Training and Crisis
It was Malfoy.
"Just stopping by to tell you – you don't stand a chance," he sneered. "The Third Task won't be much of a spectator sport. It's just sitting staring at the entrance to a maze. Just like the Second was staring at the surface of the lake. Big deal. You fluked through two, but you don't stand a chance this time, Potter."
"Poo Malfoy," whinnied Ash. Harry scooped her up in his arms in case Malfoy should think to hurt her. She waved her four little legs around and squealed. "Love Harry, love Harry."
"Granger's into bestiality. Not surprising," said Malfoy with a sneer and then left.
"Should I hex him?" said Harry, although he could not wield a wand while clutching Ash.
The little magicorn turned her spotted face to him and wrinkled her snubbed nose. "I said I wanna help. Lemme help." Hermione gave her foal a loving smile.
"Alright, Ash," said Harry. "How are you going to help."
"Well we've gotta go to the libr'y," said Ash. "I wanna go now, I wanna read. I haven't read for ages."
"It was only a few minutes ago I was reading to you about Arithmancy," chided Hermione.
"I wanna read more."
"You're definitely your mother's daughter," said Harry holding her up. She giggled and waved her back legs in the air. Her legs didn't have hooves, but they didn't have feet either. They just had blunt ends. Weird. She did however, have a fine, pink tail.
Hermione came over and took Ash in her arms, kissing her spotty face and making her whinny even louder. "See. Harry can see you're Mummy's little girl," cooed Hermione and mother and foal pressed their noses together.
00O00
The library wasn't too busy at this time. Hermione set Ash down on the table and began to root through the shelves. With no computer cataloguing system, the library was like a muggle library in the very old days. There was a slim book no bigger than an exercise book on the table. Ash picked it up in her mouth, trotted over to Harry and dropped it on the table beside him. "Open it, open it," she clamoured. Harry picked it up. Someone had written 'Maze Monsters' on the front cover in blue ink.
"You want me to read this, Ash?"
The foal wrinkled her little nose. "Obviouslee… I haven't got hands, so you've got to open it for me. Then I can read it to you."
"Oh, right," Harry opened the exercise book and Ash peered down at it.
"I can read well now… In prev'ous Triwizard Tournaments, a Sphinx was placed in the d'rect route to the maze." She jumped up and down in excitement. "Oh, oh, Harry, a Sphinx is a bit like me. It is."
"What is a Sphinx?" said Harry.
Hermione came over with a stack of books. She glanced at the page Ash was reading and her brows drew together. "The Sphinx is a monster with the body of a lion and the face of a woman. She asks you riddles and if you answer wrong, she attacks."
Ash made a snorting sound. "Riddles are fun. You gotta practice, Harry."
"OK, Ash, I'll practice," said Harry.
Ash gazed up at him with big brown eyes. "I know a riddle. What's the first letter in the word 'cat?'"
"That's your riddle?" said Harry.
Hermione beamed and touched the foal's spotted cheek with the tip of a finger. "Clever girl. Harry should practice riddles. Come on, Harry. What's the answer?"
"C," said Harry.
Ash gave a whinnying squeal. "You gottit!" She cantered around the tabletop in celebration, cheering in her high-pitched little voice. Her cheering sounded rather like neighing. She cantered to a halt and gazed up at Harry again. "One more riddle. What is the number that comes after three?"
"Four?" said Harry.
"You gottit!" squealed Ash, and went through the routine of neighing and cantering around the tabletop again.
"OK, enough riddles," said Harry.
"Awww, jus' one more riddle?" Said Ash, fixing him with her bambi eyes.
"Yes, Harry, one more riddle," said Hermione sternly.
"Alright," said Harry, not wishing to displease Ash's mother. He really did think he had had enough of riddles though…
"What's the noise a piggy makes?" said Ash, and she folded her legs and sat down, still gazing up at Harry, her brown eyes wide in her spotty little face.
"Oink?" said Harry.
"Oink? Oink oink oink? You gottit!" Ash went cantering around the table, neighing in delight yet again. Harry thought he'd better think of a distraction, or she'd keep him at the riddles all day.
"Ash, how'd you like to come with me to meet a special friend – a very funny friend? I don't think your Mummy would be welcome where he hangs out, but I am. He'll help us."
Hermione blinked. Did she look hurt?
"Yay! I wanna come see your friend!" squeaked Ash.
"Right." Harry scooped her up in his arms and she whinnied in delight. Hermione smiled and followed as he led the way out of the library.
Ash nuzzled Harry's cheek. She had a faint, musty smell. "I wanna see all your friends, Harry," she bleated. "They c'n all help."
"I don't think so," said Harry. "I don't ask just anyone for help."
Ash wrinkled her brown spotted nose at him. "Why?"
"I'm too proud. I wouldn't ask our mate, Neville Longbottom for help, even though he's not a complete prat, like Ron."
Ash gazed at him with big brown eyes. "Why?"
"Well I want to win by my own merits. And an element of risk makes it all the more fun. That is the Gryffindor way. Your Mummy was in Gryffindor. She told you all about it, I bet."
Ash wrinkled her freckled nose again. "Yeah, I know 'bout Gryffindor."
"Well you're not going to be so foolish about this Task, Harry," said Hermione sharply. "We're going to find you all the help we can."
"I'm helping 'im," said Ash.
"You certainly are," said Harry absently. Ash nuzzled his cheek again.
They went down the marble staircase to the Entrance Hall, and then down the flight of stairs that led to the kitchens.
At the end of the corridor, Harry held Ash round the middle and pointed her at the picture of the bowl of fruit. "Look, Ash. See this picture? If you touch the pear with your foot, it'll open the door."
"Cool. I can't open any doors yet," said Ash, and reached out a little leg to touch the pear. The pear squirmed and formed a door knob. The door swung open and they went into the kitchens.
"Now, Hermione, mind you don't go offending them," said Harry. "Leave all the talking to me."
Hermione sighed. "Well, slavery is wrong. Yes, even the way it is done here at Hogwarts is wrong. What am I supposed to do?" Her lip curled. "Mature into a good slave owner? I don't think so." She sniffed. "It's just that no one cares about what I have to say."
Ash waved her little legs in the air as Harry held her. "Don' be sad, Mummy. I care."
Hermione smiled and took her foal in her arms. Ash nuzzled her on the cheek.
"Dobby!" Called Harry.
Dobby came leaping over to them, holding a trumpet in his mouth which he blew into, making an awful din. "A very Harry day to you!" he called. Harry was shocked to see that the elf had a balloon that resembled Harry's own head blown up to massive proportions.
Ash neighed and whinnied in approval. "It's Harry, it's Harry."
Harry took the balloon from Dobby and let it go. It floated up to the ceiling. "Dobby, I was going to ask, is there anything else you might have found out about the Tournament? I may need help finding things out."
Dobby nodded his head. "Hagrid will put one of those horrible blast ended skrewts in the maze, Harry Potter. Ermm…" the elf looked uncomfortably at Ash in Hermione's arms. Yes, that must pose a lot of awkward questions! It looked pretty obvious now what Hermione must have been up to. "Dobby will find out more. Dobby is a house elf. We see things, we hear things too."
"Dobby! Hello Dobby!" bleated Ash. "Mummy's talked about you. Says you're a clever elf."
"Thank you, little magicorn," said Dobby with a smile.
Harry noticed that Ash hadn't made any of the gaffes Hermione made the last time she was in the kitchens when she started telling all the elves they should be free and trying to bring Dobby into the dispute. Ash was a bookworm like Hermione, but in terms of making awkward social gaffes, she did not seem to take after her mother.
"Can I have fooood?" Squealed Ash.
"Can she?" said Harry.
"Anything you ask, Harry Potter. Let her eat anything on this table."
Hermione set Ash down on the table. "Do be careful now, Ash. Don't knock anything over."
"I won't, Mummy." Ash saw a bowl of trifle and she gave a little snort, her big brown eyes widening even more than usual. She buried her face in the trifle, slurping noisily.
"Well anyway, you got me through the Second Task, Dobby," said Harry. "I have complete faith in you. Your help was most useful last time."
Ash looked up from the trifle. There was cream all over her little face. "I'm helping 'im too."
"Then between us we has it covered," said Dobby, his tennis ball sized eyes swivelling from Ash to Hermione as if shocked and fascinated. Harry knew how he felt.
Suddenly there was a pounding at the door. The elves all looked up. The lights dimmed and the door broke off its hinges. It was Malfoy at the head of a gang of Slytherins. Malfoy pointed at Ash. "There she is. The little cross-bred mutant. As Slytherins and blood purists, we've got to kill it. In the name of the Dark Lord…" The end of Malfoy's wand glowed red. Ash whinnied in terror and she bolted across the table, upsetting plates and dishes and cutlery on the way. She moved very fast indeed, her little spotted form was almost at the far end of the table in an instant, almost before the elves could protest at the mess she was making. Hermione screamed, but Harry kept a cool head. He leapt in front of the table and raised his wand against Malfoy. There was no way he would let Malfoy kill little Ash. But how was he going to fight off all these Slytherins?
Author's Note: Can Harry fight off all these aspiring Death Eaters and save Hermione's foal? Shall we call the Slytherins Death Nibblers? They are just wannabe Death Eaters after all.
