Lucious Malfoy was unhappy. His son had foolishly insulted a hippogriff and had been saved from it's talons by a Muggle-born. It that wasn't bad enough, the girl had been injured in the process, making the debt his family now owed her even more severe.
He had contacted Severus in order to obtain more information on the girl. Apparently the girl was manipulative, cunning, impulsive, disrespectful, and completely insane. She liked pranks. Her favorite target appeared to be Draco.
Draco didn't like the girl. Draco's owl, Aries, did. The damn owl refused to allowed anyone to remove the Gryffindor scarf the girl had given it for any reason other then to clean it. And then the owl would perch on the back of a chair and glare until the scarf was returned. Damn traitorous owl… And now he had to allow the girl and her Muggle parents into his home.
Bree was unhappy. She had to go to the Malfoy's house in order to talk about the debt they now owed her for saving Draco. She had saved the idiot's life, why was she being punished? Someone up there hated her. The worst part was, she had to go in a dress. A green and white striped dress along paired a white shawl that her Mother claimed she looked cute in. Her Mom wasn't even going, she had to work, why did she care if Bree was cute?
Bree and her Father arrived at Malfoy Manor in Wiltshire at noon. A high, manicured yew hedge bordered the driveway on both sides. The driveway was perfectly straight, running through wrought-iron gates and straight up to the front door. There are was an expansive landscape. The garden had a fountain and white peacocks roamed the lawns.
Lucious and his wife, Narcissa, welcomed Bree and her Dad into their home. The house was luxuriously decorated, with a magnificent carpet and ornate, gilded furnishings. The two Smiths were led into the drawing room.
Bree was glad she had gotten information on proper manners from the Weasley's. Compliment the hostess on her home, even though with the Malfoys it's the house elves that maintain it. If tea is served, sip don't slurp, and no, you can't just tell them they don't owe you anything, magic decides when the debt is repaid, and if Draco refused to pay his magic would be stripped from him and given to Bree, and since he was his parents responsibility, their magic would be as well.
So now here she was in the Malfoy's drawing room, having finished her tea and made smalltalk with the Malfoys. At one point Mrs. Malfoy had inquired about the whereabouts of Bree's Mother. She'd been informed the Mrs. Smith had been unable to get off her shift at the hospital, which led to a discussion about what Bree's Mother's job was.
Draco sat between his parents and kept looking between Bree and her Father as if trying to figure out how the petite blond haired girl and the large dark haired man could possibly be related. Bree could understand his confusion. After all his parents looked like they could be siblings, and Draco took after both of them. Bree on the other hand, took after her Mother.
A one point Aries, still wearing his Gryffindor scarf, flew in from an open window, perched on the arm of Bree's chair, and demanded to be petted. Mr. Malfoy twitched t the sight, then asked Bree how she had managed to get the owl's loyalty.
Bree shrugged, causing the shawl to slip and reveal her scars. "I was just nice to him." she stated as she petted Aries head.
"Why don't you keep him?" Draco blurted out. Everyone stared at him.
"Why Draco that's a fine idea. Aries and Bree seem to have bonded, and such a gift is a good way to start repaying the debt we owe her." Narcissa stated. In truth she just wanted the owl out of the house. It's stare was unnerving and frightening. Lucious seemed to agree with his wife's sentiment.
Bree looked at her father with pleading eyes. He consented to her keeping the owl, if only to keep her occupied on the way home. She had developed a habit of talking non-stop that was rather annoying.
That settled, the Malfoys and the Smiths agreed that the best way to handle the debt would be to wait until Bree actually had a problem, whether it be financial or some trouble with the law. Mr. Smith thought this was a fine idea as he thought it was highly likely that Bree would cause some sort property damage and get arrested sometime in her lifetime. This belief was largely due to the fact that the two times she had been left alone, she had managed to injure herself, with fire.
The visit over the Smiths bid the Malfoys goodbye and went home to prepare for their trip to Australia.
Bree's trip to Australia was interesting. Her Grandfather had had a large house built in Sydney. Bree had done some poking around and managed to find the city's magical community. She located a tabloid magazine and sold them a photo of Draco in a dress and fed them the rumor that was circulating about Draco's parentage, never mind that she had started the rumor. Bree was seventy- five galleons richer and the next day the magazine's had printed and article the said that not only was Lucious Malfoy not Draco Malfoy's father, Draco Malfoy was actually a girl named Draconia, who was being forced to live as a boy because Lucious really wanted a son. The editor really hated the Malfoy's for some reason and Bree was glad that they had entered a magically binding agreement so the magazine couldn't reveal their source.
Bree had learned how to surf, she wasn't spectacular, but she had fun. The next day Bree Grandfather wanted to go skydiving. Bree and her mother went to the Sydney Aquarium instead. The fish there were stunning, and there was a magical section were Bree and her Mom saw creatures like lesser sea serpents and a bunyip which was a creature from Aboriginal mythology that lurked in swamps, billabongs, creeks, riverbeds, and waterholes and had a dog-like face, dark fur, a horse-like tail, flippers, and walrus-like tusks
There was a barbeque and Bree's Grandfather invited his neighbors. While the adults mingled, Bree and several neighbor children attempted to teach her grandfather's African Gray Parrot to play basketball. There were several trips to the beach, and of course a visit to the iconic opera house, and suddenly Bree found herself back in England.
When Bree returned to Surrey, she found an unfamiliar owl sitting on her bed having a staring contest with Aries. The contest halted when Bree approached and the newcomer stuck it's leg out in order to allowed Bree to take the letter that was tied to it. It was from Sirius.
Hey there!
I'm getting out of the hospital in two days, then I'll be coming to free Harry from his awful relatives.
The final of the Quidditch World Cup takes place this Monday. The Ministry gave me prime tickets as part of the reparations for my imprisonment. Britain hasn't hosted the cup for thirty years, and tickets are extremely hard to come by. This really is a once-in-a lifetime opportunity. I'm taking Harry and Remus with me. Ask your parents if I can come.
Sirius
Dear Sirius,
Glad to hear you're finally getting out of the hospital. My parents say I can come to the Quidditch World Cup. See you in two days.
Bree
Two days later, Sirius, who was looking younger and healthier then the last time Bree had seen him, and Remus, whose clothes appeared to be of better quality then before, were at Bree's front door. Mrs. Smith answered the door.
"You're Harry's Godfather?" she asked Sirius.
"Yep. We're going to get him next." Sirius answered. Bree came down with her suitcase, but Roman got to the door first. He appeared to know you was going on and sniffed Sirius and Remus as if judging them. He seemed to find whatever quality he was looking for in them and let Bree out of the house. Mrs. Smith gave Bree and hug and whispered "Behave" in her ear.
"Harry said that your dog was big, but I didn't think it was that big!" Sirius declared as they made their way to the Dursley's.
"All the better to frighten the Dursley's with." Bree stated.
Sirius grinned. "I think you and me are going to get along just fine." he said happily.
Remus sighed.
When they arrived at the Dursley's, Vernon answered the door.
"Man the harpoons." Bree muttered. Sirius stifled a laugh. Bree grinned maliciously at Vernon.
"Boy get down here!" he bellowed up the stairs. Harry came down. He look surprised to see Sirius and Remus there.
"Sirius! What are you doing here?" he asked.
"Get you things, pup, we're getting out of here." Sirius said.
Bree looked at Remus. "Did Harry know that you two were coming to get him today?" she asked.
"Sirius was supposed to tell him." Remus answered.
"So that's a no then." Bree stated.
601. Not allowed to tell people to "Man the harpoons" whenever I see Harry's uncle or cousin.
They arrived at a fancy hotel. (Sirius refused to stay at his ancestral home until it was de-darkified). Sirius got gotten a suite and everyone was able to have their own room. Bree had gotten a massage from the hotel spa and a steak for dinner. Everything was paid for by Sirius. He gained a significant amount of money form reparations from the Ministry, and had control of both the Black and Lestrange family fortunes since his cousin Bellatrix had married Rodolphus Lestrange and Bellatrix, Rodolphus, and his brother were all in Azkaban and their were no other Lestranges to lay claim to the vault. Sirius seemed determined to spend as much of it as humanly possible.
Bree woke up the next morning before anyone else. She couldn't get back sleep and went out to the suites living room where she dozed on the couch until Remus and Harry came out. Remus got Sirius out of bed with a well aimed stinging hex, then they all ate breakfast and left.
They arrived on what appeared to be a deserted stretch of misty moor. In front of them was a pair of tired and grumpy-looking wizards, one of whom was holding a large gold watch, the other a thick roll of parchment and a quill. Both were dressed as Muggles, though very inexpertly: The man with the watch wore a tweed suit with thigh-length galoshes; his colleague, a kilt and a poncho
Sirius talked to the man in the poncho and he directed them toward their campsite. On their way they encountered Cedric Diggory and his father Amos.
"Hi," said Cedric, looking around at them all.
"These friends of yours, Ced?" Amos asked.
"This is Bree and that's Harry."
"Merlin's beard," said Amos Diggory, his eyes widening. "Harry? Harry Potter?"
"Er - yeah," said Harry.
Ced's talked about you, of course," said Amos Diggory. "Told us all about playing against you last year… I said to him, I said - Ced, that'll be something to tell your grandchildren, that will… You beat Harry Potter!"
Cedric looked slightly embarrassed.
"Harry fell off his broom, Dad," he muttered. "I told you… it was an accident…"
"Yes, but you didn't fall off, did you?" roared Amos genially, slapping his son on his back. "Always modest, our Ced, always the gentleman… but the best man won, I'm sure Harry says the same, wouldn't you, eh? One falls off his broom, one stays on, you don't need to be a genius to tell which one's the better flier!"
Bree glared at Amos. "Well you certainly seem to be ignoring the extenuating circumstances." she said dryly.
"Well Cedric wasn't effected by the dementors." Amos argued.
Bree rolled her eyes. "Dementors force people to relive their worst memories. What's the worst memory Cedric's ever had? A bad hair day?" she snarled.
Amos looked very offended.
"Okay, time to go." Remus stated, pulling Bree and a rather smug looking Sirius away.
"Your Mother was a hamster and your Father smelled of elderberries!" Bree shouted as she was dragged away.
The group was approaching their campsite.
"Are you sure we can't adopt her?" Sirius asked for the fifth time.
Remus was growing increasingly exasperated. "No. She's not an orphan and her parents don't want to get rid of her."
"Yet." Bree interjected. Remus ignored her. "So you can't adopt her." he stated.
Sirius pouted. "Not even a little bit?" he begged.
"How in the name of Merlin would you adopt someone a little bit?" Remus asked incredulously.
"You know what, never mind." he said when it looked like Sirius was going to answer.
They arrived at all the empty campsite and Sirius pulled out a small squareish object, and waved his wand. The square exploded into purple smoke. When the smoke cleared a three story purple tent was standing in the previously empty campsite.
"Oh yes, because that's not conspicuous at all." Bree deadpanned. Then to Remus she said "I take it Sirius bought the tent."
Remus nodded. "You know Lily and I always had to pick out his clothes whenever we went anywhere muggle. Same with James."
"Oi! We weren't that bad!" Sirius protested.
"Yes. Yes you were, and I have that pictures to prove it." Remus stated.
"Speaking of pictures, has anyone seen the Australia tabloids lately?" Bree inquired. The three males gave her funny looks.
"What did you do?" Harry asked slowly.
"Well you now that picture of Draco I have?" Bree asked.
"The one where he's in a dress?"
Bree nodded. "I sold it to this one magazine and I gave them that rumor that's been going around about Draco's parentage."
"The rumor you started."
"Details. Anyway, they turned it into this story about how Draco is actually the daughter of Severus Snape who's being forced to live as a boy by Lucious. And also something about Lucious being unable to Father children which is why he didn't get a divorce."
Sirius bent over laughing hysterically. Remus chuckled. Harry tried and failed to suppress his laughter.
Bree and Harry found the Weasley's tent a little ways away. Mr. Weasley was attempting to start a fire. It wasn't going well, but it wasn't for lack of trying. Splintered matches littered the ground around him, but he looked as though he was having the time of his life.
"Oops!" he exclaimed as he managed to light a match and promptly dropped it in surprise.
Bree quickly got tired of watching Mr. Weasley's attempts to start a fire and finally took matters into her own hands.
The fire was burning brightly when Ron and Hermione appeared, carrying water with them.
"You've been ages," said George when they finally got back to the Weasleys' tents.
"Met a few people," Ron answered, setting the water down.
"Hey Harry. We saw Oliver. He's been signed to the Puddlemere United reserve team." Ron said, which started a big discussion amoung the boys about Quidditch that Bree wanted no part of, so she went to help Mr. Weasley cook lunch.
They had just finished cooking eggs and sausages when Percy and two other redheads came strolling out of the woods toward them. Bree knew right away who the two new redheads must be. Bill and Charlie, the two eldest Weasley brothers. Mr. Weasely introduced them.
Charlie was built like the twins, shorter and stockier than Percy and Ron, who were both long and lanky. He had a broad, good-natured face, which was weather-beaten and so freckly that he looked almost tanned; his arms were muscular, and one of them had a large, shiny burn on it. He had probably gotten it working with dragons in Romania.
Bill was - there was no other word for it - cool. He was tall, with long hair that he had tied back in a ponytail. He was wearing an earring with what looked like a fang dangling from it. Bill's clothes would not have looked out of place at a rock concert, except that his boots were made, not of leather, but of dragon hide.
They were halfway through their plates of eggs and sausages when Mr. Weasley jumped to his feet, waving and grinning at a man who was striding toward them.
"Aha!" he said. "The man of the moment! Ludo!"
Ludo Bagman was wearing long Quidditch robes in thick horizontal stripes of bright yellow and black. An enormous picture of a wasp was splashed across his chest. He had the look of a powerfully built man gone slightly to seed; the robes were stretched tightly across a large belly he surely had not had in the days when he had played Quidditch for England. His nose was squashed, but his round blue eyes, short blond hair, and rosy complexion made him look like a very overgrown schoolboy.
"Ahoy there!" Bagman called happily. He was walking as though he had springs attached to the balls of his feet and was plainly in a state of wild excitement.
"Arthur, old man," he puffed as he reached the campfire, "what a day, eh? What a day! Could we have asked for more perfect weather? A cloudless night coming… and hardly a hiccough in the arrangements… Not much for me to do!"
Behind him, a group of haggard-looking Ministry wizards rushed past, pointing at the distant evidence of some sort of a magical fire that was sending violet sparks twenty feet into the air.
Percy hurried forward with his hand outstretched.
"Ah - yes," said Mr. Weasley, grinning, "this is my son Percy. He's just started at the Ministry - and this is Fred - no, George, sorry - that's Fred - Bill, Charlie, Ron - my daughter, Ginny and Fred and George's friend Bree Smith. Ron's friends, Hermione Granger and Harry Potter. That's Harry's Godfather, Sirius Black, and his friend Remus Lupin."
Bagman did the smallest of double takes when he heard Harry's name, and his eyes performed the familiar flick upward to the scar on Harry's forehead.
"Everyone," Mr. Weasley continued, "this is Ludo Bagman, you know who he is, it's thanks to him we've got such good tickets -"
Bagman beamed and waved his hand as if to say it had been nothing.
"Fancy a flutter on the match, Arthur?" he said eagerly, jingling what seemed to be a large amount of gold in the pockets of his yellow-and-black robes.
"I've already got Roddy Pontner betting me Bulgaria will score first - I offered him nice odds, considering Ireland's front three are the strongest I've seen in years - and little
Agatha Timms has put up half shares in her eel farm on a weeklong match."
"Oh… go on then," said Mr. Weasley. "Let's see… a Galleon on Ireland to win?"
"A Galleon?" Ludo Bagman looked slightly disappointed, but recovered himself. "Very well, very well… any other takers?"
"Three hundred Galleons on Bulgaria." chimed it Sirius.
"You think Bulgaria will win?" Remus asked.
"No." Sirius answered.
"Anyone else?" Bagman inquired.
"They're a bit young to be gambling," said Mr. Weasley. "Molly wouldn't like -"
"We'll bet thirty-seven Galleons, fifteen Sickles, three Knuts," said Fred as he and George quickly pooled all their money, "that Ireland wins - but Viktor Krum gets the Snitch.
"Oh and we'll throw in a fake wand."
"You don't want to go showing Mr. Bagman rubbish like that," Percy hissed, but Bagman didn't seem to think the wand was rubbish at all; on the contrary, his boyish face shone with excitement as he took it from Fred, and when the wand gave a loud squawk and turned into a rubber chicken, Bagman roared with laughter.
"Excellent! I haven't seen one that convincing in years! I'd pay five Galleons for that!"
Percy froze in an attitude of stunned disapproval.
"Boys," said Mr. Weasley under his breath, "I don't want you betting… That's all your savings… Your mother -"
"Don't be a spoilsport, Arthur!" boomed Ludo Bagman, rattling his pockets excitedly.
"They're old enough to know what they want! You reckon Ireland will win but Krum'll get the Snitch? Not a chance, boys, not a chance… I'll give you excellent odds on that one… We'll add five Galleons for the funny wand, then, shall we…"
Mr. Weasley looked on helplessly as Ludo Bagman whipped out a notebook and quill and began jotting down the twins' names.
"Cheers," said George, taking the slip of parchment Bagman handed him and tucking it away into the front of his robes. Bagman turned most cheerfully back to Mr. Weasley.
"Couldn't do me a brew, I suppose? I'm keeping an eye out for Barty Crouch. My Bulgarian opposite number's making difficulties, and I can't understand a word he's saying. Barty'll be able to sort it out. He speaks about a hundred and fifty languages."
"Mr. Crouch?" said Percy, suddenly abandoning his look of poker-stiff disapproval and positively writhing with excitement. "He speaks over two hundred! Mermish and Gobbledegook and Troll…"
"Anyone can speak Troll," said Fred dismissively. "All you have to do is point and grunt."
Percy threw Fred an extremely nasty look and stoked the fire vigorously to bring the kettle back to the boil.
"Any news of Bertha Jorkins yet, Ludo?" Mr. Weasley asked as Bagman settled himself down on the grass beside them all.
"Not a dicky bird," said Bagman comfortably. "But she'll turn up. Poor old Bertha… memory like a leaky cauldron and no sense of direction. Lost, you take my word for it. She'll wander back into the office sometime in October, thinking it's still July."
"You don't think it might be time to send someone to look for her?" Mr. Weasley suggested tentatively as Percy handed Bagman his tea.
"Barty Crouch keeps saying that," said Bagman, his round eyes widening innocently, "but we really can't spare anyone at the moment. Oh - talk of the devil! Barty!"
A wizard had just Apparated at their fireside, and he could not have made more of a contrast with Ludo Bagman, sprawled on the grass in his old Wasp robes. Barty Crouch was a stiff, upright, elderly man, dressed in an impeccably crisp suit and tie. The parting in his short gray hair was almost unnaturally straight, and his narrow toothbrush mustache looked as though he trimmed it using a slide rule. His shoes were very highly polished. It was very apparent Percy idolized him. Percy was a great believer in rigidly following rules, and Mr. Crouch had complied with the rule about Muggle dressing so thoroughly that he could have passed for a bank manager.
"Pull up a bit of grass, Barry," said Ludo brightly, patting the ground beside him.
"No thank you, Ludo," said Crouch, and there was a bite of impatience in his voice. "I've been looking for you everywhere. The Bulgarians are insisting we add another twelve seats to the Top Box."
"Oh is that what they're after?" said Bagman. "I thought the chap was asking to borrow a pair of tweezers. Bit of a strong accent."
"Mr. Crouch!" said Percy breathlessly, sunk into a kind of halfbow that made him look like a hunchback. "Would you like a cup of tea?"
"Oh," said Mr. Crouch, looking over at Percy in mild surprise. "Yes - thank you, Weatherby."
Fred and George choked into their own cups. Percy, very pink around the ears, busied himself with the kettle.
"Oh and I've been wanting a word with you too, Arthur," said Mr. Crouch, his sharp eyes falling upon Mr. Weasley. "Ali Bashir's on the warpath. He wants a word with you about your embargo on flying carpets."
Mr. Weasley heaved a deep sigh.
"I sent him an owl about that just last week. If I've told him once I've told him a hundred times: Carpets are defined as a Muggle Artifact by the Registry of Proscribed Charmable Objects, but will he listen?"
"Muggles use brooms too." Bree thought to herself.
"I doubt it," said Mr. Crouch, accepting a cup from Percy. "He's desperate to export here."
"Well, they'll never replace brooms in Britain, will they?" said Bagman.
"Ali thinks there's a niche in the market for a family vehicle," said Mr. Crouch. "I remember my grandfather had an Axminster that could seat twelve - but that was before carpets were banned, of course."
He spoke as though he wanted to leave nobody in any doubt that all his ancestors had abided strictly by the law.
"So, been keeping busy, Barty?" said Bagman breezily.
"Fairly," said Mr. Crouch dryly. "Organizing Portkeys across five continents is no mean feat, Ludo."
"I expect you'll both be glad when this is over?" said Mr. Weasley.
Ludo Bagman looked shocked.
"Glad! Don't know when I've had more fun… Still, it's not as though we haven't got anything to took forward to, eh, Barty? Eh? Plenty left to organize, eh?"
Mr. Crouch raised his eyebrows at Bagman.
"We agreed not to make the announcement until all the details -"
"Oh details!" said Bagman, waving the word away like a cloud of midges. "They've signed, haven't they? They've agreed, haven't they? I bet you anything these kids'll know soon enough anyway. I mean, it's happening at Hogwarts -"
"Ludo, we need to meet the Bulgarians, you know," said Mr. Crouch sharply, cutting Bagman's remarks short. "Thank you for the tea, Weatherby."
He pushed his undrunk tea back at Percy and waited for Ludo to rise; Bagman struggled to his feet, swigging down the last of his tea, the gold in his pockets chinking merrily.
"See you all later!" he said. "You'll be up in the Top Box with me - I'm commentating!"
He waved, Barty Crouch nodded curtly, and both of them Disapparated.
"What's happening at Hogwarts, Dad?" said Fred at once. "What were they talking about?"
"You'll find out soon enough," said , smiling.
"It's classified information, until such time as the Ministry decides to release it," said Percy stiffly. "Mr. Crouch was quite right not to disclose it."
"Oh shut up, Weatherby," said Fred.
A sense of excitement rose like a palpable cloud over the campsite as the afternoon wore on. By dusk, the still summer air itself seemed to be quivering with anticipation, and as darkness spread like a curtain over the thousands of waiting wizards, the last vestiges of pretence disappeared: the Ministry seemed to have bowed to the inevitable and stopped fighting the signs of blatant magic now breaking out everywhere.
Salesmen were Apparating every few feet, carrying trays and pushing carts full of extraordinary merchandise. There were luminous rosettes - green for Ireland, red for Bulgaria - which were squealing the names of the players, pointed green hats bedecked with dancing shamrocks, Bulgarian scarves adorned with lions that really roared, flags from both countries that played their national anthems as they were waved; there were tiny models of Firebolts that really flew, and collectible figures of famous players, which strolled across the palm of your hand, preening themselves.
Bree found a cart piled high with what looked like brass binoculars, except that they were covered with all sorts of weird knobs and dials.
"Omnioculars," said the saleswizard eagerly. "You can replay action… slow everything down… and they flash up a play-by- play breakdown if you need it. Bargain - ten Galleons each."
Bree bought a pair for herself and two for the twins, who had given all their money to Bagman.
"Where did you get the money for these?" Fred asked.
"Australia." Bree answered.
And then a deep, booming gong sounded somewhere beyond the woods, and at once, green and red lanterns blazed into life in the trees, lighting a path to the field.
"It's time!" said Mr. Weasley, looking as excited as any of them. "Come on, let's go!"
Okay, now I know some of you probably expected complete chaos at the Malfoy's, but Bree's not about to do anything in front of her Dad, he'd tell her Mom.
