A/N Greetings to all and a Happy New Year! Thank you to everyone who reads, reviews, and favorites. It really does mean a lot to me. I hope to update more frequently with the new year - resolutions and all that - so here's to it.
Standard disclaimer for 2023 - I own nothing related to Harry Potter. Those rights are reserved for JK Rowling and Warner Bros media.
The week after the first task passed in a blur for both Harry and Hermione. It didn't surprise the Brightest Witch of Her Age that Harry was approached by the Daily Prophet, as well as the foreign press, about his impressive rescue of the golden egg; that was expected. What shocked the hell out of her was the press's interest in her. Sirius pushed back against any impromptu interviews directly after the task, saying Harry needed to wind down after facing off against a dragon but he would arrange for a full press conference later that week.
Andromeda Tonks didn't seem to be surprised by the press interest in the least. She showed up bright and early the morning after Harry met with his dragon foe, waking not only Harry and Hermione but a small army of Gryffindor supporters sprawled throughout their new common room in the forms of Fred, George, Dean, Neville, Colin Creevey (sans camera - that was the deal), the three Chaser girls, and Ginny. A lovely little blonde friend of Ginny's by the name of Luna Lovegood from Ravenclaw also joined them for the celebration. In an attempt to mend fences with Hufflepuff and show the other Champions that he really wasn't in the competition to do much more than to save his life and magic, he'd invited them to celebrate as well but it was no surprise they declined. Still, Hermione was glad they extended the olive branch even if it didn't make their lives easier.
While the others got to stumble towards the castle and breakfast, Harry and Hermione were unceremoniously whisked off towards London and a day of shopping and styling in the higher end shops of Diagon Alley. Sirius, being the recently freed man he was, escorted Harry around for a new wizarding wardrobe for the both of them, while Hermione and Andromeda went off together. It was while looking at the heavier weight Acromantula silks for more formal day robes that Hermione voiced her confusion.
"Healer Tonks, can I ask you a question?"
"It's Andromeda or Andi, Hermione and yes, you can."
"I understand getting a new wardrobe for Harry, he only really has his school robes and a couple of basic day robes but why me? I'm nobody important. Certainly not worth the expense Sirius seems to be spending on me."
Andi gave the young witch a patient smile. "Ahh, but to the press you may be more important than Mr Potter himself."
Hermione dropped the bolt of fabric she'd absently been stroking. "What? But that's ridiculous! Not only was he pulled into this whole fiasco against his will but he's in the lead even though we asked that he not be officially scored! He's also got that silly moniker of The Boy-Who-Lived. I'm just the swot that helps with his homework!" She ran an absent hand through her hair, a habit she picked up from Harry, Andromeda noticed. "I understand having one or two higher end robes for any appearances next to Harry or Sirius but not all this."
All this encompassed not only new day robes, which neither muggle-raised student had other than their basic school robes, but formal daywear, and to Andi's surprise, Hermione's dress robes. When she'd asked the girl why she didn't purchase them at the beginning of the school year, she'd simply shrugged and said she'd assumed she wouldn't be attending whatever function they were required for as she didn't expect to be asked.
"Hardly, Hermione. You, my dear, are the mystery. The woman behind the man, to be cliche. You made a public stand beside Harry when no one else would. You are a muggleborn witch who has the highest Hogwarts scores seen in over a century paired with the youngest seeker in a century. Even without Harry being an unwilling tournament participant you would be newsworthy, it's just with you being muggleborn and our media being controlled by purebloods it's taken the interest in Harry to bring your talents to light, so to speak. It's best for us to take charge of both yours and Harry's image now rather than do damage control later."
"But, but shouldn't our focus be on Harry? On how the ministry forced a fourteen year old to compete in what they called an of age only event? How their 'impartial selector' was able to be so easily circumvented in a magical school with the Chief Warlock himself the Headmaster?" Hermione sputtered out. "Me studying should hardly make front page news!"
The older woman shook her head and made note of the color of the fabric Hermione was still absently stroking. The deep, almost midnight blue would look wonderful with the girl's fading tan and blonde streaked chestnut curls. The next stop would have to be Madam Primpernelle's for perhaps a trim and some specialty shampoo, conditioner and hair potions. A bit of Sleekeazy mixed into Hermione's bath products should help keep the actual styling time to a minimum. They would keep things simple, Hermione wasn't a girl to fuss with her appearance and to add too much time to her routine would do no good. The same would apply to any cosmetics. The shrinking of her front teeth made a huge difference in her smile, and while not classically beautiful, the girl was pretty. Her skin was clear, her eyes sparkled and she practically glowed when next to Harry.
"Hermione, Harry is newsworthy, there is no doubt about that. Reporters are going to be asking him about the tournament, about his godfather, his parents and about you. And when they ask that, you both are going to need to be prepared for it. Are you going to let the press ask those questions to Harry - the famous boy-who-lived - and ignore his muggleborn companion, or are you, and he, going to take a stand and answer the press yourself. You know that as a muggleborn and as a woman the reporters will treat you as if you are invisible whilst picking you apart not only behind your back but to your face. You need to be prepared to handle that."
Andromeda nodded slightly to her left with her head. "Look over behind us. Half of the shop is trying to get a look at you. It's certainly not me they're staring at, Hermione. It's you and it's because of how close you are with Harry that you will be looked at. Sirius and I want you both to be prepared and to use that curiosity to promote your own ideals - not the Ministry's, not Dumbledore's - but what you and Harry want to say."
With a determined frown, Hermione shook her head. "I won't be treated as if I'm invisible. I can't stand when it happens in the Alley shopping and I won't let it happen when it's going to be printed for all the wizarding world to see. Not to mention, Harry will go nuclear if anyone insults me and he hears it."
"Well, we may have to work on that. Those vultures at the Prophet would love nothing more than to have Harry lose his temper and his control over his magic due to one of their reporters stepping out of line. So, while we're getting your hair done, we'll set up a minor privacy charm and go over how to handle some of the questions they may ask. My husband is muggleborn and a lawyer so he's been on your side of the press a few times." Andi dropped off a list of fabrics to Madam Malkin and pulled Hermione towards a shop that had a concerning amount of pink and puffs of perfumed smoke coming from the windows.
While Andromeda worked on teaching the finer points of wizarding etiquette to Hermione - the girl's manners were exemplary and her clothing, while muggle, was neat as a pin - Sirius worked on bringing Harry up to the task of being shown off to all of wizarding Britain and then some.
"Sirius, I don't think I need five different styles of …what exactly is the difference here?" Harry gestured to the pile of fabric at his feet while the wizard helping him and his godfather scurried back to the floor to grab more robes.
"Day robes, Pup, and your father used to have dozens of different cuts and fabrics all in the same colors. What? You don't like them?"
"It's not that. It's just that aside from getting a sweater from Mrs Weasley at Christmas or asking Hermione to pick me up a pair of jeans or trousers that actually fit me, everything I've ever owned has belonged to my whale of a cousin. It feels like a waste to get so much when I'm going to just outgrow them."
Sirius dropped a hand on Harry's shoulder and squeezed, ignoring the slight flinch and smiling when the boy relaxed under his hand. Harry might not be as comfortable with him or Remus hugging or showing affection to him yet but he was much more at ease. "Pup, it's okay to enjoy having your own things. I have more money than Midas himself and I have 12 years of birthdays, Christmases, and just plain being a godfather to make up for. Forgive me if I go a bit overboard. Let's go over here and look at the formal robes. I'm surprised you and Hermione didn't pick any up this summer while you were here in the Alley."
Fingering the soft but hefty fabric of a black robe that seemed to have silver spun through it, Harry chuckled. "Sirius, be serious." The animagus snored. "Neither one of us planned on attending whatever it is that dress robes were required for. Me, I figured I'd be forbidden or in detention or not allowed for my own good and Hermione, well, she didn't tell me why she didn't pick up hers but I assumed it was because she'd wait to see what it was for before getting any."
"Pup, if you aren't going to the ball, I doubt Hermione will be going."
"Ball?! What ball? What do you know about it?" Harry's eyes were wide with panic. One would have thought he was being asked to face another dragon and not a school dance.
Sirius sighed. "As part of the tournament, the Ministry has decided to host a Yule Ball. Not exactly a tradition since the tournament hasn't been held in a couple hundred years but it does go hand in hand. Think speeches, dinner, dancing, that sort of thing."
Harry wasn't much calmer. "I can't dance. And I hate people staring at me."
"Well, Pup, you might just have to suck it up. Being a champion, however unwilling, you are going to have to be there and you are going to be called on to open the ball. So you will have to dance and you will have to have a date."
"Date?! As in 'I have to go with a girl'?"
"Nooooo, you could go with a guy if you want to…"
Harry shook his head. "That's not what I meant and you know it, Sirius. Everyone but a handful of students even tolerate me right now."
"And six of them are girls, Harry. I'm not seeing an issue here. And I think you should at least try on that robe you've been molesting," Sirius replied, grabbing the black and silver robe along with a tuxedo style shirt and sending Harry into a dressing room.
"Of course you wouldn't see an issue, you would try and take as many women as you could get away with to this thing. I see it as another way reporters are going to invade my privacy. The Boy Who Lived Takes Girl to Ball! Are Wedding Bells Next? I can just see the headlines." came Harry's muffled voice.
"You're pretty good at this stuff. Maybe you should think about being a reporter for the Prophet. The best way to avoid surprises is to take the Minotaur by the horns and put your word out there before the media can put their own spin on things. That's what Andi and I plan on helping you and Hermione with."
"By getting us new clothes?" Harry stepped out of the dressing room in the dress robes and Sirius let out a low whistle. Never had Harry reminded him more of James than he did standing there in the tux style robes.
"Partly. You need the clothes to fit the image of a young heir to a Noble house. Plus, I've named you to be my heir so that ups your standing even more. Hermione standing with you means that she needs to dress to present a certain image as well. Once you two open your mouths that image tends to be shattered but as long as we can keep your temper under control, I think you can handle the press."
"Ugh."
"Eloquent, pup. Let's pack up here and meet the ladies. We have lessons in anger management and how to answer some of the questions we think the press will throw at you. We have a room reserved at a little place called the Fountain of Fair Fortune where we can put up a few silencing charms and go over things."
While the foursome were finishing their shopping and planning their press conference, Albus Dumbledore was pacing his office, trying to understand where he lost control of the situation. Harry should have been overjoyed to be welcomed back by his friends after facing off with the dragon. Instead, the boy used muggle sleight of hand to trick the dragon and stole the egg out from under the Vipertooth's nose. No showmanship, no feats of daring, just flashing lights and invisibility. Hardly worthy of the Boy Who Lived reputation.
He even refused to accept Mr Weasley's apology and instead stayed beside Miss Granger and his goblin entourage rather than be welcomed back into Gryffindor tower as he should have been.
How was he supposed to influence the boy towards the light when he wasn't even in the castle between classes and in the evening for him to meet! Not only that but he'd earmarked Mr Weasley as part of the second task and obviously that would need to change. Unless he could get close to the boy during the Christmas holidays and convince him that forgiving Mr Weasley his unfortunate missteps would be the moral and correct thing to do.
It could be possible to change things to Miss Weasley - she seemed to still be in Harry's good graces at least - but he would also lose one of his limited sources of information on Harry and Miss Granger if he failed or was caught. Trying Legilimency on the Weasley Twins gave him a migraine and Mr Longbottom had plants on the brain more often than not and his fear of Severus left any hope of gaining clues up to Dumbledore.
What he needed was a way to separate Harry from Miss Granger. And several little portraits told him that Mr Krum kept an eye on the young Gryffindor while she was in the library studying between classes. Perhaps a lovers quarrel was just what was needed? Putting a bug in the ear of Rita Skeeter certainly couldn't hurt. At least as long as it couldn't be tied back to him.
With the Yule Ball fast approaching, he would have Minerva make the announcement of the ball in all of her classes while he would make the formal announcement at dinner tonight. That would ensure all of Hogwarts would know of the ball and the foreign contingent would be made aware at dinner. He would put a pixie in Karkaroff's ear about Mr Krum being interested in Miss Granger and have him encourage the young man to pursue her. With any luck, Harry would then see Mr Krum's interest in Miss Granger as a betrayal of his trust and Harry would separate from Miss Granger rather than be upset at Krum.
This would leave Harry free to ask Miss Weasley to the ball. All Albus would then have to do is slip a bit of loyalty potion to Miss Weasley and he would have his spy.
He did love it when a plan came together.