Molly barked the special password Albus had given her for frequent visits if she didn't simply speak with him through owl or floo, "Peppered Treacle Tart!"
She quickly turned around on her son, "Stay here!" she snapped and stomped up the stairs.
"I'm not a crup," he said under his breath as he waited for his mother to finish speaking to the Headmaster. It was bad enough she was acting like Ginny when she had one of her temper tantrums.
He knew something was going on, and after this tournament he wasn't going to be anywhere near his mother. Somehow he knew it was going to blow up in her face, and he didn't want to be caught in the aftermath. Grandmother Cedrella warned them, and for once in his life he was going to take her warning to heart.
Molly marched up the stairs and knocked loudly on the door. Normally she would have barged in, but with so many officials being about she knew that would cause unnecessary attention.
"Come in," he said grandfatherly.
She threw the door open with a loud bang and glared at the elderly wizard as though it was all his fault.
"Ah, Molly. What a wonderful surprise, aren't you supposed to be spending time with Harry?" Albus said, while his eyes twinkled.
"That's what I thought was supposed to happen, Albus," she hissed at him, "You told me that the muggles weren't going to be here! Well guess who waltzed into the room where the families were meeting up!"
Albus's eyes stopped twinkling as his eyebrows furrowed. He knew he asked Minerva if she had sent the muggles an owl and she had said no. However he didn't add a compulsion spell afterwards that would prevent her from doing so in the future. That and considering that he obliviated his deputy about the meeting entirely he wasn't able to give her directions on not to send the family a letter. He wasn't sure how they would get the letter though since he intercepted all of their owls, so he didn't think he had to worry about it. Aside from their first attempt at muggle post, which didn't go overly well, he didn't think to check their muggle post… While it threw a stone in his plans, he couldn't be as upset with Minerva for doing her job. It simply meant that she was still doing all the menial tasks that he didn't want to do.
It was a lack of thought on his part and now he had to work through this mess. He should have assumed that Minerva would be thoughtful enough to consider trying muggle mail before owl mail. He took a calming breath and looked up at the irate matriarch.
"They weren't informed last I checked, Molly. It was a minor mistake on my end since I was not clear with Minerva about sending out invitations to the Champions' families," he said calmly.
It was the truth. He had simply informed Minerva that the Champions' families had to be owled invitations before the final task. Normally they didn't owl the Dursleys anything, so he didn't believe that he had to do so involving this. He was the boy's magical guardian, however he wasn't the boy's family. His Deputy was an intelligent witch, those details simply slipped his mind this time.
"Well then get them out of here, Albus! Muggles do not belong in Hogwarts! It's a school that's supposed to be safe from them! It is a travesty that should be seen to immediately!" she shrilled.
Albus looked at the redheaded woman coldly.
"Molly, I'm afraid it is not against the rules for a Champion's family member to be on the grounds, muggle or not. If it was a normal Hogwarts event, I would be able to enforce this. However TriWizard Tournament rules allow for the family of the chosen Champion's family to spend the day with them before the third task. With it being such a dangerous tournament normal rules are overridden for cases like these," he sighed, "I'm afraid my hands are tied, Molly. Have you tried asking the family if you could spend the day with them anyways?" he asked kindly.
The plump witch blushed and looked down at the edge of his desk to avoid his eyes.
"I may have said some things that offended them after they had offered me the invitation… I simply wanted the boy to spend time with my family alone today, Albus. Those muggles aren't his family! Did you know that Hermione was part of his family Albus!? Because I certainly didn't," she said working herself up into a state again.
Albus looked at the witch sharply. "Come again, Molly?" he asked.
"Hermione Granger, Albus. She's related to Harry and no one knew about it! They were keeping it secret from everyone!" she shrieked.
Albus folded his hands together under his chin and ran his thumbs through his beard. This was indeed news to him. However he was honest with himself and knew he didn't look past Lily's immediate family so he wasn't aware of any other family members the boy may or may not have outside of the Dursleys. Yet if they knew, then it was would have been for their safety and he had to admire that. It would explain why the boy was so keen on rescuing her from that Troll their first year. He feared for some time that it was because he fancied the bushy haired, buck-toothed witch.
"That is their business, Molly. You don't go shouting from the roof tops that you're related to the Blacks through Cedrella," he said looking over his glasses at her.
Molly clamped her lips together. It was a little known fact and she was glad people didn't talk about it. So she could understand on some level, however it was still upsetting that she didn't know in the first place, she should have known! It would have prevented her from being angry at the young witch because of Skeeter in the first place. She would have been able to keep on her warm motherly face to the muggleborn, instead she sent her an Easter egg that was barely that size of a chicken's egg… how embarrassing.
"Now Molly, there are marriage arrangement agreements and even with your new found information, they're still valid. Now you simply know you don't have to worry about them becoming too close," he tried to soothe the brash witch.
Molly fiddled with her skirt, "I suppose you're right, Albus. But I would appreciate it if you were to come down to have those muggles understand their place. Harry belongs with my family through his marriage with Ginevra, so he is our family, and we have a right, Albus!" she cried.
"There have been no marriage bindings just yet, so you can't claim anything on those grounds. It'll give away too much information, so you might just have to apologize and try again," he shook his head at her.
Molly's eyes started to water, "He yelled at me, Albus. The muggle yelled at me that he didn't want me near his family. I said the wrong thing and he wouldn't let me say sorry," she admitted.
Albus sighed internally. Even as a grown woman Molly was an entitled spoiled pureblood and ran to the highest power she could to get her way. He had a feeling she shouted that she would tell him and have him straighten things out to her liking. While he easily could with a simple obliviate, he simply didn't want to. Molly dug herself another hole and he wouldn't fix it. Besides it was risky with it being so close to the task and he still had to slip Harry the potion.
"Then I'm unsure of what I can do to help you," he said instead in his best grandfatherly tone.
"You can try to ask them for favor or you can make your way back home. I'll let you use my floo. The choice is yours," he said to her.
Personally he wanted her to just go home considering that she messed up his plans with her brash temperament. He was annoyed with Minerva, but only minimally so since she was merely doing her job. It caused him this small headache, but he didn't do anything to prevent it either. He wanted to blame her though, but he was old and above such pettiness… or so he told himself.
Molly's lip started to quiver, "Won't you come with me, Albus?" she asked quietly.
"I'm very busy right now, Molly. There are little details that must be taken care of immediately for this task. Perhaps you can ask Professor Snape," he suggested.
Molly pursed her lips and looked away from him again, "He was there when the incident happened…"
Albus wanted to rub his forehead to stave off the impeding headache she was causing him. She was being exceedingly stubborn, it would be so easy if she just went back to the Burrow.
"What about Bill?" he asked.
"Bill thinks we should go back home," she twisted her face in dislike at the idea.
She knew where this was headed, her son and Albus were practically on the same page instead of her page. She couldn't go to Snape since he was the one who escorted the muggles into the room, and the only other person who might be able to override their decision would be Minerva, and she wrote the invitation. She was an intimidating person as well, she could be a force to reckon with, but she had facts thrown at her and blew up in typical fashion that her family was known for.
"Hermione knows about the tuition difference between purebloods and muggleborns, Albus. Shouldn't that be rectified at least?" she tried again.
Albus stifled a groan, of course Miss Granger would know about the tuition difference. However it would seem that she was keeping that tidbit of information to herself, so he really wasn't sure how to go about that.
Suddenly there was a loud series of knocking coming from the door.
"Come in," he said, glad for any distraction from Molly's screw up.
Alastor barged in, his peg leg clunking loudly as he walked. His magical eye spun around his socket taking in his surroundings.
"Albus, I've placed the trophy where it belongs," he said vaguely, his magical blue eye staring at Molly like he didn't trust her with any tournament information.
Albus nodded glad that something was going right, "Thank you, Alastor."
His Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor nodded to him and his guest, "Molly, your son is walking in front of the gargoyle like he's going to wear the stone down. Get him out of here," he growled and took his leave from the office.
"I have further details to take care of concerning this tournament, Molly. Perhaps you can come back later and sit in the seats designated for the Champions' families. Although I should stress how beneficial it would be to the future for you to make amends now," he said with a raised eyebrow.
Molly pouted petulantly, she shouldn't have to lower herself to apologize to muggles. There was a reason she never went to pick up the boy from that horrid home. She didn't want to be anywhere near them.
"I will see you later, Albus," she said instead and took her leave.
The Headmaster rolled his eyes at the woman. Sometimes he wasn't sure why he picked the Weasley matriarch out of all the witches in Great Britain. Then he remembered she was loyal to him to a fault. Whatever he thought was best, was best. If he wanted some of the Potter fortune for arranging such a prestige and beneficial marriage, he would accept some of it as part of Ginevra's dowry.
Barty walked, lifting the old man's stump leg as swiftly as possible. The deed was done and his time at Hogwarts was growing short. He knew he would see his pupil one more time before he was found out and hauled back to Azkaban. He did what he could with Alastor's help, but he couldn't help but wonder if it was enough. He didn't dabble enough in the dark arts and Alastor refused to, so they couldn't teach her how to use the dark arts or understand it on a personal level. The darkest they went were the gray wards with her, which she excelled in. She was able to dismantle and break the curses that he did know, so it gave her an idea of what to look for, but he was worried that it wouldn't be enough.
He knew she was also taking lessons with Snape… he didn't like it, but he knew that Snape was a practitioner of the dark arts and was able to ignore its sweet callings. He was one of the few to be able to use the dark arts and not go crazy with it. He was unsure how, but he begrudgingly respected him for it. He didn't trust him, but he could admit that he respected the strength of his willpower.
Hermione had a strong willpower, strong enough to shrug off the imperius with no thought to it. He struggled for 10 years, and she struggled only for a few weeks at a time. He knew that if someone with a stronger will than hers tried to curse her, she would be able to break out of it in less than five minutes. He had great faith in her. She was going to be a great warrior in the upcoming war.
The question was; would anyone ever know? Which was quickly followed by: Would she want anyone to ever know?
After tension had settled, the Delacours and Krums had decided to spend their day with Potter and his family. Krum of course was really there for Hermione, but she kept things as proper as she could without alerting anyone that anything was wrong. Viktor was thankfully taking it as nerves as he continued to try to reassure her things would go well.
Cedric and Amos were invited to spend time with them, but they declined, instead choosing to walk around the grounds.
Vernon and Petunia were trying their best not to be standoffish, but were finding it hard to find common ground with the other adults. Dudley was having trouble as it was from constantly looking over his shoulder.
However as things were won't to do, they turned to one of the most common grounds in any culture: sports.
"I must say, Krum, your catch at the World Cup was astounding, it's a shame Bulgaria didn't win," Monsieur Delacour said.
His English was superb, but with his wife being able to also speak it fluently, it barely came as a surprise.
Krum nodded, uncomfortable with the change in direction. It was one of his favorite parts of the tournament, was that he was not the only center of attention.
However the term 'World Cup' was one the Dursleys were all familiar with.
"World Cup? What World Cup?" Dudley asked.
"The Quidditch World Cup," Hermione answered, "It was held this past summer. Bulgaria versus Ireland. Ireland won even though Viktor caught the snitch. It was a mindful catch though I noticed," she said looking at Viktor, who knew she wasn't into quidditch as everyone else was.
"Da. Vas to save face. Dey vere vinning. I did not vant Bulgaria to lose badly. Trained hard to make it to Cup," he said, looking down at Hermione, thankful for the save.
"You play… quidditch? Professionally?" Vernon asked, intrigued.
"Da," was Viktor's response.
"Viktor is amazing Seeker. He vas spotted by talent hunters and it has made life easier," his mother said.
Viktor blushed at his mother's praise.
"Mama, you are amazing seeker. I learn from best," he said with a small grin.
Hermione grinned at his mother glad to see Viktor be so humble.
Harry looked at Viktor's mother with awe.
"Would you be able to give me a few pointers, Mrs. Krum?" Harry asked.
He hadn't asked Viktor for anything, but felt comfortable asking his mother for a few tips. He understood the being a seeker that some skills were unteachable and others were close to vest secrets. Harry was simply a natural.
Viktor's mother had long black hair and hazel green eyes. They weren't the brilliant green that Harry's were and they weren't the hazel that Hermione's were. They were kind and sharp with intelligence. She was taller than Hermione, but shorter than Viktor. Her husband was a bit taller than Viktor, a bit broader, with dark eyes and dark brown hair. It was obvious that Viktor took more after his father with his mother's hair.
Viktor's mother stared at Harry for a few silent moment's searching his face for something only she could see. After 10 seconds it seemed as though she had found it, and smiled at the young boy.
"Da. I vould love to teach you," she said with a smile.
"But I don't have broom," she said with a faux sigh, looking at Viktor in the corner of her eye.
Viktor blushed and summoned his broom, "Idvam drŭzhka za metla."
Hermione looked at Harry in a sly manner and he blushed as he summoned his own broom, "Accio firebolt."
The Dursleys froze as they cast their spells with their wands, however they were intrigued that all they did was call their brooms to them.
It appeared that some of their fairytales had some truth to them, even though the brooms looked nothing as it did in picture books.
Viktor handed his mother his broom, which she took with a spark in her eye and looked over at Harry as she mounted the broom. Harry took her que and also mounted his firebolt.
"Please, call me Tatyana," with that she shot up into the air with a warm throaty laugh.
Harry smiled at the older woman and shot up after her at top speed.
Petunia was beyond startled when her nephew shot up into the sky at breakneck speeds. She turned to her niece since she never listened to Lily as she went on about how great quidditch was.
"Hermione, what is a seeker?" she asked quietly.
Hermione's face screwed up. She knew she was going to describe it poorly, but decided to tell her in terms that she knew and hoped for the best.
"A seeker is a quidditch player that chases the snitch. A snitch is a small golden ball, about the size of a golf ball, with silvery wings that flies fast and is hard to catch. It is the only position where the player is allowed to touch the snitch. Their objective is to catch the snitch, once the snitch is caught the game is over," she said with a blush.
Viktor looked like he was going to burst out laughing at how his girlfriend had described his position. It did the game no justice and he could tell she knew it before she even began speaking with the face she made. It was quite funny for someone so brilliant to be unable to bring across the excitement that was quidditch. It was part of why he liked her too.
Severus on the other hand had to bite his tongue to keep from saying anything. He was tagging along, sticking to the background if only to make sure the Dursleys were as safe as they could be while they were at Hogwarts. While it was illegal to use magic on a muggle, they were in a school surrounded by dunderheads and unsavory people. However hearing Miss Granger try to explain a quidditch position was almost worth the bother. While it was no news that she was a horrid flyer, it was beyond amusing that she was inarticulate when it came to the sport game in general.
"Quidditch is like… rugby on brooms with some exceptions," she tried again, her eyebrows scrunched up with frustration.
Fleur hid her mouth behind her hand to keep from laughing at her friend. The way she was trying to describe the game to her muggle family was adorably funny. Yet it seemed to cross some barrier in their minds since they seemed as though they understood part of it.
Dudley looked up at his cousin in the air, amazed at how fast he was going. He was almost jealous, but decided that riding a broom would be too hard and that they were way too high.
Harry and Tatyana flew around each other weaving in and out as Tatyana would throw what looked like glitter to them around in the sky. Truthfully she was throwing a shiny button and was amazed that he was able to see it at all. It had taken Viktor some time as a boy to see the button that his mother would catch. It was as fun as it had been teaching her son though, he was a quick study.
Vernon was upset yet amazed that the boy was good at something. He wasn't a pansy like he had thought all those years since he was a beanpole and didn't wrestle like Dudley did. However playing air rugby seemed like a man's sport, even if they allowed women to play. From what he could see the boy was quite good.
"How many games has th – he won?" Vernon asked.
Hermione grinned at her new uncle, "Harry has won nearly every game there wasn't an incident in. He's been playing since first year."
"Nearly every game, eh?" he said mystified.
He was proud whenever Dudley won, but the boy won nearly every game he played since he started attending the establishment. He hoped the boy didn't die, if there was one thing he approved of was sports… even if it meant getting involved more with… his kind. After meeting Abagail Granger and meeting her daughter he knew that it was bound to happen. If he didn't fight it all at once, it might not be as painful as he thought it would be. It was quite peaceful watching his nephew zoom around the sky at extremely high speeds.
Apolline smiled and conjured a large picnic blanket. It would be a wonderful place to spend time with the children before the final task in the tournament.
Hermione noticed and started helping set the picnic setting up. It was the perfect place, there was some shade, the lake was within viewing distance, and they could see Tatyana and Harry zoom around the sky. Even Professor Snape sat peacefully under the tree, keeping a vigilant watch on the family.
Idvam drŭzhka za metla – Come Broomstick