongue at Hogwarts. Who was this girl? Was she going to be a first year? But....he would think about that later. He decided it was time to leave.

'Goodbye.' He said. 'Maybe I'll see you.'

'Ssssee you ssssssoon." Ron shuddered as Harry recounted the details of the conversation.

"Another parseltongue? This isn't good." Harry raised a brow, making Ron blush. "Not that there's anything wrong with that....."

They wandered for awhile, looking at the different creatures. There were kappas and giant bear-like creatures neither Harry or Ron recognized. The name on the sign was written in Albanian.

They wandered a bit more, stopping when they saw a group of Hippogriffs. They fluttered their wings and yawned. It was Ron who recognized the one in the back, softly fluttering his gray wings.

"Buckbeak..." Harry looked. It was him. He looked healthier than he had when they had last seen him. "Reckon Snuffles didn't need him anymore." Ron said quietly.

"Probably Dumbledore got him in here." Harry whispered back.

They watched for awhile, but wary of the hippogriff's claws, decided not to go any further.

Fifteen minutes later, they left, heading towards oen fo the many rides located around the carnival. Harry enjoyed a particular one called the Tosser, which propelled you through the air on invisible ropes, and another that was much like the Gringott's carts, except they were much faster and you ended up being thrown into a lake.

"Did we have to ride that last one three times?" Ron moaned as he and Harry stood beneath the Auto-Dry. He looked quite green.

"Come on....it's my birthday."

"Yeah. Right."

Harry checked his new watch. "The Quidditch games start in fifteen minutes. Let's go." They followed the signs to a large field. A large banner overhead stated; WELCOME AMATEUR QUIDDITCH PLAYERS TO THE 250TH ANNUAL STARLIGHT FESTIVAL QUIDDITCH AND FLYING EVENTS!!! AGES 15 TO 20 WELCOME!

"Ha! Just made age requirement." Ron grinned.

"Yeah!" He and Ron walked up to the gypsy woman who appeared to be running things.

"Er...we'd like to join the events. I'm Harry Potter, this is Ron Weasley." She raised a brow when she heard Harry's name but didn't comment.

"All right, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley. Fill out these forms and I'll get your contestant broomsticks." They nodded as she walked away.

They filled out their forms, confounded slightly.

"How am I supposed to know my mum's school friend's dog's name?" Ron muttered.

"I don't even know my mum's maiden name." Harry muttered.

"What does this mean, 'Death or Dismemberment'?"

"Hey, boys." The witch came back and handed them the brooms, taking theif half-finished forms.

"Mr. Potter, thirteen. Number is on your broom. Weasley, you're twenty." They looked at their broomsticks-sure enough large gold numbers were written on them.

"What are you competing in?" Harry asked Ron as they made their way to the fields.

"Keeping. Keep as many quaffles from the goal as possible."

"And I am doing seeking." He stretched. "All set?"

"Sure am." They stepped out of the crowd, waiting to be seperated into their competitions. And then they heard a very unwelcome voice.

"Well, if it isn't Potter and his tag-a-long pal the Weasel." They turned to face Draco Malfoy.

"What do you want, ferret?" Ron sneered. "There aren't any Death Eaters around here."

"What's Potter doing here?" he retorted. "This festival is for families." Harry clenched his fists.

"What is your problem?" Harry said loudly. "No muggles to torture?"

"No. I'm here to compete. It will be a pleasure, seeing how well you can fly without your little Firebolt...and Weasley, I wish you luck against Crabbe and Goyle, they're keeping too. You'll need luck. I don't think your family can afford any hospital bills." He walked off, laughing loudly. Ron lunged after him.

"I've had enough, you...." Draco turned and shoved Ron back into Harry.

"Don't mess with me." He hissed as he left. Harry and Ron stood, glaring after him angrily.

"I'll show him..." Harry muttered.

"Keepers report to Field A! Seekers at Field B for competition!" The woman from earlier stood on a large podium.

"Okay. Good luck, Harry." Ron started to jog off, stopped by Harry.

"You might need you're broom. Draco made us drop them." He shoved it at Ron as he ran off to the field.

"Oh, right..." Harry heard him mutter.

He stepped into the stadium. It was filled. People were cheering loudly. After it had died down a little, a man began to speak. "On the bell, a hundred snitches will be released. The job of our competitors will be to catch as many to make as many points as possible before a half hour is up. Gold are worth fifty, silver twenty, and black will take away ten points, and freeze the one who caught it for thirty seconds. Now if the competitors will mount their brooms..."

Harry swung his leg over the broom, sneering at Draco, who stood across the field. "And ready...set...go!" A bell chimed and the snitches filled the air for a moment, before vanishing into streaks of color across the field. The fifteen contestants rose swiftly into the air. Harry and Draco rose swiftest and fastest, Harry having a slight lead over his enemy.

He began scanning the field as the snitches flew past-Harry knew that this was a competition not only of speed, but of skill. If he were to accidentally catch a black snitch... But no. He had too much skill. His eyes darted among the competitors, ignoring Draco's malicious grins, and he spotted a silver snitch hovering near the shoulder of a girl from Sweden.

He quickly jetted over and snatched it, causing the girl to jump in surprise and lose a snitch she herself had just been about to capture. She saw his face for a split second-Harry heard only her gasp of surprise as she glimpsed his scar.

But Draco wasn't seeker for Slytherin for nothing-though mainly he had gotten his place because of his father's money, Harry knew that Snape would never had allowed him on the team if he hadn't some skill to back it up. He had already caught two silver snitches, and was sneering at Harry as he reached out to catch yet another.

Harry was set to make a face back when he saw it. Flying much faster than the other snitches, a golden snitch darted unnoticed near Draco. Remembering another similar circumstance, Harry swiftly behind Draco and reached out his hand. He shouted and recoiled from Harry, only to resurface and see the snitch Harry displayed prominently before it vanished into its case.

"How about that, Malfoy?" Harry said cheerfully as he flew away. The challenge had been made. It had been accepted.

The rest of the match was just as frenzied. The other contestants soon realized that this was a personal matter, and that none of them bore much hope against either, as long as they kept up such a fervor of activity. Many had already decided competing was useless, and hovered watching as Harry and Draco flew about the field.

Draco was catching decidedly more snitches than Harry. In a daring move, he darted in front of Harry long enough to distract him from a snitch he had been after. Harry, in anger, reached for another that was near Draco's shoulder. Unfortunately, it was black, and he felt his entire body freeze as Draco darted away, laughing mockingly. "One, two, three..." Harry muttered, his emerald eyes fixed icily on his retreating figure.

When he was able to move again, he waited until Draco was in his field of vision and began a quick dive to the ground beneath Draco. Used to Harry's tricks, Draco looked quickly in the direction his eyes had been wandering and caught the snitch that was there. A black snitch. He cried out in anger as Harry rose from the dive, golden snitch clutched in his fist.

Suddenly, the bell rang. The snitches vanished and the brooms began automatically descending to the ground. Harry glanced over at Draco, who was grinning happily. He had caught many more snitches than Harry, but had relied much more on speed than skill. Harry had caught more of the golden snitches.

The man came back onto the field, smiling happily at the contestants. "The competition is over. And in the final standings, fifth place goes to number eight!" The Swedish girl darted a glance at Harry as she happily took the large gold ribbon the man presented her.

"Fourth place goes to number seventeen!" An older girl stepped forward to take her white ribbon. "Third place----number two!" A boy stepped forward, grinning widely at a girl who was jumping up and down in the stands. He took his small silver trophy and bowed.

Harry felt sweat on his palms. If Draco didn't win, then surely he had. But, still...

"And now, second place goes to number....fifteen!" Harry felt his heart drop. Draco narrowed his eyes menacingly and stepped forward coldly. He jerked the statue from the man's hands and turned, leaving the stadium. Harry noticed that very few people cheered.

"Finally, we announce the results of today's Seeker Competition. The grand prize winner, with one-thousand and sixty points is...number twenty!" Harry quickly looked around. Wasn't he number thirteen? So, he must not have won. But the expectant looks and the others faces made him glance down at his broom. There, in shining gold letters, was the number twenty. He must have accidentally switched brooms with Ron when Draco knocked them down. So that could only mean...

"I won!" he shouted, laughing cheerfully. The people in the stands were roaring. When his face came onto the large screen at one end of the crowd and people saw who in fact he actually was, the noise intensified.

The man smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder. The spectators quieted as he prepared to speak. "Well, everybody, we have proven who is the best seeker today, haven't we? And now we have a few prizes to give away...the trophy, Marie?" A petite woman in gold satin robes walked out, an enormous trophy with a snitch on top, almost as tall as she was. She handed it to Harry and the crowd cheered once more. The man raised his hand.

"Furthermore, we have a special treat for today's winner. Tonight, he and a guest will be treated to backstage passes for, you guessed it, the CORY JOHNSON concert!" He took them from the man, looking at the portrait of a beautiful witch with curly black hair on the front. He supposed he would give the other pass to Ron. As the stadium began clearing the man led him out of the field. An enchantment on the cup allowed Harry to walk with his hands free, so that it floated casually at his side.

He looked through the swarm at the field where the Keeping competition was being held. It looked like it too was letting out. He saw the competitors dejectedly exiting, but no boy with bright red hair. He wondered for a moment where Ron was, when suddenly....

"HARRY!" he turned quickly, and grinned madly. Ron was standing behind him, his own cup hovering at his side.

"How'd you do?" they both asked at once. "Stupid question." They both replied.

"I can't believe it Harry!" Ron said excitedly. "I didn't let any balls pass at all. Not a single bloody one!"

"I got to watch Malfoy lose." Harry said smugly. "It can't get any better than that."

"What did you win?" Ron said happily. "I got a brand new broom. The Nimbus Extreme. Not quite as good as the Firebolt, especially with attachments but..." He smiled. "Much better than a two-thousand and one."

"I got backstage passes." Harry said simply. "You know, to that girl's concert. Cory Jameson."

"What?!" Ron stopped and grabbed Harry. "You mean...you get to go and meet her? You actually get to talk to her? In person?" he shook his head. "And did you say you got more than one?"

"Two actually. Thought you might like the other one. What do you think?"

Ron scowled. "I think I wish I was as lucky as you on your birthday. All I got was socks."

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Hello, everybody! I have to thank all who are reading my fan fiction. Unfortunately, there aren't yet that many of you. Shall we change that, please? If you are reading, PLEASE REVIEW! I really want to hear what you have to say, everybody. Just no flames, please.

And two special notes to people who DID review:

Jasmine Black: Thank you so much! You have helped a lot, if not in my story just as being there and talking me through some of this! You really are a mentor!

Mary Sue Assassin: Thank you for saying this is well written. I will not take into account the Mary Sue comment because, in actuality, I haven't even introduced the character. I suppose that the summary is a tad Mary Sue-ish, and I shall be changing it promptly. Cory Johnson is definitely NOT going to be a Mary Sue. In fact, she might have a tendency to be a little, well, why don't you just see? She is coming next chapter. When she comes then, believe me, she will be a bit of a shock to all involved, poor Ron. So why don't you hang around and take a gander, hmmmmm???