A/N This chapter positively refused to be written. Sure, it's just some interaction that I wanted between Sirius and Remus before some Tournament action starts, but honestly, I could not believe how badly my muse deserted me! Feel free to comment away. I may choose to rewrite it.
********
In the glory days of the Marauders, Sirius Black and James Potter were practically worshipped as gods as they carelessly strolled through the hallowed hallways of Hogwarts.
And who could disagree with that?
Young, impossibly handsome, wealthy, brilliant, fearless, confident. Very attractive packages, the both of them, to the entire student body. With a few Slytherin exceptions, the girls of the student body wanted to date them and the boys just wanted to be them.
With a careless toss of his shoulder length black waves, his muscled forearm rippling with strength, Sirius could have any hormonal coed within a hundred feet swooning. James' messy just-dismounted-from-my-broom-after-single-handedly-slaying-dragons look indeed slayed anything in his path. Anything female, at least.
Their long list of daring-do exploits, continuously risking and perpetually skirting expulsion, as well as their daredevil feats of skill and cunning on the Quidditch pitch, gave the charmingly conceited boys a cult following during their years of magical education. If it had not been for the long standing disdain of a certain Lily Evans, James Potter would have considered himself on par with Merlin himself.
Unfortunately, in his present capacity as guardian of a socially awkward teenager, Sirius' wild popularity as an adolescent left him completely unprepared to effectively counsel Harry on the emotional repercussions of his godson's currently less than stellar standing amongst his own peers.
***
"Harry, you have to eat something," Sirius scolded for the umpteenth time as his godson brooded over a full plate of stew.
Harry threw his godfather a baleful look before straightening up and setting his jaw in an obstinate manner. Squaring his shoulders, he dropped his fork into the plate and reached for his milk glass.
"I told you. I'm just not that hungry today, Sirius," he grumbled, taking a long swig from his glass.
For the sake of harmony, the concerned godfather decided to refrain from making any comment on the fact that Harry's eyebrows had become permanently furrowed of late and even now were reinforcing the agitation indentations in his forehead.
Leaning over, he reached out and gently rubbed the scowl lines with the pad of his thumb.
"Your school mates will get over this, Harry," he soothed quietly. "They are just a little put out and jealous now, but it will pass."
Harry let out a loud huff of air and irritably ducked out of Sirius' reach. He wasn't in any kind of mood to be placated like a whinging toddler.
"It's no big deal," he protested. "I don't care what they think." He wasn't sure which one of them he was actually trying to convince with his poorly executed disinterest.
In truth, he did care.
He cared very much about what some of his school fellows thought.
Fortunately, most of the other Gryffindors seemed to be behind him, spurred on, he believed, by a very genuine Angelina Johnson. Angelina had entered her own name and when she was passed over, she had very exuberantly embraced Harry's role of champion. Always a team player, she was just happy to see a Gryffindor in contention and her support swayed others in their house to follow her example.
It wasn't like he had expected the Slytherins to support him. In fact, he was a bit surprised when they threw their support behind Cedric as opposed to Krum. With the way most of them bellyached about not attending Durmstrang, it was a little surreal to see them show any school spirit at all. To be frank and perhaps a bit unfair, a small part of his mind was utterly convinced that their support of Cedric was more a slap in Harry's own face as opposed to a congratulatory slap on Cedric's back. More's the pity.
Of course the Hufflepuffs would be firmly behind their champion and Harry was not the least bit put out that they were revelling in a rare moment of triumph for their house. Although, truthfully, he had not been expecting the high level of hostility the normally affable Puffs were exhibiting towards him, he didn't really take an enormous amount of umbrage against it.
No. It was the Ravenclaws who surprised him the most. He had been hoping somehow that they would be somewhat impartial. But that hadn't been the case. With few exceptions, the Ravenclaws had planted themselves firmly behind Cedric and Harry found himself more upset than he would have previously thought about the Ravenclaws' opinions of him.
Especially one particular Ravenclaw with long ebony hair and a smile that never failed to light him up inside.
It was by far too much of a reminder of the hostility he had encountered during his second year when everyone seemed to be convinced that he was the Heir of Slytherin. Of course, he had not been responsible for that either, and now that he was older, he found himself more angered than cowed by the behavior of the other students this time. After a while, he found himself getting tired of the wild vacillations between his hero and villain status amongst his peers.
But these were feelings that he would never admit to in front of his godfather. The last thing he wanted to show Sirius was just how much all of this champion nonsense was upsetting him. After all, it had not been an easy feat to convince the overprotective man to let him come back to Hogwarts. He really didn't need any more ammunition stacked against him in that particular battle.
For his part, Sirius wasn't fooled.
As a teacher, it had become impossible to miss the overt displays of disdain and hostility that many of the students were showing against his little one. The verbal taunts were just loud enough to be heard through the corridors and the proud displays of the "Support Cedric Diggory - Hogwarts' REAL Champion" buttons were commonplace enough. If they had not been charmed to also display "Potter Stinks!", Sirius would have grudgingly applauded the skillful magic behind the making of them.
In an effort to avoid heaping any more resentment against his godson, Sirius had admirably refrained from hexing the little miscreants that spitefully shoved their buttons in his godson's line of sight, for now, but his patience was wearing thin and his wand hand was itching to do some real damage.
Glancing once more over at Harry, Sirius could see that, despite his godson's valiant attempt to hide it, his boy was well and truly upset. Unsure of what to do to make the situation more bearable, he came to the only helpful conclusion he could. Standing from his place at the dinner table, he threw his napkin on the chair.
"Right then, Harry. Go put your training clothes on. I think a little time in the Room of Requirement is in order."
Harry looked up at him in surprise. They had just trained the day before and Sirius had firmly told him that there would be no more training until he was caught up on his mound of school work.
"Sirius, you said...I have homework," he stuttered out, confused at his godfather's new position.
"Sod it," Sirius uncharacteristically swore, his gray eyes stormy with frustration. "It can wait until later. I'll write you a note."
Harry jumped up, more than pleased with his godfather's change of heart. Without the thrill of Quidditch, Harry's training sessions had been a godsend to the boy and he bolted for his room before Sirius changed his mind.
For the next two hours, Sirius worked his godson hard, letting Harry release some of his pent up frustration and anger as they dueled around the room. Shielded from the accusatory glares and condescending needling about a situation in which he had had no hand, Harry focused the considerable amount of negative energy building up inside of him on strengthening his offenses and defenses against the faceless spectre that had dragged him into the blasted competition against his will.
When they stumbled, exhausted, back to the residence, Sirius was pleased to note that Harry seemed much less tense than he had been for days, the worry lines in his godson's forehead all but gone.
With the added bonus of the time spent also serving to hone the boy's growing repertoire of fighting skills, Sirius was going to call this evening a win-win.
****
When his godfather opened the door to the residence upon their return, Harry couldn't help but notice the immediate tensing of the man's muscles. Without a word, Sirius whipped out his wand and shoved Harry fully behind him as he poised for an attack.
Harry was startled for a brief second before grabbing his own wand, preparing to stand beside Sirius against whatever it was that had invaded their home. He could tell by the way that his godfather was cautiously positioned that Sirius was allowing Padfoot's senses to briefly take over, the canine instincts being much more powerful than any man's.
Harry stood in readiness and silence, his own ears alert for any sound of movement ahead of them, his wand hand twitching to be employed. After an intermidably long second, he sensed Sirius relaxing and proceeded to drop his own guard in response.
Sirius' posture dropped its tension as easily as discarding a scarf and he turned to wink at Harry, a slightly relieved smirk on his face.
"It's not that we are not thrilled to have you here, Moony," he drawled in amusement, directing his voice towards the bedrooms, "but I would appreciate it if you would take care to give us some sort of tangible sign when you are going to appear. I nearly severed your head from your neck."
Casually striding out of his bedroom, Remus smiled slightly as he shook out one of his cloaks, proceeding to hang it on the hook next to the fireplace with Sirius' and Harry's.
"Unless I am quite mistaken, Sirius, it was you who requested my presence here, was it not?" he teased, reaching out to squeeze Harry's shoulder briefly as he walked by them and back towards the bedroom.
Harry looked up at Sirius questioningly and received a mischievous grin in response.
"Indeed I did," he admitted, making his way into the sitting room towards the roaring fire. "However, as I asked you to come and help me ensure Harry's safety during the competition, one would think that you would avoid behavior that might get yourself killed before the first task is even announced. Otherwise, what good are you to us?"
Harry watched as Remus strolled back into the sitting room, idly placing a stack of books on the dining table even as he flicked his wand in Sirius' direction. Seeing his godfather's ebony hair change to a shocking pink color, Harry choked back a laugh.
"I would say that, given your apparently deplorable skills in securing the residence against unwanted intruders, my superbly trained presence here will be of immeasurable good," Remus retorted cheekily.
Sirius turned back towards them, grinning slyly at Remus' retreating back.
"Oh, come now, man. Let's not give Harry false impressions. Not only are you one of the few people that the wards of the residence recognize, but you were also expected tomorrow, if I am not mistaken. I can hardly be blamed for not knowing that it was you."
Sirius smiled at Harry as he idly swished his wand at Remus' back, transfiguring the threadbare tweed trousers and cardigan he was sporting into a floral print dress that even Aunt Petunia would be proud to wear.
Harry couldn't restrain his merriment any further and burst out laughing. Sirius hooked him around the neck and flopped both of them down to sit on the couch, snorting at Remus' appearance.
"You're a vision, Moony," he crooned dramatically. "Marry me!"
Harry buried his face into Sirius' shoulder, tears of laughter streaming down his cheeks. With good humor, Remus regained his proper attire and continued to unpack.
"Prat," he called out to Sirius affectionately. "You are setting a bad example for your godson."
"Pot, kettle, Remus," Sirius reminded him as he fluffed his bubblegum colored coiffure. Looking down at Harry, he raised an eyebrow as he continued to fluff.
"What do you think, Harry? Too much?" Amusement sparkled in his silvery eyes as he let Harry smirk at him for a minute. "Yeah, you're right of course." Sirius flicked his own wand and the pink receded, giving way to his natural black again.
"It's a shame really," Sirius continued as Remus walked back into the room with another armful of books. "I am one of the few men comfortable enough in my own masculinity to pull that look off."
Remus rolled his eyes and walked over to sit in the chair next to them. "I swear, Sirius, you're head is so huge that I am amazed that you don't need to shrink it just to get in the door."
He winked at Harry who was sitting comfortably pressed into the corner of the couch, enjoying the easy banter between his godfather and his best friend. With the tension release of the heavy workout, it was the most relaxed Harry had felt in days.
"Remus has very kindly agreed to help oversee the tasks for the tournament, Harry," Sirius explained quietly, his voice laced with a small tremor of unease. "I told Dumbledore that I would feel better knowing that someone is actually looking out for your best interests if you must compete in the bloody thing."
Remus chuckled softly as he leaned back into the cushioned padding of the chair.
"I don't think that was exactly how you phrased that, Sirius," he laughed. "I believe the words you used were more like 'this is what I want' and 'If you know what is good for you, Albus'. Isn't that closer to what actually transpired?"
When Harry's eyes widened in surprise over his godfather's presumption with the headmaster, Sirius fondly glared over at his still smirking friend. "Snitch."
Remus merely shrugged, amused when Harry looked at Sirius in awe over his godfather's brazen demands of a wizard like Dumbledore. The clock above the mantle chimed quarter past ten and prompted Sirius to stand up in realization.
"It's past your bedtime, kiddo," he said to Harry, jerking his head towards the clock. "And you need a bath first. All of that exercise. You smell like a mountain troll."
Harry rolled his eyes and allowed Sirius pull him to his feet. "I'm not tired, Sirius," he muttered half heartedly as he suppressed a yawn.
Sirius smirked and propelled Harry toward the direction of the bathroom. "I can see that. But I'm mean and cruel and Remus and I want to talk about you behind your back, so off you go now," he teased as he gave Harry a swat.
Harry threw Sirius a glare, but realistically he was fairly exhausted so he obeyed, making his way slowly towards the bathroom. He stopped suddenly and turned to towards Remus. Clearing his throat, he hesitantly raised his eyes towards his former teacher.
"Thanks, Professor. For everything you're doing for me."
Remus smiled and nodded his head gently. "You're quite welcome, Harry." Harry returned the affable grin and then turned to lope the rest of the way to the bathroom, closing the door behind him with a soft click.
Sirius watched his godson depart, his face calm but his eyes troubled and stormy. Remus knew that look well enough to cease the teasing banter and summon the bottle of Firewhiskey from the cabinet. Pouring two fingers of the amber liquid into a pair of tumblers, he pressed one into Sirius' hand and then leaned back into the chair waiting. Years of experience had taught him that Sirius needed to brood for a few minutes and then unload his troubled mind.
Remus waited until Sirius' glass was half empty before initiating conversation. By this time, his friend's gray eyes had wandered back towards the fireplace and softened slightly.
"How is Harry really doing," he finally asked quietly, his eyes gentle and encouraging.
Sirius exhaled a long heavy breath and took a drink from his glass. He shook his head slightly, wearily.
"He's holding his own. Nervous, although he's trying hard not to show it and more upset about the teasing than he'll admit to." Sirius shook his head sadly and leaned back into the padding of the couch, crossing his long legs and studying the ice cubes in his glass. "His schoolmates aren't making it very easy for him."
Remus smiled sympathetically and patted Sirius' knee. "No, I wouldn't imagine that they are. Envy is a powerful emotion and Harry already gives his schoolmates more to be jealous of than most."
Sirius scowled and turned to glare at his friend. "It's not Harry's fault that things like this keep happening to him, Moony. He carries enough burdens without having a bunch of little snot nosed brats giving him a hard time."
Remus drew back in a slight state of shock at the hostility in Sirius' tone. Sirius was a good teacher and a fairly indulgent man. Hearing him speak about students in such harsh tone was completely out of character for him and only served to underline the depth of his concern over Harry's treatment.
He was about to remark on this unusual behavior when the door to the bath opened and Harry, damp haired and pajama clad, stepped out amidst a cloud of steam. Sirius got to his feet and strode over to his godson, placing a protective hand on the boy's shoulder. Turning towards his bedroom door, Harry gave Remus a jaunty little wave and wished him goodnight. Concerned over Sirius' frame of mind, Remus had to force a smile onto his face as he returned the sentiment and watched them disappear into Harry's room.
****
Inside the small bedroom, Harry picked up his hairbrush and futilely tried to smooth out his uncooperative spikes while his godfather turned his bed down. Giving it up as a bad job, he dropped the brush onto his dresser with a loud clatter and plodded over to his bed, eyes drooping and yawning widely. Although he had not had a night terror in a while, he was slightly on edge that he was as exhausted as he was. They had a nasty habit of coming more vividly when when he was this worn out.
Flopping to sit on the edge of the bed, he obediently handed his glasses over when Sirius held out his hand for them. All part of the new nightly routine that they had easily fallen into after a training session.
"Where does it hurt?" Sirius asked kindly, making his godson smirk. He could tell by the way that Harry was moving that the boy had done something to injure himself again during their duels.
"Right shoulder again," Harry admitted sheepishly, already knowing the mild scolding he was about to get.
Sirius frowned and let out an over-exaggerated sigh as he pulled a pot of salve from the drawer in Harry's night-table. "You are over-arcing your hexes again, Harry. Your wand will do the work for you. You are casting a spell with it, not beating someone about the head with it," he lectured as he twisted the lid off.
Harry grunted in assent, too tired to defend himself. He pulled his right arm out of the sleeve of his T-shirt and grabbed a pillow off of the bed. Wrapping his arms around the pillow, he leaned over and buried the left side of his face in it tiredly, comfortable and content to sit there as Sirius began to softly slather the salve onto his right shoulder blade.
As Sirius gently massaged the sore muscles, Harry could feel the welcoming tingle of the salve as it began to work, immediately relieving the pain. The swirling fragrance of it, subtly laced with the essence of a sleeping draught, lulling him to sleep.
"Sirius?" he murmured from the pillow. "What's Remus doing here? I thought you couldn't help me."
Sirius smiled at the tired muffled question. Silently, he blessed Poppy again for adding the sleeping essence to the salve. Harry had been tossing and turning at night since his name had popped out of the goblet, but on the nights that they trained, the boy slept deeply and restfully. It was a respite that they both had needed.
"Well, I can't assist you. But there is nothing to stop Remus. He is neither a parent, nor an employee of Hogwarts or of the Ministry."
That little rule of the tournament had nearly sent Sirius round the twist once he had been informed of it. He had suspected that employees of the various schools would be magically prohibited from offering assistance and, as such, had tendered his resignation upon their return to the castle that Monday morning. To his enormous horror, Dumbledore had refused to accept it, explaining that he would be bound as Harry's legal guardian anyway.
Remus, however, had no existing conflict with the tournament, and Harry's continuing presence at Hogwarts stipulated that Remus be allowed to oversee the tasks. In the fairness of the tournament, he would not be allowed to give Harry specific instructions on how to succeed, but he would be allowed to act as an independent third party and check for any use of dark magic before the tasks began.
Although Albus had assured him repeatedly of the number of wizards and witches working to ensure Harry's safety, Sirius took this with a grain of salt and it was only the participation of his oldest friend that alleviated the sharpest of his fears.
"He's come for the wand weighing ceremony tomorrow," Sirius said quietly as he finished, plucking the top of the salve container from the night-table and sealing it shut again. "I thought it was important to establish right away that Remus would be looking out for any funny business. With any luck, it will act as a deterrent."
Harry grunted again and sleepily pulled his shirt sleeve back on. With his eyes half closed, he fumbled his way into bed with Sirius' assistance, burying himself into the blankets that his godfather had put a warming charm onto. It had been quite a while since he had felt this tired and he found himself tumbling helplessly into the dark abyss of slumber.
By the time Sirius had replaced the container into the night-table, Harry was breathing deeply and evenly. He gazed affectionately at his sleeping godson and bent over, brushing the damp fringe away and pressing a soft kiss onto his forehead.
He tucked the blankets close around Harry's shoulders and then stood back up, whispering Nox as he slipped out of the room, grateful for another day of his godson's continued safety.
***************
Remus was sitting by the fire, waiting for him to return, the tumblers of whiskey refreshed. When Sirius waved his away, Remus raised his eyebrows, knowing that his friend was truly troubled.
"We're not going to let anything happen to him, Padfoot," he said, in a voice that he hoped sounded as encouraging as he meant the words.
Sirius flopped back down onto the sofa and propped his elbows onto his knees, rubbing his face roughly with his hands. He allowed himself only a short moment of weakness before raising his face back up and giving Remus a wan smile.
"I know that. And I appreciate your willingness to come back here and help. I know it was a lot to ask you to leave your home and bunk here with us for the rest of the school year. You don't know how grateful I am for your support."
Remus let out an amused huff and leaned back into his chair. "You know that there is nothing I wouldn't do for Harry, or for you, you mangy mutt." Remus' words were light and teasing, but his amber eyes were kind and sincere. "Moreover, I am happy to be here for as long as the two of you will have me. I like my solitude occasionally, but I've lost too many years of your companionship already. Don't you think?"
Sirius smiled broadly and nodded his head. "I do."
They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, each engrossed in their own thoughts as they watched the flickering flames. Finally, Remus cleared his throat, hesitant to broach a sore topic.
"Does Albus have any further suspicions about what happened?"
Sirius scowled slightly, never taking his eyes from the fireplace. "No. Just what we already knew. Whoever it was, they got close enough to the Goblet to enter Harry's name under a fourth school. Only someone very skilled and very connected could have confunded a magical object like that. This is no amateur player we are dealing with. They went through an awful lot of trouble to get Harry into the tournament."
Remus nodded his agreement, slowly sipping his whiskey and savoring the burn sliding down his throat. "You are still planning on keeping Harry in the residence full-time? Even though we agree that he is likely to be targeted while he is competing?"
Sirius whipped his head around to glare at his friend with hard eyes. "Yes. I am. What if they decide that it would just be easier to kill him while he is walking through the corridors? Do you expect me to risk his safety just because we have an idea about where he is going to be most vulnerable?"
"No, of course not, Sirius," Remus soothed. "But, no matter what you do, you can't be with him twenty four hours a day. There are safety measures to keep unwanted visitors out of Gryffindor tower."
Sirius huffed in annoyance and shook his head in irritation. "A fat lot of good it did him previously. I got in, didn't I?" He turned his head away and glared daggers into the fire. "And so did the rat," he hissed.
Remus held up a hand in surrender, feeling badly for provoking an argument. It had not been his intention. "You're right, Padfoot. I just feel badly that he'll be so alienated from the other students by having to live here instead of the dorms. It won't help to soften their hostility towards him."
"I feel badly about it too, Moony," Sirius admitted, his eyebrows furrowed in frustration. "I don't want to keep him locked up here anymore than he wants to be here. Don't you think I would rather have him running around with his friends, pulling pranks? I never wanted this for him."
Agitated, Sirius leaned over and snagged the tumbler of whiskey he had rejected earlier. He took a bracing sip and then held the glass to his forehead, shutting his eyes and attempting to soothe the stabbing headache that was developing.
"His friends are welcome here anytime. He knows this. I don't want to alienate him from anybody. But, what can I do? There are just too many untrustworthy people running around this castle right now."
He opened his eyes and turned once more to stare at Remus. "You will do what I asked, won't you?"
Remus sipped at his whiskey and nodded slowly. "I will. I don't necessarily agree with you, but I will do it anyway. We can't be too cautious."
Sirius frowned and plonked his tumbler back onto the coffee table. "How can you not agree with me? He is the most obviously candidate."
Remus nodded agreeably, leaning over to prop his elbows on his knees. "I know. That's why I'm not sure it is him. He's too obvious."
"My point exactly!" Sirius spit out. "It could be such a win-win situation for him. Think of what it would mean for his school if his champion were to compete against the Boy Who Lived and defeat him. Krum is years advanced over Harry in lessons and even more physically skilled. And that is just the positive spin on the situation."
Sirius stood up suddenly and began to pace, his face a mask of rage. "Not only that, but Karkaroff is a known Death Eater. Who's to say that he isn't trying to get Harry into a situation where he could hand him over to Voldemort? We know how well connected he is. I sat and rotted in Azkaban while that bastard walked free."
Remus stood up as well and reached out a gentle arm to still his friend's fevered motions. "I know, Sirius," he said gently. "And I fully plan on becoming his personal shadow. Together, we will keep Harry safe, old man. I promise you that."
Sirius forced his breathing to slow, comforted by his friend's support and assurances. "I know we will. It's just....he is my whole world, Remus. If anything happened to him.....I just don't know..."
Remus nodded and patted his shoulder in comfort. Feeling tired all of sudden, Sirius reached up to squeeze Remus' hand briefly in thanks. "I need to get some rest. It's good to have you here."
With that, he sauntered off to his bedroom to sleep fitfully.
******
These days, there were few things that brought pleasure to Sirius.
Harry, of course, was the main thing. All that boy had to do was smile at him and Sirius' heart overflowed with affection and happiness.
The second thing was the occasional snippet of opportunity to stir up an old rivalry with Snape. In the most harmless and healthiest ways, of course. The black haired git was still of supreme use to his godson with the ongoing Occlumency lessons and Sirius was genuinely too grateful to ever forget that fact.
But, certainly no one was expecting him to be sweetness and light all the time. Right? Really, was there any reason to feel the least big smarmy about the look on Severus' face when Sirius strolled into the dungeon classroom to collect his godson for the wand weighing ceremony?
It wasn't his fault that Snape's lip curled up so much one would think he had a large smudge of dung directly under his nostrils, was it? If the situation had not been so very entirely dire, Sirius suspected he would have laughed right out loud at the greasy man's continuing disdain for any prominence of a Potter.
Somewhat more lighthearted than he had been before, Sirius slung an arm around his godson's shoulders as they made their way to the wand weighing. Remus had already gone ahead to speak to Ollivander and to cast the necessary spells to ensure that nothing was amiss.
Entering the small classroom, they could see that they were the last to arrive, the other champions already in conversation with each other. At the far end of the room, Ludo Bagman spotted them and came sprinting over as fast as his rotund frame would allow. He thrust his hand forward in greeting and Harry took it, noticing with a fair measure of unease that his godfather had gone suddenly rigid.
Ignoring Bagman's enthusiastic gushing, Harry looked over to where Sirius' gray eyes were staring with no small measure of hostility.
In the distance stood a witch, dressed in tacky magenta robes, her platinum blond curls piled high on her head. Her eyes widened as she took in the sight of them and Harry got the unpleasant feeling that she was looking at them with the same regard as a hungry animal would possess as it looked at a very tasty roast chicken.
Turning back toward Sirius, he was unnerved to see his godfather's face contort into one of sheer hatred. Sirius' eyes squinted in hostility and his upper lip curled into a snarl so fierce that Harry himself was a bit frightened. His godfather's arm tightened around his shoulders so much that it almost became painful and Harry was about to protest when Sirius finally spoke in a voice dripping in venom.
"Rita Skeeter."