I do not own Harry Potter, only the OC.
Hello guys, Badger here. How are you lot today? I hope you are better then I am. I have been pretty stressed lately and it doesn't help that one of my college tutors straight up told me my work was nothing but a waste of time and I should do something else for a final piece, TWO WEEKS, before we need to hand it in for an exhibition. Yeah, kind of pissed about that.
Anyway, I want continue going on about it. You are here for Fanfiction, not my life story. I have been waiting for this chapter. We are FINALLY in the Goblet of Fire. Well, we started the Goblet of Fire last year, but you get my point. Expect love, bloodshed, death and betrayal in the future. That is all for now, enjoy the chapter and I will see you at the end.
Chapter 42
The Triwizard Tournament
Harry was laying down on a sofa, his mouth open, whilst Sirius was leaning over him, his wand out as he used the necessary spells to stick a Mandrake leaf to the roof of his mouth. It had been a few days since the attack at the Quidditch World Cup and whilst things were still a little tense, Sirius was buzzing with excitement, with the idea of Harry and James becoming Animagi. In Sirius' eyes, they were continuing the Marauders legacy. James stood to one side, his own Mandrake leaf already stuck to the roof of his mouth, watching what was happening.
"Done!" Sirius cheered, after another minute "How do you feel?"
Harry sat up slowly, opening and closing his mouth a few times, trying to get used to the feeling of the leaf in his mouth.
"I feel…odd" Harry replied, ignoring the leaf slightly scratching the roof of his mouth
"Yeah, I remember the feeling" Sirius nodded "Now, you will need to keep the leaf in your mouth for a month, before putting the leaf in a potion, which we will send to you when needed…remember it needs to be done a midnight and, I recommend going somewhere quiet and secure before doing so"
"Do you have any idea as to which animals we will become?" James asked
"Not a clue" Sirius replied "Though I imagine, with your bravery and strength, I imagine it may be something like a tiger, or lion…though with Harry's loyalty and your intelligence James, it may be something completely different"
Any response was cut off, when the floo flamed up, where Dumbledore came through a moment later. Brushing himself off, he approached the group.
"You know, it is rude to drop by without calling ahead" James frowned
"I apologise James, my boy" Dumbledore smiled "I just wanted to see how everyone was doing, with what happened at the Quidditch World Cup, I tried to talk to you sooner, but I was preoccupied"
"We are fine" Sirius replied "What are the Ministry doing regarding the attack?"
"They are questioning the Death Eaters, at least the ones who weren't killed" Dumbledore sighed, the look in his eyes making it clear that he wasn't happy with the deaths "A few were wizards who previously claimed to be under the Imperius during the last war, when questioned this time, with Veritaserum, they revealed that those claims were untrue…as you can imagine, this has put the Ministry on high alert and things are quite tense"
"Do they know who the two men were, who summoned the Dark Mark?" James asked, suddenly
"Only one" Dumbledore said "Barty Crouch Jr who was previously locked up in Azkaban, he now has an arrest warrant on him, as well as an award for his arrest, though no one knows who the cloaked man was, he is a mystery, which has many worried"
James growled slightly, before he turned away from Dumbledore. Sirius looked at James, concerned for a moment, before he spoke up.
"Was there a reason for the attack?" He asked
"Fear, Sirius" Dumbledore replied "Nothing more…I wish I knew why, I ask that you guys are careful…the Ministry believe another attack may happen"
Not waiting for a response, Dumbledore went back into the Floo and flamed away. Sirius shook his head at the old mans antics, before he turned to James, who still looked angry.
"What has you so tense, James?" He asked
"The cloaked man" James sighed "I couldn't see who he was but, he felt familiar to me…I don't know why but it bothers me"
…
It wasn't long until Harry found himself sitting in a train compartment on the Hogwarts express, once more. The attack at the Quidditch World Cup had made a lot of people paranoid. As mentioned in the Daily Prophet, Cornelius Fudge had not only increased the budget for Magical Law Enforcement and Auror Training, but also began investigating a few people who claimed to be under the Imperius during the war. The Daily Prophet had also praised Harry's and James' heroic acts, which had inspired others to fight back against the Death Eaters. The door opened, where the Twins and Ginny came in.
"Hey guys" Ginny said "Mind if we sit down?"
"Of course not" James smiled "Feel free"
"We read about what happened" Fred said, as they sat down
"Are you guys okay?" George asked
"Oh, we are fine" Harry replied "just a bit tense, if anything the Death Eaters are worse than us right now"
"Dad is still in disbelief that there was an attack" Ginny spoke up "He says it's a good thing we got out of there when we did"
"You guys were there?" Harry asked
"Yeah, dad was gifted tickets" George replied
"As soon as the attack started, he immediatley grabbed us and Hermione and we got out as soon as we could" Fred added, growling when mentioning Hermione
"Well I'm glad you guys are safe" James said "And I heard that growl…I take it there is a story there?"
"Hermione had come with us, as she and Ron are friends" George sighed
"How is that even possible?" Harry asked
"No idea" Ginny shrugged "The two of them argue most of the time, and Ron tends to use her as a way to do better at school work"
"Hermione is way to overbearing" Fred spat "She believes that because she is smart, she is better than us"
"She likes to flaunt her intelligence at times, with a smug look on her face" George added, resting a hand on his brothers shoulder to calm him down "We only put up with her because she is Ron's 'friend'"
"My condolences for you having to be in her presence for longer then necessary" James spoke up, as he looked out to the grey clouds outside "I'm just glad that Fudge is doing something about the attacks…something tells me things are going to get worse"
…
Things were less then happy, in the Great Hall. Everyone by now knew about the attack at the Quidditch World Cup. However, there were a few like Malfoy and Nott who were smirking to themselves. James eyed the two suspiciously, wondering if they knew something he and Harry didn't. If James' memory served him correctly, both Lucius and Theodore Sr were both Death Eaters who claimed to be under the Imperius. No doubt they were doing everything in their power to divert any investigations onto them.
"You continue to glare, you may burn a hole into their heads" Daphne spoke up
"They must know something Daphne" James replied "Their fathers…."
"Were Death Eaters" Daphne finished "I know…but, I'm sure the Ministry will investigate them at some point…not even Lucius is powerful enough to divert them forever"
"It's Nott I'm concerned about" James muttered
Daphne nodded, not making any attempt to disguise her agreement. Notts were slippery and well none for their deceptive nature. Nott Sr in particular, if rumours are true, finds pleasure with dabbling in all kinds of magic, to deceive those around him. A clinking of a goblet drew everyone's attention, to see Dumbledore standing up, ready to make his welcoming speech.
"Welcome students, new and old" He smiled "Welcome, to another year at Hogwarts…I'm sure you have read the Daily Prophet and that you might be afraid but I assure you, you have nothing to fear…the Ministry are doing everything they can to avoid any attacks in future, though I do ask that you stay safe and don't do anything foolish…now, I do have good news…Hogwarts, this year, will be host to the most extraordinary of events…The Triwizard Tournament!"
There were loud cheers and applause, from many Pureblood students, with others looking around, confused as to what the 'Triwizard Tournament' was. Dumbledore let the cheers go on for minute longer, before he continued.
"For those who don't know, The Triwizard Tournament is a contest held between three separate Magical Schools, from all over the world" Dumbledore continued "Each school represented by a selected Champion, who will go through three dangerous tasks, with points awarded based on their performance…"
The doors to the Great Hall suddenly slammed open, causing the students to jump, where a man limping on a fake leg entered. To Harry, the man had seen better days. His face was twisted and scarred and he wore a fake eye, strapped to his face, the eye seemingly buzzing and moving around uncontrollably. Harry noticed James sit up straighter.
"That's Alastor 'Mad Eye' Moody" He whispered, his voice filled with awe and respect "Half of the cells in Azkaban are home to Death Eaters and Dark Wizards because of him"
Harry, and everyone else watched as Mad-Eye limped his way toward the Professors Table.
"Sorry I'm late" He said, in a rough voice
"No need to apologise Alastor" Dumbledore smiled "Students, this is Alastor Moody, who will be your new Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor this year…now where was I?...Oh yes, in a month's time, the other two schools will arrive, where students will have the chance to submit their names…more will be revealed then…until then, tuck in"
Students were buzzing with excitement, as they spoke about the Tournament, and Mad-Eye, the fear of the Death Eater attacks, temporarily forgotten about. As he was tearing about a chicken wing, Harry turned to James.
"Would you submit your name into the Tournament? He asked
"No" James replied, immediatley "To me, it's practically suicide…what about you?"
"No, I don't think so" Harry replied, after a moments thought "With the Basilisk in Second Year and Dementors and the whole issue with Sirius and Pettigrew last year, I want a quiet year for a change"
James nodded in agreement, before turning back to his food.
…
Across the Hall, sitting at the Professors Table, Dumbledore watched Harry, as he ate. Everything revolving around the Death Eater attack and the Triwizard Tournament left him paranoid. If the Death Eaters decided to attack, after years of silence, someone must of ordered them to. If so, who was it? If it was Voldemort, he would have been there himself during the attack, that is, if he already has a new body. If he doesn't, then he must be planning something. And Dumbledore feared it would have something to do with the Tournament, he just wasn't sure what yet. Whatever it was, he feared it would put Harry in the spotlight and put him in a difficult situation he won't be prepared for. He just hoped everything would be okay.
Taking a small breath to calm himself, Dumbledore thought back to when he went to Grimmauld Place to check up on the boy. He knew what they were doing. He had seen the Mandrake leaf in James' mouth when he spoke. He and Harry were planning to be Animagi. Not that he had issues with it. No. He supported the idea, if anything. It could prove useful in future. He just hoped they used the ability responsibly. Of course, they would need to register, or risk getting a fine, but Dumbledore was sure Sirius had already planned ahead. Speaking of, Dumbledore felt Sirius didn't trust him, as much as he used to. Not that Dumbledore blamed him. It was understandable. He just hoped that, when the time came, Sirius would work with Dumbledore and agree to use Grimmauld Place as a Headquarters for the Order, should the need arise. Dumbledore believed they were going to need that soon enough.
…
There we go, Chapter 42. How did you guys find it?
Before writing this chapter, I actually searched up the process of becoming an Animagus so I can get it accurate for the story. Expect the transformation in the next couple of chapters. Also, the cloaked man feels familiar to James? Why would that be?
Anyway, it also seems the Twins and Ginny aren't fans of Hermione. Who can blame them honestly? As much as I love Hermione, I can't help but think she can be a bit much at times. Plus, its been a while since there has been any kind of bashing. We have also, now had the introduction of Mad-Eye Moody, a personal favourite character of mine. It may be just because I invented the character, but I can see Moody acting as a mentor to James. Do you guys agree? Possible future fanfic story?
Besides from that, and the introduction of the Triwizard Tournament, there isn't that much that happened, so this is where we will end things.
One quick side note: I have added a few new choices to the poll, so if you haven't already, feel free to take a look and vote if a story idea catches your fancy.
That is all for now. I hope you enjoyed and I will see you in the next one.
Badger Out!
