Chapter 17

Ur In Luck

'So, we're all done with your first year stuff, about a month early too, not bad,' Astoria said with satisfaction.

'You seem to have more pride in that than I do,' Cody teased.

'It just goes to show, even inferior students can perform when provided superior instruction,' she smirked.

'I can't refute that, and I wouldn't dare. I need to talk to Flit—Professor Flitwick about what to do next.'

Astoria nodded in approval at his self-correction, and asked, 'Anything in particular you want to work on today then?'

'Yeah, actually I want to learn that thing Moody does to the spiders when he is demonstrating spells. I think it's the Georgia Charm, or something,' he said with a small shake of the head.

'Oh Merlin, do you listen at all?' she sighed. 'And it's Professor Moody.'

'Uh, I try. His stories are cool, but when he gets into lecture mode it's hard to not nod off,' he admitted.

'Whatever. He's saying, "Engorgio." It's called the Engorgement Charm. As in to fill up, or in other words, to get bigger. If you paid attention you probably could've figured it out on your own,' she playfully scolded.

'Well, I don't have a whole lot of free time to try and make up my own spells. And my friend Victor is the creative one who has the good ideas.'

'Ok, well you already know how to shrink stuff, this is just the opposite. In fact they are what we call counter charms.'

They spent the next little while going over the charm, and Cody picked it up quickly again, like most of the charms he learned.

'See, you pick things up so quick once you have an idea what you're doing,' Astoria claimed.

'Just cause I have a great teacher,' he said with flattery.

'I apparently, on the other hand, do not have a great teacher,' she said with mock scorn.

'Hey, your light is great now, and your other stuff is coming along too.'

'Slowly,' she complained.

'Not my fault you don't follow my suggestions. You should exercise. Your magic is intertwined with your physical body.'

'You don't even know if all that garbage is true,' she declared.

'I can only tell you what I've experienced.'

'And you know what that is called? Anecdotal evidence, your experience may have no bearing on mine.'

'I'm gonna ask Moody. . . one of these days, he kind of creeps me out, honestly.'

'Haha, so brave on the outside, yet on the inside just as scared as the firsties of the big bad Defence professor,' she chuckled.

'Very funny. Have you tried adding another spell to your light yet?'

'No, you hadn't mentioned that,' she accused.

'Well, you needed to be able to control your light first,' he said. Then he produced a big ball of light. 'Send a spell at me,' he commanded.

'Rigecus testicalis.' The light pink spell sped towards Cody, whose eyes widened when he heard the spell. His focus only wavered for a moment before he recovered and the spell ricocheted off his shield.

'Did you just try to freeze my balls?' he asked in shock.

'You seemed confident in your instruction. I felt I needed to create shock factor. You proved I was almost right,' she explained calmly.

'Where did you learn a spell like that?' he asked in half accusation.

'My mother. You know, just in case.' Was her cool reply.

'Uh—'

'Don't worry, it's not permanent. And Father taught me the counter. You know, just in case.'

'Please tell me your mom has never actually thrown that spell at your dad.'

'Of course not. Like I said, just in case.'

'Still, remind me never to cross your mom. And you thought it a good idea to throw it at me?' he asked in mock indignation.

'Oh, It didn't hit you, so you can drop the "I can't believe you" look. Tell me about the Shield Charm you added to your light.'

'I used to call it the light shield, now I call it the Mutombo—he is a basketball player that blocks everything. But that won't work for you. Are you still saying "Lumos" when you are producing your light?' he asked, as he was thinking things through.

'Yes.'

'Ok, so you are probably going to be thinking, "Lumos protego." Try to envision your shield and light fusing together,' he said.

'Ok, and if you hit me with something I don't like, so help me. . .' she threatened.

'Don't worry, it'll be harmless,' he assured. 'Get your light and nod when you are ready.'

She focused on her light and created a large mass in front of her before nodding.

Cody concentrated on his spell and sent it across the room, right through her light and connecting with her robes, instantly changing their color. Astoria looked down, then stomped her foot.

'Gryffindor red! Are you serious? Change it back, now!' she cried. He had his hands on his knees, laughing.

'No. I'll change it back if you block my next one. Make your light smaller. Your shield is still weak so you should concentrate it into a smaller light so it can actually stop something. Don't worry, I won't miss . . . on purpose, ' he said with a grin. She glared back at him, it didn't look particularly playful, he better not miss.

She produced a much smaller light in front of her this time, and Cody's spell was rejected on impact. She beamed a giant grin, before scowling,

'Now change it back,' she demanded, tugging at her robes.

'That was it! Now you just have to practice so it happens more naturally,' he said excitedly, as he returned her robes to their Slytherin greens.

'Yeah, well, now I'm exhausted. Is it ok if we're done for the night?' she asked with her weariness obvious.

'Yeah, sure, if only someone had done a little bit of exercising,' he teased.

'Shut up, and give me my hug,' she declared, ending the evening on a happy note.

Key was waiting for him on his bed that night. He closed the curtains and put up a Silencing Charm, another thing Astoria had helped him with.

§Hey, did you find something?§ Cody asked.

§Yes, I found the giant lizards.§

§They're called dragons. Did you talk to them?§

§No, they are stupider than birds. Sorry, that's not true, birds actually leave their eggs unattended. These dragons didn't leave their nests very much. And their eggs too big for me anyway.§

§Ok, I've got a job for you. . .§

Saturday arrived, and after his hours in the greenhouse and an early dinner, he got cleaned up for his date. He got the map from the twins, grabbed his invisibility cloak just in case and made his way to the secret passageway to Honeydukes without any run-ins. He put on the cloak before emerging through the trap door, even though it ended up not being necessary. He made his way into the store and up to the counter, the worker gave a little start upon noticing him.

'I'm sorry, I didn't hear you come in. It's been a slow day, I must've been dosing.'

'It's no problem, can I get two ice cream cones, please?' Cody asked politely. He selected the flavors, paid and left the store.

He saw Celine sitting on the bench he had described to her. She was looking towards the castle waiting for his arrival. He sat down next to her and she jumped when she detected the presence of somebody next to her. He chuckled and smiled as her face softened when she finally realized who it was. That earned him a few playful smacks on the arm.

'Don't do that to me,' she cried, but her smile said she kind of enjoyed it.

'You should be more vigilant,' he said, channeling his inner Moody. 'Ice cream?' he asked, holding out the cone.

'Pistachio?'

'Of course.'

'I knew you asked my favorite for a reason.'

'Can't fool you.'

'I even checked the shop before I sat down cause I thought you were doing something like this. How'd you get in there without me seeing you?' she asked, impressed.

'I can't reveal my secrets,' he said with a smile.

'Fine, be like that. Thank you for the ice cream, and points for pulling off the surprise.' She gave him a light peck on the cheek.

'What else can I get points for?' he asked, eliciting a giggle from Celine.

'I can't reveal my secrets,' she smirked.

'Touché,' he replied unable to wipe the grin off his face. 'Did Fleur come with you?'

'Oui, she didn't want me to walk alone.'

'That's nice. Does she have everything figured out for the first task?'

'Oui, but I can't say anything,' she said with some disappointment.

'Don't worry about it, I understand,' he consoled.

They sat and ate, then they walked and talked. She described her school, and her home life. He learned she was actually quite strict when it came to the Statute of Secrecy, which meant he had to hold back on some of the details about his home life. He could tell she was aware he was occasionally giving vague answers, but she respected his privacy and didn't press too hard. As the sun began to set they met up with Fleur and began the trek back to the grounds.

'Are you walking with us?' Celine asked, a little surprised.

'Why yes, I'm not going to let you walk back in the dark,' he said in a dignified tone.

'Aww, isn't he such a gentleman?' Celine directed her comment to Fleur as she clutched Cody's arm and fluttered her eyelashes. She had been saving this sort of behavior for when Fleur was present, just to get an eye roll from her friend. She was successful.

'I thought you didn't want to be seen with us at the grounds this evening,' Fleur said, her accusation was not completely hidden by her attempt at playfulness. Her initial contempt for Cody had faded as he had been around more, but she still showed a level of skepticism.

'It's not that, and you know it. They only really check for people leaving the grounds. I'll probably disillusion myself before we go through the gates just to avoid any unnecessary trouble,' he replied casually.

'You can already disillusion yourself?' Fleur asked in surprise.

'Yeah, charms actually come pretty natural to me. At least when it's something I want to learn.'

'We shall see,' Fleur said in an almost challenging tone. They chatted amicably the rest of the way until they were getting close to the gates and Cody excused himself behind a tree to perform his disillusionment.

'But we want to watch,' Celine pouted.

'I'd rather not have an audience,' he said coyly. Then he stepped behind a tree and threw on his cloak. He quietly walked past the two girls. After he was a ways in front of them he called out, 'Are you coming?'

Their heads snapped in his direction.

'I don't see him,' Celine said softly to Fleur.

'Me either. I didn't even hear him say the incantation,' Fleur's tone was now curious, but also impressed.

'You don't have to say it loud for it to work,' he replied smartly.

'It sure worked. I don't see an outline or anything,' Celine said in awe. They walked on and he trailed behind them through the gates. He waited for a bit after entering before removing the cloak and saddling up next to Celine again, taking her arm in his. His touch again startled her and she playfully smacked him again. 'I thought I told you not to do that.'

'But you look so cute when you're startled,' Cody said sweetly.

'Morgana Mia,' Fleur exclaimed.

'Good one,' Celine said softly to Cody between giggles.

They got close to the carriage and Fleur gave them a little space, but not much. He faced Celine and looked into her eyes, she returned the gaze invitingly. He leaned in, and at the last moment she turned her head so his kiss landed on her cheek. She quickly kissed him on his cheek and whispered in his ear.

'Points for chivalry, but. . . I'd rather not have an audience,' she said with an impish grin.

He shook his head in a mix of disbelief and admiration. 'Good night, Celine.'

'Good night, Cody,' she said sweetly, as her and Fleur entered the carriage.

Sunday morning he played a few songs for Sirius in his dog form at the rock their regular meeting-place. Sirius was singing extra loud now that he had no regard for how Cody felt about it. Cody just shook his head. Eventually, they moved to the forest where they could actually talk. He could've sworn he heard the faint sound of leaves rustling as they entered the forest, and it wasn't a particularly breezy day.

'You can really play, kid. And I love some of these new songs,' Sirius said joyfully.

'Yeah, but you really need to hear them on an electric guitar,' Cody replied.

'There's runes for that.'

'Really?'

'Yeah, that's how magical bands can get the sound without electricity. Each band has their own version too. That's how they make their sound unique.'

'I'm gonna have to learn that. You seem to know a lot about it,' he replied, hoping Sirius has the information he desired.

'I've always loved music, but I never learned that stuff. Musicians keep their secrets pretty tight.' Cody's shoulders slumped in disappointment. 'Hey, it's ok. You can't know everything. Any news on your task?' Sirius asked with a smile.

'Yeah, I think I've got my plan all set.'

§Key, are you here?§ Cody hissed.

§Yes.§ She slithered out from a nearby bush.

§Is everything there that we need?§

§Yes, it's all there already. I'll need to move some things the night before. And if this turns into a mess you will be in my debt.§ If there is a warning tone for parselmouth, Key was using it.

§Yeah, I can imagine, and I'll pay you back however I can. Hey, did you notice anybody hanging around here while I was playing?§

§Yes, many creatures come to hear you play.§

'What's she saying? Is your plan ready?' Sirius asked, looking antsy.

'Yeah, the plan is all set. She also said a bunch of creatures come hang around here to listen to me play.'

'You've got a fan club. Have you played for any girls?' Sirius added a waggle of the eyebrows.

'No, I think I told you before, I hate my own voice. And I only know like one romantic song. Everything else is rock of some kind.'

'Oh, you gotta get over that. You sing fine, kid. Girls love this kinda thing, but yeah, a few more love songs will do the trick,' he said with a mischievous smile.

'I'll keep that in mind,' Cody replied with a slight roll of the eyes. They chatted more about their lives before Cody headed back.

He visited Dumbledore's office that evening. He waited at the door with the gargoyles much longer this time, he obviously wasn't expected.

'Welcome, Cody. A pleasant surprise, I must say,' Dumbledore said cordially.

'Thanks. I know you're probably busy, so I'll cut to the chase. I was wondering if my mom would be able to come watch the first task.'

'I don't know that that is a very good idea,' he responded cautiously.

'Are any other parents going to be prevented from attending?' Cody asked.

'No, they are all able to attend if they like.'

'Ok. I know the castle can't be seen by non-magicals, but I don't think this task is taking place in the castle, is it?' Cody said without revealing his knowledge.

'No, you are right, I suspect that there won't be any muggle repelling charms around the task location. But I don't see how she will arrive, I certainly won't be able to get away.'

'One of our house elves could bring her, they've been able to transport her to and from the manor,' Cody suggested.

'Oh! That would work. But will she be able to blend in?' Dumbledore asked, coming around to the idea.

'Yes, I got her a set of robes when I was getting mine.'

'Ok. I'll stop trying to get in the way. Would you like to ask Professor McGonagall if she would be willing to be her escort while she is here? I will be occupied as one of the judges and I know you like to ask your own favors.' Dumbledore added with a twinkle.

'Yeah, I can do that. They got along well last time.' At least he hoped it meant that she would agree.

'And how goes your preparation for the first task?'

'I am prepared to be brave, or daring, or whatever you told me last time,' Cody said with as much confidence as he could muster.

'Very well, just remember my advice to take it seriously and not take any unnecessary risks,' again the man added caution to his voice.

'I will, sir. Thank you. Have a good night.'

'Good night, Cody.'

He caught Professor McGonagall in her office and she was more than amenable to accompany his mom around the grounds for the first task. She allowed him to floo over to the Manor to make arrangements with the house elves. When he returned she asked him about his preparations for the task and he gave a similarly vague answer to the one he told Dumbledore.

His appetite began to falter as the week progressed and the task drew nearer. His excuse was that he was just copying Fleur, her nervousness also seemed to be growing as the week progressed. The same could be said for the Hufflepuff champion, Cedric, apparently the Weasleys had made good on letting him in on the secret, and the lack of his regular jovial countenance showed something heavy was on his mind. He saw Krum sitting across from Daphne a couple times but couldn't decipher if there was any change in his demeanor.

The initial pang of regret from setting up Krum with Daphne had subsided. His interactions with her in their couple classes together were just as normal as before, so at least there was no awkwardness. Getting along well Celine had probably gone a long way to assuage those feelings as well.

Late morning on Friday he and Professor McGonagall walked on the path towards Hogsmeade to their arranged meeting spot. The elves were familiar with Hogwarts and the surrounding area, so finding an isolated spot for a rendezvous was not difficult. His mom popped in with one of the elves just as they walked up.

'Oh my!' Professor McGonagall exclaimed. 'We are going to have to do something about the color of those robes if you are to remain conspicuous.'

'Thank you. I almost decided to skip this event once I saw these atrocities. When did you have these made?' Jennifer asked Cody. 'I must say, the fit is nearly perfect,'

'I had the seamstress take your measurements when I was getting my robes. It was supposed to be a Christmas present, but you kind of needed them early. Merry Christmas,' he said with a smile. She forced a smile at her smart aleck son.

'I is going to pop away now. You call when youz is ready to be picked up,' Schweaty said to Jennifer, who nodded. 'I pops away. . . right. . . now.' If you were listening closely, you would've heard two small pops, one right after the other.

'Those Potter elves always were an odd bunch,' McGonagall said, shaking her head. 'Now, let me change your robes into a respectable color.' And she changed the brilliant royal purple to a more indistinct navy blue.

'You should go ahead. I'm going to do the Harry Potter glamours now, then walk down.' The women agreed and his mom gave him a big hug and reminded him to not be stupid, before heading off back to the Hogwarts grounds. He performed his glamours and changed into his provided tournament robes. Once the two women were far enough away he called out, 'Hey, you guys around here still?'

'Of course,' Victor cried. 'We have no idea where we are going.'

'And we wanted to say goodbye in case you become dragon barbeque,' Jamal smirked, pulling the cloak off for the moment.

'I know you are joking, but more of a possibility than I want to think,' Cody countered.

'This cloak is pretty sweet,' Victor said, admiring the piece of fabric.

'Yeah, just remember to stay under it.'

'That's easier said than done, have you smelt this guy lately? He can't wear enough deodorant,' Jamal declared, jutting a thumb at Victor.

'I can't help you there, but we need to get on our way. I can't be late for this. Walk by me, then find a good observation point where you won't get run into, I guess,' Cody said with some uncertainty.

They walked together for a bit before his two friends threw the cloak back over themselves. They chatted about anything but dragons, and they reached the champions tent before they knew it. They quietly said their goodbyes and the friends went off to find their vantage point, and Cody entered the tent just as the tournament officials were entering.

'Wonderful, right on time!' cried Bagman. 'Why don't you all gather round and I'll explain the task. Can you understand me, Mr. Potter?' He just nodded in response.

Bagman went on with the explanation, none of the champions flinched at the declaration of dragons. There were some raised eyebrows and paled faces when he declared that they would have to retrieve an egg from underneath a mother dragon guarding a nest that also contained other real eggs. They seemed to all be on the same playing field as far as advance information went. Cody was relieved that the specifics of the task did nothing to affect his current plan for the task.

Cedric went first, and Cody could hear the muffled roar of the crowd and a word here and there of Bagman's play by play. Fleur paced along one side of the tent. He wanted to say something, as she had become somewhat of a friend, but he couldn't think of a way to do it without raising suspicion. Krum gave him a small nod when they made eye contact and he returned it with a nod of his own. No one seemed up for any conversation.

Cody fell into his meditative state, so he didn't notice when Fleur exited the tent or that there wasn't as much cheering; whatever she did must not have been as exciting as what Cedric did. Perhaps that was a good thing for Fleur's health. The crowd exploded when Krum entered, but Cody remained in his meditative state, focusing on his magic and having it at the ready.

Eventually, he broke from his trance and heard a voice cut through the thunder of the crowd,

'Look at the boy fly! I swear he was born on a broom,' Bagman boomed.

Krum was trying to outfly the dragon. Not a bad idea, for him, he thought. The cheers that erupted, and Bagman's praise, made it evident Krum had been successful. A few moments later a wizard poked his head in the tent.

'You're up.'

He entered the arena to the announcement of, 'Harry Potter!'

The crowd was on its feet cheering, and everyone was trying to get a better view. This was, for most, their first glimpse at the boy that for so long had only been a legend. The only part of the crowd that he looked at was the judges box, since he knew Professor McGonagall, and his mom, would be behind them. He caught his mom's eye. She scowled and punched a fist into an open palm, then she ground the hypothetical dragon to a pulp. He quickly turned and ducked his head while bringing up a hand up to cover his face, as he was losing the battle against his urge to laugh. That move always removed any last bits of nervousness in him, and he took a deep breath as if to show he was gathering himself.

Now, he was in the proverbial ring —alone— no one to bail him out; a feeling he was familiar with, though his opponent, a dragon, was slightly more intimidating than he was used to. It was time to put his plan into effect, but first it would be a good idea to duck behind a rock and avoid the wall of flame headed in his direction. From behind the rock he pulled out his holly wand and started levitating boulders on top of each other, forming a small wall about 30 yards away.

Next, he looked over to the enclosure where his Hungarian Horntail had been held captive and spotted the bucket that Key had described to him. He summoned the bucket, and used the Engorgement Charm to increase the size to that of a five gallon bucket. The smell of dragon urine nearly overcame him, and he had to fight the reflex to purge the contents of his stomach. He summoned another bucket from the enclosure housing the Chinese Fireball and enlarged its contents as well.

He had reached into his pocket to grab the little sponge he was going to enlarge and use as bait, but instead of feeling a soft object, he was met with the sharp teeth of the Horntail replica. It was still attached to his finger when he removed his hand from his pocket, that's when the idea clicked. He enlarged the replica to the size of capybara. He hovered the pet sized dragon over behind the small wall he had constructed and with a few strong sticking charms, stuck its feet to the ground. He couldn't have the thing wandering off.

The crowd had ceased cheering and was now watching with curiosity, chattering and whispering their conjectures at what the plan entailed. Cody then approached his bucket of Horntail urine, there was no more time for dilly dallying. He strained to lift the bucket to his waist when he realized there was no way he was getting this over his head. He set the bucket down and started scooping with his hand and splashing it on himself.

This is absolutely disgusting, he thought.

When he emptied about half of the contents he was able to lift it over his head and shower himself. He forgot to hold his breath and when he took in a gasp, more than just air entered his mouth. This time there was no fighting the involuntary response, and the small amount of breakfast left in his stomach burned his throat as it was spewed onto the ground. He almost wiped his mouth with his sleeve but the smell was too much. His mouth tasted like vomit and he smelled like dragon piss, delightful.

He then took the other enlarged container and levitated it over to the Horntail model—oh, why didn't I think of levitating the other bucket? Good job forgetting you can use magic. He emptied half of the liquid onto the replica, then slowly made a trail of drips as he brought the bucket closer to the actual Hungarian Horntail, whose tongue was flicking the air.

Once he felt the trail was good enough, he sent the container slamming into the face of the dragon, splattering the Fireball's urine all over her face, and evoking a large roar. The Horntail then began to follow the scent trail of this mysterious attacker that had caused so much irritation. The small roars of the replica were helping attract the real thing. As soon as the Horntail had cleared the nest Cody tried to summon the golden egg—it didn't budge.

It was worth a shot, he thought.

Cody slowly crept toward the nest as the Horntail got further away. As soon as the dragon reached the makeshift wall, Cody bolted for the nest and reached the egg. Whatever distraction the replica was providing ended as soon as the dragon caught sight of him amongst her eggs. His scent be damned, the mother dragon did not take kindly to something disrupting her clutch.

She was already barreling back in his direction as he took off in the direction of the gate he needed to pass through. There was no way he was going to out run the beast, but he had also prepared for this, or his friends had made sure he remembered. After his first couple of steps, and with the dragon closing the distance, he channeled his magic into his legs and took a big leap.

He palmed the egg in one hand and stretched it out in front of him reaching towards his goal, one leg extended in front of him and one leg extended behind as he flew through the air. He passed through the magical gate that ensured his safety and his momentum sent him to the ground. He was able to tuck his head just prior to experiencing a massive faceplant, and turned his landing into a series of somersaults with him ending on his feet. The crowd had been nothing but background noise to him until this moment, when he snapped out of his "zone," and took in the thunderous applause. McGonagall had a hand over her mouth and his mom was pumping both her fists in a victorious fashion.

He was quickly swept into the medical tent and checked over for any injuries. As there were none to speak of he was able to return and receive his scores without much delay. Karkaroff dinged him severely for using the miniature dragon from his pocket, stating he wasn't to bring anything with him. Madam Maxime took off points for assuming he planted the buckets of urine ahead of time —even though handlers confirmed the buckets were theirs, the placement towards the entrances of the enclosures was the only thing they found odd— she claimed something was foul, he couldn't disagree with the last statement. The others gave him fairly high marks, but not enough to keep him out of last place.

From there, the officials wasted no time in dragging him off to a podium where a press conference was about to begin. He was sat right next to Fleur who cringed as she caught a whiff of his organic aroma. The press members shuffled in and took their seats around the podium, and Mr. Bagman indicated for the reporters to begin their questions. Of course the most audacious had to be first.

'Harry, Rita Skeeter, Daily Prophet,' she called out before looking down to read her prepared question. '¿El mundo de los magos quiere saber, donde ha vivido por los últimos catorce años?' she asked slowly and with a complete mangling of pronunciation.

'Uh, lo siento. Yo no hablo español,' he returned, attempting to conceal his grin.

Rita leaned over to the man sat next to her, and asked, 'What did he say?'

'He said he doesn't speak Spanish,' was the man's reply, unable to keep a straight face himself. Rita's mouth gaped and her face was rife with indignation. Some reporters chuckled, but most of them were stashing away their own translated questions.

'Next question, please,' Bagman cried.

'Harry, Josephine Jett, Wizarding World Magazine. A repeat of Rita's question actually, the whole wizarding world is dying to know, where have you been for 14 years?'

'I will only be answering questions regarding the task, thank you,' was his curt reply.

'Your accent. I can't quite place it. Where exactly have you been living?' Shot out another reporter without giving her name or affiliation.

'I stayed here at Hogwarts last night, possibly tonight as well. Beyond that my personal accommodations will stay just that, personal.'

'Where did you get the idea for using urine in the first task?' Rita asked, jumping a few other reporters.

'Discovery Channel,' he replied absently.

'Pardon?' she asked, confused.

'The Discovery Channel. It was supposed to be shark week, unfortunately it wasn't. Anyway, there was an episode on Komodo Dragons and how they use urine to mark their territory and to track down and kill rivals. I mainly just hoped that these guys were related to the Komodos a few generations back. All things considered, bathing in dragon piss was preferable to becoming dragon barbeque. And I don't think I actually smell that bad. I might've found a new cologne, wouldn't you agree, Fleur?' He turned to his podium neighbor with a little grin.

'Disgusting,' Fleur spat. 'You could at least do us the courtesy of a simple cleaning charm.'

'I don't have any plans after if you'd like to show me,' he smirked. She just let out a puff of air in rejection.

'Uh, I'm sorry, I didn't quite follow all of that,' Rita followed up.

'Hello. Anybody home? Think, McFly. Think,' he answered, exaggerating his words and tapping the side of his head.

'I am NOT a fly!' she retorted, apparently quite offended at the accusation.

'Oh boy. Next question,' he rolled his eyes with his declaration.

'Harry, that was quite the leap you made there to escape the dragon. What spell was that?' another reporter asked.

'I call that the Jumpman,' he answered, adding a satisfied smile. The reporters all exchanged curious looks and shrugs of the shoulders.

The press asked questions of the other contestants and Cody learned, to varying degrees, how they accomplished the task. He was quite impressed with the things that he heard. It sounded like Krum's flying was the highlight of the event, and he was in first place as a result, with Cedric and Fleur tied for second. A few reporters tried to dig into Harry's personal life, but his chalk answer was all they got in return and soon they gave up the prodding.

When the press conference was finished he returned to the champions tent, he really needed to get out of his current clothes. Professor McGonagall and his mom were waiting for him. And they were the only ones there, as the other champions already had opportunities to change and fetch their things.

'You almost gave me a heart attack,' McGonagall proclaimed. 'I don't know how your mother stayed so calm.'

'I've seen him overcome more challenging situations than that before,' Jennifer responded. 'Though you cut it kinda close.' She added a wagging finger of accusation.

'Never a doubt,' he waved off her teasing concerns. He started walking towards his mom, but she held up a hand, halting him.

'No hug until you get cleaned up, you reek,' Jennifer declared.

'Professor, would you be able to do a cleaning charm? I haven't learned those yet,' he said striping off his robes, he wasn't putting those back on anyway. Professor McGonagall graciously performed a few cleaning charms, and he was smelling fresh enough to give his mom a hug.

'You need to do something about your breath too. I feel bad for that girl that had to sit next to you,' Jennifer added. He looked to McGonagall with a "what do you have for bad breath?" look.

'Aguamenti,' she chanted, and Cody barely opened his mouth in time to catch the small stream of water. He swished and spit out the water in a small stream.

'Such wonderful manners,' Jennifer said sarcastically. 'I'm sorry,' she apologized to McGonagall, who only answered with a chuckle.

'I really should probably start heading back so I can mix in with the crowd. Professor, can I go visit my mom first thing in the morning? I'll go when I normally exercise so no one will notice my absence.'

'Sure, I think you've earned it,' she agreed.

'Great, see you tomorrow, mom. Wait, take the egg with you, I can't be carrying that around here.'

'Ok, sure. Bye, Cody,' she gave him a knowing smile. She knew he wanted to visit other people than just her.

Cody slipped out of the tent, back in his normal clothes and in his normal appearance. He felt a pat on his shoulder from an invisible hand.

'Good job, man.' He recognized Victor's voice, even in its whispered form.

'You looked like Air Jordan. Way to not die,' Jamal said softly.

'Thanks guys. Stay with my mom and I'll see you tomorrow,' he said, moving his lips as little as possible. He motioned towards Professor McGonagall and his mom who were making their way back to the location where they arrived.

'We better go, see ya,' Victor whispered before catching up to the ladies.

The women made tentative plans to reunite for the second task, even though the professor did not know what it entailed. Professor McGonagall didn't notice the two hands that reached out from under the invisibility cloak to grab onto the elf just before they were popped away.

There was still a good flow of students walking back, and he quickly integrated himself amongst the crowd. He encountered Michael and walked with him the rest of the trip back. He got his opinion on the tournament: Krum was the best, Potter was creative, but not as entertaining. He made it back into the common room and sat around the periphery of the conversation. The nice part about being the outsider was no one asked his opinion about the tasks, so even though he had a general idea, he was spared trying to have to make things up. They hadn't even noticed that he didn't sit with the group during the task. So, him slipping away to shower was just another thing added to the list of things that went undetected.

He made his way down to dinner and noticed an older lady sitting next to Susan, if that was her Aunt he wanted to meet her. He made his way over and sat himself across from them.

'Cody! Hi. Auntie, this is Cody. Cody, this is my Aunt Amelia,' Susan said jovially.

'Nice to meet you, Cody. You can call me Amelia,' she said with a nod.

'Nice to meet you too,' Cody replied.

'So, is this the American boy you've told me so little about?' Amelia questioned Susan.

'You told her about us? I thought we were keeping this a secret?' Cody shot in quickly, adding a wag of a finger between the two of them. This caused Amelia's eyes to widen and a small smile to spread. Susan went red.

'I knew you were hiding something in those letters,' Amelia accused teasingly.

'No, it's not what you think at all,' Susan pleaded, while giving Cody a reproachful glare. Then she went on to explain their relationship, and Amelia found the story quite entertaining.

'I can't ever land a shot in our duels, so I have to take little shots at Susan in other ways,' Cody explained.

'Well, judging by the color in her face, I'd say this one was a direct hit,' Amelia laughed.

'I never should have introduced you two,' Susan sighed.

'I think they are funny together,' Hannah added.

'So, what brings you to Hogwarts?' Cody asked, knowing full well it had to be something with the tournament.

'Security for the tournament. Though, I was hoping to catch a minute with Harry Potter. Dumbledore didn't seem too optimistic though,' Amelia said.

'What do you want with Potter?' Cody asked.

'Our families have history, I'd like to discuss some things with him.'

'Well, you should have some more opportunities,' he replied.

'Perhaps, but he seems pretty set on avoiding people as much as possible. And Dumbledore isn't exactly being helpful,' Amelia said with a hint of annoyance.

It was nice Dumbledore was respecting his privacy. Though, now that he had a feel for Madam Bones, he should tell Dumbledore he wouldn't mind talking to her as Harry Potter.

'I don't know if you have plans, but would you like to join us for our Defence lesson this evening?' Cody asked.

'I'd love to,' Amelia smiled.

'Careful what you wish for, Cody,' Susan warned.

'Can't beat the best unless you learn from the best,' Cody replied.

'Oh, he's a flatterer. Watch out for this one, Susan.'

'Don't worry, I'm onto him,' she confirmed.

He tried to get them to duel but Susan was having none of that, it was his lesson after all. So, she taught him a new spell. Amelia was impressed at how quickly he picked up a spell he had never heard of before. Susan said that's how it always is.

Susan won their first duel in about the same amount of time as usual. Amelia had some pointers for the both of them.

'Auntie, you should duel Cody once,' Susan suggested.

'I don't think that would be very helpful,' Amelia replied, knowing it wouldn't last very long.

'No, not normally, but you need to see Cody's shield. It's really strong, I want to see how it holds up against you.'

'Ok, as long as Cody is ok with it,' Amelia said, Cody nodded.

Susan walked up to Cody as her Aunt was getting prepared, 'Ok, all that stuff about not dodging or using your shield, forget it. Do anything you can to stay in the duel. At first your shield should be enough, but once she starts transfiguring things it won't be as useful. Do whatever you can to get rid of things, cut them, banish them—'

'Ok, that's enough of a scouting report,' Amelia called out playfully from the other side of the room. Susan gave a guilty smile in return before backing away.

'Ready. . . Begin!' Susan started the duel.

Amelia unleashed a flurry of spells and Cody dodged the first few before hiding behind his shield. He could feel the spells pounding against his defence, but it held. He looked across the room when there was a brief pause and Amelia's impressed look, accompanied by an approving nod, was evident for all to see. Susan had the satisfied look of a proud teacher.

Another barrage of spells leapt from her wand and he was again able to withstand the assault. Just as his confidence started to build he sensed something approaching, a fox. He banished it in time to see a pair of hyenas bearing down on him next. A cutter to each severed their legs, registering them immobile.

He thought that was pretty good, but the eight legs quickly transformed into eight mini kangaroos. He was almost entirely occupied trying to disperse the group of roos when his Force sense kicked in behind him.

He turned to see a jaguar in mid flight, legs outstretched, jaws open wide. Instinctually, Cody used his free hand with an open palm to banish the cat forcefully back, slamming it against the wall. Turning his back on his opponent proved to be a costly move, as he felt a spell hit him in the back, locking his body stiff.

He lay on his back, miniature kangaroos bouncing on his stomach as if they'd just found their favorite trampoline. Susan and Amelia approached with stunned looks on their faces. Amelia unfroze Cody and he sat up.

'What was that?' Susan asked in awe.

'It looked like a wandless Banisher,' Amelia noted, indicating she'd seen it before but was surprised to see Cody pull it off.

'Uh, there was a jaguar ready to take my head off. It just kind of happened.' Cody gave his version of the events.

'Oh, it wouldn't have actually hurt you,' Amelia chuckled. 'A competent transfiguration obeys its caster. It only would've restrained you, a few scratches at the most.'

'That's great, but not all that reassuring. And it does nothing for my heart rate,' Cody joked.

'You did really good.' Susan said proudly.

'What she is not saying is that, in your first attempt you survived nearly as long as she does after years of training,' Amelia explained, expounding on the compliment. Cody gave Susan a self-satisfied smile, and she returned it with a playful one of her own.

'So, do you think that was like accidental magic?' Susan directed the question to her Aunt.

'I would suppose so. It is the same type of situation in which accidental magic typically presents.'

'Come to think of it, I did some similar type things when I was younger,' Cody decided to run with the explanation to prevent any more interest in his accomplishment.

'Regardless of what caused it, between that and your shield, you demonstrated a healthy bit of magic. Continue honing your skills and you'll be giving Susan a run for her money before she knows it,' Amelia theorized, much to the chagrin of her niece.

'He has to hit me first,' Susan teased.

'Pride comes before the fall,' Amelia added, lacking her previous playful tone.

'I've still got a ways to go before that day comes. Susan is a really good teacher, I'm kinda excited about getting to do some dueling in Defence, eventually,' Cody said, bringing the levity back to the group.

'Speaking of your Defence class, get ready for something. . . interesting. Auror Moody has been pestering the Board for approval ever since he got the job and I think it's finally about to come through.'

'You can't say that and not tell us,' Susan whined.

'I can, and I will,' Amelia said sternly.

'You and your rules.'

'It's called integrity.'

'Well, your integrity is being rude,' Susan added with a little bit of her tongue sticking out, resulting in the group laughing together, before all departing for the night.

First thing Saturday morning Cody went to McGonagall's office and flooed to the manor before popping over to the flat. His mom was already up making breakfast and welcomed him. He went and woke up his friends by jumping on their beds, earning moans and groans before they all ran out to the living room excited to recount the previous day's events.

'I think I've seen the coolest thing I'm ever going to see in my life,' Victor said, never one to avoid hyperbole.

'Yeah man, seeing that dragon fly over our heads was beyond cool. Your plan was good, but Krum's was definitely the best,' Jamal added.

'Well, most entertaining and dangerous,' Victor corrected.

'I know. That's pretty much the consensus. Honestly, I'm just glad I got out alive. I have no false expectations of actually winning this thing,' Cody said.

'I thought watching you splash piss all over yourself was highly entertaining,' Victor teased.

'Believe me, I tried thinking of other plans, but they didn't work. You saw me trying to summon the egg, right?'

'Yeah, that would've been too easy,' Jamal said.

'You said that French chick is friends with Celine, right? Can you set me up with her?' Victor asked.

'She has a boyfriend already,' Cody replied.

'Well, when she dumps him tell her you have a cool friend that is pretty good looking.'

'I don't want to have to lie to her,' Cody jested in return.

'Hey, I helped you with that idea,' Victor countered.

'Yeah, thanks. But when's the last time you needed someone to set you up?'

'Never, but there's a first time for everything.' All in ear shot rolled their eyes. 'And that got me thinking, I think you need to make Daphne hate you.'

'What are you talking about?' Cody replied incredulously. This was a fairly common response to one of Victor's ideas, so no offense was taken.

'I mean there's four places you can fall with girls. You are already way out of the indifference zone. So, she either loves you or hates you. If she's going out with another guy, she can't love you. You have to make her hate you,' Victor deduced.

'You said four, and you've only listed three. What's number four? That's still an option.'

'An option you don't want. . . The friend zone,' Victor said ominously. Moans of annoyance came from Cody and Jamal.

'You're ridiculous, you know that?' Cody intoned, throwing his head back against the cushions.

'You think I'm joking, but basically all the girls at home either hate me or love me. Keeps my options open.'

'Chelsea is your friend,' Jamal interjected.

'Exactly, I have one friend that is a girl,' Victor agreed.

'I say, don't listen to him. Just be yourself, what happens, happens,' Jamal said. 'So, is that golden egg your prize?'

'No, that is my clue for the next task.'

'Well, open it up,' Victor cried.

That was not the best idea in the small apartment, everyone's hands went to cover their ears. Except for Cody, he closed the egg as quickly as he could.

'That would be an amazing alarm sound,' Jamal noted.

'How is that supposed to be a clue?' Victor asked. Cody just shrugged his shoulders.

'Why don't you boys come eat some breakfast?' Jennifer called from the kitchen as she finished setting the table.

They ate and enjoyed each other's company, just like old times. Before he knew it, it was time to return to school. It was only going to be a few weeks before he would see them again, but the goodbye's still weren't exactly fun. The look on Professor McGonagall's face said that she was waiting on him for something.

'Am I late?' Cody asked hesitantly. They hadn't settled on an exact time.

'No, but I do have something to tell you and I just didn't want to waste my whole morning waiting around.'

'Oh, sorry.'

'Pay it no mind. There is another tournament related event that you must attend. . . as Harry Potter.'

'Oh. . . ok. What is it?' he asked.

'The Yule Ball,' she delivered the news as if she expected some resistance.

'A dance?' he asked. She nodded. 'Alright! Why do you look so surprised?'

'I didn't expect you to be the dancing type.'

'Yeah, my mom taught me when I was younger, I really like dancing now.'

'And are you competent in ballroom style dancing?'

'I think I'll be able to manage,' he added with a grin, which satisfied her.

'You will also need a date.'

'I know who I would ask,' he said quickly.

'As Harry Potter,' she reminded him.

'Oh, shoot. That's not going to work if she already knows me. There's no way I'd be able to fake my mannerisms and stuff for hours,' he realized soberly.

'Unless you plan to do some sort of reveal, I don't think that would be a good idea,' she agreed.

'Hey, I could go as Potter, then change a little way through into Cody,' he suggested.

'And have one girl waiting for your company all night long. I don't think so,' she rejected the idea.

'So, no way I could be there as both of me?'

'No—there is—no, there's no way.' It seemed that she might have been reconsidering for a moment, but in the end her tone sounded final.

'Well, I know who I want to ask. She'll be a fun date, I can be myself around her and I don't think she would recognize me.' He wrote out a petition on some parchment and slid it across the desk. 'Would you be able to deliver that for me? I don't want to sound conceited but I have a pretty good feeling she will say yes.'

'Oh!' her eyes widened when she saw the name. 'Are you sure she won't recognize you?'

'Yeah, we don't interact all that much.'

''Well then. I shall deliver the message and accept her reply.'

'Thank you. I'm really looking forward to this,' he said with sincerity. This seemed to please the professor. He left to meet up with Neville to get his Herbology over and done with as soon as possible.

Saturday night he met up with his Astronomy tutors. They both greeted him with a hug, apparently two weeks of not more than waves and little hellos had made them miss him as much as he missed them.

'So, what did you think of the tournament?' he asked.

'Wasn't that so awesome?' Tracey replied. 'I knew Krum could fly, but that was just brilliant!'

'Yeah, it was impressive, but not as creative as Potter,' Cody interjected.

'Oh, I felt bad for Potter. I wish I could've done a featherweight charm for him when he couldn't lift the bucket,' Daphne said.

'Or a simple "wingardium leviosa," a firstie could've done that for him,' Tracey mocked.

'Don't make fun. You have no idea what he's been through, nobody does,' Daphne said fiercely.

'Oh yeah, I forgot about your soft spot for Potter,' Tracey recalled.

'Yeah, well, ever since my parents said he could've been raised in an orphanage I've tried to remember we really don't know anything. That's all,' she pulled back on the harshness from her previous comment.

'Well, he certainly could've used either of those charms right then, or an "aguamenti" to rinse his mouth out,' Cody added.

'That had to be so gross. A couple kids around us tossed their cookies too,' Tracey laughed.

'Oh, gross,' Cody winced. 'So, was Krum happy after?'

'Yeah, but he couldn't stay long,' Daphne replied. 'He has to go train with his National team almost every weekend.'

'He won't be gone next weekend,' Tracey said with an added waggle of the eyebrows. Daphne gave her friend a roll of the eyes,

'Are you still nervous?' he asked.

'No. It's just Hogsmeade. We've talked enough, the whole Quidditch star thing has faded, he's just a normal guy. The language barrier does make it tough sometimes. We're always repeating words and stuff.'

'Speaking of the trip to Hogsmeade, we heard Susan has another date, what happened there?' Tracey asked Cody curiously.

'Nothing, we were always just friends. I tried to tell you, but I don't think there was anything I could say that would've made you believe me,' he declared.

'Probably not,' Tracey admitted. 'Did you find another date?'

'Yeah, Celine.'

'Oh, you're taking the non-Hogwarts route too?' Tracey teased.

'Technically, they're all Hogwarts students,' he said with a grin.

'No they aren't! They get all their lessons from their own schools,' Daphne proclaimed.

'Eh, technicalities. You just don't want to be accused of breaking your own "rules." I'm more of a "rules are meant to be broken type," so I wouldn't give you a hard time if you decided to go back on your word,' he said with a playful grin.

'Maybe at some point I'll reconsider,' she replied teasingly.

'That's all well and good,' Tracey cut in. 'Are you planning to take this Celine to the Yule Ball?'

'You already know about that?' Cody asked in some surprise.

'Yeah, most people know about it. We're just waiting for them to officially announce it. Why else would they have told us to bring dress robes?' Tracey noted.

'Oh, yeah. That makes sense, I guess. Well, I won't be going, so I won't be taking Celine, or anyone,' Cody stated.

'What do you mean you aren't going?' Daphne asked.

'It'll be over Christmas break. I'll be home in California. Traveling back for a little dance doesn't seem very practical,' he explained.

'You can't miss the Yule Ball,' Daphne said with some disappointment.

'You seem disappointed,' Cody teased.

'Well, yeah. You've hardly been around the magical world and this is a special event. You probably think this tournament is like a regular thing, but this is pretty historic what is happening at the school this year,' Daphne explained.

'I'll bet Dee would save a dance for you if you made it,' Tracey said suggestively, causing Daphne to smack her arm.

'You're incorrigible,' Daphne declared, before turning to Cody. 'But she's right, I would be happy to save you a dance if you made the trip,' she added with dignity.

'I would expect as much, and from you too, Tracey,' he replied, which made Daphne laugh a little, and quieted Tracey.

'I would be honored,' Tracey said gracefully, after composing herself.

'If by some miracle I am able to come, I will be sure to take you both up on that,' he said with a roguish smile.

He would be there, and he felt confident they would accept a dance with Harry Potter. He could manage one dance with each of them without giving away too much.

Thank you Dorothea Greengrass for giving help on some edits, it is much appreciated. All mistakes are still mine to own.