I got a fanart! Link is http:/ kate33. /art/ Bree-Smith-BreeNC-fan-art-278164781 (remove spaces) there's also a link on my profile. It's a picture of Bree! Yay!
Bree woke up with a start, she hadn't slept well. Her mind kept replaying the deaths she had witnessed, over and over again. It was still early but Bree didn't bother trying to go back to sleep. She got up and got ready for the day.
Hours later, Bree was asleep on one of the couches in the common room. Bree's cat, Muffin, was nuzzling her chest.
"I wish I was a cat." Dean told Seamus after the two had come down from their dorm on the way to breakfast. Seamus nodded in agreement. Neither one noticed the Weasley twins behind them.
"Oh, why is that?" George asked. Dean and Seamus paled instantly and turned around slowly. The looks on the looks on the twins faces was positively frightening.
"Um… because… um-er… cats can do whatever they want and um… sleep all day?" Dean stuttered out while mentally chanting "Pleasedon'tkillme! Pleasedon'tkillme! Pleasedon'tkillme!" Seamus nodded in agreement.
George walked past them both toward where Bree was sleeping and Dean and Seamus took that as their cue to flee as Fred glared after them.
"Bree, wake up." George said, gently shaking the girl awake.
"Huh?" Bree questioned groggily. She sat up, forcing Muffin to jump off her chest and hide under the couch.
"Why are you sleeping out here?" Fred asked
"Couldn't sleep so I came down here. I must of dozed off." Bree answered.
"Why couldn't you sleep?" George inquired.
"Nightmares." Bree stated flatly. George winced, wishing he hadn't asked because he thought he knew why Bree would be having nightmares. He was wrong of course, but he only knew about the third task, Bree hadn't told anyone about her adventures in time.
Since the champions were exempt for exams Bree didn't bother going to class during the few days that remained of the school year. She mostly napped and wrote letters to Percy who was quite glad to receive her letters because he had been starting to think that he had lost his mind. Uncle Vince sent a letter saying that he needed to meet with her over the summer and he was arranging it with her parents. She wrote back and told him that she knew someone who worked in the ministry and had recently had their beliefs shaken. Vince wanted to meet this person so Bree said she'd arrange it.
The afternoon of the day of the end of term feast, the twins found Bree napping by the lake. They woke her up.
"Come on Bree, the feast is going to start in a soon, you don't want to miss that." said George. Bree rubbed her eyes sleepily.
"Carry me." she mumbled. George sighed in exasperation, but ended up carrying Bree to the Great Hall on his back. Bree rested her head on his shoulder.
"Hey, you're not falling asleep back there are you?" George asked.
"No. I'm just a little tired." Bree stated.
"Maybe you should go see Madam Pomfrey, she'll probably have something that will help you sleep." Fred suggested.
"I'll think about it." Bree replied.
The trip to the Great Hall continued in comfortable silence broken only by the whispers of other students. The hot topic around the halls was mostly speculation about what had happened at the end of the third task and about how subdued Bree had become since then. She hadn't made any effort toward causing any sort of chaos and the lull was starting to freak people out, either something unspeakably horrible had happened or Bree was planning something and was trying to deceive everyone.
"We're here." George announced. There was no response. "She's asleep again, isn't she?" he asked Fred. Bree made an unintelligible noise and slid off of George's back before stumbling over to a table. It was the Hufflepuff table. Cedric steered Bree back toward the Gryffindor table with a worried and slightly guilty look on his face. Bree slept through most of Dumbledore's speech, she vaguely recalled it going blah blah blah Voldemort something blah Unity blah blah something something dark and dangerous times, then Bree ate dinner before being dragged to the hospital wing by the twins and Madam Pomfrey gave her some mild sleeping potions. It didn't help and the next day Bree found herself on the train home with no memory of how she got there and a pocket full of stronger sleeping potions.
What brought her to full awareness on the train was the sound of Draco shouting.
"You've picked the losing side, Potter! I warned you! I told you you ought to choose your company more carefully, remember? When we met on the train, first day at Hogwarts? I told you not to hang around with riffraff like this!" He jerked his head at Ron and Hermione. "Too late now Potter! They'll be the first to go, now the Dark Lord's back! Mudbloods and Muggle-lovers first!"
It was as though someone had exploded a box of fireworks. Blinded by the blaze of the spells that had blasted from every direction, deafened by a series of bangs, Bree blinked and looked down at the floor.
Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were all lying unconscious in the doorway of a compartment. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were on their feet, all three of them having used a different hex. Fred and George had their wands out as well.
"Thought we'd see what those three were up to," said Fred matter-of-factly, stepping onto Goyle and into the compartment. George was careful to tread on Malfoy as he followed Fred inside.
"Interesting effect," said George, looking down at Crabbe. "Who used the Furnunculus Curse?"
"Me." said Harry.
"Odd," said George lightly. "I used Jelly-Legs. Looks as though those two shouldn't be mixed. He seems to have sprouted little tentacles all over his face. Well, let's not leave them here, they don't add much to the decor."
Ron, Harry, and George kicked, rolled, and pushed the unconscious Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle - each of whom looked distinctly the worse for the jumble of jinxes with which they had been hit - out into the corridor, then came back into the compartment and rolled the door shut.
"Exploding Snap, anyone?" said Fred, pulling out a pack of cards.
They were halfway through their fifth game when Harry decided to ask them.
"You going to tell us, then?" he said to George. "Who you were blackmailing?"
"Oh," said George darkly. "That."
"It doesn't matter," said Fred, shaking his head impatiently. "It wasn't anything important.
Not now, anyway."
"We've given up," said George, shrugging.
But Harry, Ron, and Hermione kept on asking, and finally, Fred said, "All right, all right, if you really want to know… it was Ludo Bagman."
"Bagman?" said Harry sharply. "Are you saying he was involved in -"
"Nah," said George gloomily. "Nothing like that. Stupid git. He wouldn't have the brains."
"Well, what, then?" said Ron.
Fred hesitated, then said, "You remember that bet we had with him at the Quidditch World Cup? About how Ireland would win, but Krum would get the Snitch?"
"Yeah," said Harry and Ron slowly.
"Well, the git paid us in leprechaun gold he'd caught from the Irish mascots."
"So?"
"So," said Fred impatiently, "it vanished, didn't it? By next morning, it had gone!"
"But - it must've been an accident, mustn't it?" said Hermione.
George laughed very bitterly.
"Yeah, that's what we thought, at first. We thought if we just wrote to him, and told him he'd made a mistake, he'd cough up. But nothing doing. Ignored our letter. We kept trying to talk to him about it at Hogwarts, but he was always making some excuse to get away from us."
"In the end, he turned pretty nasty," said Fred. "Told us we were too young to gamble, and he wasn't giving us anything."
"So we asked for our money back," said George glowering.
"He didn't refuse!" gasped Hermione.
"Right in one," said Fred.
"But that was all your savings!" said Ron.
"Tell me about it," said George. "'Course, we found out what was going on in the end. Lee Jordan's dad had had a bit of trouble getting money off Bagman as well. Turns out he's in big trouble with the goblins. Borrowed loads of gold off them. A gang of them cornered him in the woods after the World Cup and took all the gold he had, and it still wasn't enough to cover all his debts. They followed him all the way to Hogwarts to keep an eye on him. He's lost everything gambling. Hasn't got two Galleons to rub together. And you know how the idiot tried to pay the goblins back?"
"How?" said Harry.
"He put a bet on you, mate," said Fred. "Put a big bet on you to win the tournament. Bet against the goblins."
"So that's why he kept trying to help me win!" said Harry. "Well - I did win, didn't I? So he can pay you your gold!"
"Nope," said George, shaking his head. "The goblins play as dirty as him. They say you drew with Diggory, and Bagman was betting you'd win outright. So Bagman had to run for it. He did run for it right after the third task."
George sighed deeply and started dealing out the cards again. Bree fell asleep.
"I'm really worried about her." Hermione commented. "I heard her crying a couple of times at night."
"She told us she'd been having nightmares." Fred stated.
"What about you Harry? Have you been having problems sleeping?" Hermione asked.
Harry shook his head. "Not really, but then again I didn't get Crucio'd." he answered.
"I wish there was more we could do for her, but she doesn't want to talk about it and I feel guilty for asking. She get's this look in her eyes, like she's remembering something horrible." George said.
"I can hear you talking about me." Bree stated without opening her eyes.
"Bloody hell, how long have you been awake!" Ron exclaimed.
"I sort of fade in and out, what with the explosions and all." Bree answered, still not opening her eyes.
"You know, it might help to talk about it." Hermione suggested. Bree finally opened her eyes and glared and the bushy haired girl.
"No." she said flatly.
"But'" Hermione began.
"No." Bree said again with more force. She turned toward the window and closed her eyes, ending the conversation.
Soon, the Hogwarts Express was pulling in at platform nine and three-quarters. The usual confusion and noise filled the corridors as the students began to disembark. Ron and Hermione struggled out past Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, carrying their trunks. Harry, however, stayed put.
"Fred - George - wait a moment."
The twins turned. Harry pulled open his trunk and drew out his Triwizard winnings, Bree had done the same and tossed the sack of money to Fred while Harry handed his off to George.
"Take it," he said.
"What?" said Fred, looking flabbergasted.
"Take it," Harry repeated firmly. "I don't want it."
"You're mental," said George, trying to push it back at Harry.
"No, I'm not," said Harry. "You take it, and get inventing. It's for the joke shop."
"He is mental," Fred said in an almost awed voice.
"Listen," said Harry firmly. "If you don't take it, I'm throwing it down the drain. I don't want it and I don't need it. But I could do with a few laughs. We could all do with a few laughs. I've got a feeling we're going to need them more than usual before long."
"There's got to hundreds of Galleons in here." George stated weakly.
"Three hundred and thirty-three." Bree corrected. "They spilt the prize money into thirds. With both of those you now have a grand total of six hundred and sixty-six. Think of it as an investment. I fully expect a return." she stated, grinning. "
"Just don't tell your mum where you got it… although she might not be so keen for you to join the Ministry anymore, come to think of it…" Harry added.
"But-" Fred began, but Harry pulled out his wand.
"Look," he said flatly, "take it, or I'll hex you. I know some good ones now. Just do me one favor, okay? Buy Ron some different dress robes and say they're from you."
Both Bree and Harry left without another word stepping over Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, who were still lying on the floor, covered in hex marks.
Sirius and Remus were waiting on the other side of the barrier next to Mrs. Weasley and… Uncle Vince? Mrs. Weasley gave Harry a hug and then shocked the hell out of Bree by turning and giving her one as well.
"See you. Harry," said Ron, clapping Harry on the back.
"Bye, Harry!" said Hermione, and she did something she had never done before, and kissed him on the cheek.
"Harry, Bree - thanks," George muttered, while Fred nodded fervently at his side.
Bree waved as she left the station with Uncle Vince.
"So how come you're picking me up?" Bree asked Vince as they rode in the back of a Jaguar XJ6 with thicker-than-normal-and-heavily-tinted windows. Ben was driving.
"I just told them that we have some things to discuss before you leave for the summer." Vince answered.
"Ah." Bree replied.
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When they arrived at their destination, Vince led Bree to his office. Bree noticed something odd on one of the bookshelves.
"Why do you have a Dalek eyestalk?" Bree inquired.
"It was a gift from one of my off-world business partners. Not sure where he got it though." Vince replied.
Bree grinned. "Always looking to make a profit, no matter how strange the being you have to negotiate with is." she commented.
"Right. Now how to you know about aliens?" Vince asked. Bree told him everything about her adventures with the Doctor, everything she hadn't been able to tell her friends.
"I see." Vince said when Bree was done. "We'll arrange for Alice to come stay will Lisa and I during the summer. And I believe I have a job for Mr. Weasley." Vince told Ben to arrange a meeting with Percy before turning back to Bree.
"Now back to the matter at hand. I have a… gift for you." he said as he pulled a glass jar from a drawer in his desk and handed it to Bree. She took the jar and sat down and examined it. Inside were a few twigs and leaves and one large, fat beetle. It had markings around its antennae that looked a bit like glasses. Bree looked back at Uncle Vince, slightly confused.
"Rita Skeeter is an unregistered Animagus." Vince stated. Bree looked back at the jar with a grin that would make a Cheshire cat proud.
"Oh Uncle Vince! You always no just what to get me!" Bree said in a sickly sweet tone. Vince chuckled while Bree took off the lid of the jar and let Skeeter out. Skeeter transformed back into a human. /her clothes were rumpled and her hair was disheveled and unwashed.
"What a handy ability. Let's you spy on anyone you want and get whatever information you need." Bree commented, the grin never leaving her face.
"Imprisoning someone like this is- is" Skeeter began.
"Is- is what?" Bree interrupted mockingly. "It's only illegal if you get caught, and Rita, I'm afraid that no one is looking for you. Maybe they think you're working a story, maybe they're just glad you're gone. Either way I'm you're only hope of getting out of here, so you best do as I say."
"And what if I don't? You can't keep me here forever." Skeeter argued. There was a glint in Bree's eyes, it could almost be mistaken for Dumbledore's infernal twinkle if one didn't look to closely, but Rita did, and from that day forward her dreams would be haunted by a dark grin and malicious blue eyes.
"Rita. You act like you have a choice. The only choice you have is cooperate or die. Pawns are easy to replace, so be a good little pawn or get taken off the board and removed from play, forever, after all, life is one game you can't replay." Bree stated.
Skeeter gulped in fear. "What do you want me to do?" she asked quietly, finally realizing the position she was in.
"Give her a pen and some paper." Bree told Vince. "I'm only going to say this once."
Once Rita had a pen and a writing pad, Bree told Skeeter her demands. "You will not write or publish any stories about me, any member of my family, my friends, or any member of their families. Anything you do write will be completely factual with no twisting of words, quoting anything that wasn't said, or quoting anything anyone who was ever in Slytherin said unless I approve it. And about Dumbledore-"
"I suppose I'm not to write anything about him either?" Rita interjected.
"No." Bree answered. "I want you to write factual articles about him, and well, I suppose we'll have to bend that first rule a bit, because Dumbledore really messed up when it came to Harry and his muggle relatives. I also want you to report on every single one of the ministry's failing, with all the sordid details. Now, pay close attention, I'm going to tell you everything I know about Dumbledore and a muggle family known as the Durslys, and you better not tell anyone I told you this…"
A little while later Skeeter was taken home and Percy was brought in.
"Bree, what's going on?" Percy asked as soon as he saw the blond lounging on a chair in the office of someone who was quite obviously a mob boss.
"Percy, this is my Uncle Vince. He's got an offer for you." Bree stated.
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And that's all for now. In the next chapter Bree will start learning the Animagus transformation. Anyone want to guess what her form will be? There where a few hints in this chapter.
Review please!
