AN: This chapter's a bit lighter since the last one was kind of a downer. Sorry about that. Thanks to the followers, the favorites, and the blizzard that enabled me to stay home and finish this chapter. Special thanks to reviewers IWantColoredRain, TroyWeb, Kronus96, MuggleCreator, Hayden-Strife, Ari989, ElsaElphieGinny, ILoveGeorgeEads, madnessdownunder2, Iwa Shinju, ParadoxVictor, urs-v, ultima-owner, Tellur, elmoryakhan, envysparkler, Guest, Macademia, Fibinaci, and May a Chance.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise.

It was September 5th, and, as was tradition, the first staff meeting of the school year was about to begin at Hogwarts. Minerva McGonagall refused to crack. It didn't matter that Crouch and Bagman had teamed up to strong arm her into holding the Triwizard Tournament. It didn't matter that she had to organize accommodations for the visiting schools, or that she needed to make Hogwarts look as impressive as possible to these outsiders. It certainly didn't matter that she had an incredibly irresponsible Defense teacher.

On some level, she understood the Ministry's worries. Albus' name had carried a heavy amount of weight. The man was respected in many magical communities throughout Europe. Dumbledore was synonymous with power and safety. Minerva wasn't nearly so well-known, and she had a lot to make up for in a short amount of time. For Hogwarts to fail in hosting the tournament would be an international embarrassment. Britain would be looked down upon for years! Sadly, ensuring things went off without a hitch was a bit more complicated than she had been led to believe.

"Are we all here?" She asked Aurora tiredly.

"We better be," Moody's gruff voice answered her. "I don't have the time to check out any more staff members. I've got enough to worry about as is." His magical eye swiveled around to watch Severus, who sneered back.

"We're all here," Aurora confirmed. "Unfortunately," She added in an undertone.

Minerva nodded. "I'd like to start this meeting a bit differently due to—Argus, I know I asked you to stop bringing Mrs. Norris to meetings." The cat meowed balefully and jumped down from Argus' lap.

"She's not hurtin' anythin'," He protested.

"Likely story," Moody growled. His eye moved from Severus to Mrs. Norris and back again. "For all we know, that cat's an unregistered Animagus trying to figure out the castle's secrets and bring us down from within."

Minerva sighed as Charity shrank back. "No matter who or what the cat is, I don't want it in the meetings anymore. It's unprofessional and unhygienic. Either leave her in the hallway or stop coming to the meetings." She rubbed her temples and started to regret inviting him to these things. Albus had usually let him beg off, but Minerva had wanted to include him. Thankfully, he gently gathered up the cat into his arms and pushed her out of the room.

"I'll be back soon, dearest," He cooed. Moody's eye shot over to the closed door and stayed there.

"The Triwizard Tournament represents a huge opportunity for Hogwarts." She poured herself a cup of tea while surveying the staff. Once she'd gained their attention, she continued. "We need to prove that Hogwarts is more than capable of entertaining and satisfying visitors. While the two schools are here, I don't wish to hear of any behavior that could reflect negatively on their experience. There will be no staff disputes, no poorly handled incidents, and absolutely no…oddities."

"Oddities?" Filius squeaked from atop several large tombs.

Augusta was affronted. "Hogwarts is a perfectly normal, upstanding institute of learning." Her vulture hat drooped forward slightly as she spoke.

Minerva carefully considered her next words. "I know it feels this way to us, but it has been pointed out that Hogwarts is not the usual school of magic." She didn't have to wait long for the backlash.

"Rubbish!" Hagrid roared. His chair had been specially made to fit him and carry his weight. "Why, we're a great school! Jus' look at us!"

Sybil's hands clutched at a bottle that smelled strongly of sherry. "Perhaps these others don't understand that this environment is conducive to developing one's Inner Eye."

The only one who seemed to understand Minerva's dilemma was Andromeda, who shared with her a panicked look. How was the Hogwarts staff ever going to pass for normal? Perhaps if Albus were still Headmaster, things would be different. Half the magical world knew he was rather mad. Was it any surprise that his taste in teachers was so colorful? But Minerva had gained a reputation for being a no-nonsense sort of Head, and it was nearly impossible to keep that image up when one had a half-giant, a part-goblin, a phony Seer, and countless other eccentrics in one place.

"But, Minerva, what should we do?" Charity's voice cut through the other concerns, and Minerva found herself the center of attention once more.

"Well." She paused. How to put this gently…. "You might start by no longer wearing muggle clothing around the castle."

Charity looked down at her sundress and jeans combo self-consciously. Maybe she should've grabbed that feather boa after all? "Oh."

"And, Aurora, you could wear something less…reflective." Her robes were decorated with shiny, silver stars that blinded anyone who looked straight at her. "Hagrid, you might want to lay off the alcohol for the near future. You as well, Sybil." Hagrid blushed. Sybil emptied her sherry into a nearby plant.

Minerva was on a roll now. "Argus, stop taking Mrs. Norris with you during patrols. Pomona, try to keep one set of robes dirt-free for meals. Augusta, don't take your hat out of your quarters. Severus, find robes that don't billow so—ominously. And Alastor…try not to voice so many of your theories in front of others." Feeling slightly more optimistic, she leaned back in her chair and composed a mental list of things to change around the castle.

The suits of arm need to stop laughing. Portraits must stop teaching students such unsuitable language. And she'd have to talk with the Bloody Baron about Peeves…Hogwarts was in for a big surprise.

"So just act calm, and he might actually speak to us," Ginny finished, beaming proudly. Dennis could hardly hear what she was saying over the sound of his erratic heartbeat. Something about Ginny was making him feel strange, but he didn't entirely dislike it. He was rather glad she and Colin were friends, as it gave him an excuse to tag along on their adventures.

Dennis had been surprised to find out that his brother was wildly popular with the younger years at Hogwarts. That probably sounded bad, but that wasn't how he meant it. In primary school, Colin had often played alone. The other kids were wary of his unexplained magical outbursts, and his early fascination with photography didn't help. Colin had often written home about Ginny, Demelza, and Luna, though he'd neglected to mention a few key details. Luna said and did the oddest things, even for a witch. Demelza was deeply skeptical of practically everything and prone to making snap judgments about people. And Ginny…Dennis sighed inwardly. Ginny was the most perfect girl he had ever met.

"I hope this doesn't take too long," Demelza muttered, tapping her foot. "I wanted to get a jump start on my Defense homework."

Ginny frowned. "I don't understand why you like his class so much, Demi. He's awfully…" She glanced over her shoulder. "…you know."

"Hmph." Demelza crossed her arms and began to glare at her friend. Moody was quickly becoming Demelza's favorite teacher, a thought which terrified Dennis to no end. "Colin, what do you think of him?"

"He wouldn't let me bring my camera in with me," His brother said mulishly.

"And he was right to do so! Especially after what I heard happened at the World Cup." Demelza heaved a large book out of her bag and let it flop on a table. "Who knows what you were planning on doing with it?"

Since no one seemed to remember he was there, he decided to offer his opinion. "I agree with Ginny," He piped up. He could feel his cheeks warm as all three turned to face him.

"What a surprise," Demelza snapped sourly.

Colin raised an eyebrow and pretended nothing had happened, continuing their earlier conversation. "It's a camera," He pointed out. "What do people normally do with those?"

She huffed and swept her bangs out of her face. "Your camera doesn't even work, so how can you take pictures? Moody didn't want it in there for our safety."

Colin's shoulders slumped. "I just don't understand. It was working perfectly fine before we got to Hogwarts." Dennis tentatively patted his brother on the arm.

"Must be the magic in the air," Ginny mentioned offhandedly.

"What do you mean?" Demelza twisted her ponytail around with her hand, staring longingly at the book.

"Well, magic and elktrissy don't work properly around each other, do they? Dad had to do some sort of spell to keep the magic at home from interfering with his spark plug collection." Ginny shrugged and shot a furtive glance over at the fireplace, where a small group of fourth years were whispering back and forth.

"And you didn't think to tell me this a week ago?" Colin hissed. He dragged a hand down over his face and snatched up his bag. "Come on, Dennis, let's go find someone who knows that spell." Dennis didn't think Colin was being fair to Ginny. So what if she had forgotten to mention it? She had been pretty upset lately, and she was concerned for her brothers. She spent nearly every waking moment either trying to figure out Ron and the twins or coordinating the club's schedules so everyone could make it to the first meeting of the year.

Demelza grinned. "Excellent! I still need to decide what magical creature I think is the darkest." She dove for a quill and parchment only to be stopped by Ginny slamming her hand down on the table.

"No. You two will stay right here and become friends with Harry Potter or I'll start looking for a new secretary and vice president. I know for a fact Baddock's awfully interested in rising up in the ranks." She dangled the threat above their heads, watching gleefully as they fell for it.

"You wouldn't dare." Demelza narrowed her eyes and Colin nodded in agreement.

"Try me," Ginny challenged.

Demelza sped over to the boys sitting in front of the fire with Colin hot on her heels. Dennis hurried to catch up, glowering at Ginny's adoration of Harry Potter. True, he found Harry Potter amazing as well. He had defeated You-Know-Who when he was only a year old, and Colin's letters home had detailed some of his other adventures while at school. But it would've been nice if Ginny looked at him with even a fraction of the admiration she showed for Harry Potter. Maybe if I defeat a Dark Lord, Dennis reflected hopefully.

"Hello." Ginny spoke first. She was perhaps half a step further forward than the others. Demelza was on her right and Colin was on her left, with Dennis shoved next to his brother. He alternated between fantasizing about his great defeat of a dark lord and scowling about Harry Potter.

"Er, hi." A boy Colin had pointed out as Seamus Finnigan replied. "If you're looking for Ron, we don't know where he is. He wandered off after breakfast, said he wanted to be alone. He didn't even show up to lunch." Finnigan's legs were hanging off the end of the couch, but his body was twisted so that his head rested against the back of the couch. He frowned slightly when he mentioned Ron, and Dennis caught Harry Potter's grim looks. "He's been a bit weird lately, to tell you the truth."

Ginny shifted, thrown off course by the sudden mention of her brother. "Um…yeah! I was wondering if any of you knew what was going on with him," She improvised quickly. Demelza's eyes widened minutely before she schooled her expression back into a politely inquiring mask.

Another boy, whose name Dennis didn't know, let his face fall. "We were hoping you would know, actually. He's been avoiding us all week. We thought maybe something had happened over the summer that he didn't want to talk about." The boy had a large sketch pad on his lap, and Dennis craned his neck around to see what he was drawing. He felt his stomach lurch as he realized it was a pencil sketch of the Dark Mark. The boy had been the one his brother had been talking about giving pictures to, he realized. Thomas? Was that it?

"He doesn't say much," Harry Potter confided. "He goes to meals and classes and sits with us, but he doesn't really talk. He went straight to sleep the first night here, and that never happens." Dennis tried to catch sight of the famous scar, but Harry Potter had his untidy hair arranged so that his forehead was covered. Dennis felt a small stab of disappointment before shrugging it off. He'd get another chance to see it, he was sure.

Ginny shuffled her feet anxiously. "He's alright though, isn't he?" The fact that Harry Potter was sitting right in front of her and talking to her was swept aside by concern for her brother.

"Well, Neville said—" Thomas turned to the last boy. "Tell her what you heard, Neville."

"Yeah, go on," Finnigan urged, bumping Neville's shoulder with his own.

"Uh, well," The boy named Neville tripped over his words for a minute before straightening up and whispering. "Hermione was telling us to get a head start on our Transfiguration homework—she does that sometimes, I mean—and Ron said…he said that it didn't really matter how he did on it, because someone else would do better. I—I wasn't supposed to hear that, I don't think." Neville flushed brightly and sank down on the couch before Harry Potter pulled him up slightly by the arm.

Ginny's very soul seemed to wilt at the news. "I knew something was wrong with him," She mumbled fiercely to Demelza and Colin. "Didn't I tell you?"

"How long has he been like this?" Finnigan asked, swinging his legs up so that they were over the top of the couch and his head was on the ground. "We noticed on the train, but if you saw it before then…"

Ginny considered this for a long moment. "I think it was right after the World Cup. Percy was moving out, and Mum was crying. As soon as we got home, she went up and apologized to the twins for yelling at them for their joke shop. Then she begged Percy not to leave home, but he did anyway. I think she felt guilty and thought we were in danger at the Cup. Anyway, Ron started staring out the window and walking through the orchard all the time. I tried to talk to him, but he told me to sod off."

"Maybe we should corner him and make him tell us." Finnigan struggled to sit back up before deciding to remain where he was. "That worked with you, Harry. 'Least, that's how Lee tells it."

Harry nodded thoughtfully. "That was second year. George called it an intervention, I think. I don't know—"

"Hello!" Professor Burbage called out as she strolled through the portrait hole.

If Dennis had to pick a favorite member of the staff at Hogwarts, Burbage would get it hands down. On the first day of classes at breakfast, she had gotten all the Gryffindor first years together and welcomed them to Hogwarts. She'd pointed out and named all of the Gryffindor prefects while lamenting that they didn't have a Gryffindor Head Girl or Head Boy. Then she'd cheerfully given them directions to their first class and her office, as well as invited them to come speak with her whenever they had an issue. After she'd taken care of the introductions, she sat down next to Dennis and asked him to explain how airplanes worked (admittedly, he wasn't an expert on the topic, but he'd known enough to satisfy her). Now, Burbage was looking decidedly less happy.

Greetings could be heard throughout the common room. Burbage coming to see students was evidently a common occurrence. She was asked to sit with many different groups of students, though Seamus' loud "Oi! Back off, mates! C'mon over here, Professor!" managed to win her over. Dean vacated his squashy chair and offered it to her, which she accepted with a strained smile.

"Hello, Professor Burbage," Dennis squeaked out, waving.

She had to lean forward to see him behind Colin. "Oh, hello, Dennis. How was your first week?"

"It was great!" Dennis announced. He would've gone into more detail, but Colin cut him off.

"This is my brother, Dennis." He prodded Dennis forward and grinned proudly. Dennis struggled not to faint of embarrassment. The four boys all nodded curiously. "But Professor, I actually wanted to ask you about something. Ginny told me that there's a way to prevent my camera from getting messed up by the magic in the castle, and I was hoping that you knew the spell." He dug through his bag and held up his camera triumphantly.

"Oh. Yes, of course. That spell." She leaned back in the chair and sighed, eyes roving about listlessly. She had a heavy black robe thrown over her clothes, but Dennis could still see her jean-clad legs. Her brow was furrowed and her fingers tapped on the coffee table in front of her.

"Professor?" Neville began cautiously. "Is—is something wrong?"

"Hmm?" Burbage jerked in surprise. "Oh, I—yes, I suppose so. Only, may I ask you all a question?" She surged to her feet and shrugged off her outer robe. "Do I look…odd?" She held out her arms searchingly. Her jeans were paired with a canary yellow sundress, and Dennis tried not to say anything.

"Er," Thomas said diplomatically. "Most girls would just wear the dress, I think."

"Really? But…these trousers are so comfortable." She tugged at them unhappily.

"You could wear them with a shirt," Demelza suggested.

"Oh. Also, what is the proper occasion to wear a feather boa to?" She inquired.

"Do you—have one?" Harry Potter's eyebrows flew up. "No, wait, why are you asking? Did someone say something to you?"

"I just got out of a staff meeting, and the Headmistress mentioned that we should straighten up a bit in preparation for the tournament. The castle's supposed to be getting some kind of makeover—"

Neville paled dramatically and Thomas scooted around to crouch so he wouldn't be visible from the staircase. Finnigan shushed her loudly, but it was too late. The word makeover had triggered a reaction from Lavender Brown, and she tore down the steps to land right in front of Burbage. Dennis had only spoken to Brown once, and it had been an encounter he didn't wish to repeat. After telling her two friends that Dennis was "adorable" she had proceeded to inform him that his haircut was not particularly flattering. She'd then gone on to offer her services as a hairstylist, adding that she was quite gifted with a pair of scissors. Brown's friend with bushy hair had immediately dragged her away, while the other girl patted him gently on the head like a dog and apologized.

"Did I hear you say something about a makeover?" She leaned forward eagerly, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "…what are you wearing?"

Burbage blushed and smoothed out her dress. "Well, I wanted to try dressing like a muggle for a bit, but I don't think I succeeded."

Brown gave the Muggle Studies professor a pitying look. "Don't worry, I'll help you. Here, just sit down and I'll be right back." She guided Burbage back to her seat before dashing up the stairs. Burbage appeared shell-shocked for a brief moment, blinking rapidly.

Finnigan made a little moaning noise. "Now we'll never get her to stop."

Harry Potter had more important things on his mind, pushing his glasses back up. "Professor, what else is supposed to be changed for the tournament?"

Burbage tilted her head to the side, thinking. "Oh, lots of things. Most of it's stuff I never even considered before. For instance, did you know Professor Trelawney drinks sherry?"

Dennis saw Thomas blanch. "It…might've been hinted to us once or twice."

"That reminds me, I need to talk to the Fat Lady about her drinking problem. But never mind that. The Headmistress was given a stipend by the Ministry, it seems, and she's planning on putting it to good use. She's buying Professor Sprout a new set of robes—hers keep getting dirty due to her work in the greenhouses. And Mr. Filch will be getting several new sets—his other ones are quite old, you see. That's why they're not in the best of shape. Apparently, he's been spending his paycheck on little presents and things for Mrs. Norris."

Finnigan mulled this over. "That doesn't sound too bad. The new robes part, not…the other stuff," He finished lamely. The others gave a collective shudder.

"What's she doing about Moody, then?" Thomas wondered, flipping to a blank page in his sketch pad.

"There's not much she can do, is there? Professor Moody's a tad bit, er, stubborn, he's not one to take direction from others." Burbage lifted one shoulder. "Why, did something happen?"

"Besides the ferret incident?" Harry Potter grinned wildly. "Because that was brilliant."

Professor Burbage shook her head. "Professor Moody could've grievously injured poor Mr. Malfoy. It was the wrong sort of punishment, and I should think that all of you would be taking this more seriously," She rebuked them sternly. "One can only hope Mr. Malfoy has learned his lesson, but it was still an inappropriate reaction on Professor Moody's part. Has anything else happened?"

Finnigan finally righted himself on the couch. "In our first lesson with him, he, well, I dunno, he might've had permission, but he cast—"

"I'm here!" Brown declared. She was panting lightly, presumably from the heavy case she was carrying. "Sorry I took so long, it was a fright dragging this thing down the stairs." She promptly flung the black case down on the ground and unzipped it. Inside, Dennis could see several color swaths and little pictures of models in different hues. "I bought this at the end of the summer with my babysitting money. It'll be my portfolio someday," She explained, picking out a few different swaths and holding them up to Burbage's skin. "We'll figure out what colors look good on you, and then I'll cast a color changing charm on that dress of yours…it's a bit tricky, but I've been flipping through Achievements in Charming—"

"You've been reading a spell book for fun?" Finnigan laughed.

"What's so funny about that?" Brown bristled. Finnigan wisely kept quiet. "Anyway, it's really one of Hermione's books, and she let me borrow it. Can you imagine all the possibilities color changing charms open up? I've been practicing on some of my own clothes—older stuff, you know—and then I tried it on this scarf. It used to be pink." She stopped holding up swaths for a moment to show off her new blue scarf.

"Why are you wearing a scarf inside?" Ginny couldn't find the use for such a thing.

"Everyone's wearing them lately. They're the new fall accessory, didn't you know? I make sure to wear light ones so I don't start to sweat. I should look up a cooling charm. I'm sure Hermione has it in that book of hers." Brown seemed to realize she was in the middle of something and returned to rifling through her case.

Thomas was shaking his head in disbelief. "I never would've thought you would be trying to learn extra charms."

"What about Gran?" Neville said abruptly. "What does she need to do?"

Burbage jumped and glanced at him. "I believe Professor Longbottom has been asked to stop showing her hat around the castle."

"She doesn't wear it in class," Colin pointed out.

"She keeps it on a chair in her classroom." Demelza was not a fan of Professor Longbottom. Dennis had already been treated to two instances in which Demelza insulted the vulture hat that Professor Longbottom was so fond of.

Brown was concerned with something else. "That means she needs a new hat! I could make her one, I bet. If I bought one from a thrift shop and cleaned it up a bit…maybe a sticking charm to fix some flowers to it…"

"But does it really matter to Beauxbatons and Durmstrang what Hogwarts is like?" Harry Potter persisted.

"It's…" Burbage hesitated. "The political situation with the rest of Europe isn't good right now, Harry. The World Cup was supposed to smooth things over, but it just exacerbated the problem. Especially after how Minister Fudge treated the Bulgarian minister," She trailed off, wincing. "There've been some doubts about how capable British wizards and witches are. We're regarded very poorly, I'm afraid. Hogwarts is treated as a representation of Britain. If Hogwarts is weak, so is the rest of the country. Add in the fact that Professor McGonagall isn't as famous as Professor Dumbledore…"

"How're we supposed to explain Hagrid and Flitwick, then? We can't just clean them up. And I don't think Snape's planning on getting any better, either." Thomas rolled his shoulders and picked up a ballpoint pen to trace his pencil sketch.

"We're hoping to pass some of it off as British idiosyncrasies. The French will probably believe it, and everyone from Durmstrang's already convinced we're mad." Burbage studied her dress more closely, feeling the fabric under her fingertips. "If we're lucky, this will convince everyone that Hogwarts is strong."

"And if we're not?" Neville put forth.

Burbage didn't answer.

Reply to reviews are below

elmoryakhan: You have your PM function turned off, so I figured I'd respond here. Most of the pairings in LU aren't final (key word: most). That being said, a sequel is tentatively planned, and there will be pairings in that one. I wouldn't get too worked up over it now. The romance isn't a big focus in LU. Thanks for reviewing!

ElsaElphieGinny: I think Lavender would stick up for just about anyone if the other person was being insulted by Malfoy. Again, pairings aren't a huge deal in LU, so I wouldn't take anything too seriously. Mostly just some teenage crushes and such. And it's canon, with one n. I'm so glad to hear you like the outtakes! I've got a ton more somewhere, I just need to get around to putting them up. I try to keep the chapters a certain length, which is why most of them were cut. Thanks for reviewing!

Guest: Oh, thank you. Updates are hopefully going to be a little more frequent now. Thanks for reviewing!

Macademia: No need to be sorry, I would've figured it out eventually...maybe. Angelina's got a bit of a violent streak, yeah. I refuse to comment on the Cedric situation, in order to keep the suspense. Sorry to bring back bad memories, though. Your story about Fred was a little sad, to be honest. Since I'm not planning on writing HBP or DH, I'm not too sure about Sirius knowing about the Horcrux. We shall see. Percy, Penny, and Oliver are mostly behind the scenes, and they'll get mentioned occasionally. Maybe an outtake? *shrug* I miss them too, by the way. Thanks for reviewing!