A/N: Well, here's the next update. I think the next chapter will go up to or through the Ball. After that I will either do a chapter each for the 2nd and 3rd task or combine them. Much of these chapters I'm using to setup what will happen in the summer. I also am planning on having Ron and Hermione, especially Hermione, playing a more substantial role from now on.
OOTP will be similar to the book, but will have major departures. I have not yet decided what will happen to Sirius yet; nor am I sure about the Department of Mysteries, but rest assured just because Voldemort does not have the same access to Harry's mind does not mean he wants the prophecy any less. Book 6 will significantly depart from canon. Although, I do plan on using the facts that JKR provided in it.
I would like to update in a week, but it will probably be more like a week and a half to two weeks. I'm still getting used to my new schedule (getting up at 5 or so is rough) and my job requires me to spend a large amount of time looking at a computer screen as it is. I have no intention of not finishing the story. I also do not have a beta. I will get one if I decide to post this on another sight. I want to finish the story before then though. Sorry for any errors. There was something in this chapter that I wanted to change or add, but for the life of me I can't remember what it was...
Thanks to all those who reviewed. I do read them…and you're right they are old enough to snog.
Disclaimer: See chapter 1. Dumbledore's speech is word for word from GOF.
Chapter 6: The Goblet of Fire, Part II
"Oh, Harry…did you receive a response from Dumbledore or Sirius yet?" Ginny asked.
Harry silently handed over the Dumbledore's letter to Ginny. Her eyes moved left to right down the parchment and when she finished her hair seemed to be a darker shade of red.
"DON'T LET THIS TROUBLE YOU! OH…I can't believe that man…wise my foot…" Ginny continued muttering for awhile and Harry wondered what she would do to Dumbledore if she saw him right now. She had not forgiven the Headmaster for leaving Harry with the Dursleys before Hogwarts and had already been furious for forcing Harry to stay with the muggles over the summer. Harry would not want to be in Dumbledore's shoes when Ginny really did blow up at him.
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Albus Dumbledore was troubled. The letter from Harry had been disturbing and had confirmed some of his worse fears. The link between the poor boy and Voldemort was stronger and that meant Voldemort was stronger. Then there was the matter of the old muggle's death who took care of the Riddle's old house. Trouble was definitely brewing. This time he was not sure that Voldemort's return could be forestalled. He had hoped to give Harry more time. The boy was still so young.
Staring out the window pensively for a few minutes Dumbledore's concerns only grew. Not only was Voldemort stirring again, but the Tri-Wizard Tournament would be taking place at Hogwarts. He hoped that he could use the tournament to bridge some of the divides between the three wizarding schools, but the tournament brought danger with it and provided a high profile target. At least Harry would not be able to compete.
Then there was young Ginny. Dumbledore was not sure how she would react when Harry had to go back to the Dursleys next year too, but it would be imperative that he do so. With Voldemort stirring, Harry's safety was even more important. Smiling slightly, Dumbledore thought that the young lady had a temper to rival her mother's. At the end of the year he had been a tad afraid that she might do accidental magic when she had been yelling at him.
Dumbledore spread out a piece of parchment and started a letter with the salutation, "Dear Alastor."
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Ron gazed around his room. It was a disaster. Not that the room was not clean. For once in his life his room was actually spotless. The problem was the decorations. Hermione's face was everywhere and he actually had a Hermione pillow on his bed. Fred and George were driving him mad. At least Ginny had stopped teasing him about Hermione…but then Ginny seemed to disappear for most of the day now.
Ron shrugged and returned to his present predicament. Harry would arrive tomorrow along with Hermione so that they could all go to the World Cup. If Harry saw this Ron new that the embarrassment would be…well it would be worse than any he had ever experienced. Then there was Hermione. If he would be embarrassed for Harry to see this, he would be mortified for Hermione to see it.
"MOM!" Ron screamed.
"Ron! Do not yell!" Mrs. Weasley chastised entering his room. She sighed as she surveyed it and realized why Ron had yelled. She started transfiguring the room back to its normal blinding orange. She was going to have to talk to Fred and George before Harry and Hermione arrived at the Burrow that evening.
Mrs. Weasley was not sure why the twins had transfigured everything in Ron's room to look like Hermione since they were not too terribly perceptive about things like crushes except when they were terribly obvious. She suspected that Ginny had probably started it and decided that she would probably need to have a talk with her daughter too. Thinking of Ginny made her wonder exactly where she had disappeared to. Indeed, Ginny had not been around for much of the month. She would come down for a quick breakfast and then tear out of the Burrow.
"The clock!" Mrs. Weasley said thinking aloud. After finishing with Ron's room, she quickly went down the stairs to the kitchen. Why didn't I think of it before? She wondered. The twins…them and their awful 'products.' I can't believe they think they could actually sell that ridiculous stuff. She had caught them discussing it and flatly told them that founding a joke shop was not an option for them.
She cast a quick charm that caused the potatoes to start peeling themselves and looked up at the clock. Ginny's hand was moving from "Traveling" to "Home." Mrs. Weasley's eyes narrowed. Where has she been?
The back door opened and Mrs. Weasley saw a mane of red hair rush by. "Ginevra Weasley! Where have you been?" She demanded.
Ginny froze at the sound of her mother's voice and wondered how she was going to get out of this situation. Luckily, she was saved by the entrance of Fred and George. They were so engrossed over a piece of paper that they did not even notice their mother's presence. Mrs. Weasley, however, did notice them.
"Boys, what do you have there?" she said with a menacing tone.
The twins paled as one. "Noth…nothing, Mom," answered George unconvincingly.
"Give me that parchment," was the response as Mrs. Weasley extended her hand.
Fred immediately put it behind his back, terror in his eyes.
Mrs. Weasley pulled her wand and said, "Accio parchment," which flew into her outstretched hand. Turning it over, she read it and as she did her eyes got wide and she began turning red. Ginny retreated to her room and Fred and George began to cower.
"WEASLEY WIZARDING WEEZES!" she roared. The rest of the afternoon ended badly for the twins. Mrs. Weasley had searched their room and removed every order form, ingredient, and products she could find.
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I hate floo powder, Harry thought as he exited the grate. While leaving the Dursleys was always great and seeing their living room in ruin was fantastic, seeing Dudley's engorged tongue had been one of the best sights of Harry's life. In Harry's opinion, his overweight cousin had finally gotten what he deserved. The fact that Dudley had done it to himself, by eating no less, only made the episode more enjoyable.
Slapping his sides and running his hands over his clothes to get the ash out, Harry smiled. While his days had been pleasurable at the Manor, he was happy to be at the Burrow where he did not have to worry about waking up early or having the Dursleys yell about his abnormality. Harry barely looked up in time to see Mrs. Weasley rush toward him with open arms. The hug was bone crushing and Harry was not quite sure what to make of it. He was used to Ginny hugging him, but this was different. He awkwardly tried to hug her back and settled for placing his hands on her sides as his arms were pinned to his sides.
"Harry, dear, why don't you grab the silverware in the kitchen and help Ginny and the boys set up the tables," said Mrs. Weasley. Harry quickly complied. The twins tried to accost him in the kitchen with questions about Dudley's tongue, but when he heard Mrs. Weasley shout he decided to get out quickly. He figured she must have heard the twins or Mr. Weasley had broken down and told her.
Ginny was having an intense discussion with Bill and Charlie about Ireland's chances at the World Cup, but she did mentally greet Harry. Thus, it was Ron and Hermione who greeted him first. Hermione actually beat Ron to Harry, enveloping Harry in a hug reminiscent of Mrs.Weasley's earlier hug.
Harry stiffened at the contact. This hug felt even more awkward than Mrs. Weasley's had. Hermione seemed to sense his discomfort and released him, her smile barely faltering. Ron scowled; Hermione had not greeted him with the same enthusiasm.
The dinner was a raucous affair. Bill and Charlie, who Harry had never personally met, were eager to talk to Harry considering how close he seemed to be to their baby sister. Harry found both of the older Weasleys intriguing and exciting. Bill's stories about Egyptian tombs were fascinating and Charlie's stories about dragons were exciting. While Bill's job as a curse breaker sounded interesting to Harry, dragon handling did not sound like a profession he was interested in.
Percy, who had been hired by the Ministry, was prattling off about something to do with cauldron bottom thickness. Harry now seriously regretted asking him about work. Beside him, Ginny was snickering at him and Ron was shaking his head at Harry. They had both warned him not to talk to Percy about work. In the past five minutes, Harry had managed to count that Percy said "cauldron" thirty times, "thickness" thirty-seven times, and "Mr. Crouch" forty-one times.
Harry was extremely relieved when the twins distracted Percy by interrupting him to tell Harry about some dragon-dung that had somehow found its way into Percy's inbox. The conversation at the table then moved on to quidditch.
"Bulgaria's seeker is fantastic! Wait till you see how Krum flies, Harry, you won't believe it," Ron was practically yelling in his excitement.
Fred laughed at Ron, "Krum may be good, but Ireland's chasers are extraordinary. It will take more than Krum for Bulgaria to win." Bill and Charlie quickly agreed to Fred's assessment and Percy seemed irritated that the conversation had slipped back to quidditch instead of work at the Ministry.
"Well, the World Cup will be nothing compared to the next event that we are planning for. You know, Dad, the Top Secret one," Percy said emphasizing the last two words. The twins rolled their eyes and Ron turned to Hermione trying to explain some of the intricacies of quidditch. Bill and Charlie only laughed at Percy's attempt to redirect the conversation, but shared a knowing look of anticipation. Harry was confused.
Don't worry about it Harry – Percy has been dropping hints all summer, but won't answer any questions…we just ignore him now.
Oh okay…
After dinner was over, Mrs. Weasley announced that everyone had to go to bed early as they would be getting up very early in order to make it on time to the World Cup. After much protest from Ron and the twins everyone retired for the night.
It felt like he had just closed his eyes when a hand on Harry's shoulder began shaking him awake.
"Wake up, dear, you need to wake up if you want breakfast," Mrs. Weasley's voice cut through his haze and he slowly stood up.
Breakfast was a quick affair consisting of toast and eggs. Ron complained that Bill and Charlie got to sleep in only to be reprimanded by Mrs. Weasleys, "Hush!" her gaze then drifted to the unusually silent twins, "STOP! Empty your pockets!"
Fred and George stood staring transfixed at their mother for a couple seconds and then turned out their pockets, which contained their wands and some money. Mrs. Weasley eyes only narrowed in suspicion; she knew her sons and they were guilty of something…then again the twins were usually guilty of something. She frowned and then performed the accio charm to the twins' disgust and terror. Mrs. Weasley's voice was still echoing in everyone's ears when their arrived at the portkey's location and met up with the Diggorys.
Harry, Hermione, and Ginny (who had learned a great deal about muggles from Harry) laughed much of the day at the complete failure of witches and wizards to dress like muggles. Helping Mr. Weasley put up the tents and start a fire had been a hoot. Harry was sure that it took them at least twice longer than it should have to put the tents up with Mr. Weasley's 'help,' but his excitement had been funny and endearing.
Ludo Bagman's appearance had led to the twins betting what was probably their entire life savings on Ireland winning the match, but Krum catching the snitch. Ron had spent his money on a large shamrock and a small moving model of Krum, while Hermione had bought everyone programs. Ginny had bought everyone snacks for the match and Harry had bought four sets of omnioculars over Ron's objections.
The match had been fantastic. The only negative part had been before its start when the Malfoy's had shown their face. They had all retreated back to the tents and were sitting around the table discussing the match or at least the Weasleys and Harry were. Hermione had only said a few words and mostly to say that it was wrong for Mr. Crouch to force Winky to save him a seat he had never taken.
Harry was falling asleep with Ginny leaning against him listening to Bill, Charlie and Percy arguing over a chaser formation.
Harry…this was fun…
"Yeah, it was," replied Harry verbally.
I think I might… "try out for the team when there's a free spot…" Ginny mumbled not aware she was switching between modes of communication.
What spot?
"Chaser...or maybe" or maybe seeker. Even in her exhaustion her t one was mischievous.
"You think you could beat me?" Harry questioned waking up slightly.
Of course…I know you better than you know yourself.
"That's true…" Harry answered.
Neither of them noticed that they were being observed.
Ron had been watching his sister and Harry suspiciously since Harry had arrived at the Burrow. Tonight was only confirming his worst fears. Up until now the idea of Ginny being Harry's girlfriend had not really bothered him. It was not until this summer and some of the dreams he had been having about girls, and one girl in particular, that he realized that Harry might feel that way about Ginny and that was not right. Watching Ginny try and snuggle closer to Harry was painful for him, but he knew he could not do anything while his father was present, but he was definitely going to have to put a stop to the relationship.
Ever since Harry's arrival at the Burrow Ron had been feeling increasingly irritated and short with Harry. His too close relationship with Ginny seemed to be coming even more serious. Hermione's exuberant greeting also had been festering. He could not understand why all the attention was always focused on Harry.
Ron was not the only one watching. Hermione was also watching two of her closest friends with suspicion, but of a much different kind. Unlike Ron, who was not listening, Hermione had heard the odd conversation. She was furiously searching her memory for what would explain Harry and Ginny's relationship. The relationship to her had always been a mystery, but she had put aside most of her suspicions and natural curiosity last year, but this conversation had sparked them with a new fury. Hermione smiled; she vaguely recalled something about wizards and witches being able to talk with only their minds, like some kind of advanced legilemancy, due to bonds.
Frustrated that she could not remember or had not read about the specific bond that could cause this type of ability, she vowed to find the book that held the information. She thought that she had read that sometimes a life debt could have unexpected consequences, but it still did not explain the relationship. Harry and Ginny had been unnaturally close even before the incident in the Chamber of Secrets.
Then there had been how Harry had reacted or perhaps the better term would be did not react to the Veelas. Where Ron had practically tried to jump from the top box and the twins had, well Hermione was not sure what they were about to do, but she was sure it involved a lot of explosions; Harry had only watched the dancing with vague interest and had laughed at the other boys' reactions. As far as she knew, very few males had a natural resistance to Veela charm (it was a matter of will power she had read), but Harry did not even seem to be aware that there was any charm at all. Hermione sighed and decided to owl order several books on bonds since she already knew the Hogwarts Library did not have the book – she had already read that section.
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Mrs. Weasley was frantic. The Daily Prophet's front page showed the Dark Mark sparkling in the sky. She paced across the kitchen waiting to hear word or for her husband and her children to show up. The guilt about how she had yelled at the twins was driving her mad; she would not be able to stand it if that was the last time she would ever see them. She almost fainted in relief when She saw Arthur's and the heads of her two oldest appear over the ridge. She ran out to meet them.
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It had been several days since the incident at the World Cup. Albus Dumbledore was frustrated. First, he had received Harry's disturbing letter. Then there had been the death of an old muggle near the Riddle's old manor house. Now the World Cup and the Dark Mark; the Death Eaters were deficiently more active, but he was not sure if the incidents were related. He sighed; he was glad that his old friend had agreed to teach the Defense position…it was becoming so very hard to fill.
Back at the Burrow, Mrs. Weasley was bustling around placing packages on the appropriate bed. She had just got back from Diagon Alley with everyone's school supplies. She sadly looked at Ron's dress robes. She had been able to find a nice set of robes for Fred and George as well as robes that were not too bad for Ginny, but Ron's were awful, but at least he had them.
When Harry and Ron had got back to Ron's room they were shocked when they looked through their school supplies. Especially when Mrs. Weasley had informed them that the purple robes were not Ginny's robes, but Ron's dress robes. Ron paled and Harry anxiously pulled out his own dress robes and let out a sigh of relief. They were green, but otherwise looked mostly like his normal Hogwarts' robes.
Harry felt bad for Ron. "Ron," he started hesitantly since he knew how sensitive Ron was about money and he had noticed that Ron had seemed distant since the Cup, "You know – I could buy you different robes if you want…"
Turning to face Harry, Ron's eyes flared wide and his ears had turned red, "I DON'T NEED YOUR CHARITY OR PITY," he yelled as he stormed off. "AND STAY AWAY FROM MY SISTER," came Ron's voice from the hallway. Harry just stood in shock as he listened to Ron's angry footsteps as he descended the stairs. As the shock began to wear off it was slowly replaced by anger. Harry was used to Ron's sensitivity about money and his low-grade jealousy that occasionally erupted, but telling him to stay away from Ginny was going too far as far as Harry was concerned.
Harry and Ron barely talked for the rest of the time at the Burrow. Ginny ignored Ron completely and Hermione was stuck relaying messages between them. Unfortunately for Ron, this meant that he only had Hermione to talk to and she was almost constantly talking about house elf rights and how their situation in life was slavery. Making the rest of time at the Burrow even tenser was that the Weasleys seemed to be on a mission not to allow Harry and Ginny to be alone. Harry supposed it had something to do with the incident in the garden.
It had been shortly after Ron's angry and loud comments that Harry and Ginny were in the garden fuming about Ron.
Ginny was ranting, "OH! He makes me so mad. How dare he? If I want to snog you senseless then I will! If he thinks he can control what we do together then he has another thing coming!"
Harry smiled at Ginny and cocked an eyebrow, "You want to snog me senseless?" He meant the comment to be teasing, but he could not deny that the idea was attractive. Ginny locked eyes with him and leaned up and toward him. When their lips met they felt the now familiar intoxicating feeling of warmth spread throughout their entire bodies. They clumsily began moving their lips and slowly began exploring how to deepen a kiss.
Neither of them noticed a faint golden glow start to radiate from each other; they were completely entranced with the other. The glow was faint and was not noticed by Ron either when he accidentally stumbled across them. His angry yells could be heard throughout the Burrow.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING? GET YOUR HANDS OFF HER! YOU THINK JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE HARRY POTTER THAT YOU CAN HAVE ANYTHING? YOU'RE WRONG…" Ron's fists were clenched; Harry had never seen him so angry. Ron was advancing on Harry and looked like he was going to hit him. Harry was not sure how to react; it never even occurred to him to defend himself as Ron pulled his fist back.
Ginny, however, was not going to let anyone touch Harry. Ron's fist slammed toward Harry, but Ginny had stepped in front of him and the fist hit an invisible barrier. From the sound Ron's fist made, he appeared to have broken several bones in his hand, but he had barely time to yelp before Ginny had raised her own hand. Without even thinking she said "stupefy." A red light shot from her hand and Ron was flung across the garden landing hard up against a tree. Bill and Charlie had taught her the curse just in case some boy ever got to "feisty" in their words.
The resulting interrogation and explanation made Mrs. Weasley furious at Ron, but the other Weasleys, with the exception of Percy and Mr. Weasley (who were too busy at work), had been keeping a close watch on Ginny and Harry. After Ginny's birthday, the scrutiny only increased.
Harry had been right; Ginny absolutely loved the firebolt. All the Weasleys along with Harry and Hermione were sitting at down to breakfast on Ginny's birthday when three owls flew in dropping a long package on the table. It was addressed to Ginny.
She had only unwrapped a small portion of the package when she had flung herself at Harry and kissed him passionately. They were well on their way to a repeat of the garden when they were interrupted by several uncomfortable coughs, which were followed by many similar questions along the vain of "What is it?" and "What did he get you?" Proudly tearing the rest of the paper off of the firebolt, she showed her family and a dazed Harry.
There was a shocked silence and strangely enough it was Hermione who acted first, "That's great! The firebolt is an excellent broom." Hermione still did not comprehend how expensive a firebolt was, but knew enough from last year to know that it cost a lot and began wondering how Harry could afford it. Ron looked at Hermione in shock and then turned back to the broom with a look of disgust on his face. Instead of blowing up like usual, he stalked off making a horrible racket all the way up to his room.
The rest of the family, after they overcame their shock, congratulated Ginny on the fine broom. While the remanding part of Ginny's birthday was a pleasant affair, the Weasleys (especially the Weasley boys) seemed to be incredibly worried about why Harry had bought their little sister a very expensive present.
By the time September 1st rolled around everyone Harry and Ginny were very glad to be returning to the relatively unchaperoned environment of Hogwarts. Hermione was also visibly pleased. The tension at the Burrow had probably been even worse for her than the other two since she still felt compelled to talk to Ron. She was also excited about returning to Hogwarts so she could send off her owl order; she had been afraid to do so while at the Burrow as she was sure that Percy would not allow her to use Hermes, Errol would probably not have survived the journey, and using Hedwig would have been suspicious.
Harry had completely forgotten about the letter he had sent to Sirius when an owl arrived for him just as everyone was filing out the door. He quickly untied the letter and pocketed the letter planning on reading it on the train.
It was good thing that Charlie and Bill had accompanied them to Kings Cross as between the four of them they had a lot of luggage. Charlie smiled at them and said, "Well that's all of it. It was nice to see all of you – it has been too long, but who knows we might be seeing each other soon again!"
Bill laughed at the chorus of questions and added, "Yeah, with what is happening at Hogwarts I might even have to find my way there. I would love to see it!"
Ron and Ginny tried to get their older brothers to tell them more, even screaming out questions from the windows as the train left the platform, but it was futile. Once the platform was out of sight Ron left the group with a sneer at Harry. Harry only shook his head utterly disgusted with Ron. Ginny and Hermione had similar looks on their faces.
From the hallway they heard a familiar drawl, "Well if it's not the Weasel. So where's Potter, the mudblood, and Potter's toy that you call a sister." Harry felt the blood rush to his face as anger enveloped him.
Out in the hallway, Ron felt a similar rush of feelings as he drew his wand and charged at Malfoy, who calmly said, "Petrificus Totalus." Ron fell to the floor frozen, only his eyes free to move.
Harry cut his eyes toward Ginny and Hermione. Both nodded imperceptibly, agreeing to confront Malfoy. They all stepped out of the compartment, wands drawn. Malfoy looked at them and the malice in his eyes was unmistakable.
"Well, well, well…it looks like you three have come out to play. He raked his eyes over Ginny and then sneered at Harry, "So Potter, when you're done with her make sure you send her…" Malfoy never finished his thought. Ginny had cast her feared bat bogey hex. Malfoy was now on the floor screaming and clawing at his face trying to remove the disgusting creatures. Goyle and Crabbe just looked on stupidly before picking up their falling leader and retreating.
Harry performed the countercurse on Ron. Picking himself off the floor, Ron hung his head in shame. "I'm sorry…I was wrong." Harry patted him on the back and mumbled that it was alright.
I don't know why you're so quick to forgive…I think the prat needs to be taught a lesson.
Easy Ginny. I think he just had one.
Come on, Harry, you don't actually think he's actually accepted us or gotten over his jealousy – do you?
I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Harry and Ron being back on speaking terms was picked up immediately by Hermione. "Oh, it's so great. I hate it when you don't speak to each other," said Hermione with tears in her eyes as she hugged Harry quickly and then pulled Ron into a hug worthy of Mrs. Weasley. Ron grinned bewilderedly and then returned the hug. Ginny looked at Harry and rolled her eyes.
Do you think they realize that they like each other yet?
Harry only shrugged his shoulders and enjoyed the rest of the ride to Hogwarts. Although the remainder of the train ride was uneventful, as long as you did not count Ron stuffing himself with sweets from the trolley as an event, the Hogwarts Express arrived at Hogsmeade in a downpour.
"I would hate to have to cross the lake in this," said Hermione absently gazing at the small boats waiting for the first years. Everyone nodded in agreement with her; many of the small boats were already half full of water. The four of them wasted no time and quickly climbed into one of the carriages. Although they were only out in the weather for a few seconds, they were drenched by the time they were all in the carriage.
Ron led the way out of the carriage toward the Great Hall.
"Blimey, if that keeps up the lake's going to overflow. I'm soak—ARRGH!" A large, red water balloon exploded on Ron's head. Everyone looked up and above them floating with several brightly colored water balloons was Peeves. Peeves had a malicious smile on his face, which quickly changed into a mask of concentration as he took aim at a group of second years.
"PEEVES!" yelled a very angry Professor McGonagall rushing out of the Great Hall. She was glaring up at Peeves, ignorant of the water on the floor so she suddenly found herself sliding and slipping. She grabbed out for the nearest object to steady her, Hermione.
"Sorry, Miss Granger," McGonagall apologized, "Peeves get down here NOW or I'm going to inform the Headmaster.
Peeves glared back at her and looked to be considering his options. Finally, he stuck out his tongue and blew a loud raspberry and then zoomed out dropping all his balloons on the entering group of third years. McGonagall sighed and ushered everyone into the Great Hall.
They sat down at the Gryffindor table and eagerly awaited the sorting…so that they could eat. Ron was making impatient and hungry noises and Hermione kept hitting him as she was having a conversation with Nearly Headless Nick. Harry was only marginally paying attention to Hermione's conversation when he was interrupted by an eager Colin Creevey.
"Hiya Harry, guess what? My brother is here this year! His name is Dennis! I've told him ALL about you! He can't wait to meet you! I just hope he's in Gryffindor! Brothers and sisters go in the same Houses, right?"
Ginny broke into Colin's gush of excited words, "Not all the time. Just look at Pavarti and Padma. Their twins, but they are in separate Houses."
Colin's face fell, but he quickly recovered himself, "OH! Well, cross your fingers Harry!"
Ginny cocked an amused eyebrow at Harry who rolled his eyes.
I think he likes you Harry…he did not even pay me any attention, she said silkily.
Shut up. Besides I don't want him to pay any attention to you, replied Harry with a smile.
Ginny smirked at him and then gave him a nudge and nodded in Dumbledore's direction. Harry could not help noticing that Ginny was looking upon Dumbledore with a distinctly unfriendly gaze. She was obviously still not pleased with the old man.
Dumbledore stood and said two words, "Tuck in." The feast had begun.
The meal was quickly interrupted, however, by Hermione's loud yell of, "HOUSE ELVES! There are house elves at Hogwarts!" Ron looked at Hermione like she was crazy, while Harry and Ginny only looked on in confusion as Hermione railed about slave labor. Ginny leaned into Harry's side so that Hermione could not see her as she snickered. Harry was left with trying to control his emotions so his face would not reveal his amusement.
When everyone was feeling comfortably full or, in Ron's case, uncomfortably full, Dumbledore stood again and began making his customary announcements. Hermione was sitting straight up, but unlike usual, she did not wear a face of rapt attention, but one of announce – obviously still made about house elf treatment. Dumbledore's next statement though caused everyone to complete attention to him.
"It is also my painful duty to inform you that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year." Fred's and George's mouths dropped open and Harry fell back against Ginny for support. Dumbledore let the commotion die down and then continued, "This is due to an event that will be starting in October, and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teachers' time and energy – but I am sure you will all enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing that this year Hogwarts – "
Dumbledore was interrupted by the opening of the doors leading out of the Great Hall. In the doorway stood a man in a large black coat; he was very wet and did not pay any heed to the strange looks he was getting from the students. He just walked up to the high table making a clank with each step. Harry could barely see a wooden claw poking out from underneath his cloak. Harry looked around in confusion. George leaned across the table and whispered, "Mad-eye."
Dumbledore smiled at the newcomer, "Ah, welcome. May I introduce the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Professor Moody." Only stunned silence greeted Dumbledore's announcement. It was not until the other professors began to clap did the students follow suit, albeit subdued. The clapping stopped completely when Professor Moody lowered his hood revealing his gnarled face.
Ignoring the students' reaction, Dumbledore continued with what he was saying, "As I was saying, we are to have the honor of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event that has not been held for over a century. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year."
Dumbledore went on to explain about the Triwizard Tournament and the rules that would govern it this year. Harry could not help but entertain the vision of him being introduced like Krum at the World Cup.
Harry, we are going to talk. Something in Ginny's voice told him that it was going to be a serious conversation.
Ron was eagerly telling anyone who would listen to him that he would like to enter if he was seventeen and made Fred and George promise to let him in on anything they did. Almost everyone walked to the House towers with images of winning the Tournament running through their head.