CHAPTER 31

Brilliant Hedwig

"I want to know who did this." Dumbledore demanded in a quiet, yet chilling voice.

The other occupants (a few teachers included), of the now uncomfortably silent Great Hall, simply looked at each other with worry.

Severus's mind, on the other hand, was still reeling with shock, the Headmaster's words were barely registered in his head.

"Which of you put the name of your underaged fellow schoolmate into the cup?" Dumbledore repeated in a louder voice. "I for one know that Harry Potter wasn't present on the school's premises since before the previous day's feast. That boy had to be shown to a Healer due to a certain injury that he had recently sustained. If you have, for the sake of a little laugh, decided to carry out this terrible deed..."

Severus tuned out Dumbledore's serious admonitions, his mind was moving in circles around the one thing that threw Harry straight into the hands of danger... The Triwizard Tornament... And he in no way could protect him like he did in his first, second and third years. Harry would have to deliberately take off any kind of protection he wore on himself, including his portkey, while participating. The rules of this cruel but fair contest was as such.

And someone had found a parchment with his name written on it! Because the cup only accepted those parchments on which the participants names were willingly written! The boy wasn't imperiused, for it turned out that he was one of those few who could throw off the curse!

The culprit could have very well been a Professor for all he knew. The person could simply have torn off the bit of Harry's essay parchment on which the boy had put down his name.

What if, it wasn't a teacher at all? What if it was a person who got their hands on the roll containing one of Harry's essays probably assigned by a teacher for homework? What if it was this culprit and not the teacher's fault?

Harry might have already been made aware of this, if Severus actually knew his charges well. He wondered if the boy was okay. Was he anxious? Would his worry somehow affect the curse in his head?

Severus's mind was too caught up around these thoughts to even think clearly. All he wanted to do was to move, to find away to reverse the hands of the clock to prevent any of this from happening. He also wanted to grab that bloody goblet and crush it to pieces.

Gradually, Severus began to note that some students realised that Harry truly wasn't around. They began to understand the peril the boy was thrown into. There were some who began looking accusingly at the members of the Swarm present in the Great Hall.

Dumbledore noticed that too, for he began another long lecture on how important it was to have proof before jumping to conclusions.

Some students turned back to look at them again, surprisingly though, this time with pity displayed out in their gazes. Severus just hoped they wouldn't make things anymore difficult for his charges than it already was.

Then slowly the whispers began, slowly growing louder and ominous. They soon grew to such an intensity that Dumbledore, in no mood to get them to quiet down, asked them all to go to bed.

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Blaire was sure Harry was as scared and worried as she felt. She wondered if they had done the right thing to tell him before he got back to Hogwarts. But she really didn't want him to have a shock when he got here.

"Harry?" she asked tentatively.

"Yeah?"

"Are you alright?"

"Do the others believe me?"

"I think so. Dumbledore gave us all a right talking to."

"And they believe me?"

"Well, considering that many people, including Tilly and her friends, have just stopped us on our way out of the Hall, telling us that they believe in what Dumbledore has said. They believe that both you and the four of us are innocent of putting your name into the globlet."

"Then I'm alright, I guess. I just don't want those stares again."

Blaire pushed through the crowd and went to meet Ethan, Neville and Draco.

"I'm going to see what's happening out there. If we're lucky, they will probably get Harry off the game."

She pushed her way to a dark corner, and when she was positive that no one was looking looking, turned into Woody and flew above the students heads and out of the window.

She did a loop in the air and changed direction immediately, heading towards the chamber outside the Great Hall only to almost crash into another bird.

"Woody!" hooted the latter. "You've come to hunt tonight?"

"Hi, Hedwig." Woody chirped back, pity she had to rely more on her ears, for magpie eyesight was terrible in the dark. "I'm sorry, not tonight, sweetie. You see, Harry's in trouble and I need to help him."

"How can I help?" Her usually grumpy friend asked immediately.

"Well, unless you want to sit in a tree absolutely still and say nothing but simply listen, there's nothing you can do."

"I can do that!" she hooted.

When Woody hesitated, she squawked in indignation, "You think we owls are stupid?Come, I'll show you that I can sit in silence!"

Woody doubted it. For all the hours she spent flying around with Hedwig, she couldn't recollect her sitting quietly and patiently in one place except when she was hunting. And being as moody and temperamental as she was, Woody knew better than to tell her to shut up.

Nevertheless they flew to a tree, together, with Hedwig griping about silly girls and how insulted the Union of Owls would feel if she lodged in a complaint about an annoying magpie.

"Like you've never seen me sit quietly in one place." she hooted snapishly, her amber eyes glowing furiously.

"Please be quiet now, Hedwig." Woody chirped quietly.

Hedwig huffed, if an owl could do that, and fell silent.

The tree was thick with leaves and positioned very conveniently outside the window of the chamber the champions and professors were in. Woody and Hedwig hid in the lower leaves of the tree, quite below the window and listened as Madam Maxime and Igor Karkaroff threw tantrums all around, completely against Harry's participation. They even went so far as to blame Dumbledore for it. Woody hoped against hope that they would concede and find a way for Harry to drop out.

Then that girl, Delacour went to claim that if he was only in his fourth year, Harry was a 'very leetle boy', and Woody bristled. Harry had been through more in his four years at Hogwarts than what those 'champions' had been through in their lifetime! If she was supposed to offer any help to the champions, she wasn't ever going to give this dame any preference. But Woody still wished that they would listen to her, even if they had to consider Harry a helpless 'leetle boy', and get him out of danger.

Even Prof began to throw his weight around, trying to find a way out. But then Moody had to come and bring down their mood lower that what it already was by saying that dropping out wasn't an option, for Harry would lose his Magic.

Woody sighed and rolled her eyes in exasperation and it was then that she caught sight of something surprising. There was a small portion of the tree lit up by the light that fell onto it from the chamber's window. And with the help of that little light she could see, resting on a leaf as comfortably as ever, a large beetle.

Hedwig, who had surprisingly been sitting quietly besides her, angled up her head to look in the direction of the beetle and hooted softly, "The beetle feels as wrong as you and Sly and Rush and Merry. Now don't go on about me unable to sit quietly. You made me do it."

The beetle was Rita Skeeter, Woody realised in a panic. She was going to ruin Harry.

"What happened now?" Hedwig asked, having felt her distress. "It's not as though they've never heard owl hoots before! What kind of a world would it be if owl hooting at night was considered abnormal!?"

"Oh, Hedwig! It's not that! She's going to hurt Harry!"

"The beetle?"

"Yes " Woody said, hoping against hope, now, that Skeeter didn't understand bird talk.

"Then I'll eat her!" Hedwig hooted immediately.

Woody's eyes widened.

"She'll grow big and burst your stomach from inside, Hedwig! She'll kill you!"

"So I can't eat her, then?"

"No."

"That's fine with me." Hedwig hooted. "Beetles taste awful anyway! You've got to try them someday. Don't worry, though, I'll take care of this one."

She jumped out of the branch she was hiding in, flew straight into the air and out of Blaire's vision and came rushing back down headfirst, grabbed the beetle in one talon, steadied herself midair and pecked her on her head. Hard. Again and again and again and again and let her fall down to the floor.

Woody stared at Hedwig in horror.

"Why did you do that?" she chirped in a hushed voice.

"You aren't only silly." Hedwig grouched. "You foolish as well!"

"What? Why?"

"You said that she would hurt Harry." Hedwig said plainly. "I will not allow anyone to hurt my Harry, or Blaire or Ethan or Neville or Draco!"

Woody was just too gratified and shocked and upset to sit still and begin listening again to what was happening in the chamber. But by the looks of it, Harry would have to compete, for she now heard them giving the champions instructions on what was to happen throughout the tournament. She rubbed her head against Hedwig's in thanks and flew off to the Owlery.

She entered it and flew downstairs. Lower and lower she went until she reached the dungeons. She hurried into a dark corner besides a large statue of a serpent and transformed back into Blaire. Then she hurried towards Prof's chambers and met the others where they were all going to wait for Harry.

Prof wasn't back yet, but she could here her mother's portrait bemoaning Harry's fate.

"Oh, that poor child!" she cried. "Why does is always have to be him?"

Blaire got her to calm down and sent her to tell their father's portrait about what happened. James Potter happened to be having a sleepover at the Remus's little house, apparently guarding it while it's owner was out. How he planned on doing that, while stuck in a portrait, she wasn't sure, but by the time her mother's portrait joined him in her own frame, she'd probably calm down.

When they were alone, Blaire told them about all what Hedwig had done to prevent Harry from getting hurt.

"Clever Owl." Ethan praised.

"You don't think she killed her, do you?" Draco asked.

"Nah." Blaire answered. "I'm more afraid of her telling people about what Hedwig had done. They may put Hedwig down!"

"She's an unregistered animagus." Neville said reasonably. "She wouldn't dare let out a peep."

"But what if she leaves her animagus abilities out?" Blaire asked.

"Then," Neville said, "She's going to have a hard time explaining how an owl was able to grab hold of her and peck her so many times without her fighting it off!"

"She could find a way around it." Blaire insisted.

"Then we could announce to the world that she is an unregistered animagus." Draco said simply. "We will say that there were five witnesses watching her transform into a beetle on the thirtieth of October on the Hogwarts grounds."

Blaire looked gratefully at him and he smiled back at her.

Ethan cleared his throat at looked at them pointedly.

"We still aren't dating, Ethan." Blaire said, rolling her eyes.

"Humph!" Ethan exclaimed and said nothing.

Prof entered just then and they all turned to him.

"Can he drop out?" Blaire asked.

Prof shook his head moodily and said, "No. And you'd better tell him goodnight and head off to bed, because he will arrive only past midnight."

"How come, Prof." Neville asked.

"The Plymouth authorities claimed that they needed to sign some magically bound documents stating that Harry, Narcissa, Black and Lupin hadn't stolen anything from there, nor brought anything dangerous there, and that anything terrible that happens there is not caused by them. And if it is found that any danger was initiated by them, they will bear the consequences."

"That's harsh." Blaire said.

"If you're considering their conditions harsh," Prof said, "I wonder what you would have said about them wasting two hours only to sign all those documents."

"Did they miss the train?"

"Oh no." Prof said with a sneer that wasn't aimed at the children. "They really wouldn't want to have unknown, potential threats in their territory longer than they needed to be. They got the train to wait... Now off to bed, all of you. You'll get to meet Harry in this room tomorrow morning and for the next seven or so days. He's going to live with me until some of the excitement has died down. I don't want him getting anxious about the stares sent his way. You'll have to provide him with notes."

"Yes, Prof." they said, getting up from their seats. "Good night."

"Good night." he said as he watched them exit his quarters.

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Harry scratched Venn behind her ear, shook Dudley's hand and gave Aunt Petunia and Mrs. Black a final hug before he flooed back to Hogwarts via Prof's quarters. It had been really hard to keep the shock and dismay from his face when Blaire had told him in a very worried voice that he had been chosen as the fourth champion to the Triwizard Tournament. Harry wondered if it was a joke, but Blaire never joked with that tone of voice.

Harry had succeeded in keeping his face expressionless and in keeping from showing any of his companions that something was wrong and of that he was proud.

The moment he stepped out of the grate, Prof pulled him into a tight hug and Harry, suddenly realising how tired he was, closed his eyes and leaned into the embrace.

"I'm back," he said, hardly expecting the others to be awake.

But by the immediate responses he got, he realised that they hadn't even gone to sleep yet.

"Trouble falling asleep, eh?"

"Yes." came four tired responses.

"Well, if you don't get sleep in half-an-hour, come down to Prof's."

"Will do." Blaire said.

The fireplace flared two times in a sequence and Harry opened his eyes just a peep to see Sirius and Remus standing before them, both looking determined. Harry turned his face too look at the other end of the room and sighed. Prof tightened his hug around him.

"Alright, Kid," Sirius began. "What happened back there on the train?"

"Yes, Harry." Remus said, gently, "For a moment, I thought you were on the verge of having a stroke!"

Harry just groaned in protest.

"Why don't you head to bed, Harry?" Prof said quietly. "I'll explain it to them."

"How would you know, Snape? You weren't even there!" Sirius asked suspiciously and Harry could practically feel the heat of the glare that Prof shot at him.

With a short conference with his siblings, Neville and Draco, he looked at Prof and mumbled, "You might as well tell them about the mindchat, but they mustn't tell anyone."

Prof nodded and Harry let go and made to move towards the quarter's exit.

"No, child." Prof said. "We thought it best for you to remain here for at least a week, to let it all die down. The others will get you your notes at the end of the day. While during the day you are going to be busy learning everything you will require."

"For what?" Sirius asked. But Prof ignored him.

Harry nodded and hurried to the bathroom to brush his teeth and change to his spare pyjamas that he kept along with those of the rest of the Swarm in a small cabinet besides the bathroom.

"'Night, Prof, Sirius, Remus." Harry said as he crossed the living room, where the three men were sitting as far away from each other as possible, to head to the guest room."

"Good night, Harry." they replied, glaring at each other. Harry smiled, and headed off to bed.

He was so exhausted from worrying, he fell asleep the moment his head touched the pillow, before he could even clear his mind.

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Severus had just finished explaining Harry's plight to Black and Lupin as curtly as he dared. Both his listeners were quiet much to Severus's relief.

"So they're just going to let him participate?" Black asked furiously, a moment later and Severus sighed.

"It's either that or Harry will lose his magic." he spoke as civilly as possible.

Lupin took out that wretched piece of parchment and exclaimed, "I've checked this map over and over again, until before the feast and there has been no one out of ordinary there! And the entrances of Hogwarts have been properly watched!"

"What about Pettigrew?" Black asked, not quite as calm as Lupin.

"The map would warm up the minute it detected-"

He was interrupted by a horrible, bloodcurdling scream.

Severus shot up from his seat and dashed into the next room followed by his unwanted companions in time to see Harry roll off the bed and fall with a thud to the floor. The boy was still screaming and trashing and all Severus could do was try to lift him onto the bed.

Black rushed forward and grabbed Harry's kicking legs, and together the two men were able to put the screaming child back into bed.

"Harry!" Severus said, taking hold of his shoulder and shaking him. "Harry, wake up!"

Harry's eyes flew open, the scream slowly dying on his lips. He sat up strains and scanned the room with wild, terrified eyes, not unlike the time he had woken up after screaming and trashing in bed at the Potter Alcove.

"Harry, you're safe." Severus said.

Still breathing heavily, Harry nodded. Severus sat on the bed while Black simply watched the boy with concern, his almost cured face, now looking as horrible as it was when Severus had seen him in the Shrieking Shack. Gone was the marvel he wore on his face a few minutes ago when he realised that the Swarm could communicate with each other no matter where they were.

Lupin was no where to be found, but by judging from the sounds that were coming from his kitchenette, he was probably fixing a something for Harry to have before he went back to sleep.

Harry shakily sunk back on his pillows and said, "I fell asleep before I could put up my Occlumency shields."

Severus said nothing, but simply urged the boy to carry on. Black, finally coming out of the shock at having the reality of the entire situation dawn upon him, perched himself at the foot of Harry's bed and squeezed the boy's foot encouragingly.

Lupin was back with a mug of hot chocolate that Harry gratefully accepted with tremors in his hands. Then Lupin conjured a chair for himself besides there bed and sat down.

"I had that vision again." he said after taking a big sip.

Both Lupin and Black looked as though they wanted to ask questions, but Severus glared them into silence.

"It... it was a weird one. Voldemort in that creature form of his, was there on a chair and he was furious with Pettigrew. They were in a different living room this time. The room was clean and well furnished and had cream coloured walls. From what I understood from the situation, Nagini, his snake, had wandered off and Pettigrew took a while to find her. Voldemort just wanted her to be safe. He always wanted her in his sight, he said. It was as though she was the most important thing in his life!

"You know, it was strange, I mean, he could have just picked up a different snake if he lost this one. He wasn't that concerned when Quirrel was dying and Quirrel was providing him a body to live in!"

Harry stopped to take another sip of his hot chocolate and then frowned for a while.

"Then the topic of conversation simply changed and Voldemort said it was time for him to be fed and Pettigrew turned around to a corner where there were a pile of large brown flasks and started fiddling with one of them. Voldemort startled him suddenly by asking him about an artifact that he'd given Lucius Malfoy... All Pettigrew said was that Malfoy had gotten rid of it. Boy, he was so mad he crucioed Pettigrew the moment he turned his back to continue what he was doing! And then Pettigrew started screaming and I guess, I started screaming too."

"Did you feel the effects of the Crucio, Harry?" Lupin asked, as Black gave his foot another squeeze.

"No, no." Harry said. "But my scar burned like it did back at home and like it did everytime I was around Voldemort."

"What was Pettigrew's state?" Black asked almost greedily.

"He was a stammering mess from the beginning." Harry said. "It's as though he's regretting his decision, as though he's thoroughly disgusted with his job."

"Serves him right," Black said vindictively. "The two-timing, double-crossing, cowardly bastard!"

"Shut up, Black!" Severus barked.

"Finish your chocolate." he then said to Harry, summoning a vial of calming drought mixed with a mild sleeping potion. Vaguely aware of the little pain flaring up in his left arm.

A small doubt creeping into his head. If what Harry said was accurate, then Severus could have just about found out the container Voldemort had decided to put his last soul piece in!

Once Harry was done with the hot chocolate, he gave Lupin the mug back with a smile, "Thanks, Remus. That was even better than the one made by the house-elves."

Lupin chuckled, "I always found that hot chocolate cheered me up on bad days."

Severus pressed the potion vial into his hands and said, "Put up your shields first. Then drink every drop. It's a sleeping potion. Something tells me that you aren't going to be able to fall asleep on your own."

Within seconds of consuming the potion, Harry was fast asleep.

After sending the others out and carefully tucking Harry in, he joined them in the living room. The very next moment, there was a familiar knock on his door. Severus sighed, looked up to his roof in exasperation, the skin under his dark mark now throbbing inconsistently, and said, "Come in!"

"Couldn't sleep?" he asked as his remaining charges entered.

They shook their heads.

Severus sighed, "Alright, you can kip here for tonight. Don't bother waking Harry up, he's under the effects of a sleeping potion. He'll tell you why tomorrow. Ethan get into bed with him. Draco and Neville can use my bed. Blaire, I'll convert the sofa into a bed."

"Aren't you going to bed?" Neville asked.

Severus sighed again and said, "I don't think I may get a chance to sleep tonight. Alright. Chop! Chop! Get dressed and into bed. I want you all asleep by the time I return.

And once they were all settled, he ushered Black and Lupin into his office and said over his shoulder, "I have strengthened the shields around the quarters. However, should anyone come knocking on the door, do not open it!"

"Yes, Prof." Came Blaire's reply.

Suddenly the inconsistent flaring of pain in his left arm reached it's peak, but this wasn't a call.

Severus shut the door, locked it and had it vanish from view, saying barely able to keep the pain from his voice, "We'll have to rush to Dumbledore. My office floo-"

The pain burned it's way up his shoulder and to his chest and Severus screamed in pain. He fell to the floor, his head banging into the corner of his desk on the way, and his vision went black.

The next thing he knew was that he was no longer in pain, but he was sprawled out on a conjured sofa in his office with a cool, wet piece of cloth placed on his forehead.

"If what you're saying is true," he heard Dumbledore's voice say, "Then, I believe that Pettigrew was unable to give Voldemort his required nourishment in time, causing him to weaken. I believe he was weakening, and in desperation, he simply threw his magic into the connection he shared with his marked followers and picked the connection he found most alert.

"Tonight had been quite hectic for Severus, considering the shock he recieved at the Triwizard Tournament selection, followed immediately by Harry's dreadful nightmare. It wouldn't have taken Voldemort long to find his connection with Severus most alert and ready to release magic in the form of duels if he needed to, and Voldemort thus fed on his magical strength to regain his own.

"Ah, Severus, I see that you've awaken."

"That monster will pay." Severus said scowling with hatred, then wincing when he raised his hand and rubbed the lump on his temple.

"Now, now, Severus." Dumbledore said, still dressed in the robes he was wearing for the feast, "you need to relax. Sirius Remus, why don't you head back to Godric's Hollow for the night? You have done wonderfully!"

"But-" Black made to protest, probably in want of more information, only to be dragged out of Severus's office by Lupin.

But at the door, the werewolf stopped, turned around, hesitated for a moment and then said somewhat wistfully, "Those kids are lucky to have you...Do get well, Severus."

When the door shut, Severus sat up on the sofa, feeling light headed, but otherwise, no different. He and Dumbledore looked at each other for a moment and then said as one, "We need to kill the snake!"

tbc...