Chapter 5 Elves and Eventualities

It took seconds for Harry and Justin to jump between Alex and the ministry members. It took a few minutes to determine that there was no way a young foreigner like her could be a death-eater. Crouch was unconvinced.
"I'll have her in chains in front of the dementors!" He proclaimed.

"Leave my sister alone! How would she know how to summon that mark? She has low marks in pretty much every subject. She's too young to be a death eater, and, oh yeah, you kind of need full powers to pull that off!" Justin then went into a highly specialized explanation detailing the impossibility of Alex using her wand for that magic.

"Move, Russo, or go with her," Amos Diggory stated calmly.

Harry was surprised to find Cornelias Fudge telling him to stand down.

"This is Justin Russo, you can't arrest him! It would cause an international incident. Come now, these two heroes fought to maintain order, we have a dozen witnesses who are most impressed with Mr. Potter. As for the young lady," Alex put on her best puppy-dog pout.

"She's with me," Said Harry. It was annoying to him that others were once again making choices that affected his life. It is time for that to change.

"It's plain as the nose on my face that the young lady here is innocent," Alastair Moody piped in. That was not saying much seeing as most of the protuberance had been blasted off. Harry was about to ask why he was not at the safe house with Sirius when he realized that he was not supposed to know what happened to his parents' betrayer. Taking a deep breath, Harry told them where the ministry could find the Weasley's tent. One of the workers was about to make a suggestion, and Harry told them where they could put that suggestion, and the Quidditch stadium was welcome to follow it.

He grabbed Alex, who grabbed Hermione, who grabbed Ron. The trek back was almost as bad. The results of the event had unsettled everyone. Children were crying for their parents, parents for their children. Mr. Bagman sat alone staring dumbly into space. There was a scary few minutes during which Draco Malfoy tagged after Alex, whispering evilly about what he would do to her. He left due to the fact he was out-numbered 12 to 1.

The Russos stayed in the Weasley tent. It worked out well, because Justin was capable of making conversation with Percy, and Max kept the twins busy. Alex was having plenty of fun with Ginny, who reminded her of Harper. Justin had brought some snacks from home, and taught Harry a bit of twelve-ball while Ron growled enviously. At dawn, Alex demanded Justin give her a piggy back ride, due to her exhaustion. Justin turned to Harry on his way out.

"See you at Hogwarts," Then vanished through the doorway, his sister drooling tiredly on his shoulder, and Max trailing behind.

Harry set down the paddle, and huddled together with Hermione and Ron. The both secluded themselves to a corner.

"Alright, what was all that?!" He demanded.

Ron, for once, beat Hermione to the answer, "Crouch was a big guy back in the day. Lots of power, lots of guts. Put a right high amount of folks in jail, including," he gulped, "Sirius."

Harry stiffened. The previous year, his parents' friend had broken out of an unbreakable jail, had found Harry, and told him that there was much he did not understand. He also had taken out two ministry members and a dozen dementors who got in the way. Voldemort himself had arrived to ask for use of the Black's body, who refused nastily. Harry had learned a few choice swears that day. And now Alastair Moody was here, deepening the connection to Sirius. It all came back to the convict.

He left Harry a mirror, and the promise that one day, all would be revealed.

"Maybe you ought to write him a letter?" Asked Ron quietly. Black was an enemy who acted like a friend. Hermione let out a huff, but did not interject her opinion until Harry had processed what she considered to be a foolish request.

"I think I will, yeah…" Sirius was now in a Ministry controlled safe house. They feared that his return to Azkaban would spark a massive breakout. Also, there was much to his story that did not fit what public records indicated.

Sirius,

Loads of death-eaters are in the area. What are they doing here? I think that something is on the horizon, something you know about, but will not tell me. I am afraid. You said you were my father's friend, but nothing you have said could have prepared me for what I have witnessed tonight. I want to trust you, but you have given me no reason to.

Harry James Potter

Alex just could not believe she had almost been sent to prison. Sure she was bad, naughty really… but evil? Never, she would never succumb to that temptation.

Justin had almost bruised her arm he had pulled her out of there so fast. It was one of the only times in her life her brother had been angry at an authority figure. She actually heard him use some of the more coarse wizard-swears. Max was, well, he was Max, off in la-la land, completely ignoring the fact that he was a hero.

Mr. Weasely had gathered the children around and put the boys to work.

Ginny had mentioned that Harry had a thing for saving people. Alex had noticed Justin and Harry kept towards the front of the tent, wands clearly at the ready. If a pixie had even sighed, there would be so much magic flying the ministry itself would not be able to stop it. She felt tired and frustrated, which was not helped by the fact that Alex, Ginny, and Hermione were told their work was done, and to sit quietly in the corner, fully clothed. Exhausted and frustrated, the three were quite grouchy.

Eventually, the evening winded down. Harry learned about 'spin' in Twelve Ball and Max started a conversation with the twins.

Justin told her to get ready to leave, and they headed off. They flashed themselves to an American Wizard Consulate, and requested a room. Alex had not been in a consulate since she and Justin had to get to Transylvania to find Juliet. American wizards lived by different rules, so they used the consulates as flash-points for longer trips.

Alex finally managed to get to sleep. The days turned to weeks, and soon, it was time to go to Hogwarts for the tournament. The three Russo wizards were told to appear at a building known as a B.A.L.L. to be transported properly to Hogwarts. From there, they would somehow be transported to the school. (Alex lost attention when the person explained their transportation.)

Justin was the most obvious choice for champion from Wiztech, although Jerko Phoenix also stood in the running. The two had squared off in the days leading up to their departure. Alex had been on hand to make running commentary on how her dork brother was no match for the athletic Phoenix.

"The only way my brother could play a game was if someone was threatening him with a paddle," She smarmily mimicked his frantic flailing.

"You find it hard to count to twelve, Alex," he shot back. Justin was at a disadvantage. He had to take his rival's taunts as well as his sister's.

"Maybe if you spent a little less time fighting little girls, and a bit more practicing the craft, you wouldn't lose the champion's position to me…!" Jerko cut in.

Alex bristled at the 'little girls' comment, but Justin grabbed her arm and took her to the B.A.L.L.

"Psh… I could take him down. I hope he gets his eye gouged out, that way he has an actual use for the eye-patch. Or, if he had an accident on the way there…" She smirked at the thought. Alex noticed how detached Justin was. Whatever was coming, she felt the tension in the air. Max was quieter than usual, which made her wonder if he understood just how dangerous his actions were. Justin charmed their suitcases to stick to the wall of the B.A.L.L. "I don't see why Max and I can't participate in the cup… What is this B.A.L.L. thing anyway?"

Justin came out of his trance to answer her. He did so with a bunch of long words she did not understand, but the structure they were staying in was shaped like a ball, so that was enough for her.

"The B.A.L.L. is Wiztech's, mass transport vehicle. This is how we're getting to Hogwarts. And you can't participate because you're too young," He paused, "And a big cheater." There was silence, and he perceived she was not satisfied. "Wizards have died in this, don't take it lightly."

A loud rumbling sound reverberated throughout the hall. Justin grabbed a handhold. "Looks like it's time to get rolling." He was being literal. The room started to roll in a circle. Alex tumbled head over heels, over and over. She landed in an undignified position on Justin who grabbed whatever part of her anatomy he could to stabilize her. She let out a yelp as his hands found her.

The part he grabbed was a bit… sensitive.

The room kept spinning. Anything not strapped down flew through the air. Max, for his part, could not have enjoyed himself more thoroughly. His screams of delight drowned out Alex screaming in terror, and Justin grunting, scrambling to adjust himself. It was worse on the turns. Max had decided to eat a live chicken with his breakfast, so he went flying about spraying orange juice for him to catch in his mouth. Every few seconds he had to dodge his sister, who spun through the air like a ragdoll, hair waving. Just like always, she turned to her brother, literally.

After all these years, they had a way of communicating that went beyond just words, a way to understand one another even while upside-down. All they needed was to be in one another's presence to be understood; distance had always been their enemy. Alex managed to flip her body into a more comfortable position on one of the turns. The bed, bolted to the floor/wall/ceiling depending on the direction of the B.A.L.L., was her target. Justin ground himself to the mattress, bracing to catch her.

Max flew out of the room, and ran sideways on the wall down the hall, whooping with joy. Alex aimed clumsily for the bed, her brother's arms about her waist. They landed with a grunt, and he managed to grab ahold of the headboard pinning her to the mattress. They were finally comfortable with him lying directly on top of her, eerily reminiscent of a lover's embrace as the movement of the building rocked their bodies. Max whined as he flew back into the room, "Aw, is it bed-time already?"

Harry stood outside in the cold, waiting for his friends to arrive. Beauxbatons and Durmstrang had already arrived, and sat themselves. A low rumbling sound was heard, and in the distance, a massive orb rolled over the hills like some sport for giants.

It whirled to a stop at the gates. A massive breach opened the ball. An enormous ramp settled down onto the grass with a deafening thud. A white light blasted through the hole. Then, silence…..

"Wiztech proudly presents, its champions!" a voice boomed.

Then more silence, then more…. A minute had passed, then another. Then a loud groan was heard. A boy stumbled out dizzily.

Max was talking animatedly to his sister, "Do we have to wait in line before we go again? Are there corndogs here?" He noticed Ron's food and launched himself. Alex, losing the stability of her brother collapsed on the grass.

"I mean really," She whined, "Who makes these things?!"

Music from inside started slowly, first a small harmony, then trumpets, a swell of drums. A single figure strode from the darkness. A man was striding forward, confidently glaring down the rival schools.

Justin walked out, his head held high, walking erect. He nodded to Harry. Professors Dumbledore, Karkaroff, and Madame Maxine each shook his hand, and then led him off to the side with Fleur and Krum. The American strode confidently straight towards his rivals.

"So," Began Krum, "How was your journey here?"

Justin threw-up noisily on the whole group.

Alex buried her face in embarrassment.