Early next morning, Hailey woke with a plan fully formed in her mind. It was like she planning it while asleep. She got up, dressed in the pale dawn light, and left the dormitory without waking her dorm-mates, and went back down to the deserted common room. She took some parchment from her messenger bag which was left on the table she had left behind and wrote a letter:
Dear Sirius,
I reckon I just imagined my scar hurting, I was half asleep when I wrote to you last time. There's no point coming back, everything's fine here. Don't worry about me, my head feels completely normal.
Hailey
After that, she left through the door, and walked through the silent castle. Halfway through the fourth-floor corridor, she was held up by Peeves, who tried to overturn a large vase on her. She finally arrived at the Owlery, which was right at the top of the West Tower.
The Owlery was a circular stone room, which was cold and drafty inside because the windows didn't have any glass in them. The floor was covered in straw, owl droppings, and regurgitated skeletons of mice and voles. There was hundreds upon hundreds of owls of every breed imaginable, which were nestled on perches that rose right up to the top of the tower. Nearly all of the owls were asleep, though there was some owls that just glared at her.
Hailey spotted Hedwig sleeping in between a barn owl and a tawny. She hurried over to her, slipping a little on the dropping-strewn floor and it took a while to wake up Hedwig and to get the owl to look at her. Hedwig kept shuffling around on her perch, showing Hailey her tail to show that she was furious about Hailey's lack of gratitude the previous night.
"All right, you're tired, so I guess I should ask Ron if I can borrow Pig to send this letter," Hailey said. Hedwig stuck out her leg to allow Hailey to tie the letter to it. "Just find him, all right?" She stroked Hedwig's back as she carried the owl to one of the holes in the wall, "Before the dementors do."
Hedwig nipped Hailey's fingers, a little harder than she probably meant to, but Hedwig hooted softly, as if reassuring her. Hedwig spread her wings and took off into the sunrise.
There was a sort of scuffling noise behind her. Hailey grabbed her wand and turned around to see Michael standing in the doorway. Hailey relaxed a little, "Sorry, am I in your way?" She stepped to the side to let him through.
"No, I already sent my letter yesterday," Michael said, crossing his arms. "Let me guess, was your letter talking about how you made up your scar hurting and telling him not to return?"
Hailey crossed her arms, "Maybe."
"You lied," Michael pointed out.
"So what?" Hailey snapped at him in frustration. "I'm not letting him go to Azkaban or get his soul sucked out be dementors because of me. Let me guess. Was your letter telling Sirius not to believe what I told him?"
"At least it was the truth. Besides, he remained hidden for a year last year," Michael pointed out. "He was instantly out of the castle when he scared Ron, that one night, remember? He turns into a dog and dementors can't detect animals, so he'll be fine."
Hailey knew that he had a point, but she still couldn't help but worry for her godfather, through the next couple of weeks.
The next couple of weeks were interesting.
Hermione had told Mandy, Hailey, and Michael about S.P.E.W. which stood for, Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare. It was a movement that Hermione made up. She even made fifty buttons that were different colours, which were in a box, and it was two Sickles to join. She even had a tin for collecting money. The proceeds would go to leaflet campaign. If Mandy, Hailey, Ron, and Michael joined, they would have five members. Hermione had told them that Ron was going to be the treasurer, Hailey was the secretary, Mandy was going to be the vice-president of S.P.E.W., and Michael was the administrative assistant. Hailey wasn't sure how to even respond to the roles they were given.
They paid two Sickles for a S.P.E.W. badge, but they done it to keep her quiet. However, that just made Hermione more determined, and she badgered them to wear the badges and then she told them to try persuading others to do the same. Ron had told the Ravenclaws that Hermione had taken to rattling around the Gryffindor common room every evening, cornering people, and shaking the collecting tin under their noses. Some, like Neville, paid to stop Hermione from glowering at them. A few Gryffindors seemed mildly interested in what Hermione had to say, but were reluctant to take a more active role in campaigning and many of them thought it was a joke.
Hermione had even tried talking the three Ravenclaws into doing the same thing in the Ravenclaw common room. The only one that had even joined was Luna who didn't seem to care that she was wearing a badge that said S.P.E.W. on it. Luna tried talking to Colton about joining, but he didn't want to wear a badge that said S.P.E.W. on it.
Meanwhile, the lessons were becoming more difficult and demanding than ever before, even more so in Moody's Defense Against the Dark Arts class.
One day, Professor Moody had announced that he would be putting the Imperius Cure on each of them in turn, to demonstrate its power and to see whether they could resist its effects.
"I thought it was illegal," Stephen Cornfoot said, as Professor Moody cleared the desks away with a sweep of his wand, leaving a large clear space in the middle of the room.
"Dumbledore wants you taught what it feels like," said Moody, his magical eye swiveling to Stephen, fixing him with an eerie, unblinking stare. "Dumbledore wants you taught what it feels like. If you'd rather learn the hard way—when someone's putting it on you so they can control you completely—fine by me. You're excused. Off you go."
"I never said anything about leaving," Stephen grumbled.
Moody began to beckon students forward one-by-one and put the Imperius Curse upon them. Hailey watched as Mandy was forced to sing opera, while doing one push-up, then on jumping-jack, and back to a push-up, repeatedly. Stephen was forced to waltz around the room with an invisible partner before doing a very complicated looking dance routine. Michael was forced to do a series of ballet routines, although near the end it, it seemed like he was beginning to fight it, before Moody removed him from the curse.
"Potter, you next," Moody growled. Hailey walked forward into the middle of the classroom, right into the space that Moody had cleared of desks. Moody raised his wand, pointed it at Hailey, saying, "Imperio."
Hailey felt a floating sensation as every thought and worry seemed to vanish, leaving nothing but a strange vague, untraceable happiness. She was feeling relaxed, only faintly aware of people watching her.
Jump onto the desk…jump onto the desk, Moody's voice said, echoing in her head.
She got ready to jump on the desk.
Jump onto the desk…
Why though? another voice questioned, seemingly appearing in the back of her mind. It said, stupid thing to do, really.
Jump onto the desk…
No, I don't think I will, thanks, said the other voice. It sounded more firm as it said, No, I don't really want to…
Jump! Now!
Hailey came too holding her head, because she had both jumped and tried to stop herself from jumping. The result was her smashing headlong right into the desk, knocking it over, and by the feeling in her legs, she had fractured both of her kneecaps.
"Now that's more like it!" growled Moody's voice, and then Hailey felt the empty, echoing feeling in her head disappear. She remembered what was happening and the pain in her knees seemed to double. "Look at that, you loot…Potter fought! She fought it, and she damn near beat it! We'll try that again, Potter, and the rest of you, pay attention—watch her eyes, that's where you see it—very good, Potter, very good indeed! They'll have trouble controlling you!"
After the lesson an hour later, Hailey hobbled out of the class, "The way he talks…" She had been cursed four times, which got to the point that she threw the curse off entirely. "You'd think we were all going to be attacked any second."
"Yeah, talk about paranoid." Mandy said, looking over her shoulder to make sure that Moody was out of earshot.
They had a noticeable increase of amount of work they were required to do. Apparently it was supposed to prepare them for O.W.L.s next year, because Hermione was the only one that has managed to turn her hedgehog into a pincushion.
Professor Trelawney had given Mandy, Hailey, and Ron top marks for their homework in Divination. She read out large portions of their predictions, commending them for their unflinching acceptance of the horrors that were in store for them—but when she asked them to do the same thing for the month after next, they were less amused by that.
Meanwhile Professor Binns, the ghost who taught History of Magic, had them writing essays on the goblin rebellions of the eighteenth century. Professor Snape was forcing them to research antidotes. They took that one seriously as he hinted that he might be poisoning one of them before Christmas to see if their antidote worked. Professor Flitwick had asked them to read three extra books in preparation for their lesson on Summoning Charms.
Even Hagrid added to their workload. The Blast-Ended Skrewts were growing at a remarkably pace despite the fact that nobody had yet discovered what they ate. Hagrid was delighted, and as part of their "project," suggested that they come down to his hut on alternate evenings to observe the skrewts and make notes on their extraordinary behaviour.
"I will not," said Draco Malfoy flatly when Hagrid had proposed this with the air of Father Christmas pulling an extra-large toy out of his sack. "I see enough of these foul things during lessons, thanks."
Hagrid had stopped smiling and growled, "Yeh'll do wha' yer told, or I'll be takin' a leaf outta Professor Moody's books…I hear yeh made a good ferret, Malfoy."
The Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs roared with laughter. Malfoy flushed with anger, but apparently the memory of Moody's punishment was still sufficiently painful to stop him from retorting.
With that, they returned to the castle at the end of the lesson in high spirits because seeing Hagrid put down Malfoy was satisfying. It was especially satisfying because last year, he had tried his hardest to get Hagrid sacked.
When they got to the entrance hall, they found themselves unable to get through, because of the large crowd that was congregated around a large sign that had been put at the front of the marble staircase. Ron, who was the tallest of them all, stood on the tips of his toes to see over the heads in front of them and read the sign aloud to the other four:
TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT
The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving at 6 o'clock on Friday the 30th of October. Lessons will end half an hour early—
"Brilliant!" said Hailey. "We have Potions last thing on Friday! Snape won't have time to poison us all!" She was excited on not getting poisoned by her least favourite teacher.
Students will return their bags and books to their dormitories and assemble in front of the castle to greet our guests before the welcoming fast.
"Only a week away!" Ernie Macmillan from Hufflepuff said, emerging from the crowd. "I wonder if Cedric knows. Think I'll go and tell him…" He hurried off.
"Cedric?" said Ron.
"Diggory," said Hailey. "He must be entering the tournament."
"That idiot, Hogwarts champion?" said Ron as they pushed their way through the crowd.
"He's not an idiot. You just don't like him because he beat Ravenclaw at Quidditch," said Hermione. "I've heard he's a really good student—and he's a prefect." She sounded as if what she said settled the matter.
"You only like him because he's handsome," said Ron scathingly.
"Excuse me?" Hermione replied indignantly, "I don't like people just because they're handsome."
Ron gave a loud false cough that sounded suspiciously like, "Lockhart!"
For the rest of the week, it seemed like the only topic of conversation, no matter where Hailey went, was stuck on the Triwizard Tournament. Rumours were about who was going to try to be Hogwarts champion, what the tournament would involve, how the students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang differed from Hogwarts.
Luna was expecting the champions to battle a twenty foot obscure animal and Colton was thinking that the champions had to get through mad hippogriffs. Eva was betting three Galleons on the champions battling dragons just to get an object, which would describe the second task. However, everyone thought Eva's idea was absurd and disregarded it completely, but some still placed bets on it anyway, because it couldn't possibly happen.
Hailey noticed that the castle seemed to be going through a very heavy-duty cleaning. Several grimy portraits had been scrubbed, much to the displeasure of their subjects, because they were huddling in their frames wincing when they felt their raw pink faces and were muttering darkly. Hailey noticed that the suits of armour were polished to a gleam and didn't squeak when they moved. Argus Filch, the caretaker, was being so ferocious to any students who forget to wipe their shoes, he terrified a pair of first-year girls into being hysterical.
The other staff members seemed to be very tense too.
Ron had told Hailey that Professor McGonagall said to Neville, "Longbottom, kindly do not reveal that you can't even perform a simple Switching Spell in front of anyone from Durmstrang?" after Neville accidentally transplanted his own ears onto a cactus.
When they went down to breakfast on the thirtieth of October, it looked like the Great Hall had been decorated overnight. There were enormous silk banners hanging from the walls, each representing a Hogwarts House. There was one that was red with a gold lion for Gryffindor, blue with a bronze eagle for Ravenclaw, yellow with a black badger for Hufflepuff, and green with a silver serpent for Slytherin. Behind the teachers' table, the largest banner of all bored the Hogwarts coat of arms: lion, eagle, badger, and snake united with a large letter H.
Hailey, Mandy, and Michael had to separate from Ron and Hermione as they went to the Ravenclaw table.
"I tried asking Flitwick how the champions are chosen, but he just smiled at me and told me to focus on my Charms," Stewart Ackerly said to Emma Dobbs.
"I wonder who the judges are," Emma said.
"The Heads of the participating schools are always on the panel," Hailey explained. "All three of them were injured during the Tournament of 1792."
Emma looked disbelieving, "How?"
"A cockatrice the champions were supposed to catch went on a rampage and attacked them," Hailey said.
"How do you know that?" Stewart accused.
"It was in Triwizard Tragedies," Hailey said. "I read it last year." She tried to find the book again, but it seemed that a Ravenclaw had taken the book to see what the tasks might be, but the tasks were changed every five years.
"I think I read something like that. It was in Hogwarts, A History," Emma said thoughtfully. She looked up at the ceiling which was flooding them in autumn sunlight. "So, what do you think of Eva Sinclair's idea that dragons are coming to Hogwarts?" She giggled.
"Kind of rubbish if you ask me," Stewart said, snickering.
Michael looked a little insulted and he looked like he was going to say something, but Hedwig fluttered down onto Hailey's shoulder and held out leg, wearily. She was probably thinking that Hailey might snap at her again.
Hailey pulled off Sirius's reply and offered Hedwig her bacon rinds, which she ate gratefully. Michael had gave Hedwig some crust to his toast.
Emma and Stewart seemed to have lost interest in the fourth years, and went back to conversing with each other.
Hailey read the letter,
Nice try, Hailey.
I'm back in the country and well hidden. I want you to keep me posted on everything that's going on at Hogwarts. Don't use Hedwig, keep changing owls, and don't worry about me, just watch out for yourself. Don't forget what I said about your scar.
Sirius
Hailey passed it to Michael and Mandy to read.
"Smart on changing owls," Mandy said, "A snowy owl returning to where he's hiding repeatedly? That'll be highly suspicious."
Hailey was busy wondering if she was feeling more or less worried than before. She knew that Sirius managing to get back without being caught was something. She couldn't deny either that the idea that Sirius was much nearer was reassuring; and that at least she didn't have to wait so long for a response every time she wrote. She stroked Hedwig, "Thanks, Hedwig." Hedwig hooted sleepily, dipped her beak briefly into Michael's goblet of orange juice, then took off again, clearly desperate to get a long sleep in the Owlery.
For the rest of the day, Hailey couldn't help but feel eager to see the arrival of the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students. She was trying to pay in her lessons, but can't help but have her mind wander to Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. Potions were more bearable because it was an half an hour shorter. When the bell rang early, Hailey, Mandy, and Michael hurried up to Ravenclaw Tower, deposited their bags and books as they had been instructed, pulled on their cloaks, and rushed back downstairs into the entrance hall.
Professor Flitwick was ordering the Ravenclaws into lines. He said, "Miss Potter, fully tie your boots," Hailey knelt down to retie them. "Mr Taylor, please straighten that kilt."
"Weasley, straighten your hat," Hailey heard Professor McGonagall snap. "Miss Patil, take that ridiculous thing out of your hair."
Hailey looked over to see Parvati remove a large ornamental butterfly from the end of her plait. She looked to see that Padma had the same thing attached to the end of her plait as well. She looked to see that Luna still had her S.P.E.W. badge pinned to her robes
After they were deemed presentable, Flitwick said, "First years in front, no pushing. Now follow me."
They filed down the steps and lined in front of the castle. It was a cold, clear evening; dusk was falling and a pale, transparent-looking moon was already shining over the Forbidden Forest. Hailey was standing in between of Michael and Mandy in the fourth row from the front, saw Dennis Creevey shivering.
"Nearly six," said Ron from the other side of Mandy. "How d'you reckon they're coming? The train?"
"I doubt it," said Hermione standing next to Ron.
"How, then?" asked Hailey. She knew that broomsticks wouldn't be an option, because it would be too far to fly from France or at least, somewhere in that general area. Considering that they were going to stay at Hogwarts, they would need trunks, too…
"A Portkey?" suggested Ron.
"Maybe," said Mandy. "That seems reasonable. I wonder what the Portkey would be."
Hailey looked around the darkening grounds, noticing that nothing was moving. Everything was still, silent, and nothing looked out of place. Hailey was starting to feel cold and wished that they would hurry up. Maybe they were preparing for a dramatic entrance, probably a display of magic, like birds coming from their robes or something.
"Aha! Unless I am very much mistaken, the delegation from Beauxbatons approaches!" Dumbledore called out from the back row, where he stood with the other teachers.
"Where?" said many students eagerly, looking in different directions.
"There!" yelled a sixth year.
Something large was flying right across the dark blue sky, hurtling towards the castle, growing larger as it approached.
"It's a dragon!" Emma Dobbs shrieked.
"Don't be stupid…it's a flying house!" said Dennis Creevey.
Dennis was actually close. The gigantic black shape brushed over the tops of the trees from the Forbidden Forest and when the lights from the castle windows hit it, Hailey saw that it was a gigantic powder-blue, horse-drawn carriage, that was the size of a large house. The carriage was being pulled by a dozen palominos, winged-horses, that was the size of elephants.
The three front rows of students stepped back as the carriage hurtled lower, coming in to land at a tremendous speed—with an almighty crash that made Neville jump backward onto a Slytherin fifth year's foot, the horses' hooves, larger than dinner plates, hit the ground. The carriage landed too, bouncing upon its vast wheels, while the golden horses toss their enormous heads and rolled large, fiery red eyes.
Hailey noticed that the door of the carriage bore a coat of arms which consisted of two crossed, golden wands, each emitting three stars.
The door opened and a boy in pale blue robes jumped down from the carriage. He bent forward and fumbled with something on the carriage floor, making a set of golden steps unfold. The boy jump back and a high-heeled black shoe the size of a child's sled emerged from the inside of the carriage. It was followed by the largest woman Hailey had ever seen in her life and a few people gasped.
"She's taller than Hagrid," Michael whispered to Hailey, who nodded in agreement.
The woman was now at the foot of the golden steps and was looking at the waiting, wide-eyed crowd. She looked unnaturally large and when she stepped in the light, she had a handsome, olive-skinned face; large, black, liquid-looking eyes, and a rather beaky nose. Her hair was drawn back in a shining knob at the base of her neck. She was dressed from head to foot in black satin, and many magnificent opals gleamed at her throat and on her thick fingers.
Dumbledore started to clap and the students followed his lead, broke into applause. Many of the students stood on the tips of their toes to get a better look at the woman.
The woman's face relaxed into a gracious smile and walked forward to Dumbledore, extending a glittering hand.
Dumbledore, tall himself, had to barely bend to kiss it, "My dear Madam Maxime. Welcome to Hogwarts."
"Dumbly-dorr," said Madame Maxime in a deep voice, "I 'ope I find you well?"
"In excellent form, I thank you," said Dumbledore.
"My pupils," said Madame Maxime, waving one of her enormous hands carelessly behind her.
Hailey, who was focusing completely on Madame Maxime, noticed that about a dozen boys and girls, all in their late teens, emerged from the carriage and standing behind Madame Maxime.
The teens were shivering, unsurprisingly, because their robes looked like they were made out of fine silk and none of them were wearing cloaks. A few had wrapped scarves and shawls around their heads and from what Hailey could see, which was difficult because they were standing in Madame Maxime's enormous shadow, they were staring up at Hogwarts apprehensively.
"'As Karkaroff arrived yet?" Madam Maxime asked.
"He should be here any moment," said Dumbledore. "Would you like to wait here and greet him or would you prefer to step inside and warm up a trifle?"
"Warm up, I think," said Madam Maxime. "But ze 'orses—"
"Our Care of Magical Creatures teacher will be delighted to take care of them," said Dumbledore, "the moment he has returned from dealing with a slight situation that has arisen with some of his other—er—charges."
Hailey had a feeling that it had something to do with the Blast-Ended Skrewts.
"My steeds require—er—forceful 'andling," said Madame Maxime, looking doubtful. "'Zey are very strong…"
"I assure you that Hagrid will be well up to the job," said Dumbledore, smiling.
"Very well," said Madame Maxime, bowing slightly back. "Will you please inform zis 'Agrid zat ze 'orses drink only single-malt whiskey?"
"Did she say that the horses drink whiskey?" Michael asked sounding incredulous.
"No, they drink single-malt whiskey. I think there's a difference," Mandy said.
"Come," said Madame Maxime to her students and the Hogwarts crowd parted to allow her and her students to pass up the stone steps.
"I wonder what was up with the skrewts," Mandy said. "Did they attack Hagrid?"
"Maybe they've escaped," said Ron.
"Oh, don't say that," said Hermione, "Imagine that lot loose of the grounds…"
They stood there, shivering slightly now, waiting for the Durmstrang party to arrive. Hailey looked up at the sky, wondering if the Durmstrang party was arriving by air. No one said anything and the only sound was the snorting and stomping from the horses.
"What is that sound?" Mandy asked.
Hailey wasn't sure what she was talking about and then heard a strange muffled rumbled and sucking sound, as if an immense vacuum cleaner was moving along a riverbed.
"The lake!" yelled Lee Jordan. "Look at the lake!"
They looked over. Where they were standing at the top of the lawns overlooking the grounds, they had a clear view of the smooth black surface of the water. Although the water wasn't smooth, great bubbles were forming on the surface, waves were now washing over the muddy banks—and then, out in the very middle of the lake, a whirlpool appeared, as if a giant plug had just been pulled out of the lake's floor. A long, black pole began to rise slowly out of the heart of the whirlpool…and Hailey noticed the rigging…
"It's a ship!" Hailey pointed out to her friends.
The ship rose out of the water, gleaming in the moonlight as the water rushed off. The ship had a strange skeletal look about it, as if it was a resurrected wreck, and the dim, misty lights shimmering at its portholes looked like it was ghostly eyes. Finally, with a great sloshing noise, the ship emerged entirely, bobbing on the turbulent water. It began to glide towards the bank and then there was a splash of an anchor being thrown down in the shallows. There was a thud as a plank was lowered right onto the bank.
People started disembarking; they could see their silhouettes passing the lights in the ship's portholes. The students looked like they were built like Crabbe and Goyle…but noticed that their bulkiness was due to the fact that they were wearing shaggy, matted fur cloaks. The man who was leading them up to the castle was wearing furs that matched his hair; sleek and silver.
"Dumbledore!" the man called heartily, as he walked up the slope. "How are you, my dear fellow, how are you?" He had a fruity, oily voice.
"Blooming, thank you, Professor Karkaroff," Dumbledore replied.
Karkaroff stepped into the light pouring from the front doors of the castle, to reveal that he was tall and thin like Dumbledore. His white was short, and his goatee, which ended in a small curl, didn't hide his rather weak chin. When Karkaroff reached Dumbledore, he shook Dumbledore's hands with both of his own.
"Dear old Hogwarts," Karkaroff said, looking up at the castle and smiling. His teeth were yellow, and Hailey noticed that his smile didn't extend to his eyes, which remained cold and shrewd. "How good it is to be here, how good…Viktor, come along, into the warmth…you don't mind, Dumbledore? Viktor has a slight head cold…"
Karkaroff beckoned forward one of his students. When the boy walked passed, Hailey noticed a prominent curved nose and thick black eyes. Ron reached around Mandy and punched Hailey on the arm.
Hailey didn't need Ron hissing at her to know who it was.
"It's Krum!"
