This Harry Potter story was written for fun. All rights belong to the wonderful lady (JK Rowling) who gave the world Harry Potter to read and enjoy.
"Regular conversation."
Printed Word in letters and newspapers.
{Parseltongue conversation}
[Iggy talking with Harry and Neville.]
"The Sorting Hat speaking and pontificating."
****ff*
When Harry and Neville arrived for the start of their fourth year at Hogwarts, they rode in the horseless carriages to the castle in good spirits. Immediately after the sorting ceremony in the Great Hall–without any visitors or poor jokes this year–just the traditional song that everyone ignored, Harry noticed that Luna was rubbing her hands up and down the wall nearest to the Gryffindor table.
"Something wrong Luna?" he asked.
"I see trouble coming but Lady Hogwarts tells me the wards are good, there aren't any bad teachers at the staff table–well no new professor who is bad," the blonde replied.
At the staff table, Headmaster Dumbledore remained standing to continue his announcements. First, he ruined the evening for many students by declaring the Quidditch season was suspended for the entire year. Amid the loud protests from all four tables, he continued by announcing that Hogwarts would host the Tri-Wizard Tournament that year. Students from two other schools would arrive the week before Halloween and remain the rest of the school year. The three contestants to participate in the tournament would be selected on Halloween as part of the feast that evening.
[Merlin Love a Duck!] Iggy yelled but only Harry and Neville could hear the entity's rant. [Go ahead and paint a target on our backs now why don't 'cha?]
[Let's write Mum and Dad tonight,] Neville said. [An elf can come and get the letter.]
[Yes. We'll let Mum and Dad know about this mess,] agreed Harry who studied the head table for a moment before he rose to walk across the Great Hall to the Slytherin table. Draco watched his 'cousin' approaching without any concern though he didn't understand Harry's purpose.
"Did you notice who watched while I walked over?" Harry asked and Draco suddenly understood.
"Flitwick, Sprout, and Pretzel watched for only a second before they turned to watch Dumbledore and McGonagall who still cannot see you. The new DADA Auror can see you but he was watching Dumbledore too," Draco replied.
Alastor Moody had been pleased to be hired by Minerva McGonagall at the last moment when the popular Professor Lupin resigned for personal reasons. Director Bones supported the Auror's decision to serve a year at Hogwarts and she ignored Fudge and kept him on her payroll as Auror 'dispatched to Hogwarts' while he was at the school.
In August, Moody was escorted to Gringotts by Director Bones where she left him in a rented room. While a couple goblins watched, the Longbottom boy poured a noxious smelling liquid on Alastor's mostly bald head. The man remain seated in his chair for over an hour after the Longbottom clan vanished down the hall to return to their home.
When he rose from the chair, his joints felt more flexible and in the company of Auror Shacklebolt and Auror Proudfoot, Moody apparated home. As soon as the three wizards took a step toward the door, two wizards leapt from the shadows to attack.
With strong shields throwing all the attacks away, the three wizards began the process of surrounding the attackers. Seeing a hopeless cause before them, the two attackers apparated away.
"Who was that?" asked Proudfoot.
"I don't think they were working for Dumbledore," Shacklebolt said as he carefully examined the spell residue. "I didn't recognize the wizards."
"Moody?" asked Proudfoot as the older Auror was still casting identifying spells.
"One looked like a dead man–Barnabus Crouch, Jr.–but the other is no one I've seen before."
"How can a dead man cast spells?" asked Proudfoot.
Moody grimaced. "If he's not dead…"
Unfortunately, Moody's suspicions that Barty Crouch, Jr. was still alive did not impress Minister Cornelius Fudge. Barnabus Crouch, Sr. dissolved into tears when Moody indicated that the DMLE should question the man and Cornelius refused to permit any Auror to harass the wizard for any reason.
++***++ The Imperious Curse
There was a Hogsmeade weekend before Halloween and no one noticed that a Ravenclaw seventh-year student was under the imperious curse; he was ordered to obtain a copy of Harry Potter's signature and drop it into the Cauldron of Fire once Headmaster Dumbledore opened the time to submit names for participation. Because this student attended Transfiguration following the fourth year Gryffindors, he was able to slip out one of Potter's homework assignments, rip off the name at the top of the paper and then returned it to the pile.
McGonagall failed to make much of the missing name–she recognized the penmanship of the 'boy' and graded him fairly, recording his grade in her book.
++***++ Halloween 1994
When Halloween arrived, the Great Hall was festive with the addition of a number of beautiful young women from Beauxbatons and rough young men from Durmstrang amid the usual decorations to mark Samhain. Harry, Neville and Iggy watched everyone carefully–Dad and Mum promised to appear at the castle if there was any problem. Iggy's platoon of elves stood ready though invisible around the Great Hall and Lady Hogwarts was communicating with Luna who had a determined look on her face. Colin stood ready with his magical camera to record the events to come that night.
The students at Hogwarts were generally neutral or indifferent toward Harry and Neville. There remained several boys and girls who could not see either boy. In any case, no one expected the night's events to play out like they did. Well, perhaps Headmaster Dumbledore expected 'something' would happen at the 'selection ceremony' but he no longer had a clue as to the players involved.
Dumbledore was dressed in flashy robes with his twinkle in his eyes at full power. This was his moment to shine; the eye of every important wizard in Magical Britain watched Hogwarts tonight. He was forced to share the centre stage with the headmaster from Durmstrang Institute, a reformed Death Eater named Igor Karkaroff, and the headmistress from Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, Olympe Maxime, who must have some giant ancestry as she towered over Hagrid. Unfortunately, Dumbledore had invited Fudge and Umbridge to attend the Halloween celebration and their presence further dampened Harry's mood.
A suitable number of names that had been deposited into the Cauldron of Fire for the two days before the night of Halloween. When the three leaders of the schools cast the spells to invoke the selection of 'champions', the cauldron quickly produced slips of paper with the names of Fleur Delacour, Viktor Krum, and Cedric Diggory–one champion from each school. Then the cauldron roared with new flames and expelled a fourth name that floated through the air to Headmaster Dumbledore who looked curious as he read the slip of paper and announced, "Harry Potter."
There were shouts of dismay from many students at Hufflepuff table, rumbles of questions at Ravenclaw, significant glances between the quiet students at Slytherin, and surprisingly, many sour expressions on the faces of the older students at Gryffindor. Draco watched carefully as his cousins and their close friends 'vanished' from the view of the general student population.
"What's happening?" Dumbledore asked his deputy headmistress.
Minerva frowned and replied, "I canna see the Gryffs! Ye know that!"
Professor Flitwick muttered aloud, "Potter, Longbottom and their close friends have vanished."
"Draco Malfoy is still visible," Dumbledore noted, suddenly hopeful of a conduit to reach 'that boy'.
McGonagall smacked Dumbledore's hand and said, "Do I need to remind ye that the boy who was 'Mr. Malfoy' is now 'Heir Black'? If ye touch him with one of yer schemes or plans, Narcissa Malfoy's rage will be the least of yer worries."
Flitwick nodded, "The Black family magic will smack you down harder than a troll's club if 'Draco Black' gets so much as a paper cut."
Minister Fudge and his ever-present Undersecretary Umbridge spoke to each other quietly for once and the newspaper reporters scrambled to interview everyone. The reporters listened and wrote down each of Cedric Diggory's complaints about Harry Potter stealing his thunder. The Puff's rants were cut short when he suddenly had a strange look on his face. Diggory's small clothes tightened dangerously about his bits and threatened to cut off blood flow. Delacour and Krum both made disparaging remarks regarding the fourth contestant though they refused to refer to Harry Potter as a 'champion'.
At just that moment, the doors of the Great Hall were thrown open as someone entered but the individual(s) were invisible until they suddenly appeared at the Gryffindor table. Lord and Lady Longbottom, and Dowager Lady Longbottom appeared as they hugged both Neville and Harry. Lord Frank Longbottom left his sons in the care of his wife and mother, while he stalked toward the head table.
From her seat at a nearby table, Delores Umbridge frowned and tried to make her opinion known but discovered that her voice was now the mere croak of an amphibian. A loud croak indeed but nothing intelligent.
"Dumbledore! What is the meaning of this?" Frank demanded. "Heir Potter did not enter this bloody tournament! How dare you allow this to happen?"
"Frank…"
"He is Lord Longbottom!" shouted Dowager Lady Longbottom. "For the last time, refer to Lords and Ladies by their titles you overdressed, antique invert!"
Frowning to be insulted in public, Dumbledore considered his options for a moment before he sighed and said, "If only I had my own belongings again…perhaps I could change things."
"There's nothing anyone can do!" declared Barnabas Crouch, Sr. taking the attention away from Dumbledore and Longbottom. "The goblet forms a binding contract with each champion selected. If the boy doesn't participate, he'll lose his magic and possibly die. Of course, who would want to live without their magic?"
[Merlin's duck plucked and stuffed! I'll make Dumblemore live in a bottle of fire whiskey for ten years! Crouch'll have the 'rot' by morning!] swore Iggy as Neville attempted to keep his brother from drawing his wand and using Invisible Fire on the goblet, Dumblemore, Crouch, Fudge, and the Toad who still croaked in frustration.
Choosing to ignore the threats from Lord Longbottom, Albus spent the rest of the evening examining his memory of the selection of the champions.
'Diggory is just like his father…he needs to be the centre of attention.'
'The boys are both healthy and growing tall,' Dumbledore decided later as he reviewed his memory of seeing the 'boy' and the 'other one' for a minute in the Great Hall. 'How did they all vanish again? Is it the power of the cloak?'
Growing excited, Dumbledore concluded, 'The deathly hallow is finally activated by a Peverell! If I can get it…'
Early the next morning, Dumbledore began addressing the portraits of previous headmasters that hung in his office. He spoke of the great power the cloak must possess and how it could corrupt the boy and lead him into darkness. After two hours without a single comment from any portrait, he began talking about the danger that the dark lord still posed in Magical Britain. He saw that two portraits left their picture frames to spread his news and continued speaking about how 'he' could use the cloak to fight Tom Riddle.
Albus felt he had convinced the castle to side with him in getting his hands on the Peverell magical cloak again but when he called for the head elf to appear before him, the little creature popped onto his desk, blew him a raspberry and then popped away again.
'Who knew elves could spit so much with a simple raspberry,' Albus thought as he conjured a handkerchief and cleaned his face.
Aggravated, Dumbledore used his position as headmaster to state aloud, "The magical cloak that hides Mr. Harry Potter is dangerous. As Headmaster I summon this dangerous artefact to me to be examined."
Albus felt the wards churning for a long moment before a sparkling bundle of cloth appeared on his desk. Taking his first wand into his hand, Albus cast a spell to find a marker he'd placed on the cloak. A simple thread inserted into the magical cloth glowed in response to the headmaster's charm.
'At last, I have the cloak again,' he thought. 'Perhaps Frank will bargain the return of my wand for the cloak's return.'
In the Gryffindor dormitory, Harry asked, [Will he figure out it's just a regular cloak?]
Confidently, Iggy stated, [Nope, Dumblemore believes he is the only one to outthink other people.]
[Where did Lady Hogwarts find that cloak anyway?] asked Neville.
Iggy paused before answering, [She's got all kinds of surprizes in the Room of Requirement.]
[Harry, how mad are you?] Neville asked as paused writing a letter to their parents.
Iggy and Neville both waited patiently until Heir Peverell replied, [I am mad enough to bring down Dumblemore, the ministry and Magical Britain. The other students and the adults laugh about capturing a fourteen-year-old in a magical contract for a tournament where many grownups die. Iggy is going to help me and make a mockery of this whole game and all the officials involved will hurt. Then we'll see who is laughing at the end.]
Neville made certain that Harry knew what he wrote in the letter to Mum and Dad but the threat to bring down everyone connected with the tournament was properly reported.
++***++ Mum's Howler
Within two days, Luna, Hermione, Colin, and Dennis became visible again to the regular students and to all the professors. When officials from the ministry appeared at the school, they did not pay attention to the 'regular' students so no one noticed that Harry's friends were visible. The good professors and McGonagall kept their mouths shut about the clique's reappearance.
In letters to Alice Longbottom and Augusta Longbottom, Dumbledore made vague references to resolving Heir Potter's problems with the tournament once his belongings were returned. Frank did nothing while his mother cast a spell to shred the letter and his wife seemed to be lost in thought.
"What are you…"
"My response to this letter will be a Geminio Howler," Alice announced. "I just have to think of the appropriate item to drop on him this time."
Augusta snorted and quipped, "Lava?"
Shaking her head, Alice said, "No, that might burn the children seated nearby."
"He'll just apparate away," Frank replied.
Finally, Alice pulled out a book of fashion charms. The next night, an elf dropped off the tiny howler just outside the door to Dumbledore's office and bedchamber. In the morning, when the headmaster exited his office and began his walk to the Great Hall for breakfast, the little howler attached itself to the headmaster's purple and orange robes. The charms powering the floating teddy bears that danced around the panels of the robes interacted with the Geminio Howler and just as Albus stepped into the Great Hall, he felt a tug on the back of his robes. He tried to turn around but the weight of his robes slowed his movements.
There were strange looks on the faces of many children as Dumbledore continued turning around and the movement began to fling teddy bears across the Great Hall. The teddy bears varied in size and colour and stuck to the furniture when they hit. They did not stick to any child but the floor, benches and table were covered by teddy bears in a short time.
Scrambling out of the way, the students hurried to the sides of the hall while the professors attempted to banish the teddy bears.
Flitwick shouted, "Stop! Don't cast spells at the toy bears! There's a Geminio spell on them!"
"Stop this!" shouted Dumbledore as teddy bears continued flinging themselves from his robes.
The voice of Alice Longbottom was heard shouting, "Albus Dumbledore, you allowed my son to be captured by a magical contract! Well, you'll discover how a magical contract can capture you too! You are responsible for the health and safety of your students as headmaster! I invoke that magical contract for your health and magic!"
Professor Flitwick organized getting all the students out of the Great Hall and the house elves were cheerfully moving breakfast into the common rooms in each dormitory. Albus Dumbledore was trapped in the Great Hall with teddy bears stuck together, stuck to the floor, benches and tables. When the fluffy toys closed over the headmaster's head, he was alone in the hall buried under a tonne of teddy bears.
Fortunately for Dumbledore, he found that he could swim through the pile of toys – they did not stick to him or his robes. After twenty minutes, he made his way to the door where he slipped out of his outer robes before he stepped into the entry hall. Quickly conjuring some suitable robes to cover his underclothes as he made his way back to his office. Only then did he consider the implications of Alice Longbottom's invocation of the 'implied' contract he could be under as headmaster.
'Fuss and bother! I don't need any problems with looking after the brats–uh–children at Hogwarts.'
Listening carefully, Lady Hogwarts smiled and snipped one of the tendrils of power that made Albus Dumbledore the headmaster of the school. A dozen more snips and she could throw him and his robes out of the castle.
She smiled as she imagined the moment when Iggy discovered that 'she' was responsible for Heir Peverell being added to the Tri-Wizard Tournament's champions. It was necessary for the boy to be unhappy with the officials and the other champions to have the most impact with the outcomes of the three tasks. The two mysterious wizards who tried to slip into the castle were unable to get through her fully powered wards and Dumbledore never knew that the dark lord in his most recent possession had walked up to the wards and been thrown back twenty metres with broken arms as a result of his arrogance thinking he could enter 'her' walls with impunity.
++***++ Wand Weighing Ceremony
The first ceremony of the Tri-Wizard Tournament was a 'Wand Weighing Ceremony' where Garrick Ollivander, the wandmaker from Diagon Alley, would examine the wands of the 'champions'. Government officials, the headmasters of the three schools, and newspaper reporters gathered in a large but unused room on the third floor of Hogwarts.
When the three champions appeared, everyone heard Cedric complaining about Harry Potter stealing all the headlines.
"What do you mean?" asked Victor Krum.
"Read this morning's paper," Cedric said, motioning toward the Daily Prophet in his hands. "The headline is 'Will He-Who-Vanishes Appear for Our Cameras?' Have you noticed that no one has taken a single photo of us?"
"He is right!" fussed Fleur. "I am beautiful but no camera flashes yet for me today."
Rita Skeeter stepped closer, trying to overhear the conversation complaining about the mysterious Harry Potter–her editor hoped that Rita could catch a glimpse of the boy today and the photographer could capture a recent image. Most of the photos they had were from before Christmas 1991.
But while the three champions began to echo each other's complaints, Rita vanished. This disappearance caught the photographer's attention and as he lowered his hands with the camera, it also vanished.
Headmaster Dumbledore sighed as though he was helpless within his school. He watched as the door opened and Colin Creevey entered the room with his camera handy. Without understanding what was happening, Albus watched as Igor Karkaroff and Olympe Maxime addressed the champions and Ollivander began to examine each wand that would be used in the first task in just two weeks.
"How can you begin?" Dumbledore asked Garrick. "Where's Harry Potter?"
"Mr. Potter's wand is in wonderful shape," replied Ollivander.
Several people turned toward the headmaster and shook their heads. Madam Maxime said, "Dumblesdore, the boy is here and you do not see him? Still?"
After Colin made photographs of the three champions with the fourth contestant standing beside them, Cedric huffed in annoyance and muttered, "Potter will steal the limelight every time."
Fleur attempted to release her perfume to capture the boy's attention–wizards of fourteen years were just as likely to fall under her thrall as a man of thirty years. But for some reason, today her allure made the men and boys begin sneezing. When it was her turn to have her photo made by the Gryffindor boy with his camera, the flash from the camera startled her and the photo would reveal a lovely woman but there were feathers on her head instead of hair.
Victor Krum, who participated in this tournament because of the publicity it would generate for his name and image, had no ill-will toward Harry Potter and discovered that while Diggory and Delacour could no longer see the boy, he could.
'Perhaps the camera boy made a couple photos with me and Mr. Potter. They'd look good in the papers back home. My contract is up for renewal and all publicity is good.'
++***++ Snicker
That evening when Albus Dumbledore arrived late for supper, his robes with the marching toy soldiers became heavier and once he was seated on his throne, the toy soldier began marching across the raised platform where the staffing table sat. The professors watched the soldiers carefully as they formed into crisp platoons that performed synchronized marches around the Great Hall through out the meal and once the doors opened, they marched out to take up permanent positions in the hallways and classrooms of Hogwarts. In several cases the toys began to merge into taller soldiers with long muskets and they took up positions at the doors leading outside of the castle. Toy soldiers also took up permanent positions around the secret 'exits' to the castle.
When the headmaster rose and attempted to leave the Great Hall, he found his robes fastened to the stone floor of the platform by bayonets from the rifles of the toy soldiers. No amount of magic could banish the bayonets and the robes refused to tear away. Finally, slipping from the outer robes, Dumbledore was forced once again to hurry back to his apartment in his underclothes.
++***++ End Scene.