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shinigami101505

You're welcome.

Shaedy Hoe

Strange Summons is a lot of fun to write.

Alan

Thank you.

Mugen-Muse

Capturing Skeeter in her bug form and then forcing her back into her normal form in the lobby of the Ministry of Magic ought to be enough to ruin Skeeter.

Crossworlds 1 - Harry Potter

Chapter 53

Flitwick's Office. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

"Miss Granger, Mr Hiddleston please come in," invited the head of our school house and deputy headmaster.

Flitwick's new office was much larger than the old one and yet he'd managed to make it seem cosy by supplying visitors with comfy chairs and by having his desk at a height that allowed him to sit with students at eye level rather than try to sit above anyone like Dumbledore would have.

A subtle thing and Flitwick understood the importance of maintaining eye and only tended to stand on stacked books in class so that he could see all of his students during practical lessons. That made it much easier for him to make sure that students were practising magic safely.

Like Slughorn, the Charms Master had photos of some of his favourite students in his office, though he didn't collect people like the Potion's Master did, to him these pictures were about remembering those pupils who had helped as a teacher and hopefully inspired.

I found it heartwarming to see that one of the photos taken of me during the wand weighing ceremony, which was one of the few photos of me to be found anywhere, was kept next to one of Lily Potter, who I knew to be one of his most favourite students in a long teaching career.

This was also where Flitwick kept the trophies such as the House and Quidditch cups, both of which Ravenclaw had secured last year, as well as the duelling trophies I had won.

"I'm getting used to having such a well-decorated office," commented our teacher.

Hearing that made me smile.

"Perhaps before the end of the school year, you'll have the Trizwizard Cup to put on display," I mused.

I'd been thinking about leaving it in my Gringotts vault when I left this world, but then no one would be able to see it, and it would be silly to take it with me. I also wondered if I would ever be able to return to this world and settle down. I certainly intended to have my vault sealed for a few decades no matter what happened. No sense in letting greedy wizards get their grubby mitts on my gold.

"It would have pride of place," Flitwick stated as he invited us both to take a seat "But we have a long way to go before that and that is why I asked you to meet with me. I've been too busy to carry on with any duelling lessons Mr Hiddleston and I likely will be for the entire year, and so I hope your skills haven't gotten rusty".

So did I as there would be duelling later in the school year.

"I might need to seek out another professional tutor," I said.

Flitwick just nodded before he changed the subject.

"One of the events for the tournament is a quiz," mentioned the teacher "Four students from each of the schools who have yet to take their OWLs will be questioned by a guest and the points they earn will aid their champions overall score".

There was no need for him to tell us about the guest as it was me. I would come to the school as Tom Hiddleston and he assumed we both already knew that.

"The logical way to go about it is to have a student from each of the houses, two boys and two girls, to make sure that there are no signs of favouritism, I also want a mixture of students with different blood statuses so we can't be accused of favouring one kind of pupil" Flitwick was now saying "I've chosen you, Miss Granger as the Ravenclaw student".

No surprises there. Hermione had a head full of facts.

"Thank you, professor," she said.

Hermione was pleased by this news and she made little effort to hide it.

"The Headmistress wants to place Mr Potter on the team as well" we were informed "Although I don't agree with the choice".

Neither did I.

"Harry's always been more of a practical learner than an academic" I pointed out "I should know I've been tutoring him for years. When it comes to using magic he goes on what feels right more than what he knows works".

Which isn't a bad thing and his practical scores in tests make up for any lack of detail in his written exams.

"I agree," supported Hermione "He'd do much better with some sort of demonstration, like duelling".

Flitwick nodded.

"These are arguments I used as well" he let us know "But the Headmistress was adamant. She might be seeing this as a chance for Mr Potter to shine, but I fear she's so driven to make Hogwarts look good that she going to push Mr Potter to the frontlines as it were when he is not prepared".

Harry is not really a good protagonist. He has his moments of brilliance, he's magically powerful, and he's lucky, alas luck runs out and he's too passive to be that interesting. He just accepts things and he wants to be normal. This is fine in this world because I dealt with Voldemort, however, his character makes him unsuited for the public eye as he doesn't like being seen as a hero despite his habit of trying to save people for no real reason.

"Please don't repeat this" our teacher requested "I fear that Professor McGonagall feels overshadowed by Professor Dumbledore. She has a very big pair of shoes to fill just to take his place as leader of our school".

The fact that he felt at least somewhat comfortable saying that to a couple of minors was a testament to how much he respected Hermione and me as people. He saw us as more than mere talented children.

"We won't say anything" my romantic partner promised.

Hermione had never been one for idle gossip and I had no reason to make any plans to undermine McGonagall, at least not for now, so I let Cortana file away that bit of information in case it somehow came in useful later on.

"For Hufflepuff, I am thinking of Wayne Hopkins, he does well in charms and herbology according to Professor Sprout," said Flitwick.

I didn't know the lad, and if he hadn't come to my attention that was most likely a good thing. Hermione had nothing to say about that student so perhaps she didn't know him either.

"For Slytherin, Professor Slughorn has suggested a student called Blaise Zabini," we were told.

Since I was the school's champion I hoped I had some say about who got on the team.

"Zabini is a blood purist," I pointed out "He won't work with a muggleborn, at least not very well".

I paid some attention to those students because if anyone was going to start trouble for me and my friends it would be them. I recalled very little about that student despite us both being members of the Slug Club.

"Hestia or Flora Carrow would be a better choice" offered Hermione "They aren't the most friendly of students, but they aren't openly blood purists and they are both well-versed in Magical Theory".

Flitwick wrote down the names.

"Two boys and two girls would be best," he said

I really ought to pay more attention to the students now that I'm more involved in social activities.

"I'll talk to Mr Hopkins and both Miss Carrows" stated the teacher "I'd like to run some practice sessions before the main event".

That sounded like a good idea to me.

"Miss Granger I'd like you to take charge of these practice sessions" informed our teacher "It will help you to engage more with the other students and aid you in preparing for your prefect duties next year. I'll meet with you again once I have the team assembled".

That seemed to be the natural end of the conversation so we made our goodbyes and headed out of the office. I still had time for a bit more practice before the First Task began.

School Grounds. Hogwarts.

Today was the day, this afternoon I would complete the first task, which involved stealing a golden egg from a wyvern, an animal that was related to a dragon much like how a dog is related to a wolf. I was glad that I had as Tom Hiddleston been able to convince the team in charge of planning these events that using dragons was just too dangerous with children around as I didn't want to battle a dragon.

I looked up into the stands and smiled as I made my way over to the champion's tent. Hermione and Luna waved at me, with Luna having teamed up with her parents to display a banner saying my first name in Ravenclaw colours. Her little brother was here as well, someone who wouldn't even exist had I not interfered with this timeline.

Neville was here with his parents, who were healthy and free from St Mungo's, and Harry Potter was out in public with his godfather as he should be. Looking at how happy those two boys were I found it hard to believe that there had been a time when I was content to do nothing about their poor fates. I'd been a very different person back then.

Despite how much work and worry had been involved it was worth knowing that I made a difference in the magical world at least. There would be no second war and while bigotry was still a big issue at least no one was going to get killed over it while I was here.

"You seem very happy considering what you're going up against" I heard Cortana say.

The AI had gone over my plans for this task so many times I felt as if I could have done them all in my sleep. I didn't blame her for this as her life was at risk as well. Wyverns were not dragons, but they were still very dangerous creatures and not to be taken lightly.

"Miss Delacour, over here, Mr Krum right there, and Mr Hiddeston get over here!" called out Bagman.

The former Qudditict player got us to gather around him.

"Now, Miss Delacour, if you would," he requested as he opened a little.

A strange noise was heard as Beauxbatons Academy's champion eyed the bag uncertainly before placing a hand inside the bag. She grimaced after she felt something try and she pulled a little version of the creature she would have to face.

"Mr Krum" said Bagman.

Soon all three of us had a little moving model of a magical creature in our hands. They were rather cute I hoped the spells that gave them this realism lasted for a while.

"These represent four very real Wyverns each of which has been given a golden egg to protect," informed Edward Greengrass, Barty Crocuh's replacement "Your objective is simple: Collect the egg. This you must do for each egg contains a clue, and without the clue, you cannot hope to proceed to the next task. Do you all understand?"

We all did as for the danger involve the task wasn't exactly complicated to understand and before too long Krum was sent out. I didn't get to see what he did to get his egg I just heard a little of Bagman's commentary.

He came back into the tent in one piece and with his egg as did Fleur so it couldn't have gone too badly for them.

When it was my turn I headed down into the arena, reminding myself that while wyverns do not breathe fire they can spit poison at you. That's easier to defend against, yet can still be very deadly. Thankfully wyverns are not as aggressive as dragons so the creature didn't become hostile as long as I kept my distance.

It was helpful that the crowd was so loud because the noise kept the creature distracted. I could tell that it was distraught and what I was about to do wouldn't help.

"What will our youngest champion have to show us!" Bagman as he began doing his job as a commenter "Come on lad the honour of Hogwarts on the line".

I non-verbally made use of the Summoning Charm to bring to me a box of miniatures to me, and then I opened the box up before I began placing the tiny figures on the ground.

"What in Merlin's name is he doing?" asked Bagman "This is no time to be playing with toys!".

The figurines were from Warhammer Fantasy and all from one faction so that they didn't start fighting each other. Each of the tiny models had a weapon or tool suited to incapacitating a large magical creature, such as ropes, chains, staffs and so on. I didn't wish to slay the reptile unless my life was directly threatened.

A lot of practice had gone into this and if there had been some sort of enchantment in place to stop me from using the Summoning Charm I would have needed to resort to trying to make use of the rocks in the arena as I wasn't stupid enough to try overwhelming such a powerful beast with direct spells and I couldn't risk using the powers that I'd gotten from outside of the Wizarding World.

I stepped back and then enlarged the models, feeling glad that Cortana had insisted that I practice this so much, and then when they were each life-sized I animated them. Because of how this charm worked the models acted somewhat as they would if they were real and they saw me as their commander since I'd infused them with power.

Meaning that while the warriors could be directed by me they still were limited in what they could do. They couldn't go and work in the kitchens for example. Instead, they began banging on the stone ground, drawing the attention of the massive lizard to him as they prepared for battle. They acted as if they were real warriors, psyching themselves up for a fight.

I took something else out of the box, the magical version of a record player, that soon had some bit of classical music playing. This was totally unnecessary for completing the task yet very important for earning points. The whole point of this contest was to show off our magical skills and intelligence. If not I'd have tried summoning the golden egg and just walked away if that worked.

Instead of doing something simple like that, I let the audience watch as the tension built up as the music entered a section that could make the listener think of something exciting, something fast-paced and then I ordered them to attack.

"Charge!" I shouted.

The figures launched themselves into the fray.

"For Sigmar!" they called out.

I'd decided not to use chaos warriors as they would be harder to control and people might start to worry if they started screaming about dark gods.

No doubt someone would ask who Sigmar was later on, for now, everyone watched as I directed my models to attack the wyvern with non-lethal force. They didn't need to win they just needed to keep the creature pinned down long for me to get to the egg.

"Wonderful use of charms" I heard Bagman say "The summoning charm, the enlargement charm and some version of the animation charm I'd guess".

It didn't matter that I might have broken the spirit of the rules by summoning my models. What mattered was that I had demonstrated my skill with magic and come up with an interesting way of completing the task. In the magical world public opinion is what matters not the actual rules.

The school's medi-witch dragged me into the tent. I knew that it was best to just let the woman do her job and get it over with rather than insist I was fine. Something she soon declared before Hermione came running in to wrap me in a rib-cracking hug. She did more damage to me than the magical creature.

"That was impressive" praised Hermione "I can't believe you didn't let me watch your practices. I didn't know your plan would work out so well".

Again I felt glad that my AI had insisted on the rehearsals and I'd kept the hidden because I wanted it to be a surprise

"Did you know what we were up against?" asked Fleur in French

I couldn't tell the truth, but I didn't need to exactly lie.

"There are records of past tournaments and the tasks involved" I answered "Dealing with some sort of dangerous magical creature out there was one of the more common tasks. So I came up with some plans in advance".

All of which was true.

"I see," said Fleur "That was very clever of you".

Victor Krum grunted in what I guessed to be approval.

"You will go to the Yule Ball with me" stated Fleur.

Where was this coming from? She slept with me when I was Tom not John, but that had just been a fling. Veela were sexual creatures and Fleur was young so it wasn't strange that she'd want to go to bed with a talented wizard, but in this form, I was just a boy as far as she knew.

"Thank you, but I have a date," I said.

Fleur moved closer.

"You will go to the Yule Ball with me" she repeated.

She must be trying to use her Allure, or her natural beauty, to try to muddle with my mind. It would have worked if I was who I looked to be.

"I have a girlfriend" I informed the French student.

She waved a hand in a gesture of dismissal.

"She is a plain girl" she commented "You would be better off attending with me".

I'd spend quite a bit of effort smoothing out Hermione rough edges. I trusted her more than anyone. Even Luna, although that was partly because Luna would be rubbish at keeping my secrets as she has no sense of dishonesty and liked to speak her mind. Admirable traits for most, just not for me.

As for Hermione, she wasn't as good at Frech as me because she didn't have an AI to help her learn, but she was going to pick up on what was being spoken about if I didn't end this conversation. So I kissed Hermione just in time for Rita Skeeter to get a picture. Even in human form, she was a sneaky pest.

"That's going right on the front page" the reporter declared.

"You aren't allowed to write about him" Hermione insisted.

Skeeter smirked at us.

"Not in the Prophet" she agreed "My latest story is for Teen Witch Weekly".

No doubt it would be dropping hints about Hermione drugging me with a love potion or some such rubbish. I'd have to deal with that this evening. I hated it when other people figured out the loopholes.

"Let's go find out the scores," I said to Hermione.

We headed out to where the judges were conferring. They were in deep discussion about what they saw and it took some time for them to make their choices when it became time to decide what points to give. I scored high, in fact, I was winning. although that might have had something to do with Bagman who gave me a ten.

"Madam Maxine gave you a very high score" commented Hermione.

That was to be expected despite the rivalry between schools. Drumstrangs new High Headmaster gave me an average score while my own Headmistress gave me an 8 out of 10 It might have been higher if I'd used some transfiguration or been one of her Lions.

"Beauxbatons Academy is known for producing students very skilled with charms," I said "The Headmistress must have been impressed with my use of charms".

She wasn't the only teacher to be impressed.

"Oh that was remarkable charm work, Mr Hiddleston," said Flitwick as he came over "I remember you and Mr Potter playing with those figures at the start of your third year. It's been a long time since I've seen the animation charm used so effectively".

The other two champions had been much more direct in their efforts. A bit disappointing considering that they were supposed to be skilled magic users and it wasn't as if they had been caught unprepared. Perhaps I was just that much more talented than the others. I hoped so as we still had two more tasks to go.

(Line Break)

Entrance Hall. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Hermione had been feeling incredibly nervous about what the rest of the student body would think of her now that she was all dolled up, no one wants to be laughed at. Normally she was quite comfortable around John, but tonight was very different and she'd had to stop to take a few deep breaths before going down into the waiting area.

It felt as if it had taken hours of work to get ready, especially with her hair and the amount of Sleekeazy's hair potion needed to smooth it out for the style she wanted, had not been cheap. This was much more trouble than she ever wanted to go through on any sort of regular basis so perhaps it was a good thing the Yule wasn't an annual event.

She couldn't help but think, however, that it might have been worth at least some of the effort. She'd already got some looks from her classmates who were running late and they'd had nothing other than good things to say. None of the girls were being as catty as they could often be.

As she was slowly walking down the steps so as to not trip in her heels, she wished her mother had been the type to take the time to teach her daughter more about dressing all fancy. An older sister, a cousin or an aunt could have stepped in if she had any of those.

If it hadn't been for some of the older girls in Ravenclaw, all of whom were getting along with each other for once, she'd still be trying to organise her hair into something manageable, and who knew that makeup could be so complex? She'd never bothered with it much until tonight.

When she noticed John at the bottom of the steps, who was looking at her with a wide-eyed expression she figured that had been somewhat worth it. She would only consider all her efforts to have been totally worthwhile if this evening went well.

As for John, he was looking quite handsome in his black dress robes and she couldn't help wondering what her best friend and boyfriend would look like in a proper tux. Wizarding fashion wasn't very kind to men and she understood why most of her generation wore muggle clothing when they could get away with it.

John was still admiring her. If there was nothing else good that she could take from this night, it would be this moment. She felt like a princess and while typically she didn't care for such things as she felt that women were more than arm candy or damsels to be saved by the hero, tonight would be different.

For this evening she would be admired for her looks, and she would be on the arm of a man she admired and if she got shown off a bit then that was fine. Kol, that was the name he wished to keep hidden, could play the part of the handsome hero for the evening.

Soon the champions were called to form a line so as to get ready for their entrance into the Great Hall. She noticed a hint of sadness on Victor Krum's face (despite him having a pretty French girl as his date) when she took John's arm to get in line and wait for the official signal. They would be making something of a grand entrance.

She'd read the book series so she knew that her Gryffindor counterpart, a person she wished to slap for her bad taste in men and poor choices, attended this event with the Drumstrang Champion. This made her wonder why her counterpart had settled for Ron Weasly when she could attract a champion. That version of her clearly had some issues.

Not for the first time she reminded herself that if John hadn't come along that would have been her life. In this version of events, she and Harry Potter had never been that close, due to him having never saved her from a troll, but was a fine young man who she hoped had a nice girl for his date. But that other Hermione's friends were just odd people for her to socialise with.

She couldn't imagine not having the whacky Luna Lovegood in her life, even if this world's version of her was less prone to flights of fancy. Book Hermione hadn't even met her at this point in her life and was missing out on having a good friend even if they were very different people.

As she stood there waiting, Hermione slowly started to grow uneasy. The French champion seemed mad at her for some reason.

"Did I do something to offend your fellow champion?" Hermione asked her date.

John leaned close to whisper something.

"She wanted me to be her date," he told her "I had to let her down because I promised to take you".

Now understanding fully what that conversation had been about, Hermione couldn't help feeling a little smug, and that lasted only until they headed inside Great Hall.

Hermione was receiving various stares from everyone and she was uncomfortable with all the attention. She grabbed John's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze before getting one back. It was good that she hadn't gone with Krum after all as he wouldn't have known her well enough to sense that she was a bit distressed.

"Let's just stay focused on each other," he said "Just ignore the jealous bitches".

Hermione wanted to chide John for his choice of words, but it wasn't bad advice so she gave him a grateful smile. The rest of the students passed by them as they walked over to the Heads table and sat down. The meal eventually came after they figured out how to order through their plates. It was a great dinner once people began to relax and soon talk filled the Great Hall.

John himself had been engaged in a conversation by Ludo Bagman about Quidditch for quite a while, although calling it conversation wasn't right as Mr Bagman was doing all of the talking. When Hermione caught his attention the young witch gestured to poor Roger Davis, the captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team who looked as if he wasn't totally here.

The Allure of the Veela wasn't that hard to deal with and Roger was a bright you man, so Fleur must have turned up the charm or maybe David had been drinking before the event in an attempt to calm his nerves.

Dinner moved on, mostly filled with small talk and amazingly she managed not to spill anything on the dress that John had happily paid for as long as he didn't have to bother going out and buying it. She'd spared him from torment even if it was amusing to torture guys with clothes shopping.

"I never did ask how you stopped Skeeter from writing that article" she mentioned as they ate.

That hadn't been a question, but John gave her an answer.

"I just did what I when the Prophet annoyed me," he said "I told the editor of Teen Witch Weekly that if he let Skeeter's article be seen that I'd cut off his supplies so that he can't publish the magazine".

Given what happened to Hermione in the book series she was grateful. This Hermione didn't want any puss sent to her via the post.

When the meal was finished the Headmistress got up and with a wave of her wand, several tables in the centre of the Great Hall moved over to the walls, going over the heads of many students, leaving a good-sized area that must be the dance floor.

As the head table was vacated there was a bit more magic. A stage had appeared and a group of witches and wizards stepped up to the platform. The band had arrived and they were very quickly set up.

"It is time for the first official dance of this Yule Ball," said the Headmistresses "Champions, if you and your partners will please proceed to the dance floor"

John rose from his seat, as did the other champions and he took Hermione's hand as they walked to the dance floor. As was expected in this situation he gave Hermione a bow that she returned with a curtsy before he took her right hand in his left and placed his right hand on her hips.

He rarely touched Hermione, at least not like that. This was because he was actually a lot older than he looked, and while Hermione wasn't as immature as many of her peers, she was still a minor so it made sense that he'd never tried to be sexual with her.

Hermione wondered if that would change soon. She wasn't a little girl anymore even if she hadn't grown up completely, but she wasn't in any rush to make things more physical between them.

If the looks were anything to go buy knew she was the envy of most of the females in the room and that made her grin. Not that Hermione dwelled on this as she made an effort to focus on the dancing and tried to block out the fact that everyone was watching them.

The first dance was for the Champions and she enjoyed it tremendously. After the song ended, they stopped and John gave her another little bow as he had learned to during their lessons over the summer, making her smile.

They decided to take a break for a drink as there would be plenty more chances to dance during the course of the evening, and she wanted to find out how her friends were doing with their dates.