A/N
I just found a very interesting summary of all the small and big plot holes in the Harry Potter story and an equally well written description of Headmaster Dumbledore and his actions. Please have a look at the profile of ARedHair to read it.
Nearly 7k words in this chapter, but I didn't want to split the chapter about the task.
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The first Task
Hogwarts – 24th of November
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The heavy fabric of the large Champions' tent dampened somewhat the noises coming from the tribune were hundreds of spectators were waiting for a spectacle. All students would be there, Harry mused, many parents, journalists, Ministry officials and a score of Aurors under Amelia Bones' command.
The boy-who-lived sighed deeply, trying hard to calm his nerves. Jitters wouldn't be really helpful out there facing a dragon with four-inch teeth and an 'Uncle Vernon mood'. The past few days had been exhausting and nerve-racking. It all started in the evening after their Hogsmeade trip. Hagrid had invited Harry to accompany him – hidden under his father's cloak – when he made a walk through the forest with Madam Maxime at his side. The sight of the huge man with the equally tall but much more slender woman walking beside him had been odd. No, it had been peculiar… eccentric… special. Harry pondered how Daphne would call that sight.
She had tried her best to teach him not only how to dance but also manners and expression during the last weeks. Not only had it been in preparation of the ball, but also in the hope that he would accept the adoption offer. To learn manners, how to behave and express in society, she explained once, is never time wasted. You may decide to ignore manners, but at least you have to know them. It is like the difference between being dumb and playing dumb.
To his surprise he had even liked those lessons, learning to behave as a gentleman around the girls – at least from time to time – and enjoyed that one meal he had used to compare the wizarding eating habits he just learned with the Muggle ones Hermione showed him. Perhaps it was the simple fact that he enjoyed those hours because he spent them with Daphne.
Before he had time to follow that string of thoughts, cheering erupted outside and Harry heard Ludo Bagman's voice – enhanced by a Sonorus spell – as he explained the task to the spectators. He had done the same an hour ago to the Champions. It had simply been a formality because every Champion already knew. Harry had been terrified when he saw the dragons and listened to Hagrid explaining to Madam Maxime that they would have to snatch an egg under the dragons' claws. With Karkaroff sneaking around the Dragon tamers' camp too only Cedric was unaware of the task's content. Harry had told him out of fairness and since then their relation had relaxed visibly. Perhaps at least a few of the students would alter their behaviour now. Harry didn't really expect it but he dared to hope.
Knowing the task had only been the first step. Thinking about a usable tactic had been much more difficult. It had hardly been a surprise that the girls spent the greater part of Sunday in the library, searching for information about dragons. In the meantime, Neville had done something that clearly told how much time he had started to spend around Hermione. Harry had struggled hard to suppress a snigger as Neville fetched some parchment and began to draw some charts, listing every spell Harry knew, marking with colours how helpful they were thought to be and how well Harry was able to cast them. When the girls returned from the library with scores of notes, Hermione had been impressed and Daphne amused.
But in the end it wasn't enough. Sure, they had made up some tactics but every single one was unusable in the end:
Blinding the dragon or put him to sleep – Harry didn't know the spells and even if he did, he wouldn't trust them to be powerful enough to break the natural resistance of dragons against magic.
Hiding himself – Harry again didn't know any usable disillusion spell and he certainly wasn't allowed to use his cloak, even if he would be willing to show every student around that he owned such a magical artifact.
Distract the dragon – they had thought about summoning a controlled light wisp or turning something into an animal to have a distraction. But Harry only knew spells to create fixed lights and create small animals. Something like a toad wouldn't be really helpful and a dove would be too uncontrolled.
They had been really depressed. Now the age difference truly showed its ugly head. Certainly each of the other Champions knew more than one of those spells and he had not learnt a single one.
In the end it had been Hermione who found a way. Of all people Hermione, who hated flying and had only learned this year in order to at least be safe on a broom, had thought about a tactic that was not only usable against a dragon but also achievable. Harry would use the Accio spell to call his broom and evade the dragon long enough to distract him, enticing him away from the clutch of eggs to allow him a fast pass to snatch the golden egg.
With the tactic ready, he now only had to learn the spell and did just that in the next days. Every day after lessons, Daphne spent hours and hours with him, explaining to him very carefully and patiently how to cast the spell. With her greater grasp of charms and greater talent for explaining it had been only natural that she would assume that role. In the meantime, Hermione and Neville had started a little project to weave some fire protection spells into his robe. They certainly wouldn't protect him from a direct hit but every small bit would be helpful.
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The tent square at the entrance flapped as a number of students entered. The committee had allowed a small number of friends to visit the Champions to wish them luck and hug them one last time. French and Russian sentences intermixed, making it difficult to understand a single word. Dark-headed Durmstrang students behaved very manly around Viktor, while a number of mostly blond Beauxbatons tried to play happy around Fleur. The most unusual guest certainly was her little sister. Gabrielle, only ten years old, struggled hard to be brave and forget that there was a dragon who wanted to hurt her beloved sister. In contrary to her older sister Gabrielle had returned Harry's smile, happy to see someone nearer her age than all the other students around in the tent.
A few Hufflepuffs wished Cedric luck as the last group of guests arrived. The three Gryffindors hesitated for a moment at the entrance. Harry was more than a little surprised to see Ron among them. His former best mate had clearly shown this morning that he still didn't believe Harry; that he still thought of him as an attention-whore. What is he doing here, Harry mused? Surely he doesn't want to wish me luck.
Instead of walking towards Harry, he only sneered in his direction and went to Cedric. He circled around Viktor and Fleur on his way. Harry assumed that Ron avoided Viktor because of the friction the Durmstrang had caused as he invited Hermione to the Ball. Harry wasn't sure about whether Ron was angrier about the invitation itself – implying that she was obviously so unattractive that the only possible reason Viktor would want to be with her was to get an advantage over Harry in the tournament had been only the latest insult – or Hermione's refusal of the offer. Hermione had refused Ron's invitation too and that had been the last straw, the last hit to his ego after Fleur's not very kind declination a week ago.
Hermione watched Ron's childish behaviour and sighed. She had relinquished any hope to bring Ron to his senses but it still hurt to see this side of him. That Ron would willingly enter the tent only to hurt Harry's feeling was even more than his usual prat-ness. For a moment anger boiled in her stomach as she thought about Headmaster Dumbledore. Against Professor McGonagall's wishes he had sent Ron and Ginny into the tent, obviously trying to better their relationship. It won't work, Hermione thought with a smirk.
Ginny on the other side behaved totally differently. Sending her broadest smile Harry's way she run to his side and hugged him heartily. A bit uneasy about this behaviour Harry returned the embrace much less enthusiasticly and wondered: "Where are Neville, Luna and Daphne?"
He had really hoped to see his friends before he had to battle the dragon, would have preferred their presence to the Weasley's visit. Harry felt how Ginny tensed in his arms before she responded in pretended cheerfulness: "Headmaster Dumbledore only allowed a small number of visitors – only your dearest friends."
Dearest friends, Harry mused, I certainly wouldn't call Ron my dearest friend at the moment. And about Ginny I'm not sure. He struggled not to show his disappointment and even smiled weakly. Apparently it was enough for Ginny, who started to babble about the task, that her whole family would be observing and how certain she was that Harry would be the most formidable Champion. The whole time she tried to snake her arm around Harry's waist and stay in his personal space.
Hermione kept her distance and looked quite unhappy. In the past weeks she had started to show her discontent about Ron's stupid behaviour and – as far as Harry had noticed – was equally unhappy about Ginny, her former best female friend. "It is good to see you, Ginny," he tried to sound happy while he exchanged looks with Hermione. "You at least believe me, unlike your brother."
Again she tensed, but showed a smile, even if it did not looked very convincing: "He's a prat."
She hasn't confirmed my statement, Harry realized. Before Ginny had the opportunity to change the subject he grabbed her arms and locked eyes. "Do you believe me, Ginny?"
"Look, Harry," she answered. Ginny averted her eyes, proving his fears. "It isn't important. You deserved to be here. You're the best. You'll win the tournament. Dumbledore should have selected you to be the Champion of Hogwarts." She sounded sincere at least, but it certainly wasn't the answer he had hoped for, it wasn't the answer Hermione or Luna would have given him… or Daphne. The difference was still incredible: Ron who had deserted him instantly and Hermione who only needed a single look into Harry's eyes to believe him. He had felt bad about how he had preferred Ron's side in many quarrels in the past. That Hermione is better able to handle rejection than Ron is hardly an argument for choosing the wrong side, Harry pondered guiltily.
"How can you say that, Ginny," Harry shoved her away and raised his voice. "Hogwarts Champion is over there, his name is Cedric." Now he was loud enough to call everyone's attention and every other conversation died down. "I had hoped you at least would believe me; and understand that I don't want to be here." He was really disappointed. Harry wasn't sure: was it more despicable not to believe him or to be ok with cheating?
Ginny stepped nearer again, tried to soothe him, but Harry raised his hand to signal the girl to stop. "No, Ginny, stop right there. I don't belong into this tournament. I would leave this second if I could and if you're unable to understand this…"
Harry pointed towards the task area outside: "Do you really assume that I like the idea of battling a full-grown dragon? Do you think I'm crazy enough to take part in this willingly and voluntarily? I'll share a secret with you, Ginny: I'm not." Contrary to Harry, Hermione saw the reactions of the other Champions, saw the dawn of comprehension and trust on their faces. Harry's words, coming from the depths of his heart, were very convincing – at least to every non-Weasley. Even hammer and chisel wouldn't be able to chip away Ron's stubbornness, she sighed.
Again Harry stepped aside to avoid her renewed embrace. Hermione put herself between them, ignoring the glare Ginny sent in her direction. "Perhaps," Harry's voice now was far more depressed than a few minutes ago. "Perhaps we should put a bit of distance between us, at least for a few weeks; to give you time to think about all this."
"No," Ginny shook her head vehemently, her face pale, her ear tips flaming. "No, you can't… I'm your friend, Harry. I believe you, really. You're my…" Pleadingly she looked at Harry: "You're meant to win this task. And afterwards you'll ask me to be your date for the Yule Ball." Apparently she had planned this through, Hermione snickered.
Harry paled. Go to the ball with Ginny? Where did this idea come from? I half-heartedly pondered about asking Cho and perhaps Hermione but never Ginny. And now everything had changed at Hogsmeade…
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Five days ago at the Three Broomsticks
Since Narcissa Malfoy had left the table, the group had been very quiet. Everyone was occupied with his or her own thoughts and Tonks was especially shaken by the experience. She knew how much her mother missed her younger sister, how often she stopped her speech mid-sentence when another memory of happier times crossed her mind. Tonks had grown up with the certainty never to see any Black family member without being hurt by their hate and disgust. Six weeks ago she met Sirius for the first time again. And now… could it really be? Could there be a chance? Tonks didn't dare to hope. She wouldn't tell her mother, wouldn't risk to hurt her with false hope.
"Daphne?"
Everyone looked up as Harry broke the thoughtful silence with a small voice. He obviously tried hard to appear calm, and controlled but Hermione felt the small shudder. She put her hand above his and pressed it gently. A weak smile showed Harry's gratitude before he continued, his eyes resting on Daphne's lips instead of her eyes.
"I thought about something."
For a moment Hermione feared that Daphne would say something funny, an interruption that could be disastrous to Harry's wrought-up feelings. But luckily the black-haired girl seemed to feel it too and stayed silent, went so far as to look down at the interwoven hands and not at Harry's eyes not to increase his nervousness.
"I realized that this adoption would influence you too, very much in fact. Before I accept Roxanne's offer, I wanted to ask you… would you be okay with this whole… adoption thing."
Hermione sensed how Harry's hand tensed. He was ready to bolt away should Daphne say something negative. Sometimes he could be really annoying with this whole hero-complex. Harry would deny himself this second chance of happiness only to avoid hurting Daphne's feelings. To his left Roxanne was unable to suppress a small sigh and the bald Sirius was grinning broadly.
Daphne stayed silent for a very long time, long enough to increase Harry's stress level immensely. Hermione had to enforce her grip, her knuckles white, to prevent his flight.
"I don't know, Harry," Daphne suddenly said in a nonchalant manner. "You're really bad for my reputation. You see… I'm already spending an awful amount of time with crazy Gryffs… reading and such things… sometimes even smiling. I had hoped to have a break at home at least; else Tracey will certainly start to recolor my robes. And red is certainly not my colour, you have to admit."
She sighed very deeply, shortly glancing in her mother's direction, which sent a mix of glaring and smiling her way. "On the other hand mother seems to like the idea of helping you on your way. And we all know how much you need any help you can get to overcome your deficits. And as mother has always proven with me, she's really good at rearing hopeless cases…"
Sirius, Roxanne and the others were grinning so broadly that it slowly hurt. Harry relaxed after some shuddering breaths and smiled a bit exhausted: "So it's a yes? You are okay with this…?" He made a vague gesture.
"Yes, yes, it's a yes," she tried to sound annoyed. As everyone started to explode with congratulations, Daphne interrupted with a rest of dignity. "But remember: You're only a homeless lion cub we agree to give shelter. Don't expect me to call you brother or such nonsense."
"No, I would never dare to do say," Harry responded under the suppressed snickers of the group. "Would be way too awkward, especially… especially as I wanted to ask you…"
At Hermione's other side Neville tensed and while she had no idea why he reacted this way, Harry knew it and drew courage from the fact that his question would force his best mate to ask out his best friend.
"Would you go with me to the Yule Ball… as a friend? Or perhaps you could come out of kindheartedness and to prevent that Harry Potter-Pinegrew looks too stupid on the dance floor."
"Oh," the question, while not totally unexpected, left Daphne speechless for a minute. At last she was able to answer in a more or less calm way: "I already allowed you living with us. Now it would be a bit hypocrite to refuse this invitation. And with a bit of guidance your dancing abilities are not too awful."
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Present – Champions' tent
Roxanne had agreed with Harry on preparing the formalities until Christmas and signing the papers in the winter break. He was still struggling with the idea of being adopted, of never returning to the Dursleys again. Nobody knew so far about his decision aside from Hermione, Neville and Luna. Even Professor McGonagall was still in the dark to prevent her from being in the dilemma to stay silent or tell Dumbledore about it. He trusted her nearly as much as Hermione did and way more than Daphne was willing to, but Harry didn't want to put her into a precarious situation.
"Ginny," Harry hesitated as he noticed that pleading puppy-look in her eyes. With a sigh he continued: "That's not possible. I already asked Daphne. We're going as friends, but still…"
"Oh," Ginny's voice trembled. The girl fought hard to suppress tears. Hermione saw Ron struggling with his temper, his face flaming red, his hands clenched. "That's okay," Ginny whispered. "I'll ask… I'll ask Neville. He's very nice, don't you think so?"
Harry was lost for words. Should he tell her? Should he stay silent instead of destroying another hope? "You know, Ginny," Hermione started hesitantly. "You have to know…"
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Five days ago at the Three Broomsticks
"Why are you grinning like a Cheshire cat?" Daphne asked Harry, sounding annoyed. Since she had agreed to go to the ball with him, Harry had been grinning and looking expectantly in Neville's direction. And instead of Harry it was Neville who answered – in a way.
"Hermione," he whispered. Neville cleared his throat several times before he repeated: "Hermione? Would you accompany me to the Yule Ball?"
Harry's grin only broadened and he had to suppress giving Neville a thumbs-up sign. For a moment he was so happy that Neville had dared to ask her, for a moment – until he heard Hermione's answer. The girl smiled weakly but shook her head: "You don't have to, Neville. It's very sweet of you, but you should ask someone else." What? Harry's mind struggled.
It was heart-breaking to see the disappointment and confusion in Neville's face. "But why…?"
Another very weak smile: "You look very handsome in your new robe, Neville. You can do better. You should ask some pretty girl. Certainly Padma would like to go with you as your date, instead of we going as friends." She's thinking he asks out of pity, Harry groaned inwardly.
For some very long moments they all went silent, all pondering about what to say, how to react. Then the explosion came in form of a red-faced, full-angry Neville. Glaring at Harry he shouted: "This is your entire fault, Harry, yours and Ron blasted Weaselbee's."
Harry stared in shock at his friend while the impression of Daphne's indignant "language, Neville" was diminished by her broad smile. Apparently Harry's 'sister' was really happy about Neville's flaring temper and his will to fight for his girl.
"It's all because of Ron's stupid remarks about choosing only the prettiest girl for the Ball," Neville continued. Harry remembered that conversation in the Gryffindor common room with Ron explaining to Dean and Seamus how to choose the Yule Ball date. With that speech alone he had ended any hope of having a Gryffindor girl going with him. Neville talked himself into a rage. "Both of you only ever speak about how intelligent she is, how brave and what a good friend. Have you ever paid her a compliment about her appearance? Hermione: stop seeing yourself as 'one-of-the-boys'. Stop this instant with that nonsense. You aren't an ugly duckling and you're certainly not a consolation prize."
All stared at him impressed by his speech, but somehow Neville was able to ignore them all as he grabbed Hermione's hand and continued a bit calmer: "I don't want to be there as your friend but as your date. It is certainly not pity why I ask. I like your mind and your heart; I like the whole Hermione-package. You have always been beautiful and this year you win over Padma every time. I would feel lucky if you'll…"
"Yes."
Neville stopped mid-sentence as he heard Hermione's answer. "Yes?" He asked with a coarse voice.
"Yes," Hermione said again, this time with a happy smile. "I would like to be your date at the Yule Ball."
Harry's joy was only diminished by the small amount of guilt he felt. Neville was right. Ron and he only ever spoke about Hermione's intellect and courage; they never really saw the girl, the young woman in her, who needed to hear something nice about her appearance from time to time. And Neville was right again about her look. With her new hairstyle and the corrected teeth Hermione was certainly more than a bit pretty.
"All this is way too much emotion for me," bald Sirius broke the mood. "Have we ever been that bad, Roxanne?"
Roxanne shook her head and opened her mouth as Agatha coolly interjected: "You were worse."
"Mother!" Roxanne glared, but was unable to hide her own smile.
Harry slapped Neville on the shoulder: "I knew you have it in you."
"T'was time," Daphne only added.
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Present
"What?" Ginny stared dumbfounded. "Neville asked Hermione? Why would he do this?"
Before Harry had time to react, Ron added maliciously: "Pity. It's the only reason someone could ask her. Look at her. Nobody with eyes and taste would willingly ask her."
Harry hadn't to look at her, he could sense the tears glistening in Hermione's eyes as her insecurity returned. Before she had a chance to bolt away, he grabbed her arm: "He was right, Hermione – Neville I mean, not that read-headed prat. You are beautiful," he said slowly and emphasized. "I only forgot to tell you before, because it wasn't important to me. I adore your mind, but I love your heart. Your appearance is only a bonus for me. I'm really happy that Neville is more observant and that he was brave enough to ask you. You both will have a wonderful Yule Ball. Every boy will envy Neville."
Hermione flew into his arms and a bit awkwardly Harry patted her back: "Na-na, we don't want to make Neville jealous."
Hermione left his arm and punched his shoulder before she tried to wipe away the tears and show a smile: "Git."
At some time Ginny had left the tent and if Harry had wondered about Ron staying silent while the exchange, he now saw the reason. Viktor and Cedric passed him, dragging a silenced and spell-shackled Ron towards the exit and throwing him out, while a content looking Fleur stored her wand away again.
Champions had to hold together.
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All guests had left the tent to allow Ludo Bagman to start the last preparations for the task. Hermione slowly walked along the tribune, her eyes not able to drag away from the first dragon that had been shackled to the centre of the task area. The Swedish Short-Snout allegedly was a relative harmless type of a Dragon. Hermione couldn't believe it as she stared at the silvery-blue skinned creature. A single bite, a single sweep of his powerful tail would be enough to end Harry's life.
She walked past the group of redheads, returning Fred's smile but denying Molly's invitation with a weak shake of her head. The Weasley matriarch had been arguing with Ron and Ginny, both youngsters sending angry glares in Hermione's direction. Would it ever be as before?
Her mood improved as she saw Tonks and Remus. The former DADA professor was wearing brand new robes proudly and looked stunning, even if he certainly needed a bit of feeding up. But Hermione hoped that Tonks would take over that task willingly.
Roxanne was waving happily from her position at the healer's tent. She had used the opportunity to help her former trainer Madam Pomfrey. Daphne was at her side and nodded towards Hermione, trying hard to appear calm and confident. Hermione knew how much Daphne was in fear about the task, in fear about Harry being hurt, but only a friend or family member would be able to detect that emotion now.
"He'll be alright, Daphne."
Daphne only nodded and showed a weak smile.
"Shush," Roxanne sent the girls away. "Go looking for Agatha, we'll need our peace."
"My mother doesn't love me anymore," Daphne tried a weak joke.
"You can't blame her for that feeling," Hermione smiled and yelled as Daphne kicked her. "That's not very ladylike, Daphne," Hermione glared at her, only prompting the Slytherin to stick out her tongue. "Very mature," Hermione grinned, but hasted away to avoid further revenge.
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The girls approached the small group around Agatha Pinegrew. For a moment they hesitated as they noticed Narcissa Malfoy, but then they greeted her: "Hello, Mrs. Malfoy."
Narcissa turned around. "Hello, Miss Greengrass." After a glare of Agatha she added with much less enthusiasm: "Hello, Miss Granger."
Draco, who was standing not far away with his cronies, glared at Hermione but didn't dare to insult the girl. At least Tracey and Blaise were there too. Hermione tried to ignore Draco and followed Minerva McGonagall with her eyes, as she went to the entrance of the task area. Cedric had just left the tent and tried to steady his nerves. So he'll be the first, Hermione thought, while she noticed how Minerva cast some spells on Cedric Diggory.
"She's casting some protection spells on the Champions," Agatha explained. "They only kick in if a Champion gets a direct hit. They should prevent grave injuries." Hermione relaxed a bit: Apparently Dumbledore was willing to enforce the Champions' security.
Narcissa's haughty disturbed her pleasant thoughts: "I'm happy to hear that Professor McGonagall was willing to follow your advice, Agatha. The death of a Champion would be… inconvenient." Hermione struggled not to say something about inconvenience, but she was far too happy now that a Pinegrew had again done something to protect her best friend.
Daphne and Hermione watched Cedric battle the dragon and they shared a smile as he chose a tactic they had pondered about. The Hufflepuff Champion transformed a stone into a dog and sent him towards the Dragon. The distraction was enough to allow Cedric to snatch the golden egg. With only a minimum of bruises he had finished the task and the girls cheered Cedric together with most of the spectators.
A grim voice surprised them as Ginny scolded: "Already betraying Harry and cheering the enemy?"
Hermione and Daphne glared at the redhead. They hadn't noticed that the youngest Weasley had followed them. Ginny's mood, already down because of Harry's rejection, had certainly not improved because of her mother's constant howling. Molly had more than once in the last months sent letters, urging them to intensify their friendship with Harry and drive Daphne away. Over the last weeks Ginny's hatred of her brother had increased more and more. Couldn't he see how difficult her position was? Couldn't he try at least a little bit to support her? She was destined to be Harry's wife in a few years but fate could use some help on the way.
"You really don't understand him, do you?" Daphne asked with an angry voice.
"He tried to explain," Hermione said. "She didn't understand." Too exhausted to have a quarrel with the girl Hermione only added in Ginny's direction: "Go away!"
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She felt relieved as Fleur's entrance disturbed the conversation. The Champion of Beauxbatons looked more like she intended to visit a gallery and not battle with a Dragon. Again she used one of the discussed tactics, proving again Harry's point about spells learned. Fleur needed a few tries to overcome the Dragon's resistance but at last the magnificent beast went to the ground, sleeping. All went quiet, staring intensely as Fleur sneaked up to the clutch of eggs, snatching the golden one. Just as everyone dared to breathe again, the Dragon breathed too in his sleep. A small cloud of flames engulfed Fleur, setting her robes on fire. Hastily she extinguished the fire with an Aguamenti spell and left the area.
"That looked simply enough," Hermione commented, not sure about her emotions regarding Fleur's easy victory.
But Daphne shook her head: "That spell is difficult, especially against magical creatures and a Dragon to add. The victory is well earned and I like the circumstance that she hadn't to hurt the Dragon."
Hermione agreed. While the dragon tamers prepared the third Dragon, Hermione and Daphne watched Fleur Delacour. The girl had left the area and now had a discussion with Madam Pomfrey. Apparently she didn't want the help of the school's nurse, for whatever reason. Silly girl, Hermione mused.
Just as Madam Pomfrey allowed Fleur to walk away, Roxanne jumped in. Hermione was too far away to understand everything but apparently was Roxanne's comment about possible scars convincing enough. "Scars are only attractive on a boy's skin," Daphne grinned and Hermione nodded with a smile. As Fleur followed Roxanne into the tent to allow her to tend her wounds with Dittany, Daphne and Hermione turned around and waited for Viktor Krum to enter the stage.
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While Agatha and Daphne watched how Viktor fared against the third Dragon and Harry prepared for his own fight, they had no idea how interesting the conversation two male members of honorable and ancient houses had two dozen steps to the right was.
Lucius Malfoy and Cyrus Greengrass had chosen a place secluded from the crowd. A few glares had been enough to convince their friends that stepping closer would be a bad idea. Lucius wanted to use the opportunity to speak with his ally, to assure himself that Cyrus was able to realize the importance of the situation.
"I've seen your dear wife working with the school nurse," Lucius began with a less haughty voice than usual. The interest of Lady Greengrass in the healing matters had been a sour spot in the past. While 'interest' wasn't bad per se, there had always been the chance of Roxanne starting to really work in that area. And working wasn't acceptable for a lady, that being the reason that Narcissa had never made use of her broad abilities especially in the area of potion making. A few lessons with Severus Snape from time to time were acceptable, but certainly not undergoing a full apprenticeship or real work.
"Yes," Cyrus sighed. "She's still thinking about finishing her training as a healer and working at St. Mungo. I convinced her so far to at least wait until our daughters are married. But I fear as soon as Astoria and Draco are married, she'll take the gloves off. I don't know what would be worse: Everyone thinking that we need the money or assuming that she's simply nuts."
"We'll work on that. Perhaps Narcissa could have a word with her." Lucius withhold his fear about Roxanne having a bad influence on Narcissa. Since the summer break his wife had increased her lessons and invested into a better laboratory. With the Black dowry at her command she had more than enough money to spend on her little spleen.
"That would be good. It is bad enough that she's still convinced to adopt that Potter boy." Cyrus groaned as he thought about the boy and the difficulties there had been with Astoria and Draco in the last months.
"Perhaps this adoption isn't so bad," Lucius declared to Cyrus' surprise. "Sure, he played an important part in the… in the disappearance… of the Dark Lord. But he was a baby back then and hardly responsible. On the other hand he is now a kind of idol, a flag to gather the Dark Lord's enemies around. To get him away from Dumbledore's clutches, to have a control over him, his opinions and political statements would be a coup unheard of."
"So this is the reason you wanted me to hold back in the past. I always wondered the reasons."
"Part of at least," Lucius agreed. "The other reason is his wealth. With his parents spending much money on the effort to help Dumbledore and to support war widows and orphans the Potter wealth should be diminished, but still Potter should be far from impoverished. With him adopted into the family and his friendship to your elder daughter there should be a way to lay your hands on his money. This would be another way to solve our little contract, don't you think ?"
Lucius' voice was calm and friendly but the last sentence held a bit of iron in it. It came hardly as a surprise to see Cyrus Greengrass flinch. Nobody else knew about the second, secret part of the marriage contract, nobody else than Cyrus and Lucius, not even their wives and children. And this was with good reason. Apart from several offers from other pureblood families the Parkinsons had offered the incredible amount of 50,000 Galleons up front and another 200,000 Galleons one week before the marriage. It was double the amount Cyrus had been able to offer for his younger daughter and with her smaller inheritance normally Lucius would have preferred Pansy as his daughter-in-law.
But Cyrus saw this as a golden opportunity. The Malfoys had been the most influential family politically in the last decade and he saw no hint that this could change in the near future. Aside from this they belonged to the hand full of most wealthy families. A marriage contract with the single heir would be an incredible success. As with every grand scheme a man had to risk something to achieve something. In this case he had to risk an amount of money he didn't really have. Luckily Lucius had been willing to trust Cyrus to hold his end of the bargain. If Cyrus didn't, not only would his daughter be without engagement, but his social career would be at an end, his reputation destroyed.
300,000 Galleons – that was the sum he had to pay on Astoria's 17th birthday in addition to the official sums of 30,000 Galleons upfront and 100,000 Galleons one week before the marriage. There was no way his wife or his mother-in-law would be willing to give him the money and the Goblins at Gringotts would laugh to his face should he ask for a loan. His possibilities were small indeed but two years ago a flask of sherry and his dreams of grandeur had been enough to convince him, that this secret contract was a splendid idea.
Until this summer there had only been three ways to achieve his target. The first two included the deaths of his wife or his mother-in-law and the following inheritance. The last plan was around increasing Astoria's inheritance. This could be done through Daphne's death or a change of the family contract, something not likely to happen until now. But perhaps Lucius was right, perhaps Potter was the chance he had waited for. Around the adoption he could try to convince Roxanne to alter the family contract. Or he could stir Daphne into a marriage with Potter. Perhaps the sole fact of Potter belonging to the family would convince the Goblins to loan him the money. Yes, the adoption was a wonderful idea.
Cyrus sighed, far more relaxed than a few minutes ago: "You're right as always, Lucius."
Lucius nodded, happy that Cyrus was reasonable. With Cyrus fearing his wife and being terrified by his mother-in-law every other plan would be futile and while he didn't regard Cyrus as a close friend, he wouldn't like to destroy him. "Let's hope that the Dragon doesn't grill him."
.
"Breathe," Hermione tried to soothe Daphne's fluttering nerves. In a way she was happy that the Pinegrew girl was even more nervous than her, as this gave her the opportunity to think about someone else and not the lump in her own stomach. Viktor had blinded his Dragon and now the fourth and last one, simultaneously being the most fearsome, waited for his lunch. The black skinned Hungarian horntail was considered as the most dangerous dragon. His bronze barbed tail, giving the Dragon its name, was proof enough that his reputation was well earned.
Daphne nodded; her face pale enough to make it impossible to convince anyone that she didn't care for the small boy that now left the tent; greeted by a mix of cheers and boos. Slowly he wandered around the edge of the task area, staying well hidden behind some boulders. Harry wasn't willing to give the Dragon any chance to hit him with his fire breath, a weapon with an incredible 50 feet range as far as he knew.
Instead of rushing in Harry concentrated on the spell he had trained for with Daphne. Blanking out the background noises he recalled the words and gestures, thought about the picture of his broom and casted the Accio spell as if sitting in a classroom. At first nothing happened and the girls' nervousness increased. To know that the broom needed a while to arrive and to wait for it to happen were two completely different things. The spectators lost their patience and tried to propel Harry to do something, but the boy-who-lived – for the first time since long and certainly thanks to the influence of his friends – completely ignored them. He only smiled a bit and did not even repeat the spell, simply trusting that he did it right.
Suddenly the broom was there, flying past the spectators and into the waiting hand of Harry. Under hundreds of cheers Harry started to fly around. As planned he stayed well out of range, slowly tempting the Dragon away from the eggs. Nobody knew that Harry didn't see the Dragon waiting down there but Daphne in its place. Only yesterday they had trained how to dodge on the broom. Dozens of bludgers, send his way by a deadly accurate Daphne, tried to hit him. Charmed not to wound him, they certainly still hurt on impact and after three gruelling hours Harry was glad that Markus Flint was dumb enough not to allow girls into his team.
It looked like child's play how Harry avoided the attacks and neither Professor McGonagall's shielding charm nor Hermione's fire protection was necessary in the end. Daphne had to sit down as Harry landed with a broad smile on his face and the golden egg in his hand. He landed in front of the girls, the adrenalin of the flight still in his veins. While everyone was celebrating, even most of his former enemies impressed by his tactic and skill, Harry stepped towards Daphne, totally ignoring the grim expression on Ginny's face.
"Daphne, I thought about the ball. I think it is a bad idea to go as friends."
The confusion on Hermione's face, the disappointment of Daphne and the short impulse of Ginny's joy were short-lived as he continued. "Daphne, would you go to the Ball with me as my date?"
For a moment Daphne totally forgot her lady-like behaviour and flew into Harry's arms. "I will."
Happy smiles of Agatha, Hermione, Neville and the other friends greeted the decision, but nobody saw the deeply hurt red-head as she run away.