AN: Someone complained that Skazzy's attitude is getting old. I will admit that her characterization is unsteady. I will try to fix that, to an extent. Basically my idea of Skazzy's story is that she's spiraling down, getting worse. It's occurred to me (a few books in now :/ ) that I might have been better off starting in her fourth year, and do the others as prequels if I ever felt like it. My bad. I'm still going to do all the books when I have free time, but I will work on having Skazzy go up before she crashes. Please feel free to drop me any other complaints, things you want to point out to me. I will not bite, and I appreciate the feedback. I can only get better when people tell me things. Thanks :)
I do not own Harry Potter, the idea he might have a sibling, or time. Apologies for the lateness of the chapter, but it set up a blockade to prevent me from finishing it.
Soon after first arriving at Sirius' house, Skazzy had fallen into a routine. She would be at her most social during the day, while spending most of the night in the library reading. The strange and cryptic warning that Genny had left her with was always on her mind, and fueled her determination to learn as much as she could. Unlike the first night, she was careful to place the books she read back where they belonged, making sure no one caught her with them.
Judging by the way Sirius talked about his family and their dark tendencies, Skazzy figured he would disapprove of her newest hobby. While Skazzy was almost sure that Harry wouldn't say anything to the adults about what she was reading, he would probably not be happy. Or worse, ask why she decided that she needed to study dark magic. He probably wouldn't appreciate the fact that she needed to know what she was up against in order to properly protect him. That, and conversations like that might accidentally lead to slipping up about Genny.
Genny was a problem in and of herself. She had not been back since that day, for which Skazzy was grateful. However, Genny's knowledge of the future was concerning, and Skazzy's mind kept wandering back to the night at the Shrieking Shack and the strange thing that happened to Macnair. It didn't happen and then it did. She did not remember seeing Macnair in a bed before they went back in time, but no one else noticed it as being strange. Hermione had rationalized that by acting and doing what they did, they had upheld a time loop, that when they went back, everyone was where they needed to be to insure that everything happened as it was suppose to. If Harry hadn't gone back in time, there would be a lack of souls in bodies, but he couldn't have gone back in time to save himself if he hadn't been saved by himself.
Well, ok. Hermione had used more technical terms, and used a few movies and books as examples and Skazzy had stopped listening after the first diagram was drawn. As was pointed out by Ron, who wanted to play chess at the time, clearly they needed to do what they did because it had already happened, backed up by the fact that nothing changed. For them.
But that didn't explain Macnair. It didn't answer her questions only gave her more, and Skazzy knew that Genny was holding something back. Something big. Important. And most assuredly pertaining to her brother and the dangers he might have to face. Was Genny some kind of magical being? A magical being able to jump from one time to another? Did those even exist?
Skazzy vaguely recalled that there was someone Amity was friends with who talked of strange creatures. That person might know. Or have an idea of where to find out. Skazzy growled in frustration, running her hands through her hair. Three mysteries. Three mysteries that may or may not overlap: Genny, Macnair and the danger for Harry. She wanted answers, and she wanted them last week. But despite every book in the Black library, she found no mention what so ever of Genny, or anyone changing time, or why she would remember and not everyone else with her.
She resisted the urge to throw her current book into a wall, knowing that would bring people running, and she really didn't need a lecture about books that are inappropriate for younger witches. But absolutely nothing in the books were useful. Ever. Plenty of dark rituals and curses and details about lost magical treasure, but nothing on time, beings that appear and disappear as they please and know everything, or what could possibly be after Harry.
All she had was the knowledge there would be a tournament during school, and some kind of cup that needed to be watched. It was not for the house cup, or the quidditch cup since those were not extremely dangerous, unless your brother is a mad man. Exploding gobstones? Wizard chess?
Skazzy felt as if she was falling behind. She needed to be one step ahead of those who would hurt Harry, and she couldn't do that with cryptic clues she needed to decipher. This was making her stressed since now she had time to prepare and if anything goes bad, well, it's on her head. She had the heads up warning, she should be able to stop it. Failure would be her own fault. And in this case, failure could mean death.
And Skazzy would do anything to make sure her brother lived.
Harry had decided to learn more about their parents and life in the first war and had bombarded Lupin and Sirius with questions. At one point around lunch time, she slipped down to the kitchen for some food and saw her brother laugh at something one of the adults said. A real laugh, something she had never heard before Hogwarts. He was actually enjoying life.
'One year can really make a difference,' she whispered to herself as she silently watched the scene in the kitchen. She retreated up stairs to find a place to mope. The two siblings had been similar, and now they weren't. She had seen the occasional look from her brother, a glance he tried to hide. There was a little glimmer in his eyes, while her green eye had long since faded to emptiness. She found her way to a little corner of the library, and hid behind a chair. She had a lot of thinking to do.
The glimmer in her brother's eyes, his laughter, they were just signs that their paths had diverged. If she was honest with herself, Harry would be able to create the life he wanted after everything they had been through. And she wanted that for her brother, for him to be happy and content. And she would do anything to insure that would happen.
As for herself… she was already lost with no way back. All she could do is move forward and help her brother achieve what he wanted. And then...Skazzy's thoughts trailed off. She hadn't thought about life after Hogwarts. Her goals had been to escape the Dursley's and get retribution, not to be thrown into a world worshiping her brother's forehead.
One of the two Potters should have the life that they deserve. And Skazzy knew herself well enough to admit that it could never be her. She wouldn't know what to do with a second chance at life. Instead, Skazzy would put her time and effort into making sure Harry survived and won, and had the love he deserved. And really, more people would miss him than would ever miss her.
She wasn't deaf, she heard the people in school talking. She knew people merely tolerated her, that it was her own fault she was disliked. It didn't matter what other people thought of her anyway.
Harry was the important one. He had hope in his eyes that she had lost.
Skazzy would be a memory long forgotten.
Harry would be able to move on if Skazzy was gone. Skazzy knew she would never be able to get over Harry leaving. He was her security blanket, protector and the only one who supported her. You take him away, and she had nothing. Nothing and no one. It would be like that year again.
Harry was happy.
Skazzy hated who she was.
And that was life.
A wet spot appeared on her jeans, followed by another. She wiped her eye, muttering about dust allergies and house elves who should clean more.
After all, Skazzy didn't cry. Not ever. And definitely not over the fact she was losing her brother and she didn't know how to fix it.
A few days after Skazzy had seen her brother laughing, Sirius had locked Lupin and Skazzy in a room to try and get them to work on their relationship. Harry did have to admit that it was probably the best way to make sure that Skazzy didn't disappear or avoid Lupin, even if it seemed like a horrible idea in general to lock two people in a room together when their history together was...not the best. He was distracted from the entire thing as Sirius told him about the time Lily and James ended up accidentally locked in a room during their rounds as head boy and girl.
After an awkward hour that Skazzy spent glowering at the door, Remus spoke up.
"I think we got off on the wrong foot," Remus spoke tentatively. He was no good at reading the young girl, not like Harry and Amity. Phoenix just stared at him, eye empty. "Look, what did I do wrong?"
"I'm not getting out of here until we talk, am I?" came Phoenix's reply. Remus shook his head, and Phoenix muttered something under her breath that Remus decided to ignore. "I prefer to go by Skazzy."
"Why?" Remus asked, curious.
"It's...mine," Phoenix said, furrowing her brow. "It's the nickname Harry gave me, and what I've gone by for most of my life."
"Is that it? Is that the only problem you had?" Remus asked, hoping that it was even though he knew it wasn't.
"Where were you?" Phoenix shoot back. "You weren't in jail. You claim to be my parents best friend, but you didn't check on us once."
"I'm a werewolf, it was decided..." Remus began.
"By who?" Phoenix cut in, voice taking an acerbic quality.
"Dumbledore, the Ministry," Remus tried to explain, frustrated that she wasn't listening.
"And you listened," she taunted.
"Well, it was solid reasoning..." Remus tried again before Phoenix cut him off again.
"Think for yourself. I don't respect people who blindly follow those in a higher position than them," Phoenix said, eye piercing Remus before turning to the door. "I talked to him and told him answers to stuff and it was real. Can I leave now?"
Sirius opened the door, allowing Phoenix to escape. He let himself and Harry in to join Remus.
"She hates me," Remus said, slumping down. "She won't even listen to me."
Harry shrugged. "She's not good with authority. Just, stop trying. Call her Skazzy or Skaz, give her some space and let her take in this information. She's grown warmer to the Weasleys. She just, needs to know she won't be restricted. It brings back bad memories."
"Of what?" Sirius asked, eyes flickering between Remus and the door.
"I wish I knew," Harry said, a concerned look on his face as he looked out the door Phoenix had escaped from. "I don't think anyone knows."
"Does Amity know?" Sirius asked, concerned.
"No. As far as I know, Skazzy hasn't told a single person. No one," Harry admitted.
"Would you tell us if you found out?" Remus asked tentatively. He watched the different emotions pass across Harry's face.
"Probably not," he admitted, sighing. "Especially not if I thought that she would be better off in the long run with no one knowing."
"What do you mean?"
"It's nothing," Harry dismissed, waving his hand. He forced a smile and turned towards the two adults. "Anymore stories about Mum and Dad?"
The two adults were successfully distracted for the time being, but when Harry left to find his sister, Sirius and Remus turned to each other.
"We need to watch her," Remus said, frowning.
"I'll watch, you just try and do what Harry suggested. Who ever said Hufflepuffs were push overs or weak was lying. I think I have a cousin I need to apologize to," Sirius said, before calling for his house elf.
"Traitorous master calls?" Kreacher said, appearing in the room and startling Remus.
"Can you watch Skazzy? The girl with red hair and a green eye. Make sure she doesn't injure herself," Sirius demanded. Kreacher snarled.
"Filthy half-blood, Kreacher doesn't care what happens to her," Kreacher muttered.
"I didn't ask if you cared, I told you to watch. And don't let her know you are watching her unless you have to," Sirius added, dismissing Kreacher. Remus watched the interaction between Sirius and house elf with a raised brow.
"You know, you should probably treat him better," Remus said, watching as Kreacher popped away still muttering under his breath.
"He's evil, just like my mother," Sirius complained, sitting down in a chair. Remus followed suit, and the two began to reminisce about the 'good old days'.
Skazzy was beginning to get freaked out. She felt as if someone was watching her every move, that even when there was nobody around her in the library at night, and when her brother was sleeping as was Sirius, there were eyes following her. Several times she had spun around, certain that there was someone behind her only to find no one there.
She wasn't sure if it was Genny, although she was reasonably sure it wasn't Harry or Sirius. She figured if it was one of them, they would have tried to talk to her about everything. Or yelled at her for the books she was reading. But nothing. No comment, no strange glance. Which left Genny.
If it was Genny, Skazzy wished she'd show herself so she could face her. If Genny was going to be around, Skazzy'd prefer to be able to interrogate her or ask questions instead of just being at the strange girl's mercy. There was a better chance for the girl to let something slip if she was talking, and hardly a chance of that happening at all if she never spoke.
On the day of the world cup, Sirius woke everyone up early. He was bouncing off the walls with excitement that Harry shared once he was awake. Skazzy just watched as the two went back and forth talking about quidditch and who would be most likely to win. She let the two have their fun, running through the latest wand movements for a spell that she had started reading about last night in her mind.
Hogwarts couldn't come soon enough so she could actually practice her spells. She retreated upstairs after breakfast to read from one of the books she had gotten for her birthday before Harry was dragging her back down to get ready to leave. Lupin was there as well, having been invited by Sirius. Skazzy made sure she was as far away from him as she could be. When Sirius announced that they'd be apparating to the cup, Harry went to Lupin to prevent his sister from causing a fuss.
The area where the cup was being held was protected from muggles with muggle repelling spells. And it was a good thing wizards had those, because it seemed like wizard's attempts to act like muggles were more liable to get them in trouble than their normal behavior. Skazzy watched as a group walked past, with one wizard wearing a nightgown, and another wearing only a rain jacket and shower hat.
"Come on, let's find Ron and Hermione," Harry said, waving to the adults and dragging his sister along with him.
"Do we have any idea where they are?" Skazzy asked, looking around. It seemed far more crowded than Diagon Alley, and even more… magical. There were tents that could only be standing due to magic, as well as children on toy brooms flying underfoot. Apparently everyone was selling paraphernalia for the two teams so everyone could show their support. Giant shamrocks that were still growing, wizarding pictures of all the different members of the two teams, as well as shirts. You couldn't go five feet without someone using magic for something.
"No," Harry admitted, looking around in excitement. "But we'll have to run into them eventually, right?"
"Doubtful," Skazzy said, folding her arms. She thought she caught a glimpse of golden hair and sparkly skin, but a second glance proved it was just a blonde girl wearing glitter.
"Oh, red hair!" Harry said, pointing and dragging Skazzy with him as he followed the group.
"Do we know them?" Skazzy asked, digging her feet in so that Harry would slow down and start to think.
"Yeah, I see Percy," Harry said cheerfully, and Skazzy reluctantly followed her brother. The former head boy was walking with two other red heads with a determined look on his face. One of them, a man with long hair, what looked liked a leather jacket and a fang for an earring, was listening to Percy politely. The other one, who looked as if he had be burned recently, was just looking around. "Those two must be Charlie and Bill. Hi Percy!"
"Or they could be two people Percy works with…" Skazzy said, scowling as she followed her brother.
"Harry, Skazzy," Percy said, trying to preserve some dignity as the long haired man ruffled his hair.
"You must be the infamous Potters. Ron hasn't shut up about you two, and Fred and George have been telling horror stories about you," The long haired man said, pointing to Skazzy.
"Horror stories, me? I think they might be confused," Skazzy said with a straight face. Percy nodded.
"She's a Hufflepuff," Percy said, before walking faster to greet someone who looked like they worked in the Ministry.
"He keeps saying that. It's almost as if he hasn't met you," Harry said, watching Percy go.
"Hufflepuff? I think someone mentioned that. I had a good friend who was a Hufflepuff. She got into a lot of trouble, but pretty loyal," the other man said, holding out a hand. "Charlie."
"Bill," the long haired man said.
"Harry," Harry said, shaking their hands. Skazzy simply waved. "She's Skazzy. Do you know where the rest of your family is?"
"Yeah, come on. I want to ask you two a couple questions. Some of the stories our brothers' tell are a little..." Bill started, clapping Harry on the shoulder.
"Strange," Charlie finished, smiling.
"About what?" Harry asked.
"Well, one was going to be about the scar, but I think that's pretty obvious. There was really a basilisk at Hogwarts?" Charlie asked, looking at Skazzy's scar.
"Yeah, it was about sixty feet long," Harry said, nodding. Skazzy shrugged.
"I'm not insane enough to blind myself," Skazzy said.
"Seeker since first year?" Bill asked. Harry nodded. "And did you really attack a professor?"
"If you are referring to Lockhart, yes. Anyone else, and I have no idea what you're talking about," Skazzy said, still refusing to accept any version of what happened in the Shrieking Shack as truth. Harry lightly punched her in the arm.
"Skaz," he said, warningly, before they were interrupted by a brown haired girl.
"Harry!" Hermione's voice was muffled as she hugged him.
"Hey Hermione, Ron," Harry said, nodding to Ron. "Miss me?"
"A little. How come you two got here so late?" Ron asked, watching Hermione as she attacked Skazzy after letting Harry go.
"Late? What do you mean?" Harry asked, ignoring his sister's attempts to get his attention for help with Hermione. Fred and George popped out of a tent and answered.
"We've been out here since the sun rose. Those two have been through the camp twice looking for you," the two said in unison.
"We just woke up. The match isn't going to start soon, right?" Harry said, frowning a little.
"Just woke up? Why couldn't we get here when they did," one of the twins complained to their dad.
"There were too many of us who couldn't apparate so we had to schedule a portkey," Mr. Weasley said, struggling to light a fire with matches. "Oops."
"Portkey?" Harry asked, taking the matches from Mr. Weasley and lighting the fire himself.
"It basically transports you from one point to a set destination," Hermione answered.
"Nixie!" came an excited voice from behind, and everyone turned to see Ginny and Amity carrying a bucket of water each. Amity carefully set her bucket down before hugging Skazzy.
"I didn't know you were coming," Skazzy said, nodding to Ginny who nodded back.
"Mr. Weasley had an extra ticket, so Ginny invited me. Who are you rooting for?" Amity asked her friend.
"The side that wins?" Skazzy said, receiving a slap on the head for that. "Ouch."
"Ireland, she's rooting for Ireland," Harry said, shaking his head at his sister.
"Ok, Ireland. I'm rooting for Ireland," Skazzy said, rubbing her head amidst laughs from the Weasleys, Amity, and Hermione.
"Where are you two sitting?" Ron asked.
"Top box, Sirius says it has the best view," Harry answered.
"Us too. Dad managed to get the tickets from Ludo Bagman," Ron said, smiling.
"Ludo whoman?" Skazzy asked.
"Him," Ginny said, pointing to a man who was wearing black and yellow robes that were clearly meant for someone who was several stones lighter. He was going bald, and didn't seem to be concerned about anything that was going on around him.
"Hello Ludo," Mr. Weasley said, waving to the man. The man waved back and made a beeline for the campsite.
"Hello there," Bagman cried out, puffing as he got closer. "Well Arthur, what a day, eh? What a day! We couldn't have asked for more perfect weather. Tonight will be cloudless... everything has gone swimmingly... why there's been almost nothing for me to do!"
He was apparently unconcerned about the giant purple magical fire that had appeared behind him. Several other Ministry workers on the other hand were busy running towards it, and glaring at the man who had just sat down and helped himself to some of the food Mr. Weasley had made. Skazzy glanced at him, before deciding that he was a useless person. Amity, sitting next to her, agreed.
"Mum says he's the most useless person to ever head the Department of Games and Sports. Apparently, one of the people who works for him disappeared during vacation a month ago, and he still won't declare her missing. Convinced she'll just appear," Amity whispered to Ginny and Skazzy, frowning. Ginny shrugged.
"He did get us our tickets," Ginny said, watching as her brother Percy eagerly shook the man's hand.
"And this is Amity Fear, one of Ginny and Ron's friends, Hermione Granger, another friend, and Harry and Skazzy Potter," Mr. Weasley was saying, pointing to everyone in turn. Skazzy scowled as Bagman began to drool over her brother, before turning and staring at her.
"What…?" He asked, pointing to her scar. Skazzy was stopped from yelling at him when her brother covered her mouth.
"Snake bite," Harry said, glaring at his sister. Everyone watched as the two of them had a silent conversation before Skazzy looked away, scowling but silent.
"Snake bite?" Bagman asked, before dismissing the information as unimportant and turning to Mr. Weasley. "Fancy a bet? I've already got Roddy Pontner betting me Bulgaria will score first, I even offered him nice odds, considering Ireland's front three are the strongest I've seen in years, and little Agatha Timms has put up half shares in her eel farm on a week- long match."
"I suppose so," said Mr. Weasley. "Let's see . . . a galleon on Ireland to win?"
"A galleon?" Ludo Bagman looked slightly disappointed, but recovered himself. "Very well, very well . . . any other takers?"
"They're a bit young to be gambling," said Mr. Weasley. "Molly wouldn't like..."
"We'll bet thirty-seven Galleons, fifteen Sickles, three Knuts," said Fred as he and George quickly pooled all their money, "that Ireland wins — but Viktor Krum gets the Snitch. Oh and we'll throw in a fake wand."
"You don't want to go showing Mr. Bagman rubbish like that..." Percy hissed, but Bagman didn't seem to think the wand was rubbish at all; on the contrary, his boyish face shone with excitement as he took it from Fred, and when the wand gave a loud squawk and turned into a rubber chicken, Bagman roared with laughter.
"Excellent! I haven't seen one that convincing in years! I'd pay five Galleons for that!"
Percy froze in an attitude of stunned disapproval.
"Boys," said Mr. Weasley under his breath, "I don't want you betting. . . . That's all your savings. . . . Your mother..."
"Don't be a spoilsport, Arthur!" boomed Ludo Bagman, rattling his pockets excitedly. "They're old enough to know what they want! You reckon Ireland will win but Krum'll get the Snitch? Not a chance, boys, not a chance. . . . I'll give you excellent odds on that one. . . . We'll add five galleons for the funny wand, then, shall we. . . "
Mr. Weasley looked on helplessly as Ludo Bagman whipped out a notebook and quill and began jotting down the twins' names.
"Cheers," said George, taking the slip of parchment Bagman handed him and tucking it away carefully. Bagman turned most cheerfully back to Mr. Weasley.
"Couldn't do me a brew, I suppose? I'm keeping an eye out for Barty Crouch. My Bulgarian opposite number's making difficulties, and I can't understand a word he's saying. Barty'll be able to sort it out. He speaks about a hundred and fifty languages."
"Mr. Crouch?" said Percy, suddenly abandoning his look of poker-stiff disapproval and positively writhing with excitement. "He speaks over two hundred! Mermish and Gobbledegook and Troll . . ."
"Anyone can speak Troll," said Fred dismissively. "All you have to do is point and grunt."
Percy threw Fred an extremely nasty look and stoked the fire vigorously to bring the kettle back to the boil.
"Any news of Bertha Jorkins yet, Ludo?" Mr. Weasley asked as Bagman waited on the kettle. Skazzy started a bit at the name, and tried to remember where she had heard it mentioned before.
"Not a dicky bird," said Bagman comfortably. "But she'll turn up. Poor old Bertha . . . memory like a leaky cauldron and no sense of direction. Lost, you take my word for it. She'll wander back into the office sometime in October, thinking it's still July."
"You don't think it might be time to send someone to look for her?" Mr. Weasley suggested tentatively as Percy handed Bagman his tea.
"Barty Crouch keeps saying that," said Bagman, his round eyes widening innocently, "but we really can't spare anyone at the moment. Oh, talk of the devil! Barty!"
A wizard had just apparated at their fireside, frowning. Barty Crouch was a stiff, upright, elderly man, dressed in an impeccably crisp suit and tie. The parting in his short gray hair was almost unnaturally straight, and his narrow toothbrush mustache looked as though he trimmed it using a slide rule. His shoes were very highly polished. It was apparent why Percy idolized him. Percy was a great believer in rigidly following rules, and Mr. Crouch had complied with the rule about Muggle dressing so thoroughly that he could have passed for a bank manager.
"Pull up a bit of grass, Barty," said Ludo brightly, patting the ground beside him.
"No thank you, Ludo," said Crouch, and there was a bite of impatience in his voice. "I've been looking for you everywhere. The Bulgarians are insisting we add another twelve seats to the Top Box."
"Oh is that what they're after?" said Bagman. "I thought the chap was asking to borrow a pair of tweezers. Bit of a strong accent."
"Mr. Crouch!" said Percy breathlessly, sunk into a kind of half-bow that made him look like a hunchback. "Would you like a cup of tea?"
"Is your brother sure that he's not the one with problems," Skazzy asked Ginny, watching as Percy made a fool of himself in her opinion. Ginny shrugged, struggling to hide a laugh.
"Oh," said Mr. Crouch, looking over at Percy in mild surprise. "Yes — thank you, Weatherby"
Fred and George choked into their own cups. Percy, very pink around the ears, busied himself with the kettle. Ron and Harry tried to hide their sniggers while Hermione looked on in disapproval. Ginny was hiding behind Amity so that her brother couldn't see her laughing, while Amity kept a straight face. Skazzy just raised an eyebrow.
"Oh and I've been wanting a word with you too, Arthur," said Mr. Crouch, his sharp eyes falling upon Mr. Weasley. "Ali Bashir's on the warpath. He wants a word with you about your embargo on flying carpets."
Mr. Weasley heaved a deep sigh.
"I sent him an owl about that just last week. If I've told him once I've told him a hundred times: Carpets are defined as a Muggle Artifact by the Registry of Proscribed Charmable Objects, but will he listen?"
"I doubt it," said Mr. Crouch, accepting a cup from Percy. "He's desperate to export here."
"Well, they'll never replace brooms in Britain, will they?" said Bagman.
"Ali thinks there's a niche in the market for a family vehicle," said Mr. Crouch. "I remember my grandfather had an Axminster that could seat twelve — but that was before carpets were banned, of course."
He spoke as though he wanted to leave nobody in any doubt that all his ancestors had abided strictly by the law.
"So, been keeping busy, Barty?" said Bagman breezily.
"Fairly," said Mr. Crouch dryly. "Organizing Portkeys across five continents is no mean feat, Ludo."
"I expect you'll both be glad when this is over?" said Mr. Weasley.
Ludo Bagman looked shocked.
"Glad! Don't know when I've had more fun. . . Still, it's not as though we haven't got anything to look forward to, eh, Barty? Eh? Plenty left to organize, eh?"
Mr. Crouch raised his eyebrows at Bagman.
"We agreed not to make the announcement until all the details..."
"Oh details!" said Bagman, waving the word away like a cloud of midges. "They've signed, haven't they? They've agreed, haven't they? I bet you anything these kids'll know soon enough anyway. I mean, it's happening at Hogwarts..."
Skazzy frowned, looking from one man to the other. What was happening at Hogwarts?
"Ludo, we need to meet the Bulgarians, you know," said Mr. Crouch sharply, cutting Bagman's remarks short. "Thank you for the tea, Weatherby."
He pushed his undrunk tea back at Percy and waited for Bagman to rise; Bagman struggled to his feet, swigging down the last of his tea, the gold in his pockets chinking merrily.
"See you all later!" he said. "I'm commentating!" He waved, Barty Crouch nodded curtly, and both of them disapparated.
"What's happening at Hogwarts, Dad?" asked Fred and George at once. "What were they talking about?"
"You'll find out soon enough," said Mr. Weasley, smiling.
"It's classified information, until such time as the Ministry decides to release it," said Percy stiffly. "Mr. Crouch was quite right not to disclose it."
"Oh shut up, Weatherby," said Fred.
"Hang on, don't I deserve to know if something dangerous is happening at Hogwarts? Shouldn't that be something we get informed about?" Skazzy asked, frowning. Everyone stared at her.
"Dangerous? Now, it shouldn't be dangerous for you," Mr. Weasley said, frowning in thought. "It's perfectly safe, one of the requirements for making it happen..."
"Mr. Crouch would never let something dangerous happen," Percy said, looking down his nose at Skazzy. Skazzy shook her head, glaring at the two older men. Harry distracted the Weasleys with questions about previous world cups and how long they had lasted. Pretty soon, Sirius and Lupin had found the Weasleys and had started conversations, Lupin listening to Percy rave about his boss while Sirius asked Bill questions about curse-breaking.
Skazzy stayed quiet, allowing everyone to talk around her. She was too busy trying to figure out what might be happening at Hogwarts, and the vague assurances of Percy and Mr. Weasley were not assuaging her concerns. What else, besides the world cup which was probably not going to be repeated at Hogwarts, would involve the Ministry, or even the heads of Games and Sports and International Relationships. If Hermione wasn't saying anything, then there was little chance Skazzy would be able to discover it through books.
A sense of excitement rose like a palpable cloud over the campsite as the afternoon wore on. By dusk, the still summer air itself seemed to be quivering with anticipation, and as darkness spread like a curtain over the thousands of waiting wizards, the last vestiges of pretense disappeared: the Ministry seemed to have bowed to the inevitable and stopped fighting the signs of blatant magic now breaking out everywhere.
Salesmen were apparating every few feet, carrying trays and pushing carts full of extraordinary merchandise. There were luminous rosettes in green for Ireland and red for Bulgaria which were squealing the names of the players, pointed green hats bedecked with dancing shamrocks, Bulgarian scarves adorned with lions that really roared, flags from both countries that played their national anthems as they were waved; there were tiny models of Firebolts that really flew, and collectible figures of famous players, which strolled across the palm of your hand, preening themselves.
"Been saving my pocket money all summer for this," Ron told Harry as he dragged Harry and Hermione through the salesmen, buying souvenirs, Skazzy following. Though Ron purchased a dancing shamrock hat and a large green rosette, he also bought a small figure of Viktor Krum, the Bulgarian Seeker. The miniature Krum walked backward and forward over Ron's hand, scowling up at the green rosette above him.
"Wow, look at these!" said Harry, hurrying over to a cart piled high with what looked like brass binoculars, except that they were covered with all sorts of weird knobs and dials.
"Omnioculars," said the saleswizard eagerly. "You can replay action . . . slow everything down . . . and they flash up a play-by-play breakdown if you need it. Bargain, ten Galleons each."
"Wish I hadn't bought this now," said Ron, gesturing at his dancing shamrock hat and gazing longingly at the Omnioculars.
"Four pairs," said Harry firmly to the wizard.
"No, don't bother," said Ron, going red. He was always touchy about the fact that Harry and Skazzy, who had inherited a small fortune from their parents, had much more money than he did.
"Happy birthday," Harry told him, thrusting Omnioculars into his and Hermione's hands, tossing the last pair to his sister. "Should make up for the last three from both of us. And the next few as well."
"Fair enough," said Ron, grinning.
"Oooh, thanks, Harry, Skazzy," said Hermione. "And I'll get us some programs, look..."
Their money bags considerably lighter, they went back to the tents. Bill and Charlie, were all sporting green rosettes too, and Mr. Weasley was carrying an Irish flag. Fred and George had no souvenirs as they had given Bagman all their gold. Amity and Ginny both had Omnioculars as well, and Lupin looked resigned to the fact that he had a hat, Omnioculars, and a green rosette just like Sirius.
And then a deep, booming gong sounded somewhere beyond the woods, and at once, green and red lanterns blazed into life in the trees, lighting a path to the field.
"It's time!" said Mr. Weasley, looking as excited as any of them. "Come on, let's go!"
"Well, should we watch? Or leave it up to her?" Genny asked the person behind her as she watched the group of red heads walk towards the quidditch pitch.
"I don't see why we can't watch, as long as we don't interfere with her."
"Why exactly do we believe that we can't interfere in everything?" Genny asked, turning to look at the girl behind her. The other girl sighed.
"We learn it in fifth year Arithmancy. No one else understands it, since Time isn't the same for them as it is for us. But Time is equations, and everything is set, except sometimes it isn't. But some events are more set than others, and drastic changes to those events will cause the destruction of Time. Little things are ok. It's like time turners. We can do what we know, but we can't change what happened."
"I'll take your word that we will learn it and understand, because that makes no sense. We changed Time."
"Look at it this way. At least this way we know what to expect."
Genny hesitated, looking around. "So, there's no going back."
"I'm pretty sure that was never an option anyway," the girl answered, twirling her wand.
"No, but nobody's told her that yet," Genny said, a feral look on her face. "I can't wait for the fun to begin."