Author's Note:
First off, I dedicate this chapter to the lovely jmcglynn522 from Archive of Our Own who is constantly leaving me wonderful reviews that I look forward to reading after every chapter that I post. Not to mention telling me that my detailed descriptions of wands got her attention enough to head onto Pottermore and to do research to create her own wands to sell at a comic con in California, which is awesome! I urge you all to check out the facebook page — That1ReallyWyrdShop — some truly awesome and nerdy stuff! Absolutely brilliant! I am honoured that my story inspired her own creative outlet.
Secondly, as to the upcoming tournament, the events themselves will be generally the same, but what happens in them will be changed (I actually just finished writing the Second Task). Yes, Zee noticed why Harry lost interest in the Veela, but no, she is not going to tell him. She is going to wait for him to figure it out on his own, at least for now ;) Yes, I did change my posting schedule, but only the specific days not how often I post as my work schedule has altered slightly and I've been posting pretty much the opposite of which days I said I was going to so I just thought that this was easier. As for Theo, he definitely sees Narcissa as a mother figure, having spent most of his young life hanging out at Malfoy Manor with Draco. Lastly, Hermione will be interested in house elves, but I have made some changes there as well which you will see.
Third and last but not least, I love this term that my Beta mentioned in passing while editing so I had to find a way to add it in there — great new Voldemort nickname LOL
Thank you to my wonderful and amazing Beta — SilverStarwolfe who I drive crazy (she doesn't admit it, but I get on her nerves with my constant questions and changes and badgering of when she is going to edit my stuff lol). Bex, you are amazing! Thank you for finding time in your busy life to edit my work! I appreciate it more than I can put into words!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own the pieces of the speech, that belongs to the amazing JKR whose characters and plot I am taking such a twist to. Thank you.
Reviews and Comments: To Steelcode: It was a rough night for Theo, Draco, and Blaise. I think Harry defending Draco surprised him as well, but Harry doesn't like to see anyone get hurt. Thank you! To Leaf Ranger: Zee definitely wants to make sure that Winky is better taken care of. I have an idea for Hermione concerning house elves, but it is a bit different. Thank you! To scrappy8: Thank you! To speedsONEandONLY: Thank you for saying you need more of this story in your life, you are too sweet! I'm glad you love my Slytherins, I am having fun writing them! Especially Theo! He is a cinnamon roll and wants to be safe! I'm glad you loved Draco saving Winky. I think it was pure instinct on his part. Cissa does love Theo, yes. As to saving them, she doesn't know how to help herself. Thank you! To alix33: Thank you! Yes, Molly not knowing about her children being given Firewhiskey is a good thing indeed. Thank you! To darkhk: Thank you! And yes, it was so good!
To Guest: Wow, thank you for saying this was comparable to Endgame and the Battle of Winterfell, high compliment! Thank you! To midnitewanderer: LMAO. I love America's Ass. Thank you for making me smile! Thanks for the second review! Zee will mention to Harry about the Veela thing, but not quite yet. She's going to wait and see if he realizes he's noticed Ginny first. It is a slow burn and still a while to go on that Hinny goodness! Thank you! To WarMunger98: Thank you! I did take a bit of a darker twist as things are starting to unravel. You thought the scene between Ginny and Theo was interesting? Ginny was worried about him. Thank you! To cha-chris: Thank you! To xeunobre: Harry and Draco becoming friends… how about friendly-like LOL. Thank you! To purplevictory: Thank you! I'm glad you liked my switch to Draco's POV before rewinding the timeline to cover Harry's at the same moment. I like to write in that fashion to help get a wider scope of what's going on. Thank you for liking that I'm showing a "believable inner battle as they walk the fine line between dark and light" and "the tension between Theo and his father." Thank you!
To HinnyMe: Thank you! To Moony The Sheep: Thank you for loving how it was one moment in the night. Thank you for loving my story, 3000! That is just the absolute sweetest! To wheezing-reader: Thank you so much! To jadely31: Thanks for saying this was more exciting than the original! Thanks for loving the use of Harry's dream in the Pensieve in the chapter before. To xXMizz Alec VolturiXx: Thank you for liking the direction I am going. To Guest: Good example, that is fair. Thank you! To Saz J: There will be some fluff eventually, Saz. Thank you for saying I am doing a fabulous job making this my own! To supersandman86: Thank you for liking my grey of the Malfoys and for liking the direction I am going with Draco's character. To Wolf's scream: Thank you! To : Thank you! I didn't leave George there! Bill, you take Ginny, Charlie you've got George, Percy — Fred, Tonks — Luna, Remus — Hermione, Zee — Draco and Harry, Ron, you're with your father, Blaise, Theo, and Neville — you're with me. Rem, can you take Winky to Kreacher before you bring Hermione to the Burrow? See? George went with Charlie! To R4mb0g: Thank you! Hinny is a slow burn so it will still be a while to go! Thank you!
To berkeleyjake: Thank you! The tournament events will be the same, but I have my own spin on them. To Siriuslypadfoot: Thank you for saying you've been "completely enraptured throughout" this story. I love knowing I have made you laugh and cry. Thank you so much! To Blaze1313: Thank you! I am enjoying writing Draco, Theo, and Blaise and we will see more of where their story goes! To Jmcglynn522: It was a rough night for the Slytherin boys! The walls are coming down between the Slytherins and Gryffindors, but I wouldn't say they're going to be besties anytime soon. Crouch is definitely a dick and he does need a good kick to the balls. Wait until you see what I have planned there. Thank you!
My posting schedule: Once a week and sometimes on weekends.
As always, thank you very much for reading and please, please review!
Your reviews give me life! They give me inspiration! And they make me want to keep writing for more than just myself! Thank you for all of your continued support!
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-SEVEN:
The One With Babymort
Remus headed straight to Number Twelve with both Hermione and Winky in tow. The house elf had mostly stopped crying, but she kept using the tea towel dress that she wore to mop at her face. He led them down into the kitchen as Hermione looked around in interest.
"Hermione, I know that you have already been informed about what has been happening, but this is the official headquarters of Operation FUVP," he explained, pointing to the blackboard in the kitchen that now covered almost all four walls and was full of information on Voldemort's life and history as well as the Horcruxes. Across the top of the wall facing the door in block letters it said: Operation Fuck Up Voldemort's Plans.
Kreacher stepped out of the boiler room just as Remus closed the kitchen door behind them. "Sir?"
"Hello, Kreacher," Remus said politely. "Sirius asked me to bring you someone. This is Winky. Winky, this is Kreacher, he's the Black family house elf."
Winky let out a long sniffle. "Hello."
Kreacher stared at her. "Why is you crying?"
"She was just given clothes by her master," Remus said quietly, resulting in Winky bursting into loud obnoxious cries again.
Kreacher took an automatic step away from her.
"Kreacher, Sirius would like Winky to join the House of Black if she would like to. You are to help take care of her in the meantime until Sirius tells you otherwise."
Kreacher stared in disgust at the sobbing elf. "But she is disgraced, Sir!"
"She won't be for long," Remus said to him. "You'll help her?"
Kreacher nodded, but he didn't look very happy about the prospect of it. "I is doing what is necessary for her and the House of Black."
"Sirius will be here to look in on her and to see how the two of you are doing," he added, his eyes on the elf.
Kreacher nodded again. "Yes, Sir."
"Hermione, let's get you back to The Burrow."
Hermione was staring at Kreacher and Winky, but she nodded and allowed Remus to take her arm and to Disapparate her to The Burrow. "What's going to happen to her, Professor?"
"That will be up to Winky," Remus told her. "Sirius is giving her the opportunity to find a new job and a new home if she wants it. The choice will ultimately be hers. No one can force a house elf into working for them. They have to choose to serve that family or that witch or wizard willingly, but first she needs time to adjust to her own new situation. Being severed from her master like that is a very painful encounter for a house elf."
"How could he treat her like that? Like she was nothing!"
"Hermione, I know that it's hard for you to understand, but house elves have their own branch of magic and part of it comes from their love of serving others. It wasn't right how she was treated, that's true, but it's done now and she's being given a second chance. We'll have to wait and see how she decides to take it. Sometimes it's really hard for a house elf to move onto a new house and to a new family. Some of them aren't even capable of doing do, the emotional and magical trauma is too much for them to handle. We'll take it one step at a time. It's up to Winky now."
"But it's abhorrent the way that she was treated! Just because she's an elf and not human doesn't mean that she doesn't deserve basic rights! After everything that happened with you and… I mean, after you were treated by the Ministry just because you're a werewolf… don't you think so?"
Remus smiled kindly at her. "The first step to changing anything, Hermione, is understanding. You talk about basic rights, but you have to understand that what we as men and women, what we view as basic rights, is not the same for everyone. House elves have their own branch of magic, their own culture, and their own traditions. You have to understand them and where they come from as well as what they want before you can discuss drastic social change for their benefit. Magical creatures have always had a difficult relationship with witches and wizards. It is something that has been going on for ages. I'm not saying that it's right, but it's not necessarily wrong from their perspective either. It's still very much a work in progress."
She let out a frustrated sigh. "Well, someone should do something about it."
Remus smiled. "It only takes one voice, Hermione, one voice to speak above the crowd. One day, someone will do something and the world will listen." He smiled when he saw Tonks coming out of the house. "Go on inside, Dora and I must head back to Harry. I'll see you at school."
She nodded. "Thank you, Professor."
He nodded, taking Tonks into his arms and kissing her softly before they Disapparated.
Hermione only furrowed her brow. One voice, she thought as she marched towards The Burrow. One voice.
~ ASC ~
Once Draco, Theo, Blaise, and Narcissa left, Harry rubbed Marauder's belly, looking at his father expectantly. "So, if Nott and Malfoy's dads were both out there in force tonight, can't you do something about that; get them arrested or whatever?"
"Knowing that they were out there and proving it, are two very different things, Harry," he said sadly, letting out a long sigh. "How well do you know this Blaise and Theo? Ginny looked like she was pretty close to Theo."
Harry shrugged. "Just in passing mostly. I talk to Blaise in class sometimes and Theo seems like a cool bloke; he and Ginny are pretty good friends, actually. He went and spent some at The Burrow this summer. I know he doesn't really get along with his dad and it's just the two of them. By the sounds of it, he spends most of his time with the Malfoys. He looked horrified at the thought that his father was one of the masked figures. He said something about the woods…"
"You didn't see anything?"
"No. Ron and I got separated from everyone and like I said before, we saw Winky walking through the woods, and then there was an explosion nearby. We went in the opposite direction of that and then there was another explosion and that one blasted Winky, who must have been trailing near us again because she went flying, and Draco caught her. Then that figure appeared and… well, all hell broke loose after that."
Zee took his chin in her hand, turning it to and fro to inspect him. "You're sure that you're not hurt?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," he insisted. "Just a few scratches."
Zee merely raised an eyebrow. "Scratches still need to be treated, Harry. Shirt off."
Harry rolled his eyes, but pulled his tee shirt and jumper over his head to let Zee treat the scratches on his back and arms from the explosion.
Sirius ran his fingers through his hair, moving to sit on the sofa next to Harry as Remus and Tonks came through the front door. He turned Harry a bit to look at the scratches; he seemed to agree with Harry's assessment of them being superficial, before he blew his hair out of his eyes.
"What happened with Draco tonight, Harry?"
Harry shrugged, looking up at Remus and Tonks as they took a seat in the chair. "Like I said, there was an explosion and I remember standing up and seeing Draco on the ground with the house elf. Blaise and Theo were just behind him in the wood and Theo's head was bleeding, I assumed from the explosion. I called out to see if he was all right and he started to move towards me and then I saw this wizard, dark hair, tall, and he was wearing a mask and he just moved his wand toward Draco and … I shot out a shield without thinking and it covered Draco; it stopped whatever spell he was shooting at him. He looked annoyed and then conjured the mark and disappeared. Then everyone showed up and started shooting stunners. I pulled Draco and Ron to the ground, but Blaise and Theo were just behind Draco, closer to the trees and they didn't duck in time and were hit with the stunners that the Ministry people shot."
Remus nodded, his eyes wide. "Were those boys in the woods for the same reason as you?"
"I think so," Sirius told him. "Draco said that Narcissa told them to get to safety on Lucius' orders."
"And where was Lucius while all of this was going down? Wearing one of the masks?" Tonks demanded, her eyes flashing in anger.
Sirius shrugged. "Sure sounds like it from what the boys have said, but we don't know for sure. And Theo, was it?" At Harry's nod, he continued. "Said his father was in the woods, something about dead Muggle women."
"Do we know who his father is? Nott?" Remus asked.
"Nott would be the Marquess of Norfolk," Sirius said.
"Must be Thaddeus Nott," Zee said with a grimace. "He's older and a bit of a pervert actually; always reaching out to touch a woman's behind or to say something inappropriate. One of the workers from the Beast Division of the DRCMC mentioned something about her being on the floor to pick up a file that fell and he told her that he liked his women on their knees. She filed a harassment charge and she wasn't scheduled near him again. He works for the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. I heard that he had one son. He's a widower, mid sixties."
Tonks nodded. "I know exactly who you're talking about. Dark hair, a bit stooped? Slapped my arse once when he came up to the Auror Department for something."
"He what?" Remus exclaimed, his eyes flashing.
Tonks smiled at her mate. "Don't worry, I broke his finger. Kingsley said that he completely saw the terrible accident involving his finger. Nott wasn't as pleased, especially when King refused to punish me."
"That would be him," Zee said with a grimace. "Absolute douche. I heard that he married a woman forty years younger than him and she died a little less than four years later leaving him with one son."
"And he killed two Muggle women in front of his son?" Sirius exclaimed. "Sounds like father of the year."
Remus sighed. "We don't know what happened out there, that much is clear. But everyone here is safe and that's what matters." He looked up at the clock. "It's late. I think that we should all try to get some sleep and we'll talk about this again tomorrow."
Tonks nodded. "I have to head into the Ministry and see about doing some damage control. Kingsley told me that I could take time to make sure that you lot were settled before going in." She stood up, kissing Remus softly and then kissed Harry's forehead. "Get some sleep, Harry. When we know more, we'll talk."
Harry nodded as he watched her go.
Zee stood up too. "I'm going to go check on Lady G." She kissed Harry's forehead tenderly. "I'll come by again tomorrow."
Sirius only nodded, tugging her close for a long kiss before she left after Tonks. "Harry, go on, get up to bed. I'll be following in a bit."
Harry bit his lip as he stood up. "First, my dream and then… now this."
Sirius shook his head. "We don't know what that means, Harry. It could be nothing. It doesn't mean that it's connected."
"But it could also be something. He said in my dream, something about the World Cup, remember?"
"Harry, when I know, you'll know, all right?"
Harry let out a slow breath and he nodded. "Okay. Goodnight, Uncle Sirius, Uncle Remus."
"Goodnight," they both said as he moved up the stairs, Marauder trailing up behind him.
Sirius stood up, moving into the kitchen as Remus followed him. He poured himself a glass of water and drank it quickly and then gestured for Remus to come with him. They went outside in the backyard and into the gazebo. Sirius put a privacy charm around the gazebo before Remus spoke.
"What dream was Harry talking about, Sirius?"
"It happened a few hours before we left for the World Cup which is the only reason why I didn't tell you," Sirius said.
Remus nodded, his eyes widening as Sirius relayed what their son had dreamed about.
"He saw this? He dreamed it?"
"As clear as day, I watched the memory in the Pensieve. Woodrow Selwyn was there; he seems to be in charge of babysitting Babymort."
Remus snorted. "Babymort? Is that what we're calling him now?"
Sirius grinned. "It seems to fit. He's in the body of a child, Remus. I told you what Peter said about… the way he took over that child. It's his body now and he's growing with the child. But… his skin it was like… a burn victim. So badly burned and scared that it doesn't even look human just red and black and scaly. He's not going to last in that body and this ritual that he's planning…"
"He wants to use Harry."
"Yes, but why?" Sirius demanded. "He said it himself, any witch or wizard would do so, why Harry?"
Remus shook his head. "Maybe he thinks that Harry has something that others wouldn't; something that… Sirius, unless he knows about Lily's protection."
"How would he know that?"
Remus shrugged. "Word would have gotten around by now. I mean, I'm not saying that it's common knowledge, but Harry is pretty famous. He's The Boy Who Lived and even the memorial says that Lily Potter sacrificed herself for her son. I imagine he would have put two and two together and three years ago, when Harry touched Quirrell while Voldemort was possessing him? He basically burned the man alive with his touch because of Lily's sacrifice. If he uses Harry in some way, it could potentially form some kind of counter-curse to allow him to touch Harry; to harm him."
Sirius nodded. "All right, that's more disturbing than I originally thought and there's no way that I'm letting that happen."
They were both quiet for a moment and then Sirius let out a slow sigh.
"I've been keeping something from you."
Remus' looked up in surprise. "Oh?"
"It's not that I didn't trust you, Moony, it's… I was too afraid to say it out loud really, to… to hope for it."
"What is it, Sirius?"
"I spoke to Xander a few months back and we talked about the potential of dark magic living inside of the human brain, but not being part of the human brain and how it could potentially control or harm the person it is possessing or living in. I wanted to get his opinion since he's a brain healer, on the possibility of removing it without causing harm to that person. I sent him diagnostic scans of Harry's brain."
"Xander as in Althea's husband?" Remus asked carefully.
Sirius nodded. "I refused to tell him who the scans belonged to, or what the dark magic was, I just wanted an idea. I wanted to know if it was possible to do it, could it be done safely?"
"And?"
"He thinks that there's a very real possibility," Sirius told him, carefully. "He's still doing research on it and he says that there are still a lot of aspects to it that he doesn't know, but the way that it looks is that the dark magic, well, the Horcrux itself, is focused inside of the scar on Harry's forehead. It lies just beyond it and it pushes on his brain, but it does not have access to it. It can't control him; it can't influence him in any way like the diary was able to do with Ginny."
"Well, we knew that," Remus said. "Well, we suspected as much anyway, but hearing the words is rather reassuring."
"But this dream, Moony… Dumbledore told Harry that when Voldemort tried to kill him he might have shared some of his powers with him and we know now that that's kind of true, in the sense that a part of Voldemort's soul was transferred over to Harry. But what if… what if, Harry is now being able to see inside of Voldemort's head, inside of his thoughts?"
"But how would he have access to that? And why now? It makes no sense, Sirius."
Sirius sighed, dragging his fingers through his hair. "I don't know why now, maybe because he's getting stronger? How else can you explain what he dreamed? He's not a Seer and a Seer wouldn't have seen anything so vivid and so detailed. He witnessed an event in Voldemort's life and I think… I think he dreamed it as it was actually happening."
Remus nodded, his gaze on Sirius. "Do you think that Xander can remove this thing?"
"I don't know. I hope that he can. I hope that he can find some way to pull it out of him, to heal him, to rid him of that monstrosity living inside of him, but I'm also terrified that he's going to tell me that he can't do it without leaving Harry without magic or worse leaving him in a permanent vegetated state."
"But he's still researching?"
"He is. He's determined to find out how it can be done and his last letter sounded fairly optimistic. I told him that it was dark magic, but I didn't tell him that it was a Horcrux. I wanted to see what he thought about it first and frankly, Moony, I've been afraid to hope."
Remus nodded, scratching his chin. He understood where his friend was coming from. The idea that Harry had a piece of Voldemort's soul inside of his head had kept him up at night more than once himself. "In the meantime, we need to keep an eye on Harry. He needs to tell us if he has any more of these dreams or any inkling of anything that he thinks might be Voldemort."
"Agreed."
"And if this happens again, maybe — maybe we can talk about teaching him Occlumency."
Sirius' eyebrow rose. "I never did master that as much as my grandfather tried to insist on it. I didn't have the patience for it."
"We'll find someone who does. Dumbledore, perhaps? But we'll keep it as an option; something to consider in case something like this ever happens again. Maybe it was a fluke; maybe it just… they connected mentally somehow, his soul reached out to the other pieces… I don't know, but I don't like it anymore than you do," Remus said. "As for you not telling me about going to Xander, you should have. He's my son just as much as he is yours and I care about his well being and I won't be left out of important decisions like this about his health!"
"Moony —"
"— No, Sirius," Remus said, sternly. "He's mine, too!"
Sirius nodded, his eyes on his friend. "I know it and so does he. I'm sorry. I won't keep anything concerning Harry from you again, I swear it. Like I said I just… I'm afraid to hope and I know that's not an excuse, but it's all that I have. And listening to Harry talk about his dream and how scared he was about it, lying to him about what I know… it was so hard, Rem. I felt dirty. I felt dishonest and I didn't like it."
"We agreed not to tell him, Siri."
"I know," Sirius told him. "And I haven't changed my mind on that subject. I still think telling him is an awful idea. I don't want him to know what lies behind his scar, but lying to him… it was so fucking hard."
"If lying becomes easy, that's when I think you've reached a problem," Remus said quietly. "It should never be easy to deceive the ones we love."
Sirius nodded. "You'll keep an extra close eye on him at school this year?"
Remus smiled. "Do you even have to ask?"
He grinned. "Sometimes I like the reassurance."
Remus chuckled. "I will keep an extra close eye on him. He should be able to stay out of trouble, I'd hope, especially with the TriWizard Tournament going on. Thank Merlin he's not seventeen and won't be signing up for that."
"You can say that again," Sirius said with a grin.
Remus smiled as he stood up. "I'm going to head home and try to get some sleep. If anything changes or if you need anything, call me."
Sirius nodded, his eyes moving up to the open balcony doors that led to Harry's room. "I will."
~ ASC ~
Draco sat in his bedroom with Blaise and Theo. The three of them had been sent straight upstairs after Narcissa had gotten them home from Black Cottage. His mother refused to say anything on what had happened and Draco turned to look at his friends. Blaise was quiet, but his expression gave nothing away. Theo still looked visibly shaken.
"Theo, mate, you going to be all right?"
Theo only glared at his friend. "How can you ask me that, Draco? My father has always made it abundantly clear that he was a Death Eater during the war; showing off his tattoo as if nothing on earth made him prouder than to have been a servant of the Dark Lord. Listening to that talk growing up was one thing, but watching him tonight…" He stood up and stormed over to the window, his hands fisting at his sides.
"Theo —"
"— Don't 'Theo' me, Blaise, he was going to rape those Muggles and he wanted us… it was a game to him! They were people and he didn't even care!"
Draco moved to stand next to his friend. "He was caught up in the moment, maybe."
Theo snorted. "Caught up in the moment? Nothing on earth will make me be so caught up in the moment that I would fucking rape a woman!"
Blaise grinned, moving to stand on the other side of his friend and nudging him lightly. "What if it was a really cute bloke with a huge prick, eh?"
Theo rolled his eyes. "Be serious."
"Theo, you're not your father," Blaise said, seriously. "We all know that. You know that. You're not that kind of person. You wouldn't harm anyone or anything no matter what the circumstances!"
Draco nodded from next to him. "You're the bloke who when we were eight found a baby rabbit in my mother's garden and forced us to take care of it until its mother came for it. You're the bloke who accidentally stepped on a lady bug when we were five and cried for an hour that you had killed something so innocent. You are not your father and you never will be!"
Theo nodded, tears in his eyes and he threw his arms around Draco, tightly. "Can I stay here? I can't… I can't face him. I know it's only a few nights until we go back to Hogwarts, but can I stay here?"
Draco nodded, hugging his friend as Theo's hot tears trailed onto his neck. "What kind of question is that? Mother won't even let you go home, you know that!"
He snorted against his friend's shoulder as Blaise moved in to join in on the hug. "I don't know how I would survive without you two losers."
Blaise grinned, patting Theo on the back. "You'd make it. You'd just be a lot less entertained." He looked at Draco. "And you, mate? We heard what your dad was saying in the tent. He was out there tonight, too."
Draco nodded, his grey-blue eyes solemn. "I know and I don't know what that means either. He… he said some things to me the other day about how he would be forced to do things and how he was doing it to keep my mother and I safe and that he was always on my side first and foremost. It was confusing and then he… he went off to do this!"
"He doesn't want to be a bad person," Theo said, carefully. "Your father loves you and your mother more than life, anyone can see that. I believe that whatever he was doing, he was trying to protect you from it."
"How can he protect me when he goes out and he… what if he hurt one of those Muggles or he killed one of them? That Death Eater in the woods, he killed those two Muggle women like they were nothing! Like they were a bug beneath his shoe! Black said that no one was seriously injured, but he didn't know about those two Muggle women, there could have been more and the Muggles who ran the campground, they were tortured and…"
Blaise nodded, squeezing Draco's arm. "We don't know, Draco, and maybe it's best that we don't know. Just remember what your dad said that he's doing it to protect you. You know what your grandfather is like, he could be forcing his hand."
"You don't get it, Blaise, your father wasn't out there doing these terrible things!"
"No, he wasn't," Blaise said in annoyance. "Because he's dead and my mother is about to marry potential father number five with no regrets whatsoever and she… let's just say that her thoughts on the Dark Lord have more interest than is warranted. But the fact that she stays in Italy means that there's a less chance of her getting into any sort of trouble — outside of the marriage kind, that is."
Draco let out a slow breath. "My father also told me to trust Potter. He said that I should… tell him things, anything that I think might be useful. He says that Black doesn't trust him, but that maybe he'll come to trust me."
"What do you think about that?" Blaise asked, looking pensive at the possibility.
"I think that Potter's a nice bloke," Theo admitted. "He's kind and he means well and I think that given what he's accomplished on his own in the last few years, he would definitely be someone that I'd want in my corner in a fight. He's The Bloody Boy Who Lived after all."
"But he's the same age as us, what is telling him anything going to do? I told him to look into Kata Novak and did he? I have no idea, but I do know that she's alive and that my grandfather has her and that Father said that she is beyond saving," Draco stated bitterly. "What am I supposed to do with that information?"
"Nothing," Blaise said, sternly. "If she is beyond saving you just put that away, Draco, for your own well being. If you keep thinking about what ifs, it will drive you mad. But I agree with Theo, Black is gaining a reputation for being quite forceful in the Ministry of Magic. He was quite the talk at my mother's engagement party about how he had stopped Professor Lupin from being executed; about how he broke down his sentence and about how he stopped that legislation about Undesirables from going through. He's powerful and if your father says to trust Potter, who trusts Black, I imagine that there's a reason behind that."
Theo nodded. "I agree."
Draco stared at his friends for a long moment and let out a slow breath. "I'll trust Potter, but I refuse to be friends with that prick and his numbskull friends, especially Granger."
Blaise chuckled. "You love Granger, don't deny it. Arguing with her in Arithmancy gives you a high."
"That bitch is not always right!"
Theo grinned. "Yeah, Draco, she kinda is."
Draco only glared at his friends, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "I hate the both of you."
Blaise smiled, his jaw cracking as he yawned. "Nah, you love us. Besides, this year, you are going to go on that date with Rowle and you will have a good time and finally tell Pansy to sod off."
"Because snogging her was the worst decision of your life," Theo added. "One make-out session and she thinks that the two of you are going to get married. It's horrifying."
Draco grinned at them. "I'll think about Rowle. As for returning to school, Theo, your birthday is coming up. You do know that your dad is going to sign you out for the whole weekend, his only son turning fifteen?"
Theo shook his head. "I'm going to talk to Snape. I don't have to go with him if I don't want to and as my Head of House, Snape should be able to put a stop to it, right? I don't want to go back to that brothel!"
Blaise shrugged. "I'm not sure, but if you're sure, you know he'll stand for you. And if you tell Snape where your dad is making you go, he will definitely make sure that you stay at school. Snape has no tolerance for parents who treat their kids like shit."
Theo nodded, his eyes on Draco. "I know." He crawled onto Draco's bed, closing his eyes. "I'm exhausted."
"Well, sleep in your own bedroom," Draco protested. "Mother still has the guest room down the hall set up."
Blaise simply grinned and stretched out across the end of the bed. "You have a king-sized bed, Draco — share."
Draco rolled his eyes, snorting when Blaise started snoring five seconds later. "If only I could sleep like that."
Theo smiled at him. "Draco, none of us want to be alone tonight. Get in."
Draco nodded and climbed onto the bed with his friends, leaning back against his pillow as Blaise slept curled up at the end like a dog. "I don't fancy being alone much myself."
Theo nodded gratefully at him and wrapped himself up in the thick blanket. "Goodnight."
Draco nodded, closing his own eyes and wishing for sleep. "Night, Theo."
And he slowly drifted off, comforted by the sounds of his friends' snores.
~ ASC ~
Narcissa checked on them three hours later and her face softened when she saw the three of them sleeping sprawled out across the large bed. They had comforted each other, she thought, feeling a bit relieved. She closed the bedroom door softly, holding onto the wall for support as she limped back down to her own bedroom. She had just sat on the bed when Lucius strolled in.
He didn't say a word. He fell to his knees before her and buried his face in her lap.
Narcissa gently brushed her fingers through his hair. "Did you torture any of them?"
He shook his head. "I levitated them and… I told Father I was leading the riot, not participating in it. He seemed to take it in stride. Draco?"
She quickly explained what had happened and Lucius' eyes darkened.
"Who shot a curse at him? Who would dare shoot a curse at my son?" he demanded, his voice rising.
"Whoever shot the Dark Mark into the sky," she said, quietly, framing his face in her hands.
He turned his head to kiss her hands. "He's all right?"
"Yes. Sirius made sure Draco, Theo, and Blaise were all safe. He took them back to his home and sent word to me that they were all right."
"Why weren't you with them?"
"I hurt my ankle. I was worried that I would slow them down."
Lucius moved away from her, cradling her ankle in his hands. He summoned a healing salve from the bathroom and gently massaged it into her skin.
"Do you know who cast the Dark Mark, Lu?"
He shook his head. "No. Father does, but he's not telling. He's too busy dealing with the ritual and everything else." He massaged her ankle in silence for a long moment. "If — if something goes wrong, Cissa, if… "
"Shh," she said, shaking her head. "One step at a time, Lu. We know the risks here. Our son is safe; our boys are safe upstairs, sprawled across Draco's bed. He has good friends, my love, and they'll take care of each other."
"Bellarosa sent an owl. I told her that Blaise was fine and she seemed pleased. I don't trust her."
"She's dangerous, I've always thought so. I don't trust her, but I'd trust her over her sister in a heartbeat, but Blaise isn't like either of them. He's a sweet boy, young man now, and Draco trusts him. I trust him. I don't believe children should have to pay for their parents' mistakes."
Lucius nodded and moved to sit up on the bed next to his wife and kissed her. "Something else is going on, but I don't know what. Father has kept me deliberately out of the loop and it makes me uneasy. With Pettigrew still missing on top of it all, he's worried that the ritual won't take place. He wants Potter for the ritual; determined to have him, but how he's going to get his hands on him is anyone's guess. He's so well protected. Selwyn is bringing the Dark Lord back to Croatia tonight."
"Why did he return to England when he's so weak?"
Lucius shook his head. "He said that he had to talk. To who, to how many, I couldn't tell you, but whatever he did, he's pleased. So is Father."
Narcissa moved into her husband's arms. "Thad was in the forest tonight; tried to get Draco, Theo, and Blaise to assault some Muggle women."
Lucius snorted. "The man's the same age as Father and still only thinks about his cock. Is Theo all right?"
"Shaken. Someone else was with Thad and killed the women in front of them."
Lucius' eyes darkened. "In front of…" He bit his lip. "The boys?"
"They'll be all right, Lu, they have each other."
He pulled her close and kissed her forehead, tenderly. "I still don't have anything remotely tangible to tell Black. Draco's taken it upon himself to share information with Potter and I told him to go for it. I stand by my decision even more now that I know Potter saved his life tonight."
"Do you think that's wise, letting Draco play spy like that?"
"I think it's the safest course of action for him," he admitted. "Otherwise, Father is going to suspect him and make him pay for it, or worse, make him take the Dark Mark."
"Take the — he is only fourteen years old!"
Lucius shrugged. "Most of his followers were sixteen when we were branded as you very well know. I think it's best if Potter trusts him and vice versa. I know Black threatened my life if I didn't come through with information, but he'll protect you and Draco, Cissa, no matter what happens to me."
She rolled up the sleeve of his left arm and her breath hitched slightly at the sight of the Dark Mark. The pale pink scaring was now edged in what looked like a black burn. "It's getting darker along the edges."
"I know. He's getting stronger."
Narcissa simply moved closer into her husband's arms and closed her eyes. No matter what happened, she was determined to keep her family safe. No matter what.
~ ASC ~
Tonks didn't get home until almost seven o'clock the next evening. She stumbled through the front door of the cottage, tripping over her own feet in her attempt to get her shoes off. She was tired, sore, and cranky. The living room was empty and she tugged her shirt over her head, desperately needing a shower. She left a trail of clothing to the bathroom, standing under the spray happily, and sighing in pleasure as the jets hit her.
She'd only slept two hours before she had been awoken by the screams and after putting in sixteen hours at the Ministry on only two hours of sleep, she felt exhausted. She almost fell asleep standing up twice and slapped herself lightly to finish off her shower. She barely dried off, tugged on one of Remus' old tee shirts, and fell face first into their bed.
It was where Remus found her two hours later.
Her feet were half hanging off the edge of the large bed and the shirt had ridden up exposing her bare bum. Her face was almost flat into the mattress and she was out cold. He grinned when he saw her. He moved over to lift her and she sighed in contentment, but didn't wake as he shifted her under the blankets and into a more comfortable position, tucking her in for the night. He picked up her clothes, tossing them in the hamper, before he moved into the kitchen to make himself a cup of tea.
He had spent his day with Sirius talking about everything: What the Dark Mark appearing for the first time in thirteen years could mean, what the Death Eaters were hoping to accomplish by their petty Muggle baiting and instilling fear, why they had made a show when they had, and who the potential Death Eaters were that they knew of. They had made a list, thinking back to who they knew and who they strongly suspected. Bellatrix was obviously high on the list as was Abraxas Malfoy, but now they also knew that Woodrow Selwyn was part of that group and his father Wendall Selwyn, as Harry's dream had stated that Voldemort had been hiding out in the Selwyn Manor in Croatia. Lucius had mentioned before that Titus Avery and Linus Lestrange had been meeting regularly with Abraxas so they were most likely included in that list; not to mention that Avery and Lestrange would have gone to school with Voldemort along with Selwyn and Thaddeus Nott, who they could also now add to that list. Remus also thought that Titus Avery's son Aurelius was most likely a part of that group as well.
Sirius had mentioned how most of them currently worked in the Ministry of Magic and what that could potentially mean if they were helping Voldemort. Now that the Death Eaters had attacked, what was the Ministry thinking of doing about it? The paper had told them nothing: Six muggles killed and many muggles, witches, and wizards injured in the riots, but there had been no mention that the riots had been started by Death Eaters. The only thing that had alluded to the fact that Death Eaters had been involved at all was that the Dark Mark had been raised over the woods.
Sirius planned to bring it up at the next meeting of the Wizengamot. He wanted to see where the Ministry could potentially be sitting on the idea that Voldemort might be returning. He didn't seem to have high hopes for them, but he wanted to feel them out.
Remus figured that with the TriWizard Tournament coming up, it could go either way. He just knew that he would feel better once they were back at Hogwarts and he could keep an eye on Harry, who thankfully, would have nothing to worry about except his school work.
He finished his tea and tidied up the kitchen before moving to lock up the cottage, shutting down the Floo and getting ready for bed. He undressed and crawled into the big bed next to his mate, snuggling down under the blankets.
Tonks turned to him in her sleep, snuggling up against him and he wrapped his arms around her, kissing the top of her head. Her eyes opened and she blinked up at him. "Time's it?"
"Late," he said, kissing her forehead. "Go back to sleep."
She smiled at him, turning to kiss his chest. "You didn't see the Veela."
"What?" he asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.
Tonks turned her head to smile up at him. "At the match yesterday, the Veela came out, all perfect and sexy and gorgeous, and you didn't even do more than give them a cursory glance."
Remus smiled at her, bending his head to kiss her softly. "Why would I need to look at Veela when I have the sexiest, most beautiful woman as my mate?"
Tonks grinned up at him. "Flatterer."
He smiled and kissed her again. "I love you, Nymphadora, and no one else will ever come close to you, not even a Veela." He snuggled her back into his warm embrace. "Now close your eyes. It's late."
Her cheek rested over his heart and her arms snaked across his abdomen as he cuddled her and he felt her smile against his bare chest. "I love you, too."
And then she was sound asleep again, soft snores that made him chuckle and he knew that despite the unrest of the day and the hundreds of questions they may still have, they would be all right. They would take it one step at a time and it would be all right.
~ ASC ~
When Harry climbed onto the Hogwarts Express, he was both anxious and nervous to be going back to school. So much was happening and he wanted to stay home and to help Sirius deal with it, but his father promised that if anything changed, if he learned anything new, he would tell him right away. By the time he found an empty compartment, he leaned back against the seat and closed his eyes.
He only opened them when he felt someone plop down on the seat next to him and he grinned at the long flaming red hair that blocked his vision. "Hey, Gin."
"Hi," she said, brightly. "You okay?"
"Yeah, just kind of tired still. Everyone all right at your place?"
"Yeah, just fine. Dad worked late and Mum was worried, but it was fine. Dad's pretty much been working double shifts lately. I can tell Mum is still a bit worried."
"She even hugged Fred and George as if her life depended on it and apologized ten times over for yelling at them," Ron said as he moved into the compartment. "What happened with you? Did Sirius really bring Malfoy, Nott, and Zabini back to your place?"
Harry nodded as Hermione she came in behind Ron. "He did. Hi, Hermione."
"Hi, Harry," she said, moving to sit next to Ginny. "So, what happened?"
"Might as well wait for Neville and Luna, I'd really only like to say it once."
Ginny hurried out to find Luna and to talk to Colin as Ron filled Harry in on some of the inventions that the twins were working on. The train had just started moving when Ginny returned with both Luna and Neville in tow. Harry told them about what had happened with he and Ron in the woods first and then what happened with Malfoy's mother once she came to pick him up along with Theo and Blaise. When he got to the part about his dream the night before the Quidditch match, Hermione's eyes widened in horror.
"And your scar hurt when you woke?"
Harry nodded. "Uncle Siri said that it's probably because I'm connected to him through it in some way because he passed on some of his powers and things, right? I mean, that's the only reason that they can think of as to why I can speak to snakes. But… we don't think it was a dream, we think it really happened."
"And You Know Who was talking about wanting to kill you?" Ron exclaimed, his eyes wide. "Blimey!"
The door to their compartment slid open and they looked up to see Draco standing there. "Potter," he said.
Harry merely raised an eyebrow. "Malfoy," he said in the same bored tone.
Draco leaned against the compartment door. "Can I have a private word?"
Harry gave him a look of surprise and nodded. "All right." He followed Draco out into the hall and down to the luggage compartment, turning to look at him when he closed the door behind him. "What's going on?"
Draco waved his wand around them, muttering, "Secretum Bulla," and a large privacy bubble erupted around them before he shoved his hands into his pockets. "My father told me that I should trust you, that whatever information I come across that I think is relevant I should pass it on to you."
"Actually?" Harry asked in astonishment.
He nodded. "He says that Black doesn't trust him, but maybe he'll trust me." He let out a slow sigh. "I told you to look into Novak, do you remember?"
"Yeah, I do."
"Well, they definitely still have her, my grandfather and… others. I don't know who and I don't know where except that it's in Croatia at some privately warded manor owned by Wendall Selwyn."
Harry started him in surprise. "That's more information than I expected."
"Look… you probably saved my life in the woods the other night and I guess I owe you for that, but… I don't trust my grandfather nor do we trust Theo's dad… bad things are coming, Potter, anyone can see that. And well… I don't want to be friends with you as I think that you're an arse, but if we could be… friendly enemies, I'd be willing to accept that."
Harry snorted. "Friendly enemies so, frenemies? I suppose that could be arranged as I don't much fancy being your friend either."
"I'll tell you what I do know when I know it and I'd like to think that you'll do the same for me," Draco said simply.
"I can probably arrange that, but there are some things that I can't tell you. That's for your own safety as well as mine, got it?"
Draco stared at him for a long moment and then he nodded. "I accept that." He extended his hand, his silver-blue eyes meeting Harry's green ones. "Frenemies?"
Harry chuckled as he shook Draco's hand. "Frenemies."
Draco nodded and let out a slow breath. "I have some information that I'd like to give you now, whether it's relevant or not, I couldn't say, but I think either way telling you is for the best."
Harry nodded. "All right, I'm listening."
"It's about Novak," Draco said carefully. "My father said that she's alive, but beyond saving. I didn't know quite what to do with that information."
"I knew that already actually, but thanks."
He only swallowed before he continued. "One more thing, I don't know if it means anything to you, but over Christmas break last year, Theo and I broke into my grandfather's study to try to find something out since my parents refused to say anything and we stumbled across this old journal of his. He was talking about trophies, things that the Dark Lord had valued during the war."
Harry's eyes widened slightly. "Trophies?"
Draco nodded. "Does that mean something to you?"
"Yeah, yeah it does. What exactly did the journal say about these trophies?"
"Why are trophies important?"
"Trust me, this is one of those things that it's better if you don't know."
Draco stared at him for a moment before he nodded. "The journal made mention of my grandfather having one to keep safe; that only those that the Dark Lord trusted most were given an opportunity to keep them safe, to guard them; as if it was an honour that he had bestowed upon them. The journal entry mentioned that one was given to Bellatrix, but that she didn't have anything to her name so my grandfather assumed that she had probably stored it in her vault at Gringotts for safe keeping. That Selwyn helped secure one on some secret mission, but he didn't know where. That Regulus Black went on a mission with the Dark Lord and a few weeks later ended up dead. And then there was some weird thing about Hogwarts being a good place to hide things. It didn't make much sense to me."
Harry was mentally ticking off Horcruxes in his head. Draco's grandfather had been given something to guard — the diary of Tom Riddle, Bellatrix's vault meant the Cup of Helga Hufflepuff, Regulus Black was the locket of Slytherin in the seaside cave, Selwyn helped with something so that could potentially be the ring or something else entirely, and Hogwarts being a good place to hide things… did that mean that one of them was hidden at the school?
"That is very interesting information, Draco, thank you."
"Potter…"
"Yeah?" Harry asked, turning to look at him.
"When something helps you, will you let me know?"
Harry grinned at him. "Everything that you just told me is very helpful. But yeah, I can do that. I'll give you one in return," he dropped a look to the door before lowering his voice to a whisper as even with the privacy charm he wanted Draco to know how serious this was. "He's been put into the body of a child. He means to do some ritual to come back to power. I don't know when and I don't know how, but I do know that your grandfather helped with the first part and that the child that he has possessed and essentially killed belonged to the Novak woman. So, thank you, anything you tell me can help."
"What are you going to do about it?"
"I'm going to tell my father who is working with Dumbledore and others to try to stop it. We just have to hope that they can."
Draco nodded. "Okay."
Harry watched as he simply turned and left the luggage room, the privacy charm evaporating in a snap once Draco had left the bubble. That had been an incredibly unexpected and illuminating conversation, he thought before he made his way back to his friends to fill them in.
~ ASC ~
When they stepped off the train, it was starting to rain and as Hermione led the way down to the horseless carriages, the rain turned into a downpour. They made to race into the carriages, but Harry stopped in his tracks because this year the horseless carriages were being pulled by huge black skeletal horses.
"What is it, Harry?" Ron asked, stopping when he saw his friend stop in his path. "It's wet, hurry up!"
"The carriages! There's horses pulling them!"
Ron stared at him like he had two heads. "Um, no there's not. They are pulled by magic, like always. Hurry up, get in! I'm getting drenched out here!"
Harry closed his eyes and opened them again, but the black winged horses were still there. "No, mate, there are huge black winged horses there!"
"Harry," Hermione said gently, her head poking out from the carriage. "Are you feeling okay?"
"He's feeling fine," Luna answered, a soft dreamy smile on her face. "I can see them too."
"You can?"
She nodded, moving to pet one. Harry's eyes widened and he moved forward. The horses soft whiny reminded him of Cloud Dancing and he felt a pang of loss at the memory of the horse. He missed Georgia, the horse, and Zee's family, his family, he thought with a jolt of warmth, more than he had expected to. The skeletal black horse in front of him seemed to appreciate the attention and he grinned.
"They're oddly beautiful," he murmured as Luna beamed at him.
"I agree."
Ron and Hermione were both staring at them like they had lost their minds. "What are you two on?" Ron asked in bewilderment. "There's nothing there!"
Neville grinned as he hurried towards them. "Oh, hey, they seem to enjoy the extra attention, despite the dismal weather."
"You can see them, too?" Ron exclaimed, his eyes wide.
Neville only stared at Ron. "Can't you?"
Ron merely shook his head, looking between the three of them like he was trying to figure out their joke.
"They're Thestrals," Luna said simply. "I've been able to see them from the beginning. They're beautiful creatures, very misunderstood."
"Thestrals!" Hermione exclaimed, her eyes alight with knowledge. "Of course! You can only see them if you've seen death! That's why you — oh!"
Harry nodded, his eyes on his friend. "Guess seeing Sirius die had more of an effect on me than I realized." He gave the Thestral one last pet before he hopped into the carriage next to his friends.
Hermione stared at him. "Harry, I'm sorry."
He shook his head. "Not your fault."
They drove up to the castle in silence and started to make their way into the Great Hall to get warm and out of the wet only to get bombarded by water bombs. Harry spluttered as one of them crashed right over his head and as he was already soaked from head to toe, he didn't appreciate the cold water shower adding to his already well drenched clothes. A second water bomb dropped, narrowly missing Hermione as it burst at Harry's feet, sending a shock of cold water over his trainers and into his socks. He looked up in time to see Peeves, in his bell-covered hat and orange bow tie, whip another one at some second years, a wide, malicious grin on his face.
"PEEVES!" McGonagall exclaimed, angrily. "Peeves, come down here at once!" she insisted, dashing into the entrance hall and slipping on the wet floor.
Harry moved quickly, his hands gripping her round the waist just as she stumbled and she squeezed his hands affectionately in thanks.
"Good boy, thank you!" she exclaimed, a bit breathless.
"No falling, Auntie Minnie, we need you around here."
She smiled at him. "I'm good, thank you, Harry." She turned back to the poltergeist, her eyes flashing dangerously. "Peeves, get down here, NOW!"
"Not doing nothing!" Peeves cackled, lobbing a water bomb at several fifth-year girls who screamed. "Already wet, aren't they? Little squirts! Wheeee!"
And he aimed another bomb at a group of second years.
"I'm warning you, Peeves, I'll call the Headmaster!"
Peeves stuck his tongue out at her, tossing the last of his water bombs into the air and they crashed all over the entrance hall before he zoomed up the marble staircase, cackling insanely.
McGonagall shook off her wet hands with a grimace. "Well, move along then, into the Great Hall, go on!"
They went into the Great Hall, slipping and sliding across the floor as Harry mopped his wet hair back with his hand. It was decorated to its usual perfection, but Harry's eyes immediately sought the Head Table, spotting his father talking to Professor Sprout. Harry nodded to his friends, telling them that he'd be right back and he made his way up to the Head Table.
"Uncle Rem, I need to talk to you."
Remus merely raised an eyebrow and nodded, gesturing for Harry to follow him into the staff room behind the Head Table. He closed the door behind him, turning to look at Harry. "You look like you took a dip in the Black Lake."
Harry grinned. "It's raining a bit and then Peeves had water bombs."
"Ah," Remus said with a smile. "So, that's what the commotion was about." He pulled out his wand and tapped his son on the head. "Siccum!" Harry's clothes immediately heated dry, warming him comfortably as Remus tapped his wand to Harry's head once more. "Recalfacio!" The warming charm seeped right down into his trainers and he sighed in relief.
"Thanks."
Remus smiled. "Has something happened since this morning?"
Harry quickly reiterated his conversation with Draco on the train. "— And he said that Hogwarts is the best place to hide things, which we know is true because Flamel wanted Dumbledore to hide the Philosopher's Stone here, so I think that there's one here — hidden somewhere in the castle!"
Remus stared at him in amazement. "He just volunteered all of this information?"
"Well, I did save his life at the World Cup, which he admitted to grudgingly, but also, his father told him to share it with me. And most of what he told me we already knew, which only goes to show that he's not lying."
Remus nodded, his eyes serious. "All very true. All right, thank you for telling me. I'll pass it on and we'll go from there."
"But there could be one in the school, right here, right now!"
"Yes, but we have no idea what it is let alone where it could be and we're not going to find it tonight. Let's go back inside, see to the Sorting, enjoy the feast, and we'll talk about this later. All right?"
Harry nodded, sighing. He knew that his father had a point, but the thought that one could be so close by was alarming and he had a sudden desperate urge to try to find it. "Yeah, you're right."
Remus smiled and squeezed his shoulder. "It's still good news, Harry."
Harry just grinned and nodded before following Remus out of the room and back into the Great Hall. McGonagall was in the middle of the Sorting as he snuck back around to the Gryffindor table and took a seat between Ron and Ginny. Ron gave him a hopeful look, but he merely shrugged in response.
He was interrupted by Colin, who was pointing excitedly to the little boy going up to sit on the stool.
"Harry, that's my brother, Dennis!"
"That's great, Colin," Harry said with a smile.
"Let's hope that he's in Gryffindor with us!"
Harry nodded. "Yeah, that'd be great."
When the hat called out Gryffindor, Dennis Creevey beamed widely and bounded over to join his brother.
"Colin! I fell in!" he said, shrilly, throwing himself into an empty seat. "It was brilliant! And something in the water grabbed me and pushed me back into the boat!"
"Cool," Colin exclaimed. "It was probably the giant squid, Dennis!"
"Wow!" Dennis said in amazement.
Harry merely caught Ginny's eye and they both chuckled. By the time the Sorting was done, Ron was moaning that he was so hungry he could eat a Hippogriff.
When they finished eating, Harry was feeling very well fed and a tad sleepy by the time Dumbledore stood up.
"Now that we are all fed and watered, I must ask for your attention while I give out a few notices. Mr Filch has asked me to tell you that the number of objects forbidden inside of the castle this year has been extended to include Screaming Yo-yos, Fanged Frisbees, and Ever-Bashing Boomerangs. The full list comprises some four hundred and thirty-seven items, I believe, and can be viewed in Mr Filch's office. I would like to remind you all that the forest on the grounds is out of bounds to students as is the village of Hogsmeade to all below third year."
Ginny leaned in close to Harry to whisper, "I only snuck in once."
He grinned at her, remembering that he had in fact encouraged her sneaking into the village as Dumbledore continued. "It is also my painful duty to inform you that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year."
"WHAT?" Harry exclaimed.
He looked around to see that everyone was equally as appalled as he was.
Colin was saying something to Ginny who shook her head, looking sad.
"This is due to an event that will be starting in October and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teachers' time and energy, but I am sure that you will all enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing that this year Hogwarts has the great honour of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months. An event that has not been held in over a century. It is my great pleasure to inform you that the TriWizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year."
"You're JOKING?" Fred exclaimed loudly.
The hall bubbled in laughter and Dumbledore chuckled appreciatively. "I am not joking, Mr Weasley, though now that you mention it, I did hear an excellent one over the summer about a troll, a hag, and a leprechaun who all go into a bar and order drinks. The bartender said to the —"
McGonagall cleared her throat, loudly.
"— Er, but maybe this is not the time, no," Dumbledore said. "Where was I? Oh, yes! The TriWizard Tournament was first established some seven hundred years ago as a friendly competition between the three largest European schools of wizardry: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. A champion was selected to represent each school, and the three champions competed in three magical tasks. The schools took it in turns to host the tournament once every five years, and it was generally agreed to be a most excellent way of establishing ties between young witches and wizards of different nationalities, until, that is, the death toll mounted so high that the tournament was discontinued. There have been several attempts over the centuries to reinstate the tournament, none of which have been very successful. However, our own departments of International Magical Cooperation and Magical Games and Sports have decided that the time is ripe for another attempt. We have worked hard over the summer to ensure that this time, no champion will find himself or herself in mortal danger. The heads of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving with their short-listed contenders in October, and the selection of the three champions will take place at Halloween. An impartial judge will decide which students are most worthy to compete for the TriWizard Cup, the glory of their school, and a thousand Galleons personal prize money."
"I'm going for it!" Fred hissed down the table, his face lit with enthusiasm at the prospect of such glory and riches.
He was not the only person who seemed to be visualizing himself as the Hogwarts champion. At every House table, Harry could see people either gazing raptly at Dumbledore, or else whispering fervently to their neighbours. But then Dumbledore spoke again, and the Hall quieted once more.
"Eager though I know all of you will be to bring the TriWizard Cup to Hogwarts," he said. "The heads of the participating schools, along with the Ministry of Magic, have agreed to impose an age restriction on contenders this year to the dangers of the tasks ahead. Only students who are of age — that is to say, seventeen years or older will be allowed to put forward their names for consideration. This —" Dumbledore raised his voice slightly, for several people had made noises of outrage at these words, and Fred and George were suddenly looking furious.
"— This is a measure that we feel is necessary, given that the tournament tasks will still be difficult and dangerous, whatever precautions we take, and it is highly unlikely that students below sixth and seventh year will be able to cope with them. I will personally be ensuring that no underage student hoodwinks our impartial judge into making them Hogwarts champion." His light blue eyes twinkled as they flickered over Fred's and George's mutinous faces. "I therefore beg you not to waste your time submitting yourself if you are under seventeen. The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving in October and remaining with us for the greater part of this year. I know that you will all extend every courtesy to our foreign guests while they are with us, and will give your whole-hearted support to the Hogwarts champion when he or she is selected. There will also be a Yule Ball held in December of this year. The Ball is to help celebrate the tournament as much as it is to celebrate Yule. It is for fourth years and above, though a younger student may attend with an older student if they wish. More will be explained later on as the events grow closer. And now, it is late, and I know how important it is for you all to be alert and rested as you enter your lessons tomorrow morning. Bedtime! Chop chop!"
The school began to move to head up to their respective beds, everyone murmuring to themselves about the tournament.
"It would be pretty amazing to sign up, wouldn't it?" Ron asked Harry as they moved up the marble staircase.
Harry shrugged. "Yeah, it would be cool. Uncle Sirius told me that the tasks are really dangerous which is why they are making it for seventeen and older only."
Ron shrugged. "It's not like we haven't handled dangerous before." At his friend's grin, he nudged him. "If Fred and George find a way around this judge, what do you say, want to throw our names in the hat?"
Harry grinned at him. "Honestly? Hell, yeah. It's not like it would choose someone that wasn't worthy to be a champion anyway, right?"
"Exactly!" Ron exclaimed. "What could go wrong?"
~ ASC ~
Seamus was on his way up the stairs as he followed Dean, who was whispering something in Parvati's ear that her blushing, when he heard someone call his name. He turned and saw Will standing at the bottom of the stairs so he hurried back down to see him.
"Hey, Will," he said, smiling when the boy gestured with his head for him to follow him.
Seamus did so and was led into the broom cupboard around the corner, laughing when the door clicked shut and Will's mouth met his. He let out a soft moan as his body was pressed against the wall and against the boy as his mouth was greedily assaulted. He moved his hands up into Will's hair, kissing him back. He had missed him more than he had wanted to admit. Writing letters all summer had been kind of wonderful, but other than the brief interlude at the World Cup, he hadn't seen him.
He hadn't touched him.
He hadn't kissed him.
Will's lips left his, trailing hot kisses down the side of his neck. "I missed you."
"I missed you, too," he admitted, tugging Will's mouth back to his. "I wanted to kiss you so badly at the World Cup, you don't even know."
Will smiled against his mouth, kissing the corners and moving his lips back to Seamus' neck. He licked a hot trail over his Adam's apple. "If it was even half as much as I wanted to kiss you, I know."
His tongue played with his earlobe, slipping into his ear before his lips moved over to the back of his neck. Seamus arched under his hands as they slid off his waist, around to clutch his bum and he groaned softly. He moved his own hands up and over Will's chest, sliding them down and he cupped him through his trousers, feeling how hard he was; he grinned.
"I missed this, too," he whispered and then he knelt down in front of him and Will groaned.
"Seam, we… fuck," he groaned when Seamus released him from his trousers.
Seamus looked up at him, he could barely make him out in the dark of the room, but he knew those green eyes were on him as his tongue reached out to taste him, sliding along the tip, down beneath his shaft and lapping at his balls.
Will put one hand on the wall, the other one gripping Seamus' hair as his mouth engulfed him fully. "Merlin!"
Seamus smiled against him. He had been thinking about doing this all summer. He had dreamed about it more often than he wanted to admit. His tongue slid across the long shaft, sucking and licking and nibbling, his hand moving up to fondle him and to stroke. He tasted as good as he remembered. He wasn't as big as Dean, but he was beautiful in Seamus' opinion and he eagerly pleased him. He could feel him tensing, ready to let go and he popped him out, licking his lips and kissing his stomach.
Will groaned. "Tease."
Seamus simply smiled, he pulled Will's wand out from the pocket of his jeans and muttered 'lumos' illuminating Will's pale skin and his erection. "Hold this," he instructed.
Will took the wand, his breath coming out unevenly as he watched Seamus reach down to undo his own trousers and he began to stroke himself. Will watched, one hand still gripping Seamus' hair and he panted a bit as he watched his boyfriend pleasure himself.
"Stop," he told him. "I want to touch you."
Seamus smiled and stood up, letting Will's hands touch him just as he reached out to fondle him. "Me too."
Will groaned. "I'm so close," he whispered.
Seamus stood on his toes and kissed him deeply, his hand working over him faster and faster, one hand sliding back to squeeze his bum and when he felt Will give, he only lasted a few seconds himself as they both groaned, hands working away on each other as they kissed.
Will dropped his forehead down to Seamus'. "This was a rather wonderful reunion," he said, making Seamus grin.
"It was," Seamus said back. "You feel and taste so good, Will, so good."
Will cupped his face in his hands and kissed him deeply. "First Hogsmeade trip this term, come with me."
Seamus shook his head. "I can't… you know why."
He nodded, closing his eyes. "I want to be your boyfriend in more than just dark alcoves, Seam."
"I'm sorry, Will. I just… I can't."
Will kissed him. "Okay, I won't push, I'm sorry."
Seamus watched him pull back, fix his trousers and he did the same. "Will, I… I really like you, I like this, I like it a lot."
"I know, Seamus," he said with a grin. "And I really like it too. The first time you used your mouth on me before school ended last year, I thought this is the most perfect boy. I know that I'm asking a lot and if you're not ready to come out, I won't make you. I just… I want to be with you, however you'll let me."
Seamus pulled his mouth back to his. "It's your birthday in a few weeks."
"I know, sixteen, I can't believe it and your fifteenth birthday is a week after mine."
"I want to do something special for you."
"Yeah? I am yours to do with what you'd like."
Seamus slapped his butt. "You might regret those words."
Will kissed him again. "No, I won't. Come on, we better get back to our respective dorms before someone comes looking."
Seamus grinned and kissed him once more before they snuck out of the broom closet. Seamus couldn't stop grinning as he watched the sway of Will's butt. He did like him a lot, he thought, more than a lot if he was honest and that scared him too.
He shoved his hands into his pockets and whistled all the way back to Gryffindor Tower, unable to stop the smile from staying on his face.
End Author's Notes:
Made up a few of my own spell incantations.
Secretum Bulla = privacy bubble
Recalfacio = warming charm
Siccum = drying charm
Thanks for reading and please review!