Beta: None [everyone seems busy]
Original Release Date: 1/14/17
Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the canon Harry Potter universe or any other universe. Now AU.
Chapter Fifty Six – Gearing Up for the Expectedly Unexpected
Exiting The Marauders Emporium, Harry and Susan make their way towards Madam Malkin's, under the supervision of Remus. Keeping his eyes open and checking his peripheral vision, Remus makes a mental note of the scarce amount of people out and about, with the few out congregating in groups hurrying to and fro from their destinations.
"Remus, it's a pleasure to see you out" calls out a feminine voice.
Turning to the source of the voice, Remus smiles before answering with, "Good morning, Molly. It is a pleasure to see you as well. How are you doing?"
Mrs. Weasley joins Remus with Ron, Ginny, Fred, and George, and follows before asking, "I assume you're taking Susan and Harry to Madam Malkin's?"
Nodding his head, Remus answers, "I am, and then I'm going to leave to gather materials such as books, potion supplies, and the likes while they get fitted for robes. If the front page of the Daily Prophet gives any indication of how things are, most are wary of any sudden gatherings of potential Death Eaters or Voldemort fanatics. Therefore I'd like to leave Harry and Susan under the care of Madam Malkin during the time while I gather other supplies."
Flinching at the mention of Voldemort's name, Mrs. Weasley then speaks, "I think that is a wonderful idea. I would like to go with you to do the same for my children."
"I'd be glad to have company during such times as we have now" remarks Remus with a smile as they enter Madam Malkin's.
"Welcome, welcome!" greets Madam Malkin warmly as the deluge of humans enter the store.
"Thank you. Do you mind if Molly and I leave our children here for new robes while we fetch the rest of their school supplies?" inquiries Remus.
"Erm, as long as you aren't going to be too terribly long I don't see why not" answers Madam Malkin a little uncertainly.
"I know that both Susan and Harry will need dress robes in addition to their normal school robes, so if you wouldn't mind helping them find something that matches as well, that would be greatly appreciated, and thank you" thanks Remus with a smile before heading towards the entrance, pausing for Mrs. Weasley.
"All four of mine will also need dress and school robes as well" states Mrs. Weasley a little uncertainly.
"Oh, oh my. This might take a while to achieve, but I'm appreciative of the amount of business you are doing with me" states Madam Malkin thankfully.
"It is no problem of course" answers Remus with a smile before opening the door and running into someone.
"My apologies…oh Neville, Hermione, it's a pleasure to run into you" chuckles Remus as he steps back from the door and dusts himself off.
"And you are Mr. Lupin I presume?" inquiries an unknown man standing behind Hermione.
"That I am. And I suspect you are Mr. Granger, correct?" inquiries Remus with a smile.
"I am" answers Mr. Granger.
"Your daughter is one of the brightest students I've seen, both from as a student and a teacher. You should be very proud of her" remarks Remus.
"Why thank you, I'm glad she has so many friends" comments Mr. Granger as he, Mrs. Weasley, Alice Longbottom, and Remus look at their children and smile.
"I say we leave them be and gather the rest of their supplies before returning and gathering them for lunch" suggests Remus as the students laugh at a joke Fred had just told.
Slipping quietly out of the store, the adults begin to make their rounds to the various stores while their offspring get fitted for robes.
"So obviously you all are alright since you're all here, but since I missed the world cup and then found out about the Dark Mark being fired into the sky, and everything, but are you all alright?" inquiries Neville looking around curiously.
"It was definitely concerning, but I think we all came out alright. But please correct me if I'm wrong" answers Harry looking around.
"I think everyone is just fine" remarks Hermione as she looks around the group of friends, all nodding their heads.
"Who'll be first then?" inquiries Madam Malkin as she walks over.
"I think the ladies should be taken care of first" says Neville before looking around.
"I agree with Neville" adds George.
"And I agree with my brother; the ladies must go first" states Fred.
"Ladies, with me please" instructs Madam Malkin before walking over to two raised platforms where the girls stand and turn around as robes fly from various racks.
Huddling together a bit, George asks quietly, "Neville have you heard about what's happening at Hogwarts this year?"
Shaking his head, Neville answers, "No, should I have?"
"If you were to have heard anything about it, it would have been from Sirius or Remus. Apparently the Triwizard Tournament is going to be hosted at Hogwarts. But both Sirius and Remus have been tightlipped over the details, if they even have any of the more interesting details. What we do know is that it will be broadcast to Beauxbaton Academy and the rest of Hogwarts. Items we don't know about are the name of the third school participating, if they will be getting a video feed, and how the tournament will be handled. Stuff like that" answers Fred equally as quiet.
"That's fascinating. It'll be an interesting year to say. Thanks for the information. Are we telling the ladies about any of this?" remarks Neville curiously.
Shaking his head, Harry answers quietly, "No, we've got to wait until Dumbledore tells everyone before we can say anything. So that means we've got to play dumb about knowing anything before then."
"So only the professors teaching at the academies are aware, alongside any ministry officials, and of course the Marauders Emporium staff?" inquiries Neville.
"Correct. I figure we'll get more details as Sirius and Remus find out more, but that is not now. Anyways, I think we're going to get possibly get new robes with our names and the Marauders Emporium name on them if we're going to be helping with filming, and who knows what else" offers Harry with a shrug.
"Alright you five, time for the next pair to come get fitted for robes" states Madam Malkin as the girls approach.
"You all were talking quietly there, did we miss anything?" asks Ginny placing a single hand on her hips.
"Just about Quidditch and what moves Harry could try out this year" speaks up Ron for the first time in a while.
"Huh. Whatever you say" answers Ginny rolling her eyes.
Half an hour later with everyone fitted for their normal Hogwarts robes and no one had entered the store, Madam Malkin begins again with the ladies for dress robes. A little while later, the door opens and everyone's guardians enter the shop before paying for the bags of neatly folded garments for use in a few days.
Days later students and parents alike begin entering Platform 9¾, eager to begin the new term and find out the use of their dress robes. Loading their gear onto the train, Harry, Ron, Neville, Ginny, and Hermione make their way to an empty compartment and shut the door.
"Looks like a very dreary day" remarks Hermione looking out into the darkened sky.
"Then let's play a few rounds of Exploding Snap or something" offers Ron.
A few hours later as the darkness fails to relinquish its hold on the day, the lights come on without a spoken word, greatly assisting all passengers.
"Anything from the trolley?" asks the trolley witch as she pushes the trolley to just before the doors to the compartment.
Grabbing several stacks of Cauldron Cakes and other various sweets, the compartment swings into gear as food is consumed and energy is gained. As the train begins to slow down several hours later, the students begin to change into their robes for the feast. Scurrying from the train holding their robes over their heads as the rain slams into them from all sides, students rush into carriages, eager to find refuge from the storm in the castle.
"PEEVES! STOP DROPPING WATER BALLONS ON THE STUDENTS!" shouts Professor McGonagall as a balloon crashes into a dark haired girl with a Ravenclaw crest.
Sighing, Professor McGonagall waves her wand and the puddle of water disappears before instructing the growing crowd of students, "Don't be afraid of going into the Great Hall, just do it before the first years arrive, please."
Making their way into the Great Hall, students fill the tables for their house, chatting as though the summer was just a class period or two and not a few months. As the minutes tick by, the doors of the Great Hall open and a line of first years led by Professor McGonagall enters and gathers at the front of the hall.
"Those were the days" murmurs Hermione to no one in particular as first year after first year sits down on the stool and allows the sorting hat to place them.
As the last of the students finally arrive at their new house table, Dumbledore stands and steps towards the podium arriving just as a thunderous crash from above puts the entire hall into an eerily silent state.
"Welcome back and welcome home students. Hogwarts greets you like an old friend and for some of you it is like a second home. To begin, Professor Lupin has stepped down to pursue other ventures outside of teaching, and as such a new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor had to be found. I welcome Alastor Moody to the post" begins Dumbledore before turning around with no one standing until a door opens behind the staff table and a grizzled looking man limps out, one normal eye and one clearly magical one as it wizzes around in the protruding socket.
"And there he is now. Welcome Professor Moody" continues Dumbledore with a smile, giving a round of applause, with few others joining in.
"And one very large announcement, Hogwarts will be hosting the Triwizard Tournament this year with participants from Hogwarts, Beauxbaton, and Durmstrang. We thought it might be time to try the tournament again, and with more stringent guidelines and tasks to help keep the death toll from mounting any higher. Mr. Potter, I'm told you hold a message regarding this" states Dumbledore before all eyes turn to Harry.
Standing up, Harry quietly clears his throat before raising his voice, "The Marauders Emporium will be providing free protective chest plates and other protective gear to help protect joints such as knees and elbows to all participants in addition to PRT units to help whisk away anyone severely injured directly to St. Mungoes. A new set of protective gear will be issued for each task for each of the participants, and any remaining pieces of protective gear will belong to the participant after the tournament has concluded."
"Why thank you Mr. Potter, please send my thanks to Mr. Lupin and Mr. Black for their generosity in helping keep students safe. In addition to Mr. Potter's announcement, all students must be age seventeen at the time of the being selected as a school's champion. Any attempt to trick the impartial judge of a difference in age will fail. Now, enjoy the feast" adds Dumbledore before food appears on the platters.
Chomping down on the delicious food, students begin to talk about the tournament and the impartial judge before being herded like cats to their respective dormitories.
Author note: Thanks everyone for reading, reviewing, following, etc. This might be a longer author note than planned, but I'll begin. First, I've lost my dream job (due to declining business), so I'm putting writing aside until I get back on my feet and my bills are met. Hopefully it'll be shortly before I get something to pay my bills (it costs over $5/day just for payments for a laptop of mine…no food, etc…).
-Now back to story based items, Daphne Greengrass wasn't originally planned to be in the fanfic, but based on reviews wanting to see a Harry and Daphne pairing. I won't say if it is what is going to happen, but it's been intriguing me.
-To the several reviews regarding Harry and Susan needing to act more like siblings, I agree and didn't realize that I hadn't really written them that way. Most appreciated for pointing it out (and it was planned for them to be siblings).
- KitCat – I won't promise a Harry and Ginny pairing, but I do plan some more romance occurring between characters. Thanks.
-And yes, there will be more action/less boring chapters. I did originally plan on Harry's statement being made by Sirius at the time of being picked by the impartial judge, but I felt that it might be better here.