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Harry Potter And The Game of Death

Level 1

Chapter Thirty-Six: Knowledge and Ignorance

The next few weeks passed by in a blur for Harry. Between crafting a plan to counter Malfoy's ambitions, duelling practice with Remus and Sirius, and Quidditch, he had had little free time to spare. His world had narrowed down to the essentials as he saw it, and he was determined to succeed at all of them.

Hermione had been over frequently during this time, joining Harry and his Guardians in coming up with a plan to handle Malfoy's schemes. She had tried to join in on his combat training as well, but it had quickly become apparent that the brilliant girl lacked Harry's natural aptitude in the area. And though Hermione had wanted to gamely press on, Remus had taken her aside and said something which had caused her to give up on joining future sessions. Though she later claimed to have joined Ginny in something similar back at the Burrow.

As for Quidditch, things were going well. Very well indeed. The English squad had racked up victory after victory and were only one match away from the finals. Harry had caught the Snitch in every game and was confident that the next match would be no different. And with it would come another influx of information from the Game of Death about Malfoy's dastardly scheme.

Perhaps because of all this hard work, he had also gained something of a bonus. According to the Game of Death, Harry had gained four levels and a new trait.

Harry Potter

Age: 14

The-Boy-Who-Lived

Heir Apparent to the Potter Family

Basilisk Slayer

Heroic Youth

Golden Boy

Level 69

Stats:

STR: 71

DEX: 100

CON: 78

INT: 191

WIS: 164

CHA: 496

Traits:

Loyal

Duellist

Survivor

Humble

Elf-Friend

Boy-Who-Lived

Half-Blood

School Quidditch Star

Possessor of a Deathly Hallow

Training Junkie

Clutch Performer

Foe of the Dark

Battle Hardened

Dark Arts Magnet

A Mother's Protection

Weak Familiar Bond (Hedwig)

Peverell Bloodline

Walking Target

Oblivious One

Parseltongue

Headstrong

True Friend

Negotiator

Dedicated

Horcrux

Gamer

Training Junkie:

The bearer of this trait pushes themselves to excel when honing practical skills. Be it honing one's physical prowess or increasing their magical might, a training junkie always goes the extra mile. Grants +1 to all attributes and -100 reputation with anyone who has a lazy or sloth-like trait or title.

But though Harry felt that he was getting better by the day, all his hard work had come with a price. And for the first time in his life, Harry's birthday had snuck up on him without his noticing.

His birthday had always been special to him, even when he was living with the Dursleys and had to celebrate it by himself. And it had only grown more so when he had begun celebrating it every year with the Weasleys.

But this year Harry's birthday was not being celebrated at either the Dursley's or the Burrow. It was at the Cottage. And rather than Mrs. Weasley doing it in a simple and understated manner, Sirius was the one in charge of everything.

And Harry's godfather was, apparently, not one for doing things in anything less than an over-the-top, grandiose manner.

Magical, life-sized statues of famous witches and wizards that moved and spoke on their own? Check. Actual magical creatures, including some from Hagrid's terribly mislabelled 'cute and cuddly' collection? Also check. And magical decorations fit for an ancient king or queen or yore, including floating replicas of Hogwarts, Stonehenge, London, and a hundred other locations? Triple check. Those and more had turned Harry's birthday into what Witch Weekly called the 'must attend event for kids' of the summer.

Sirius' heart had been in the right place, but the man's desire to be more extravagant than the Royal Family had slammed up against Harry's love of calm and simple events. And whether it had been the several dozen events stations, the 'build your own gnomish washing machine' disaster, or the fact that the man had invited half of Hogwarts and their families, nothing about the party had been quiet.

Well, aside from one moment where Harry had managed to sneak away with Cho for a bit. But that was beside the point. Since were it not for the Game of Death's assistance in avoiding the worst of what Sirius had planned that day, Harry might otherwise have died from embarrassment.

That one day of pure insanity aside, planning on how to defeat Malfoy's goons had been at the forefront of everything for the past few weeks. And after weeks of Harry, Hermione, Remus, and Sirius spending hours going over the Game of Death's information, of pouring over publicly available information, and wracking their brains over the best ways they could use their limited resources to stop the attack from happening, they had finally hammered out a workable plan. One that they all felt confident would succeed, while also allowing them some wriggle room in case things went wrong.

Which was how Harry now found himself having a surreal feeling council of war over hot tea and biscuits in the Cottage's living room.

Seated to his left and sharing a small couch with him was Hermione. Per usual, Hogwarts' smartest and most dedicated student had a quill and paper out to take notes of the discussion. While seated to Harry's right and sharing a couch of their own were Sirius and Remus, both of whom looked relaxed.

Joining them were three people Sirius and Remus had recommended.

Andromeda Tonks had been a no-brainer; the woman was smart, resourceful, and already involved thanks to Dora's injury. While Hestia Jones, who shared a couch with Andromeda across from Sirius and Remus, had apologized to Harry before the meeting began; her face more pale than was natural, the woman was clearly ridden with guilt at not having been by Dora's side when Dora and Remus had fought the Dark Wizards.

Harry could empathize with that sort of feeling; he had felt much the same way more than once. As a result, it had been easy to tell the young woman that her presence was still welcome.

Meanwhile, the final person Sirius and Remus had recommended was an odd man named Dedalus Diggle. Short of stature and possessing curly brown hair, the man was garbed in a worn top hat and traditional wizarding robes. Judging by the large amount of grey in his hair, the man was also much older than anyone else present. But Dedalus had a spring to his step and a mirth to his face which made him seem far younger, and he seemed more prone to laugh and smile than anyone else in the room.

Once everyone had settled into their seats and poured themselves a hot cuppa, Remus cleared his throat to gather the room's attention.

"Thank you for coming today, my friends, and for making the time to meet with us." The Hogwarts professor made sure to catch everyone's eyes as he spoke and was greeted with a chorus of nods. "Now, while I've previously filled each of you in on the highlights prior to today, this meeting is about delving into the details of what is truly going on behind the scenes at the Quidditch World Cup and how we plan to stop it."

Harry shifted in his seat as Remus spoke. A part of him wished that he were the one giving the speech since this entire operation had come about because of him. But Harry was, in the minds of the adults they were bringing in, just a kid. So to gather everyone's support, Harry had been more than willing to set his own ego aside and let his Guardians take the credit for the information the Game of Death had given him.

"To that effect," Remus continued, "here are the facts as we know them: Lucius Malfoy and some of his former companions are up to their old tricks and plan to attack members of the crowd gathered at the Quidditch World Cup. The attack is set to happen on either the day of or day after the Cup's title match, and two people, Morgan and Yaxley, seem to have been entrusted with the key part of the plan."

Sirius jumped in at this point. "Now, it's important to note that Remus, myself, and 'Dromeda's daughter, Dora, tangled with some of them earlier this summer; the cocky bastards were attempting to fix some of the Quidditch matches and Harry's public duel with Lucius' brat, Draco. And while we did manage to interrupt them, we ultimately failed to expose them.

"Which is why we have asked those gathered here to assist our upcoming effort to stop the attack from happening," Remus continued calmly. "Each of you has some experience fighting against Dark wizards and witches, and more importantly each of you can be trusted to stay quiet when it comes to this sort of operation."

"Or to put it better," Sirius added, "each of you has proven that you can kick ass and play fool to the man when required. Which are wonderful traits to have. Because after Dora and Remus fought the assholes working with Malfoy, our great Minister Fudgecicle decided that putting a gag order on most of the people in this room, and threatening them to boot, was a better idea than actually hunting down the Dark Wizards who were up to no good."

"But before we detail the operation itself and assign your responsibilities, do you have any questions?" Remus looked around the room at each person in turn. "Now is the time to ask."

The first to ask a question was Andromeda.

"I would like to know how you and Sirius came across this information in the first place," she asked in her clear aristocratic accent. "I don't doubt its veracity, but I am curious, as it is both incredibly difficult – and dangerous – to gather such accurate information on this sort of operation."

Harry hid a smile. Of course it was Andromeda who had asked that question; being around reporters on a daily basis meant that the gorgeous woman had a very good idea on what went into gathering information.

But in anticipation of this exact moment, Hermione and Remus had come up with an excuse which – while not exactly the truth – should be enough to satisfy Andromeda and the others while also concealing the Game of Death's role.

"While we can't go into details for reasons of personal safety, we do have a… source… which tipped us off to their plans." Sirius gave a grimace as he said the words, most likely due to a combination of the man's continued dislike of the Game of Death and at having to tip toe around lying to his most beloved family member. "And while I personally have no love for this source and wish that it were not around… well, the truth is that the information it has provided us in the past has panned out thus far. It has also been personally verified by Dumbledore himself, as has the information it provided."

"That's good to know, but it brings up a question for me," Dedalus interjected. The man idly fiddled with the frayed cuffs of his wizard's robe as he visibly searched for the words he wanted to say. "If Dumbledore is aware of the situation, then why isn't he here too? I would've thought he'd at least be present for this meeting."

"Unfortunately, the Headmaster is preoccupied with urgent goings on at the I.C.W. lately," Remus smoothly replied. "We contacted him several days ago and learned that he's organizing an international expedition of sorts. It's all very hush hush, but it seems like several countries have asked him to lead a group of wizards and witches to deal with a developing situation in the Albanian wilderness that has the potential to spill out into other countries. It's also why Minerva couldn't make it here; she's been roped into the mission as well and will be out of country for the foreseeable future."

"Blast. Either one o' them would make mincemeat out o' Lucius and his lackeys in a fight." Dedalus' face twisted into a frown as he continued to fiddle with his cuffs. Then the man gave a shrug and smiled roguishly. "Ah well, there's no use cryin' o'er spilt milk is there? I'm sure that we five will be more than enough to handle our old foes, right?"

"Actually, there'll be seven of us," Sirius said with a snort. The dark-haired wizard gestured to where Harry and Hermione sat. "These two, while not yet trained enough to duel a Death Eater, are an integral part of the plan we concocted."

Dedalus blinked owlishly. "Truly? No offense, especially to Harry, but they're both still lower years students at Hogwarts, right?"

"You betcha. But what you probably haven't heard about is that during the past few years at Hogwarts, my godson's been getting into tangles with Dark Wizards, deadly creatures, and nefarious plots that would've killed most adult wizards. While Hermione here is as smart as Lily ever was and has been pulling Harry's chestnuts – metaphorically speaking – out of the fire along the way."

Harry gave a chuckle when Hermione shot him a look of apologetic exasperation at Sirius' words. But it was fine. After all, without Hermione's assistance over the years, Harry knew that he would probably have been dead several times over.

"That said, the operation we've crafted does not rely on either Harry or Hermione engaging one of the former Death Eaters in combat, and both will be kept well out of harm's way should everything go according to plan. So if there are no additional questions…" After trailing off and getting shakes of heads from the group in response, Remus gave the group a firm nod. "Then let us discuss what we have devised thus far."

Remus lifted his wand and, with a flick of his wrist, created a magical drawing in the air. Schematics of the Cup's buildings, information on its security arrangements, and more sprang to life. Split out from them were notes scribbled in Hermione's hand, along with a central document containing a list of goals and assignments.

The plan Harry and the rest had come up with was a simple one which relied on stopping Morgan and Yaxley before they could enact Malfoy's scheme. What with the closure of the Duelling Pavilion and the other large tourist areas happening a day prior to the Cup's title match, only two places would be left to guard: the event's arrival grounds and the stadium proper. They had ruled out the camping areas since ministry officials were constantly swarming the location with patrols to confiscate the loads of illegal and restricted items being brought in by international attendees.

According to the plan, a pair of adults would watch each of the two specified locations while Sirius would follow Harry throughout the day. And if one of the groups spotted something, they would contact the others via Patronus or a trio of magical communication mirrors Sirius and Remus were providing.

Contingency plans were also discussed, covering where the various teams should go if they were to fail in stopping Lucius' plan before it happened. Dedalus brought up the question of what would happen should one or both of their targets be using the Polyjuice potion since it was the biggest weakness of a plan which relied on identifying the enemy. To this Harry had replied that the group could only watch out for suspicious behaviour, while Sirius mentioned that their source had indicated it would try to send another update on Malfoy's plan sometime on the final day.

By the end of the meeting several hours later, everyone knew their roles and were comfortable with both the main plan and the contingencies they had discussed. The work done, Remus broke out some fresh scones and a new pot of tea for the group to relax over while Sirius poured brandy for himself and Dedalus.

After chatting with the others for a bit, Harry caught Hermione's eye and motioned for her to follow. Hermione subtly nodded in reply, and in short order the two teenagers excused themselves and departed for Harry's room.


Hestia watched the two young teenagers depart, a half-smile on her lips. Their reason for going was clear; she could see the look in Hermione's eyes whenever the girl stared in Harry's direction.

The clear affection the young girl felt for the boy reminded Hestia of simpler times. When you could moon over someone, and have them moon over you in return, and slowly begin to figure out your feelings for one another.

Adult romance, what with people's baggage from prior relationships, coupled with balancing one's career and goals, was far more complicated than a teenage crush.

At her side, Remus coughed and gently nudged Hestia's shoulder. "I know that look. And I think that I know the source of it, too. Would you mind if I lent a sympathetic ear to your problems?"

Hestia looked at him and tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear. She gave a short huff of irritation at having been seen through so completely. "Was I being that obvious?"

"Only to someone who knows what to look for," Remus replied softly. "And given that both Sirius and Andromeda are talking with Dedalus, I was most likely the only one who noticed."

Well, that was something at least. Sirius reminded Hestia rather uncomfortably of a male version of Dora at times. While Andromeda – though lovely and kind – was her girlfriend's mother.

Letting Remus hear out her issues would not be so bad, she told herself. He was the rare sort of man who was unlikely to either judge what she said by the size of her voluminous breasts or attempt to get into her pants when she was feeling vulnerable.

Hestia sighed. "Alright. But let's talk somewhere where we won't be overheard."

"Of course."

The older man took her elbow and guided her to a couch just far enough away from the others where they could talk without having to use a spell to hide their conversation. Once seated, Hestia poured her heart out to him. And after she had finished speaking and getting rid of everything she had kept pent up inside of her chest, Hestia realized that she felt better than she had in weeks. Remus' kind words and advice on the matter helped, too, and reignited the spark in herself which had been missing for far too long.

After thanking the man for his assistance, Hestia excused herself from the group. She hopped into the Floo, and, after a moment's hesitation, made her way to Dora's room at St. Mungo's.


Harry felt his heart thump within his chest as he climbed the stairs to his room. Though Hermione had been to the Cottage many times since she had returned to Britain, this was the first time the bushy-haired girl would be visiting his bedroom. Which, for some reason, was suddenly making him feel nervous.

To cover up the strange feeling, which was beginning to spread through his chest, Harry sped up his pace. When he reached the door to his room, he opened it and gestured for Hermione to enter first.

His best friend cocked an eyebrow in apparent surprise at the action.

"What gallantry, Harry," Hermione teased with a grin. She moved through the door gracefully, trailing her fingers along his elbow and across his outstretched hand as she walked. "Between actions like this and your smashing new clothes, it's almost like you're an entirely different person than you were at the end of the school year."

Harry glanced down. He was wearing some of the black slacks Sirius had purchased for him, along with a Gryffindor red shirt Remus had said would pair well with it. And since both were rather comfortable, Harry had gone along with their choices.

But the outfit was rather different than the both the ill-fitting castoffs and uniform school robes he had worn in the past, so Harry could see her point.

"What can I say?" Harry replied glibly. "The Game of Death has made an enormous difference while living with Remus and Sirius has done wonders for me."

"You know, I can understand why Sirius might be averse to the Game, given its name. But despite its being forced upon you by some higher power, the Game seems to have done nothing but good for you." Hermione smiled cheerily as she gestured towards his body. "Besides, living with Sirius and Remus really has been good for you. You look so much happier and healthier than you usually would over the summer. It's wonderful!"

For an instant Harry thought that he felt… something as Hermione spoke. A distant tingle of magic as it were, at the very edge of his senses.

But nothing happened. No ding from the Game came forth despite the familiar thrum of magic. And seeing as how her comment alluded to the time he had spent with the Dursleys during previous summers, whom he had no desire to contemplate ever again, Harry decided to accept the compliment portion of her statement and dodge the rest.

"Don't forget my increased enthusiasm for studying and training either," Harry said in a teasing tone. He followed Hermione into his room and pointed towards a shelf filled with books. "Or did you think that those were just for decoration?"

"Not at all. But I always did know you had a brain hidden under that messy hair of yours. Somewhere."

"Ha. Ha. That's funny coming from you, Hermione, considering that your hair is even messier than mine."

Saying that comment aloud earned Harry a light swat to his arm and a wagging finger from his best friend. But he had achieved his goal in changing the subject, so Harry merely smiled and playfully swatted her back. After which he jumped onto his bed and flopped on top of it while Hermione wandered around the room, admiring the many different features Sirius and the rest had stuffed into its confines.

Though the room might have been a tad messier than when Harry had first moved into it. A fact made abundantly clear when Hermione daintily held up a dirty pair of boxers from atop his studying desk.

She turned to look at him with an arched eyebrow. "Really, Harry? I would have expected this from Ron, but I had higher hopes for you."

Harry shrugged but gave no verbal reply. As he had learned in the Hogwarts dormitory, most boys seemed to be messy by nature. He was certainly no exception. And after a few muttered words under her breath that were too soft for him to pick out, Harry heard Hermione toss the offending piece of clothing away and continue her inspection of his room.

Still, even after closing his eyes and trying to calm his still racing heart, Harry found himself unable to relax. He was too amped up, possibly from the meeting or in anticipation of stopping Malfoy's plan, and he felt as though he needed to find some way to vent whatever it was he was currently feeling.

Harry propped himself up on his elbows and looked towards his friend. "So, erm, before you have to get back to the Weasley's, is there anything you'd like to do? We've got an hour or so to ourselves before that happens."

Hermione glanced at him but took her time in replying. She walked over to Harry's bookshelf and perused it, nodding as she saw titles whose names she recognized.

"Not especially," she said after nearly a minute had passed. "Honestly, it would be nice to just spend some time with you. With just the two of us and no one else. Since between my vacation, your Quidditch practices, and planning how we might spoil Malfoy's attack, you and I haven't really had time to just be together like we used to."

Harry paused at that. Huh. She was right. In a normal summer, Harry would have been at the Burrow by now, where he would have been passing the time by hanging out with his two closest friends in the world. But between Quidditch, Malfoy, and everything else, there had been no time to relax until this moment. And who knew when it might come again.

Yet when Harry looked over at Hermione to propose an activity, he found himself suddenly choking on his words. Because the sight that greeted his eyes hit his brain harder than the strongest stunner.

Dressed in what had to be the latest Muggle fashion of jeans and a tight t-shirt, Hermione had taken a book down from Harry's shelf and bent over his desk to read it. Which had the effect of providing Harry with an unobstructed view of his best friend's body in a way that the robes at Hogwarts never could.

And for the first time since he had met her on the Hogwarts Express, Harry realized that his geeky best friend had become a very attractive girl.

The way the dark jeans hugged Hermione's body made a lump rise in Harry's throat. While the small gap of skin showing between her soft pink shirt and trousers looked so creamy and smooth that it made his cheeks begin to burn. He could even see the full swell of her modest breasts inside of her shirt, and Harry found himself seriously contemplating whether Hermione was wearing a bra or some magical world equivalent. Or whether there was anything at all underneath the shirt.

It was only when Hermione lifted her head to look his way that Harry rediscovered his ability to speak. And it came in a sudden rush as he tried to hide how he had just been checking her out.

"So, erm, uh, how about, you know, going over some of the classes we'll be having next year?" Harry looked up at the ceiling as his mouth went on autopilot to buy time for his flaming cheeks to cool off. "We haven't really talked about school this summer, and it would be good to go over stuff before the year begins, right?"

Hermione gave an audible gasp of delight at his words. "Oh Harry, that would be lovely! How far have you gotten in your reading? I've read all the core books and most of the supplemental reading for next year, and I've begun mapping out likely essay topics based on our teacher's known interests; researching the books Dumbledore provided me has slowed me down this year, though, so I've only finished mapping out possible topics for Charms and Transfiguration."

Harry opened his mouth to respond that he had read all the core books as well, only to be cut off before he could even speak. Though that was only normal considering what he had unleashed. Hermione's academic mode was now in full-swing and there would be no slowing it down.

The brainy girl made a short shooing motion at him with both of her hands before starting to pull things out of her trusty book bag. The thing was definitely Charmed, because otherwise there was no way it could fit so much material inside of it. "Luckily I brought all of the materials with me today on the off chance this could happen, so make room on your bed; it's large enough that the two of us can sit on it together and lay everything out to see."

Giving up on doing anything else, Harry did as the girl instructed. After which the two of them dove into the old routine of going over their school materials.

But Harry's sudden realization of Hermione as being an attractive young woman did not just go away while they worked. Oh no. Not at all. And this unfortunate issue turned the simple study session, something they had done for years without any issue, into one of the most difficult non-deadly experiences of his entire young life.

Chiefly because Hermione could be a very tactile person at times. Whenever the girl wanted to show him something, she would draw close to Harry's body. Sometimes the contact was limited to their shoulders touching as they discussed a text or a new spell. But at other times Hermione would do things like place an arm around his back as they read a passage in a book, or lean her chin on his shoulder while he silently looked over her notes.

All of which made Harry feel the softness of her body. Or smell the delightful scent he had always associated with her and which his stupidly fuzzy brain was now labelling as mouth-wateringly delicious. Which made no sense at all. Vellum and vanilla were not supposed to make a person salivate! But that sound bit of logic failed him, and Harry found himself drooling more than once during the session.

The coup de grâce came when he was finally able to answer his earlier question of whether his best friend was wearing a bra underneath her shirt. Thank goodness Harry had been taking a drink when it happened, because choking on the sip of water gave him a ready excuse as to why his face had turned beet red.

By the time the hour was over, Harry felt both exhausted and tense at the same time. He was sad to see Hermione leave, but after the torturous study session he had spent in her presence Harry needed some time to himself.

Only when he was brushing his teeth before going to bed did Harry's mind wander back to that strange feeling he had felt earlier, when he had felt… something. Almost like the Game of Death had tried to give him a notification, but had been stopped.

But rather than continue to plague himself with such terrible thoughts for no good reason, when it was possible that a possible romance quest for Hermione had been the thing in question, Harry firmly pushed the topic out of his mind. Questioning the Game's decision in this area occupied the same level of priority as reading his own damnable character sheet.

Which meant that the less he thought about it, the happier Harry figured he would be in the future.

A/N: I got my two doses of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine and a booster of Moderna since I last posted. The last of which really kicked my butt for a day. Here's hoping that all of you can get your own shots too so that we can all get some level of protection from this shitty pandemic.

And in terms of story structure I also changed some things. I removed a Sirius scene from an earlier chapter because I did not like how it changed the flow; it will be returning, in a revamped form, in the collection of stories I've been compiling to post after I finish Level 1. I also made a big change to one of Harry's romances; one girl is out and another is in because, long story short, I was having issues tying some plot threads together. The one I really wanted in just did not work out at all, while the other woman did a better job. It doesn't make a big difference in Level 1 but does change things down the road for me. Both girls have been mentioned in reviews, btw, so at least some of you will be pleased by it.

Next chapter will be focused on the three known girls who will soon be in Harry's love life, after which it's off to the World Cup finals and action action action!

Last and most certainly least, I also told myself that I wouldn't post another chapter until I was finished with my full rewrite (hint, it's not). But I then remembered how nice it always felt to see a story I liked update around this time of year and decided to bend the rule a bit.

Cheers to all you wonderful folks out there. This chapter, and the next to be posted on New Year's Day, are for you. ^-^

Stay Safe and Healthy!

~Elsil