Chapter 11: Bertha Jorkins' Disappearance
"I doubt there are many things worse than the imminent danger of me being turned into a fire-breathing winged lizard's lunch," Harry said wryly.
Sirius raised an eyebrow. "What now?" he asked, unsure if he had heard his godson correctly.
"The first task of the tournament involves a dragon," Daphne explained, trying her best not to sound too excited.
"Don't mind her tone." Harry teased, wrapping an arm around Daphne's slender waist and pulling her into his chest. She rested her head on his shoulder, burying her pink face in the crook of his neck. "She is somewhat obsessed with magical creatures."
"Do you remember Hagrid from your time in Hogwarts, Mister… Sirius?" Susan asked.
"I do. Vividly. We all loved him." Sirius leaned back against the rough stone wall of the cave, a fond smile on his face. Much like his godson, the time he had spent in Hogwarts with his friends had been some of the happiest moments of his life.
"Well, think of Daphne as a blonder, cuter version of Hagrid," Susan said teasingly.
"I'm much more rational!" Daphne protested, her voice muffled.
"Princess, you wanted to pet a hungry dragon's snout just a week ago," Harry whispered, rubbing her back comfortingly.
"Sounds like something Hagrid would do to me." Sirius chuckled before sobering up. "I should have been here sooner. Have you been preparing?" Sirius asked, raising an eyebrow.
Harry frowned at the suddenly serious tone. It did not suit his godfather.
What I wouldn't give to go back and change things.
The fifteen minutes he had allowed himself to believe he and Susan could move in with him had been the happiest of his life. Then, the full moon had peeked out from behind a cloud and Remus transformed into a werewolf. Pettigrew had escaped in the ensuing scuffle, taking Harry's chance of a normal life with him.
"Susan, please tell me my godson isn't planning to face down a dragon without a plan?" Sirius turned to look at the redhead when Harry didn't respond.
"We have a plan," Susan answered, before mumbling under her breath, "of sorts."
"I've been practicing Stinging Hexes and the Conjunctivitis Curse all week."
Sirius tore into a chicken wing, savoring the delicious meat in quiet contemplation. He reluctantly swallowed, before finally turning back to look at Harry. "Aiming for its weak spot. Sensible."
"It is the only card we can play. Any plan that is more elaborate than this is bound to fail." Daphne cleared her throat and sat up in Harry's lap, eager to join the conversation now that it had finally veered into something that was her area of expertise. Schemes and plans were what she excelled in. She had spent the entire week going over all possible outcomes, gaming out the plans she came up with only to come to the same conclusion every single time.
The fact that Harry had no choice over or knowledge about which dragon he'd face meant any rigid plan was bound to fail.
"Why?" Sirius tossed a chicken wing in Buckbeak's direction, the hippogriff snapping up the tasty treat mid-air. Daphne's eyes wandered over to the glorious creature for a minute before she forced herself to concentrate.
"Well, the organizers have brought four dragons for the task. Each of them is a different breed, with temperaments and weaknesses that are poles apart from each other," Daphne started. "Don't ask us how we know all this."
"Was it something that involved breaking dozens of school rules?" Sirius asked wryly.
"Very much so." Susan nodded. She leaned over and pulled out a slice of apple pie from the satchel of food and bit into it.
"Shame!" Sirius declared with a huge grin on his face.
"Oh, please. You did far worse in your time," Harry muttered, rolling his eyes.
"Guilty as charged." Sirius threw his hands up in surrender. "Anyways, back to the dragons."
"Right." Daphne cleared her throat, trying to organize her thoughts to lay out a clear picture of the dilemma facing them in front of the older man. "So, they're all different, and Harry has no control over which one he gets to face. Which, I feel is piss poor planning. How in Merlin's name are they going to normalize the participant's performance without a baseline? The one facing the Welsh Green is going to have a very different challenge than the one staring down a Hungarian Horntail," Daphne ranted.
"She has very strong opinions about how the task is designed."
"I have strong opinions about the fact that the people supposed to be in charge are incompetent idiots, da...dharry," Daphne muttered, crossing her arms over his chest.
"You can only call them incompetent if the purpose of the tournament was to pit the champions against each other in tests of skill, ability, and ingenuity, Daphne," Sirius said with a fond smile on his face. He didn't say it out loud, but he was more than a little pleased to see his godson broaden his horizons. "But it's not."
"It isn't?" Susan asked with a small frown.
"Never has been. It's about the spectacle, Susan. It's about distracting the masses from a major fuck up or something bad on the horizon. There's a reason why Fudge brought it back now. The last time there was talk of reviving the tournament was during our seventh year. I mean, sure, they all talked about using it to foster closer relations with International Governments and Schools in view of the coming conflict, but make no mistake." He sighed, giving the three of them a sardonic smile. "It was meant to be a distraction then, and it is being used as a distraction now. They don't really care about the details of the tournament as long as it is entertaining. In fact-"
"By making the champions face different dragon breeds and having them be on an unequal footing, the task becomes more entertaining to watch," Daphne cut Sirius off, a look of horror on her face. The organizers weren't being incompetent idiots. She might even have appreciated their deviousness had Harry's life not been on the line.
As things stood, their actions only filled her with rage.
"You need a backup plan. Eyes are every dragon's weak point, so it makes sense that you're targeting them. Your idea removes the element of uncertainty, which makes it more likely to succeed."
"That was my thought too," Daphne murmured, massaging her temples.
"But eyes are also bloody small and not easy to aim at, especially when they're attached to an enraged, flame-belching menace. So, you need a backup plan in case your original one fails."
"One that does not depend on which dragon Harry will face."
"Exactly, Susan. It will also need to be something that plays into daddy's strengths because there's a little less than a week left till the task and we don't have the time to practice something entirely new," Daphne mumbled, too engrossed in her thoughts to realize she had used the title in front of Sirius.
If Sirius noticed, he didn't comment on it. "Anything come to mind?"
All three of them shook their heads in response to his question.
Sirius interlaced his fingers, resting his chin on his hands as he lapsed into deep thought. "Well," he declared, straightening after a few minutes of tense silence. "I don't have any ideas either. Have Hedwig visit me once a day till the task. If something occurs to me, I'll send the idea to you in a note."
"Alright," Harry sighed, running a hand through his hair. This was not how he had envisioned the reunion with his godfather going. "What's your bad news? You might as well share it."
"When it rains, it pours, right kiddo?" Sirius looked at the way Susan was now pressed into Harry's side. She was gently rubbing his arm, partly to comfort him, and partly, Sirius suspected, to comfort herself. His godson certainly had the knack for choosing the right partners. Perhaps they were onto something about the whole soulmate thing, although that didn't explain the synergy between him and Daphne.
Unless…
"Does the name Bertha Jorkins ring any bells for you?" Sirius asked, forcing his mind away from dangerous paths. It was a topic he'd only bring up with Harry after researching it thoroughly himself, and even then only if he could prove his suspicions without a shadow of a doubt.
"She sounds familiar, but I can't place her."
"She works in the Ministry, Harry," Susan piped up, a frown on her face. "The Ministry of International Relations, I think. I don't know a lot about her."
"She's a horrible busybody and everyone in Pureblood circles hates her guts," Daphne added. "They… We cut her off after she spied on Nott Sr. with his mistress and loudly discussed the bloody affair at the fundraiser his wife was hosting. Loves to gossip and simply can't keep her mouth shut."
"That's the Bertha I remember." When all three of them looked at him in confusion, Sirius explained, "she went to Hogwarts around the same time we did. She was a year above us. There was never a secret that Bertha Jorkins wasn't interested in."
"She sounds like another busybody we have become intimately acquainted with," Harry muttered grumpily.
"Skeeter was two years below us. Who do you think she learned her tricks from? The only reason Bertha didn't get Skeeter's job is that she lacked the finesse and cunning required to be good at it."
"Has she taken an unhealthy interest in my love life too?" Harry asked with a dramatic groan.
"Oh, come now. Most men your age would kill to be associated with three gorgeous and highly accomplished women," Sirius teased, his grin only growing at the exasperated expression on Harry's face. "Yeah, I read the article. Both of them. That's all Hogsmeade is talking about these days. You won't believe the number of women who think they have a shot with you now."
"You're going into the village?!" Harry asked, trying to deflect from the teasing by focusing on his godfather's appalling disregard for his own personal safety.
"I'm pretending to be a loveable stray," Sirius said dismissively. "Anyways, where were we?"
"Bertha."
"Right, Bertha. Thanks, Susan. She has disappeared into thin air. Fudge and Barty are playing it off as Bertha being her usual ditzy self, but the fact that she disappeared right after playing a major role in organizing the tournament is bloody fishy if you ask me."
"Maybe she was poking around and discovered the identity of the person who put Harry's name in the Goblet?" Susan asked. "And he is keeping her prisoner?"
Daphne looked at her with a bemused expression on her face.
"What?!"
"Prisoner?"
"Well, he wouldn't kill her! That's the best way to guarantee life in Azkaban."
"Whoever that person is, they're trying their hardest to kill our boyfriend, Sue, but sure, they'll draw the line at murdering the nosey, annoying woman."
"It's a possibility. Maybe they're keeping her alive because she has information that they need. Bertha did help plan the tournament after all," Susan muttered, ever the glass-half-full kind of person.
"You know, you were far less concerned about the moral quandaries of murder when you shoved your wand under Karkaroff's chin and threatened to blow his head off a few days ago," Daphne teased. "That Susan was fun. Can we have her for this discussion please?"
"Karkaroff's here?" Sirius asked sharply.
"Yep. We had a rather unpleasant run-in with him a week ago. You know him?"
"The bastard gave evidence at my trial."
"You mean he lied his ass off to save his own skin," Susan growled, clutching Harry's hand tighter.
"Yep."
"Do you think he was the one to put my name in the Goblet?"
"It's a possibility, Harry, but I doubt it. Karkaroff doesn't do anything that doesn't benefit Karkaroff, and I don't think Pettigrew and Voldemort are strong enough to scare him into obeying their commands." Everyone but Harry flinched at his use of the name.
"Where was Bertha last seen?" Daphne asked, mulling the entire matter over in her mind. It was all interconnected, like pieces of a puzzle. She knew that if she pulled the right string, the entire thing would come undone.
The only problem was figuring out what that string was.
"Albania. She went there for a 'vacation'. Coincidentally, it is also the last known hideout of Voldemort. The whole thing stinks but my hands are tied, what with me still being a convicted mass murderer and all."
"I could ask Auntie to look into it."
"That would be a godsend, Shorty, thank you. They need to send an investigative party after her instead of trying to sweep the matter under the rug."
"Fudge is probably afraid of another scandal rocking his administration," Daphne noted. "His administration is getting excoriated in Wizengamot. Even some members of Malfoy's faction seem nervous about what happened at the World Cup."
"They should be. I doubt the Dark Lord has a very high opinion of those who sold him out to save their own skins," Sirius responded.
"Fuck, this is frustrating," Daphne muttered, tucking a stray strand of her blonde hair behind her ear. She hated a problem she couldn't solve. The one in front of them seemed to have no possible solution. There were far too many unknowns to come to any real conclusions.
Everything was connected, that much was obvious.
Figuring out the 'how' would be impossible without further information.
"That it is. But it's not something you should be concerning yourself about. It's a beautiful day, and the three of you deserve a break," Sirius said, getting to his feet. "Let an old man enjoy his chicken wings in peace. Go, have fun!" He ordered, ushering the trio out of the cave.
He watched Harry and Daphne banter and argue as they trekked down the trail, slowing down until he was right in front of Susan, who was slowly descending the mountain, seemingly in no hurry to catch up with her lovers.
"Tired, Susan?" Sirius asked, reaching out to grab her arm and steady her.
"Actually, I wanted a chance to talk to you. Alone," Susan replied.
"Well, you have until we reach the outcropping. What's on your mind?" Sirius looked at Susan shrewdly. "Is this about her calling Harry daddy? It's nothing wrong, Susie. As long as it's something they both enjoy, who are we to judge?"
"Uh…" Susan turned red, her courage abandoning her.
"Are they forcing you to do something you don't like? Do I need to knock some sense into my godson?"
"What?!" Susan squeaked. "No! Not at all. In fact, it's the opposite! We haven't, you know…" The blush on her cheeks turned darker. "We've never gone a week without, you know," she mumbled again before giving up. "All three of us spend every night together. But those two have this weird hang-up about something that they refuse to tell me."
"Have you considered the possibility that it might be something those two need to figure out themselves? Meanwhile, there's nothing stopping you from enjoying a healthy sex life with both of them individually," Sirius said frankly.
"I want to help them." Susan took a deep breath, turning her eyes to the deep ravine to her right. It was better to contemplate plummeting to her death than to look at her boyfriend's godfather as she made her next statement. "It's more fun when it's all three of us," she whispered.
Sirius chuckled. "Oh, to be young and experience all this again," he murmured, a nostalgic smile on his face. "Is this their first date?"
"Third, if we're being technical."
"Oh good, that makes our job easier. You know what happens on the third date, right?"
Susan nodded.
"Gift them an evening in Twigleflit's. It's a fine establishment located in the building behind Dervish and Banges."
"A fine establishment?" Susan raised an eyebrow.
"Well, it's a sex motel," Sirius admitted. "But it might just be what they need. Get them the Morgana Suite. Whatever their hang-up is, they'll have the tools to work through it in that room."
Susan nodded, breathing a sigh of relief as the trail widened into the grassy outcropping. "Thanks, Sirius!" She turned to the older man with a smile, only to be greeted by the sight of a shaggy black dog looking at her with amused eyes.
"Thanks, Sirius," she murmured again, scratching under his chin for a minute before running up to join Harry and Daphne.
"Everything alright?" Harry asked, slipping his free hand into Susan's as she ran up next to him and pressed into his side.
"Yep." Susan closed her eyes when Harry lifted her on the climb down from the outcropping, only opening them when he let her down on her feet after they reached the path leading to the village.
They walked down the country road in comfortable silence, simply enjoying the quiet and each other's company. All of them knew it was their last opportunity for a normal date for a very long time.
"So, what're we doing?" Harry asked as they rounded the last thicket of trees that obscured Hogsmeade from sight.
Susan took a deep breath and steeled her nerves. "I have a plan," she declared, all her energy focused on making sure her voice didn't quiver.
"If it involves Madam Puddifoot Bones, I'm out. I'm not stepping foot in that disgustingly gaudy tea shop."
"Nope. I'm meeting up with Hannah and Padma in the Three Broomsticks for a drink. They've been complaining that I barely have any time for them ever since the Goblet spat out Harry's name, and they're right," Susan explained, pulling them into the empty alleyway beside Dervish and Bangs. She led them out the other side, to a quiet part of the village that didn't seem to have any other students in sight.
"We're not coming with you?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow. Her words seemed to imply as much.
"Well, I had planned to take you with me initially, formally introduce you two to my friends…" she trailed off, pausing in front of the building Sirius had described. "But it's your third date with Daphne, and it deserves to be something better than watching Hannah do her wine trick."
She took a deep breath and pulled a bemused Harry into the building, Daphne following the two with an amused expression on her face.
"Uh…" Susan stared at the gruff wizard manning the front counter with pink cheeks, trying to summon up the courage to speak.
"Well?" The man asked, not bothering to look up from the newspaper he was reading.
"I'd like to book the Morgana Suite please?" Susan mumbled, grinning nervously at Harry and Daphne.
"How long?"
"The entire day?" She didn't know how long it'd take them to work things out, because she didn't know what the 'thing' was in the first place. It was best to be safe.
"Thirty galleons. You want the entire experience?"
"Yes, please." Susan stopped Harry from digging into his pocket for his money bag.
"This is my treat and also a thank you, dearest. For keeping an open mind and for giving Daph a chance," she murmured, leaning up to kiss Harry's cheeks.
"Your gift for our third date is a day in a sex motel?" Daphne asked, sounding equal parts amused and outraged.
"Mhm. You're lucky, Daph. Harry and I spent ours in a cramped bathroom."
"Why is it just us two?' Harry asked.
"Because I'm tired of playing chess every night and that is all we do when it's all three of us together. The two of you need to sort your stuff out so that my boyfriend and girlfriend fuck me in a way that doesn't involve board games," Susan muttered, paying the fee for the room.
"Pet or Princess?" The man asked, carefully examining each coin he counted before depositing them in the register.
"Princess," Susan answered.
The man retrieved a set of costume wings and a tiara from a cabinet and plopped them onto the counter. "That's an extra five galleons."
"Here you go." Susan dropped five more coins on the counter before picking up the tiara and dropping it on Daphne's head.
"Are we really doing this?" Harry asked, turning to look at Daphne.
"I'm slightly afraid of what Susie might do if we don't," Daphne answered, looking at the expression on the redhead's face. "So yeah, I guess we are."
Sirius is going to play a major role in Harry's Fourth Year and be the mentor I always felt he should have been. Oh, and Harry's next soulmate is name dropped!
My Patrons get a say in what the final pairings will be. They also get to request their favorite kinks/ideas be included in this story and future new stories. All completed chapters are available to read immediately there and the story usually runs a month ahead on my P a treon. The link is in my profile.
