Ninja Wizard IV: Goblet of Fire 07
By David
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. JK Rowling has that honor.
Author's Notes: There marks [] indicate Japanese spoken.
Ninja Wizard IV: Goblet of Fire 07
'The Tournament Begins'
Friday morning started out like any morning did at Hogwarts for Harry. He went down into his trunk for his morning workout and put in a hard one, going all out on his magical training with his new wand. It had responded very well to him and Harry knew now that it was going to work very well for him. He would continue to keep the Potter wand as his backup wand should the new one ever go down for any reason. From there he went up into the room and had his bath before getting dressed. He checked to make sure he had everything he needed for the day before heading out. The Diggory badges were out in full force, the Slytherins gleefully showing them off to Harry. Harry laughed at them as he passed by. He sat down in his customary place at the end of the Ravenclaw table and took the Daily prophet from the owl that brought it to him and it took off. He opened the paper to see what was on the front page and there was a bright smiling Fudge grandly playing up the tournament. Under those headlines were the secondary ones referring to the recent troubles of Albus Dumbledore. Inside the PotterWatch box was the report that he had been seen in the alley entering Ollivander's on a Monday. There was speculation that Harry had gotten another wand after having his first one snapped by Dumbledore. Next to that was an article on the start of the tournament and it stated the opening event, the wand weigh in, would be witnessed by the Daily Prophet's very own Miss Rita Skeeter. Reading that name made the hair on the back of is neck stand up. He had a bad feeling about this Rita Skeeter. He was sure to find out about her in a few hours time as the wand weigh in was this morning. That meant he got to bail out of potions early. Snape wouldn't like that.
He didn't. Snape snarled at Colin Creevey as the young Gryffindor delivered the message that Harry was needed. Harry cleared out of there as fast as he could to avoid Snape's temper as it seemed to be on a real short fuse this morning. Harry sighed in relief once he got out the door. Colin Creevey joined Harry for the trek upstairs.
"Professor Snape sure was upset about you leaving," Colin spoke up.
Harry smiled. "He's always upset about something, Colin. Just the way he is. You get used to it eventually."
"How do you put up with him?" Colin wanted to know.
Harry smiled at the question. "I ignore him."
Truth was Harry had a number of training dummies that looked like Snape in his training room that he took his frustrations out on. The Dumbledore dummies had been a big help to him in the last few weeks in keeping his composure in the courtrooms.
"Wow. You're so cool," Colin looked at him with hero worship in his eyes.
Harry noticed his camera. "Getting pictures, Colin?"
Colin beamed. "Yeah! I was talking to the cameraman from the Daily Prophet about photography and he seemed to be impressed with me. He wants to see my portfolio!"
"That's great, Colin! I've seen some of your work and they are great. I have a suggestion if you don't mind," Harry said as they reached the grand foyer.
"What's that, Harry?" Colin wanted to know.
"Do some serious head and shoulder shots in black and white. I saw one picture in Witch Weekly some time ago and really liked it. It was well done," Harry informed him as they started up the main staircase.
"Was it the one of the lady with the tiny bottle of fragrance in front of her?" Colin asked. "She had her arms crossed in front of her and her head down on them."
Harry nodded. "Yes, that one. Do a few of those and add them to your portfolio. I can do one for you if you like."
Colin perked up at that. "Oh could you? That would be so awesome!"
Then his eyes went wide and Harry had a feeling that Colin just had an idea. The younger boy whipped out a bit of parchment and started writing. Harry was sure he would find out in time what it was.
There were quite a few people in the room when they arrived. Dumbledore beamed at Harry as he turned to him. The other champions were there and seated in chairs. Crouch stepped around Dumbledore and approached Harry before some garishly dressed lady could.
"There you are Mr. Potter," he said in his soft voice. "So nice to see you. If you would kindly join the other champions, we can do pictures while waiting for Mr. Ollivander to arrive as he is to inspect the wands this morning."
Harry shook Crouch's hand. "Nice to meet you sir."
Harry joined the other champions as Colin readied his camera and the Daily Prophet photographer got his ready. Harry noted that both cameras looked a bit old fashioned and wondered what it was that made the Wizarding photographs work. He decided to ask Colin later. Harry relaxed as the photos were taken and then started to joke around making the other champions laugh and relax too, as they seemed to be a bit stiff. Getting Viktor to laugh had been his goal and he succeeded. Karkaroff seemed to be enjoying himself and was pleased when Harry suggested that the headmaster and headmistresses join in the photographs and they were pleased. Harry noted the predatory gleam in Skeeter's eye and had the dangerous feeling once more. He decided to avoid her completely as she seemed like serious trouble. Harry would later on find out just how smart he was in his decision to avoid her. She approached Harry after the pictures were done with a fake looking smile on her face. Harry shook his head to her.
"I don't do interviews, sorry. No comment," Harry said as he turned away from her and headed to the small table that had refreshments on it.
Harry didn't see the extremely pissed look on her face but Colin did and he shivered at the sight. Harry got a coffee for him self and retreated to the nearby window. He was surprised to see snow on the ground.
"Well, would you look at that?" Harry exclaimed. "It's snowing out there!"
People went to the windows to look out.
"Well, a bit of snow won't stop us," Crouch commented. "We move on."
"It looks so nice," Fleur said.
"Do you get snow at your school?" Harry asked her.
Fleur smiled. "I do, and I enjoy it. We have a little pond nearby where I like to go ice skating for fun."
"Very cool," Harry said. "I like to snow ski and snowboard."
"I am not familiar with snowboard," Viktor joined in the conversation.
Harry grinned at that. "A snowboard is like a skateboard without the wheels. You stand on it with both feet strapped to the board and you use momentum to move around the course or a half pipe."
"Perhaps Mr. Potter would kindly demonstrate for us later in the day," Dumbledore suggested.
"Sure, why not? Be fun," Harry said.
"Good. Then it is set," Crouch announced.
Ollivander arrived at that moment and got ready to start his role in all of this. Harry hung back and watched the old man start to examine the wands. Harry watched Ollivander handle each wand and cast a spell from it. He nodded to Harry as he took Harry's wand and examined it closely. He nodded and handed it back. Then he turned to the people that were waiting for his verdict.
"All of the wands are working well," Ollivander announced.
Crouch nodded. "Good. Then the first task shall go forward as planned tomorrow morning. We shall meet in the champion's tent on the grounds."
And that ended the wand weigh in.
The next morning Harry arrived at breakfast to find a lot of people in the great hall eating and conversing as the talk centered on the first task. Harry took his seat at a smaller table set aside for the four champions. Harry inclined his head to them before sitting down. Viktor turned to Harry.
"Are you well this morning?" he asked.
Harry considered the question and then replied. "I'm nervous about the first task as it involves dragons. Any idea what we're supposed to do with them?"
"No clue," Fleur said. "Even my headmistress doesn't know.
Cedric sighed. "I don't know either. Nobody has said anything to me about it."
"I hope this isn't going to be a dangerous one," Harry said.
The others agreed. Harry turned to his breakfast and managed to eat a bit of it. He sat there for a time having coffee instead of his usual breakfast tea and looked around the room to see who was there. A lot of the people he didn't recognize but seeing Sirius and Remus gave him some comfort. Hermione was with the rest of the crew and she looked nervous too. Harry hoped their friends were providing support for her. Harry had spent time with the goblins writing his will after the meeting with the Hogwarts Governors making Hermione the major beneficiary to his estate. He did bequeath money for the orphanages he wanted to build. The goblins informed him they were in the process of confiscating the funds stolen from him and that it would take time in tracking them down and taking control of them as Dumbledore had hidden them well. Harry was sure that Dumbledore would try to skip out of England right after the governor's meeting but the old man hadn't. Harry looked up at the high table and Dumbledore was there, sitting next to Snape. He was acting like everything was normal but Harry knew better. According to the people Harry had talked to, Dumbledore had settled into his new role at Hogwarts and was actually teaching the history of magic class like it should have been taught all this time. Dumbledore was covering subjects that Binns never had and people were actually paying attention and not sleeping in the class as they had in the past. Harry hadn't had the chance to go to the class like he should have as he had been busy with other things. He would have that class in the next week.
Harry looked up as the great hall fell quiet to see Crouch step up to the front of the hall. This was it.
"Good morning to you all, and thank you for coming. Today is the first task, and in a few minutes we shall depart for the arena as the first task gets underway at ten o' clock. The champions are to report to their tent at nine forty five for their instructions, at which time we will reveal to the spectators what that task will entail. I wish the champions good luck in the first task," Crouch said.
He went back to his seat as the crowd applauded. Harry took the opportunity to excuse him self and went to join his friends. Neville handed Harry the morning paper and Harry sighed as he saw the headlines. It was about the wand weigh in from yesterday, and Skeeter was not kind in her comments about Harry, describing him to be an arrogant cold child. Skeeter wasn't kind to the officials running the tournament, stating that they needed to choose their champions a lot more carefully. She even ripped into Dumbledore, stating that he should be removed from the castle as he was a disgrace to the Wizarding World. Harry carefully folded the paper and asked Neville to keep it for him as he was going to want it later.
"What are you going to do, Harry?" Hermione asked.
Harry sighed. "I plan on writing a rebuttal to Skeeter's article. What she wrote wasn't nice. Somebody needs to find a way to silence the bitch."
Neville nodded. "Go for it Harry. In the meantime, good luck today."
"Thanks Neville. Keep close to Hermione, she's gonna need support when I get out there. I got the feeling this isn't gonna be a walk in the park."
"Oh you'll make it, Harry. You'll survive," Luna said.
Harry smiled at Luna. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Luna. I needed to hear that."
Cedric came up behind Harry. "Time to go, Harry."
Harry followed Cedric out of the great hall with Fleur on Viktor's arm. The four of them headed down the path to where the champion's tent was. It was a medium sized tent, and it had all the comforts of home. Harry sat down in a very comfortable chair and watched Crouch walk in accompanied by Dumbledore, McGonagall, Maxime, and Karkaroff. Dumbledore looked at Harry and there seemed to be no malice in his eyes but Harry knew Dumbledore was good at hiding things. After a long conversation with Sirius and other people, Harry decided he could do without Dumbledore's attempts to bait him with the information he desperately needed to take down Voldemort should he ever return in exchange for giving Dumbledore what he wanted, his control of people and him. That was just too high a price and Harry didn't want to pay that price and be thought ill of if he ever recanted his testimony against Dumbledore. Sometime you have to give up what it is you really want just to give somebody else what they want.
Crouch speaking up broke Harry out of his thoughts. He turned to pay attention to what the man was saying. He was holding a small cloth bag.
"Gather round, and reach in to pull out a small dragon with a number round its neck. There are four of them, and each champion will be facing a dragon. The numbers round the neck determines the order in which all of you will be going in. So reach in and pick your dragons," Crouch said.
Fleur went first and pulled out a dragon with the number one on it. Then it was Cedric with number three, and Viktor with number two. Harry was the last and he drew the last one in there with the number four.
"Your task is to get into the nest and retrieve the golden egg that was placed in there among the other eggs. Inside the golden egg is the clue for the next task to take place the first week of February," Crouch stated.
"We have to go up against nesting mothers to get an egg?" Viktor questioned.
"Are you people nuts?" Fleur asked.
"That's suicide," Cedric complained.
"We'll be Kentucky fried in seconds," Harry snapped.
Crouch looked at all of them. "This is what you have to do to advance."
Harry instantly knew this would take all of the physical skill he had trained for. This would be a physical contest, and he would have his sneaking skills to rely on. He mentally thanked his ninja instructors for all of the lessons in stealth he had learned from them. He wondered what kind of cover he would have available.
"At the sound of the cannon each person goes outside the tent to start their task," Crouch said and left the tent before Harry could ask his question.
All of the other people left as well and the four champions were left alone. Harry went back to the chair he had gotten out of and sat down. He closed his eyes and slid into Getsumi no Michi and began to meditate.
The cannon went off and Fleur was the first to leave. Harry blocked out the announcer and continued to meditate. A few minutes later Viktor was the next to go. Then it was Cedric. Suddenly Harry sensed someone in there with him. He opened his eyes to find Hermione in front of him. He stood up and approached her.
"I needed to see you," she said quietly. "I needed to…"
Harry moved forward and took her into his arms and held her close for a time that seemed to go on forever. He looked into her eyes and something seemed to pull them close together and then they were kissing. Then the moment was ruined by the flash of a light and both of them turned to see Skeeter standing in the doorway of the tent with her photographer, smirking at them. Harry started towards them anger coming off him in waves. Skeeter and her photographer quickly left the tent and Harry turned back to Hermione. She was upset about the intrusion.
"Leave her be for the moment, Harry. She's not worth it. You need to concentrate on the task," she said as the cannon went off, calling Harry. "Be careful out there. Good luck."
She quickly kissed him and then slipped out the back of the tent. Harry turned and headed out of the tent, the crowd going nuts when Harry appeared. Harry quickly surveyed the scene and noticed he had plenty of cover to hide as large boulders dotted the arena. He quickly came up with a plan as he saw the golden egg propped up in the nest against the other eggs but no dragon in sight. Harry started his mission.
Harry dropped down behind one of the larger boulders after raising his wand in the air and calling for his broom. He knew his broom was lying on his couch in the private flat he had and that it would take a few minutes for it to show up. In the meantime he could at least make one run at the egg. He moved around the boulder and popped up for another look. Still no dragon. Now Harry was getting concerned. The egg sat there in the nest along with four white ones, beckoning to him. Harry dropped down and made his way through the rocks to another spot and slowly came up. This time he found himself face to face with a very pissed off dragon.
"Kuso," Harry softly swore as the dragon opened its mouth.
Harry dropped down as a stream of fire came out of the dragon's mouth at Harry. He rolled into safety behind a large boulder and waited out the stream of fire. This was not going to be an easy task. Harry had known that as he went into the task and even more so now after having been presented with the evidence. Okay. Let's try a move. Harry popped up and threw the flash bang spell at the dragon and ducked back down. The spell landed just inches from the dragon and went off, knocking the dragon back as the concussion effect of the spell knocked it back on its butt. It was a lot quicker than Harry anticipated it would be as it scrambled back to its feet as Harry moved, trying to get to it before the dragon did. Unfortunately the dragon got to the nest before Harry did, sweeping its tail right at Harry. Harry dived off to the side and the tail barely missed his head by scant inches. The crowd reacted to that and Harry knew he would need another tactic to get at the nest. The dragon raised her head and roared at the crowd. Harry used the distraction for another try at the nest. He was up and moving before the dragon could finish her statement of protest. She reacted a lot faster than Harry thought she would, lunging forward and taking a swipe at him with her front left paw. Harry disappeared so quick the crowd thought she had gotten him. Harry sat with his back to the large boulder, peeling away the slashed shirt from his left shoulder to examine the deep cut he had gotten from one of the claws. Now she would be able to keep track of him by smelling his blood on his shirt. Not what he wanted. Harry popped up and nearly got his head knocked off by a right paw to the face. Harry pulled back in the nick of time and got a very close up look at the razor sharp claws that passed so close to his face. Harry risked a look at Hermione and she had gone completely pale. He knew he would be hearing about it later, guaranteed. Harry hopped backwards in an effort to put some room between him and the now very pissed off mommy dragon. She went after Harry and stopped as the heavy chain kept her from going any further. And then the chain snapped.
Harry felt his nuts pull up into him and his blood turn ice cold at the sound of the chain snapping. His Firebolt appeared, swooping down towards him. Harry leaped onto it just as a blast of fire scorched the boulder he had been on. A dragon on the loose was asking for trouble so Harry decided the best thing to do was to make it chase him. Harry knew the area fairly well, the nearby mountains, the Forbidden Forest, and the canyons surrounding the castle as he had explored them while flying in his falcon form. Harry literally stood the broom up, the handle pointing to the sky, and took off like a rocket, racing upward into the late morning sky. The weather conditions were perfect for flying, clear blue sky, no wind, and the sun was in the right position. Harry heard the dragon scream out in anger and knew it was following him. Good, what he wanted her to do. The chase began, dragon vs. Harry. Once Harry got up into the sky, he began to rapidly plan his moves. He turned towards the nearby Forbidden Forest and headed towards it. Harry had the idea of possibly shaking it off by flying round as many trees as he could and possibly confusing it. He dropped down into the sparsely tree populated area of the forest first and headed into it, the dragon still hot on his tail. For the next few minutes they played a game of 'catch me if you can' weaving around the trees at high speeds. Harry was glad for all of the flying he'd ever done since discovering how much fun flying was, be it on a broom or in his falcon form. Harry led the dragon deeper into the forest but the damned dragon was being very persistent. Harry was glad there were wards in the forest to prevent the trees from catching fire as the dragon breathed streams of fire at Harry. He was sure he would never hear the end of it from McGonagall is he had set the forest on fire. Okay, this wasn't working. Time to change gears.
Harry found an open spot in the canopy of tree branches above him and headed upward to emerge from the forest back into the clear blue sky. Harry turned towards the canyons surrounding the castle as the dragon emerged from the forest. Harry continued to lead the dragon on the chase, now weaving through the rocks and stone of the canyons. Harry knew there was a tunnel someplace in the canyons and hoped to shake it off him by going through it and hoping it would get stuck in there. If not, there was always that one spot in the castle, and that was the last place Harry really wanted to go with it. As Harry raced through the canyons with the dragon behind him, he began to wonder if it was possible to ride a dragon, and if it was, they would make a great aerial assault unit. Harry tucked that idea away in his mental filing cabinet for later consideration. Harry kept flying as fast as he could go, the dragon keeping up. Harry suddenly remembered where the tunnel was and headed for it. He dropped down into the canyon leading him to the tunnel. He knew he would have to slow down a bit so he wouldn't go splat on the rock walls. One more slight turn and there it was. Harry headed for the opening and made it. The dragon paused outside the tunnel, screaming out it's frustration at not being able to catch the annoying human creature. Suddenly the dragon plunged into the tunnel, making up its mind that she was going to catch the annoying human creature and roast his ass. She discovered that maneuvering through the tunnel was a bit of a job. Harry, having been through the tunnel a few times, wasn't having that problem. He did have to go a bit slower so he wouldn't crash at the wrong moment. He emerged from the tunnel only to fly through a waterfall. He took advantage of the waterfall to get a drink of water and move on. The dragon emerged from the tunnel straight into the waterfall. She came out the other side of the waterfall, mad as hell about the unplanned shower.
Harry headed towards the castle at a high rate of speed, wanting to put as much distance as he could between him and the pissed off mother. Harry couldn't decide who he wanted to go after for this one, Crouch or Dumbledore. He decided to just kick both of their butts and be done with it. The dragon immediately picked up speed and the chase round the castle began. Those who were in the castle said later that it was the most intense chase they had ever seen, and reported on Harry's flying skills to those who would listen. Harry's reputation as a broomstick flyer would be forever sealed. They flew round the towers, under the bridges, through the corridors, and round the courtyards. At one point Harry cut a really fast turn and barely grazed one of the many towers of Hogwarts. The dragon was a bit slow and faceplanted right into the tower roof. It slid down the roof while trying to hold on and finally managed to come to a halt right at the edge. She shook her head to clear out the effects of having crashed into the tower's roof face first. She spotted Harry's rapidly retreating form and then took off after him. As soon as she was gone, a team of house elves immediately popped up on the wrecked roof and went to work fixing it. Never let it be said that the Hogwarts elves weren't efficient at getting things done. The dragon crashing face first into the tower's roof bought Harry additional seconds and he used it to his advantage, heading downward into the castle. He knew the dragon was still on his tail and he knew just how he would trap her. Harry led her through a complicated maze of corridors until he found the one he needed. He flew through it and went upward. The dragon made it into the corridor but found herself trapped halfway through. Harry kept going as the Hogwarts elves arrived on the scene. He headed back to the arena at top speed and as soon as the crowd saw him, sent up a loud roar of approval. Harry headed downward and scooped up the golden egg as he went past the nest. Mission accomplished.
Harry studied the golden egg that was before him on the table in the middle of the living room in his private flat later that evening. He had tried opening it but all he got was a terrible screeching noise out of it. So he closed it up and now it was resting in a silver bowl in the middle of the low table in his living room.
[I have no idea what to do with it, Harry-san. There must be a way to retrieve the clue needed for the next task,] Miyamoto said.
Harry sighed as he leaned back in his chair with a cup of tea as he considered the problem before him. [I agree, Miyamoto-san. There has to be a way to find out.]
[Perhaps you should talk to the other champions and see if they have come up with something,] Miyamoto said.
[A good idea,] Harry said. [I shall approach them at breakfast tomorrow.]
Harry cleared his mind of the problem before him and relaxed. The soothing quiet music of Kitaro helped Harry relax as he continued to listen to it. Harry had discovered his music back when he was just ten and liked it so much he bought his music every chance he got and even saw him in concert with Hermione that trip home to Japan that particular summer. Hermione had liked his performance and his music she started buying his CD's and adding them to her collection at home. Her parents liked his music and started listening to it as well. Harry leaned back in his seat and sighed. He closed his eyes and allowed the music to influence the mental images he had in his mind. He stayed there for a time and then decided it was time for bed. It had been a long day and he was tired. He took his portable CD player to bed with him and put in another Kitaro CD and turned it on. It didn't take him long to fall asleep to the music wafting through his mind.
Breakfast was exciting. People were talking about yesterday's events and a number of people asked Harry if he had cracked the clue yet. Harry told them no and went to his usual spot for breakfast at the end of the Ravenclaw house table. Hermione met him there and they sat down. Harry glanced at the headline in the morning's Daily Prophet. It was about the first task and the speculation as to who would be the winner.
"Any luck with the egg yet, Harry?" Hermione asked.
Harry sipped his coffee and then looked at Hermione. "Nothing yet. Got to be a way to get the clue out of the egg."
"Well, you have time to deal with that as the second task isn't until February. Have you talked to the other champions yet?" Hermione asked.
Cedric's timing was perfect as he stopped next to Harry. "Can I join you?"
Harry smiled. "Sure. What a day yesterday, yes?"
Cedric grinned as he sat down. "It was. When my dragon lunged at me when I got too close, I thought it would have to change my boxers. I felt my blood freeze when that chain snapped on the Hungarian Horn Tail. How you managed to keep ahead of it must have taken a lot out of you."
"It did," Harry admitted. "I sat down in a chair and didn't move for hours. I did open the egg to find out what it was supposed to say to me but got this loud screeching from it. Anything on your end?"
Cedric sighed. "Nothing. Fleur and Viktor didn't have any luck either. Well, we have time to crack the thing, no pun intended. You, Harry, were amazing yesterday. The way you handled that was short of incredible."
"I did have a choice," Harry said. "Stay alive or get cooked."
Cedric smiled at the joke. "You impressed a lot of people with your flying."
"I enjoy flying, Cedric. The one time that I feel free of everything," Harry said.
Cedric nodded. "I know what you mean. I gotta get back to my table. Catch you later?"
Harry nodded. "Sure. Have a good day."
Cedric headed back to his table as Harry watched him go.
"He's a really nice guy," Hermione said.
Harry turned back to his breakfast. "He is. So, what do you want to do today?"
Hermione grinned at Harry and he had an idea of what it was she wanted to do.
They went up to the room of requirement and had it create a beach environment and hung out there for most of the day. Hermione approached the subject of Christmas Holiday, seeing as how it was just around the corner. Rumors had been flying round the castle about a possible Christmas Ball to be held the Saturday night just before Christmas Break was to start.
"What are your plans for Christmas Break, Harry?" Hermione wanted to know.
Harry sighed, as he hadn't thought of what they were to be. "I don't know. I should write letters to the family and see what they intend to do. Dad said in his last letter that things were getting intense at the Japanese Embassy and he thought of staying in England for Christmas. He didn't say what the situation was."
"I heard rumors of a Christmas Ball," Hermione said.
"And that means dancing," Harry said. "I really don't know a thing about ballroom dancing."
Hermione brightened up. "I can teach you."
"Could you? I saw it on TV once and thought it looked like fun," Harry said.
"Oh it is fun," Hermione said. "You would have to wear a tuxedo. I wonder if McGonagall knows anything about it."
Harry grinned. "She would know. First chance we get we can ask her."
McGonagall did know about it. "You are required to attend as you are one of the champions, Mr. Potter. You and the other champions need dates and are expected to open the ball with a dance. Do you know how to dance?"
"No, and Hermione has informed me that she is going to teach me how to dance, I need either dress robes or a tuxedo, and will have to stay for most of the evening," Harry said as McGonagall nodded.
"Miss Granger is correct. I am to assume she will be your date for the evening?" she asked Harry.
Harry smiled broadly. "She will be. I haven't asked her yet but I will."
"Very good Mr. Potter. I have hired a dance band for the evening and have already auditioned them and they are the kind of band that I think will be appropriate for the evening. None of that screeching that you young people tend to listen to these days. You are the exception to that rule Mr. Potter, as you seem to prefer other forms of music, having heard you the opening night of the tournament."
Harry smiled. "Thank you professor. I do like pop and light rock the best, but I also like heavy metal when the mood strikes. I think pop and light rock is best for dances."
Hermione arrived at that moment in the transfigurations classroom. "Oh there you are, Harry. Professor McGonagall, Harry and I wanted to ask about the Christmas Ball."
"I will be making the announcement at dinner this evening, Miss Granger. I wish you luck in teaching Mr. Potter in what he needs to know," McGonagall said. "I am planning on doing a week long dance class in the evenings after dinner."
"Good luck with that Professor McGonagall," Hermione said.
"I did want to ask you Harry, how you are getting on with Professor Dumbledore in his history of magic class," McGonagall asked.
Harry had been going to his class and so far Dumbledore hadn't said or done anything about his recent troubles and losing his positions and standing in the Wizarding World.
"I'm learning quite a bit," Harry said. "Professor Dumbledore is discussing many important things in Wizarding history, things that I never knew and it's been giving me a much better understanding of things. He's been treating me fairly."
McGonagall nodded. "Good, as he's been warned to stay clear of you."
"I'm really surprised he didn't get fired that day. I'm glad the school governors gave him a second chance," Harry said. I hope he uses the second chance well."
"He is as he is being watched. Professor Snape is toeing the line as well, as he knows he is on very thin ice with the board. Please do not give him an opportunity to cause trouble," McGonagall said. "One more thing. Professor Flitwick has informed me where your rooms are. Miyamoto asked to be your guardian as you speak Japanese and he tells me that the both of you get along very well."
"I've learned a great deal about the era he came from as I have a fascination for the period in Japanese history where the samurai was the ruling class in Japan," Harry said. "He's also taught me a number of defensive spells."
"Good. Then everything is well," she said. "Best you both get to your next class as the bell is about to ring."
Harry and Hermione headed off to history of magic class.
Dumbledore had been keeping his distance from Harry up to now. He continued his habit of keeping to himself, appearing in the great hall for meals and appearing in his classroom. His private quarters were connected to his teacher's office. Harry had not yet been inside his new office and so didn't know what was in there. Harry had decided on a spot about halfway back and do what he needed to do to pass the class and not give Dumbledore any kind of a reason to give him detentions. Dumbledore never gave any indication as to how he was feeling or dealing with the recent changes in his life. He simply taught the classes and kept to him self. In private Dumbledore had felt depressed as he viewed the events that caused the recent changes to him as attacks upon him. Fawkes' defection to Harry had hurt him deeply. He couldn't understand why people had turned on him and that they couldn't understand that he was doing all of this for the 'greater good'. He decided to lay low for a while, let the dust settle, and use the time to regroup and come up with a new plan. Once everything was done the way he hoped things would go, then they would see the light and he would be back where he should be. Leading the Wizarding World once more, and in the direction he wanted it to go in. It was all a matter of time. He could wait. He was patient. He looked up as the door opened and the students started filing in, Harry and Hermione with them. Once everyone was in their seats, he opened the session with a comment about the Christmas Ball. Someone asked him a question, and he went from there. Wizarding Christmas customs became the subject for the day.
McGonagall was as good as her word. The hall went quiet as she approached the podium just before dinner was served.
"Good evening to you all," she began. "I have a very important announcement to make. There will be a Christmas Ball this year, and it will be on the Saturday evening before the Christmas Break. It will be a formal event. It is open to forth years and up. The first, second, and third years will have a separate party elsewhere in the castle. The four champions will open the ball with a dance. For those of you who do not know how to dance, I will be running a week long dance class in the evenings after dinner here in the great hall. For those of you who plan on staying here at Hogwarts please look for a list in your common rooms. Make sure your names are on it by the end of the week."
The great hall began buzzing with talk about the Christmas Ball, the guys groaning about having to wear dress robes and dancing. Harry grinned as he was sure that what he was about to do would set people to talking once more. It was a given that Hermione would be his date but he wanted to formally ask her to do so. He stood up and brushed the front of his sweater off and then headed over to the Gryffindor house table. Hermione saw him coming and wondered what was up. Harry stopped in front of her.
"Lady Granger, I wish to ask you if you would consent to be my date for the Christmas Ball," Harry said formally as the great hall went quiet to hear what Harry was going to say to her.
Hermione smiled. "Lord Potter, I would be honored to be your date for the Christmas Ball. Thank you for asking me."
McGonagall beamed as Maxime nodded her approval at how Harry had asked Hermione.
"Such a gentleman," she said quietly to McGonagall.
"Lord Potter cannot be anything less. It is not his nature to be. He is indeed, a gentleman, and we ladies need to meet more of them."
"Agreed," Madame Pomfrey said from the other side of McGonagall.
The great hall immediately got noisy once more as Harry headed back to his seat. McGonagall had a feeling that it would be a night to never forget. She would be right.
Harry started looking at dress robes and really didn't like how they looked. He turned his attention to tuxedos and decided a tuxedo would look better. Getting McGonagall's approval Harry flooed out of the castle to the Leaky Cauldron where he met Sirius and Remus. Both men escorted Harry to a formal wear shop where he was fitted for a tuxedo. Both men enjoyed teasing Harry about it all as the tailor did his best to make the alterations in between bouts of laughter. He hadn't had this much fun in years and said so to Sirius.
"Ah, but life is too short and one must simply enjoy it and have as much fun as he possibly can before having to check out!" Sirius declared. "The opportunity to tease my godson was far too good to pass up!"
The old man had agreed, and while the three of them were looking at accessories for the tuxedo he slipped into the back and had everything done up quickly. He returned to find Sirius hamming it up with a top hat, a cane, and a monocle while mangling the English accent badly while Remus and Harry were rolling on the floor laughing so hard. He wondered why he couldn't get customers like those three. They had made his day. Harry tried everything on once more and he looked sharp.
"Young man, if I may, I would like to suggest a corsage for the lucky lady and a small rose for the lapel of your jacket. A simple red rose would do," he said.
"I like that idea and will do it. Thank you for everything," Harry said.
Remus and Sirius liked that idea as well. Sirius paid for everything and for a few purchases of his own and they left the shop and headed back to the Leaky Cauldron. Harry hoped that the Christmas Ball would be a night he would forever remember.
To Be Continued