Chapter 46 Cocroach Clusters

"Harry!" I had been standing at the base of the grand staircase anxiously waiting for my brother and his friends to come down for breakfast.

"Hi Alice!" He said sleeping.

"Morning Alice!" Ron and Hermione greeted from behind him.

"I need to talk to you guys about something." Almost immediately Ron started to whine.

"Alice I'm hungry!" Harry shot his best friend a disapproving look.

"Fine you two go ahead and I'll fill you in later." Ron and Hermione joined the large crowd of students entering the Great Hall and I pulled Harry to a nearby broom cupboard. Once inside I told Harry everything that had happened last night from Krum asking me about Harry and Hermione all the way thought to Karkaroff spitting at Dumbledore.

"You should have seen Hagrid! I don't think I've ever seen him so mad!" I said as I finished my story.

"Krum really just wanted to ask you about Hermione and me?" Harry asked.

"Harry James Potter..." I was about to launch into an angry rant about how the only thing he retained from all of that was what Krum wanted to talk about.

"Save the lecture Alice, I heard everything you said." I narrowed my eyes at him even though I knew he couldn't see them in the dimly lit cupboard. "I meant how dowe know Krum didn't have something to do with Crouch being there. Isn't it possible Crouch could have told Krum to lure you into the forest." Though this idea had not come to me right away, I was keen to strike it down for one reason.

"You didn't hear the way Crouch was talking, he was sputtering and going on like

made man. I don't think he could have made Krum do something like that."

"Well he did knock Krum out didn't he?"

"I suppose it's possible..."

"I'm going to owl Sirius either way." Harry seemed to decide out loud. "He asked us to keep him informed on anything that goes on."

"It can't hurt. Well we best get off to breakfast, wouldn't want you to be late for your first class of the day."

"Really it's alright; Ron and I've got Divinations first."

"That explains why Emily went racing out of the room this morning. She loves that class! She's probably already sitting up there swapping death predictions with Trewlany." I said as we crossed the Entrance Hall to enter the Great Hall. After breakfast I sat next Hermione in muggle studies. That day we were learning about muggle lawn equipment.

"My dad has one of those!" Hermione told me as she pointed to something called a lawn mower.

"What does it do?"

"Cuts grass."

"And? What else does it do?"

"That's all. It just cuts grass. There are loads of different kinds, some of them are motorized. Anyway you push them along your lawn, and it cuts your grass."

"Sounds like a lot of work." I told her.

"It is! That's why a lot of muggle boys will charge their neighbor to do it for them."

"Remind me never to become a muggle." She looked like she wanted to say more on the subject, but Harry had just come barging into the classroom. Hermione and I exchanged a worried look.

"Er-Um, Professor could I have a quick word with my sister?"

"Certainly Mister Potter, Allison take all the time you need."

"Thanks Professor Burbage, this won't take long."

"I should've taken Muggle Studies." Harry admitted when I joined him in the hallway.

"Still could, it's pretty fascinating."

"Come on we've got to see Dumbledore!" Harry grabbed my arm and dragged me off to the entrance to the Headmaster's office.

"Why what's wrong?" I tried to twist out of his grip so he would stop or at least slow down.

"I fell asleep in Divinations."

"We're running to tell Dumbledore that you fell asleep in class?" Harry shook his head but continued to run along. "Let me finish, I fell asleep in Divinations and I saw Voldemort, it was like like a vision, I'll explain when we get up there. For now I need your help." We stopped suddenly in front of the eagle that guarded Dumbledore's office.

"Harry I don't know the password."

"Neither do I, but I'm sure it's some sort of sweet, it always is. Help me with guessing?"

"Sure." I shrugged. "Chocolate Frogs" nothing happened.

"Sugar quills!" Still nothing.

"Peppermint toads!"

"Fizzing whizzbees"

"Every Flavour Beans...oh he doesn't like those does he?"

"Chocolate Cauldrons! For the love of Merlin." I cursed as I kicked the large eagle. "Cockroach Clusters?" This time the eagle did step aside and the stairs began to float forward towards Dumdbledore's office. Harry and I hopped on the moving stairs without a second thought.