I certainly have no rights to Harry Potter, but this won't stop me writing this story. However, you probably already know this. As it is my specialty, and as in my other big stories, this shows how things go if something went different right at the beginning. Please note that I'm not a fan of bashing and also don't expect the pairings to differ from canon. However, the path to them sertainly will be quite different. I also want to try and subvert certain plots and things that became common in the fandom over the years.
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Book III: Rebirth of Evil
Chapter 38: The Summer of Change
-Bop- -Bap- -Bap- -Bop- The punchbag offered little protest while Millicent laid into it, her boxing gloves-covered fists hammering into it mercilessly. Wearing boxing shorts and a sports top, her long hair bound into a ponytail, Millicent used this constructive way to vent.
Sitting by the sidelines, Astoria looked in awe at the display, this being the first time she was allowed to accompany her sister and her friends into the non-magical world. "I had no idea that Millie has that much pent-up frustration."
Daphne chuckled at her sister's comment. "Ever since she got victimized, she needs an outlet for all of it. Doing it this way is much more healthy for her."
"I wonder if I can learn something like that as well?" Astoria wondered.
The boxing instructor, who has been watching Millicent vent all of the pent-up anger, looked to Astoria, shaking his head. "While we do offer a program for children your age, little lady, I fear you are a bit too much of a weed for it. I did ask your sister last year, since she does fulfill the minimum criteria, and she declined."
"Oh, that's too bad..." Astoria honestly had not thought about that. Looking at Millicent and Dudley, she got an idea why her body was not ideal for it.
Dudley meanwhile was waiting for Millicent to be done. Looking at Millicent in her boxing shorts and sports top - and thankfully a sports bra underneath that after she had been introduced to those - he felt that whatever fear Millicent held about growing up to become unfeminine was unfounded. If anything, the girl was starting to take after her mother in developing a body like one of the amazons of myth, strong and yet very feminine.
She must have noticed the changes in herself, like how her hips have become wider. Not to mention her breasts seem to strive to become as big as melons and that cute butt of hers... I feel a bit guilty thinking of her this way, Dudley thought, realizing how he now had fully discovered what girls are.
Finally, Millicent was done, then noticed that Dudley was looking her up and down, realizing that he was checking her out. That a boy looked at her with that kind of interest felt surprisingly good. "All right, I'm warmed up. Now let's give Daphne's sister a little show."
Dudley shook himself out of his thoughts. "I'm coming," he told her, quickly checking if his own boxing gloves were tightened properly.
The spar then began for real and Astoria watched it in amazement. "And they are not hurting each other?"
"Oh, they do get some bruises, no way of avoiding that, but they are doing this to get better, not to hurt each other," Daphne told Astoria, remembering the first time she had watched those two spar.
An hour later they were leaving the boxing studio.
"That was awesome!" Astoria gushed, still fascinated by the friendly spar she had watched. "Both of you don't even need a wand to defend yourselves. You could just beat them up."
"Oh, we certainly could, but let's save that as a last resort. After all, we could cause serious injury when hitting someone in the head," Millicent told Astoria, remembering the lesson the instructor had given her on that.
"Using that against someone like Malfoy would probably break his bones. But I think Crabble and Goyle would be fair game," Dudley thought aloud, knowing both boy could take hits.
"Eeeew, you mean these two hairy trolls that always hang around Malfoy and that Parkinson girl?" Astoria made no secret of her opinion of the duo.
Daphne laughed at her sister's description of the dimwitted duo. "Even in Slytherin these two are laughing stock. There are already bets circulating if they even manage to get a single OWL."
"Well, I guess they are stupid enough after all we witnessed," Millicent agreed.
When they stopped at a traffic light, Astoria watched everything, including the cars that passed them, with wonder and interest. "All of this is so alien to me. I feel kind of stupid for not knowing anything about all the things surrounding me."
"You are most certainly not stupid. I remember how overwhelmed I was - and I already had started earlier taking careful steps into it," Millicent told the younger girl.
"It also goes the other way around. I remember how overwhelmed I felt when I was introduced to magic," Dudley added, remembering how confused he'd felt and the sense of wonder.
"Say, where are we going?" Astoria then wondered.
Dudley chuckled when hearing the question. "I want to introduce you to something I've not yet shown Millie or Daphne. It's called an arcade."
The girls wondered what that could be.
It was late in the afternoon when Dudley returned home.
His day with the girls had been much fun - he wondered honestly if he got all three girls addicted to video games - and all of them were looking forward to the next time all of them could meet. While Millicent pretty much could visit at every day, it was a bit more complicated for Daphne and Astoria.
Walking down Privet Drive, he greeted Mrs. Black while walking by her before reaching his home. One look was enough to see that his father was already back from work, seeing his car in the driveway. Dudley had honestly hoped he would arrive before his father's return, since if anything the atmosphere had worsened - something Dudley honestly had not thought possible.
No doubt that Vernon's changed circumstances were to blame for that.
As it turned out, Grunnings had gotten a new company doctor after his predecessor had went into retirement and Vernon, after years of having a gentleman's agreement with the previous doctor that would make him overlook the obvious health problems due to obesity, had failed his annual health check spectacularly.
Granted, Vernon was high enough on the ladder that he wouldn't have to fear serious consequences, but the violation of the health standards the company had set itself - ironically something Vernon had helped to put into place without considering it could one day apply to himself - meant that if he failed his next check as well there would be a reduction of his salary due to extra healthcare fees.
Dudley had learned from his mother that Vernon now was on a diet - something he himself thankfully was exempt of once he got a document from his boxing instructor that his body needed the calories to maintain his muscles - and that had been hell on his mood.
I bet the bakery across the street is now doing great business, Dudley thought sarcastically, having known for years of his father's habit of going there during lunch break and that he was most likely using it to circumvent Petunia's efforts.
Walking into the house, Dudley saw his father sitting in front of the telly, watching football. Considering his father's most likely mood right now, he let him be and walked to the kitchen door. "Hello, Mum, I'm back," he greeted his mother, who was busy with preparing dinner.
"Dudley, you are just in time. Please help me set the table," Petunia told her son.
Setting the table, Dudley saw that today it again was health food, though as per his instructor's orders to maintain his muscles, he got a special with meat. Dudley for his part had nothing against the vegetables and salads, while Vernon called it 'rabbit food', showing how much he disliked the unpleasant turn his life had taken.
Finally managing to get himself away from the football game on the telly, Vernon walked to the table and looked with disdain at his dinner, but knew it was either that or nothing. "I still don't understand why the boy gets special treatment," he complained while sitting down.
Dudley barely avoided a grimace. Now almost exclusively being called 'boy' was the newest development in the crumbling relationship with his father. It no doubt had come along due to the severe food-related stress that Vernon was under, which was worsing his mood significantly. Dudley getting special treatment from Petunia had clearly also been a factor in this.
"Vernon, we've been though this before. He is doing lots of sports and his instructor wrote me what he needs due to that. You should think about taking up sports as well," Petunia told her husband, clearly having told him this before.
Dudley saw his father shudder. It was an open secret that Vernon had a severe dislike of doing any kind of sports.
The atmosphere during dinner was not good. While Petunia was keeping herself busy with conversation with her son, asking him about his day and his friends, Vernon simply looked sour while he ate a dinner he clearly was not enjoying. The looks of jealously he gave his son and his special meal was no help, either.
Dudley right after dinner hid away in his room.
About half an hour later Petunia came in after knocking, looking sad. "I'm sorry, darling. It must be disheartening for you how things have taken a turn for the worse since the last time you were home."
"Mum, let's be honest. This rift growing between Dad and me is has been doing so for a while and I know it. Recently you make an honest effort to understand me better, while Dad grows more distant. Have I done something wrong?" Dudley wondered.
This was a very difficult situation for Petunia. She was painfully reminded of her own sister. Despite years of trying to paint her as a freak, fueled by jealously about a world she could never experience and their parents playing favorites, ever since the revelation of Dudley's own magic she had been forced into a slow process of no longer lying to herself.
It had been painful and there was lots of internal resistance after years of anger, but seeing Vernon start to treat Dudley like she had treated Lily slowly forced her to accept the bitter truth that she had wronged her sister. The long-suppressed memories of how furious Lily had been with their parents for their blatant favoritism, which had destroyed the relationship between the sisters, only made the realization more bitter.
She however didn't want to burden her son with her past - not knowing Harry had already told him everything he knew about it. "You have done nothing wrong... Your father is a proud man and once he has made his mind up about something, nothing can change it."
"Mum, I'm afraid this could be permanent," Dudley admitted, remembering his greatest fear the boggart had shown him. Ever since returning home for the summer, it felt like part of the fear started to become real.
"I know, darling, but I fear there is little we can do..." Petunia admitted.
She felt helpless. At first she had been in denial about the rift between Vernon and Dudley, but once it became impossible to ignore or explain away, she was forced to watch the family slowly breaking apart. She only hoped that it wouldn't end in a big bang of some sort.
...Ministry of Magic, July 6th...
The office of Dolores Umbridge in the Ministry of Magic was shockingly decorated. Besides the abundance of the color pink, it also sported many kitschy nick-nacks, with a cat motif being dominant, as well as furniture that tried to look homely but just looked stuffy. The decor of the office was a sharp contrast to its owner, who was sitting at her desk in a less than stellar mood.
"So this is how he decided to outplay us," Dolores Umbridge said slowly, being displeased with what she was reading.
After the humiliation at Hogwarts, of which she was dead-sure the Headmaster was very guilty of since no one else could have planned and executed such a plot in such a short time, she had looked into ways to control the school more closely. Minister Fudge as of now was shying away from enacting any laws that could impact the school, fearing backlash since the Ministry traditionally kept out of Hogwarts politics.
She however had discovered a possible way to get a foothold: the position of the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
That position was notorious for being a hot seat, no professor having lasted for longer than a year before either something happened or they left to never return. Hogwarts by now was scraping the bottom of the barrel, there was no other explanation for hiring that fraud Lockhart or that dirty werewolf Lupin. Since the position was again vacant, she had started to look for a flunky, a strawman who would take the job in order to get a foothold into Hogwarts.
And now it turns out that Dumbledore already filled the position as soon as the school year was over. Not only that, but his choice is meant to be an insult, she thought angrily while looking at the file on her desk.
Everyone had been taken by surprise when the paperwork came in that the position was already filled - with Alastor Moody of all people. It had to be Dumbledore cashing in an old favor to spite the Ministry, since the man had to know that he no longer would find any candidates the normal way.
"Well played, Dumbledore..." Even in her displeasure she had to admit that had been a good tactical move. "However, laws can be changed. You won't be able to do this again, I'll make sure about that."
For most of her life Umbridge had not been remarkable. Born to a lowly janitor in the Ministry and a Muggle woman and being a rather unremarkable Hogwarts student, she had realized that hard work did not pay and that the honest way was the foolish one. No, she had learned one needed to use other means in order to get somewhere in life.
She had discovered her innate talent in creating plots, playing people against each other and always come out on the winning side. After erasing her past and replacing it with something more fitting, using people as tools had proven to be a highly successful tactic. By a stroke of luck she did manage to attach herself to Cornelius Fudge during his bid to become Minister and now was one of the most powerful people in Magical Britain.
Of course, despite outer appearance, she held no true loyalty to Fudge; he just was her ticket to bigger things. Should the man lose favor with the public, she would drop him like a hot potato and look for greener pastures.
"But this old fool Dumbledore is too big of a nuisance..." Umbridge said to herself. "And where he is, Black is not far."
Sirius Black had grown into a serious problem ever since the man had decided to enter politics. While right now only the usual suspects had allied themselves with him due to the fact he held only little political capital, her sources said that this could soon enough change. What the man was lacking in political killer instincts he made up with his convictions and that he actually was not playing the usual political games.
Thanks to Black, the introduction of the new laws had been delayd, but they were sure to come over the course of the year. Nothing could stop that. Still, it was a disappointing setback for her and only showed her why she had to do something about Black rather sooner than later, or she could come to regret it.
Word was if Black continued like that for some years he actually could then make a successful bid for Minister. That meant the man was dangerous.
Sadly, the man lives so far removed from magical society that it's difficult to use... other means to silence him. I wouldn't even know where to start looking, Umbridge thought.
Truth to be told, Black having vanished into the Muggle world ensured that only little about his private life was actually known. Gods only knew how long he'd been married to that Muggle woman when she appeared in Diagon Alley last summer. In order to properly destroy Black, she had to find a way to spy on him.
She had come so far, no way she would allow people like Black to stop her. -ding ding- That was the small bell on her desk, signaling that Fudge wanted to see her in his office.
"Well, it's back to kissing his butt. The man is dumb enough that he never notices anything," Umbridge thought aloud before she put on her emotional mask and left her office to see what the Minister needed this time.
...at the same time in Brussels, Belgium...
Politics was a big stage, and one of the biggest stages were summits of the heads of government of the member states of the European Union. in Brussels. In these times, everything connected to the European Union got a press echo, but such summits did so especially. Here the important questions were on the agenda and pressure in general was great.
Thing was, despite politicians generally liking the big stage and the media presence that came with it, most of the actually important decisions were made behind closed doors and in small circles. After all, being flashy and getting the work done were often mutually exclusive goals. It was an open secret that everyone knew and no one questioned.
However, the small round of the heads of government from the biggest EU states that had come together right at the moment was not official. Instead, it was for them to deal with matters that were very much secret.
John Major for his part looked around who else was sitting at the table.
First there was Helmut Kohl, the Chancellor of Germany, then François Mitterrand, the President of France, Ruud Lubbers, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands and Felipe González, the Prime Minister of Spain. Only Italy instead of the head of government was represented by its relatively representative President, Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, due to the constant changes in government and no one trusting Silvio Berlusconi with something this important and sensitive.
"It has been some time since we came together about this, and I know some of us won't be present during the next time," Major said when seeing that they were all seated.
Lubbers looked resigned when hearing this. "It is no secret that I lost the elections and will be replaced next month. I have already started to reveal everything to Mereer Kok, who will take my place."
"I wish we would not need all this secrecy, but considering how sensitive of a topic this is, there is little other choice," Kohl said with a sigh, thanks to his long time in power having attended more of such secret meetings than anyone else sitting at this table.
"Oui, this is way too sensitive for anyone to listen in to," Mitterrand agreed. "However, Monsieur Major's country is the one most impacted, so he should speak first."
"Thank you very much. After all, without my country this initiative to take back control and push back against these secession governments would have never come to be." Major then looked serious. "From our side, we have intensified our efforts in light of the rapidly deteriorating situation. That gross diplomatic crisis with Germany is representative about the state of things."
Kohl looked quite displeased when hearing these news. "Wouldn't I know about it? After all, in our country due to history the government is much more closely involved with magical matters. We were baffled how the British Ministry treated three of our citizens for three years, and then there is the reason they were forced to flee the country. Besides how morally bankrupt such a governmental behavior is, it is an obvious sign of beginning state failure."
Everyone present had heard of the Schuster Affair. How the Schuster family after moving to Britain had been essentially treated like crap by the Ministry of Magic and their son being forced to attend a school he didn't want to attend. The blatant racism involved, which not even a diplomatic crisis could stop, had peaked in the attempt to lock up the newly infected boy like an animal. Needless to say that relations between the magical governments of Britain and Germany were now cold as ice, especially since the British Ministry had the gall to act like they were the wronged party.
"And considering all the information shared between our governments, it's pretty obvious the situation will soon reach boiling point," Mitterand added. "It is regrettable that now of all times a sizable delegation from Beauxbatons will travel to Scotland."
Major looked older than he was, the stress of his job - especially his current efforts to end the Northern Ireland conflict - plus the troubles with the magical world were making him feel drained. "We are already preparing for the worst."
This created some disquiet with the other men and González asked what they were all fearing. "Señor Major, are you implying that the secrecy could soon fall? You know we can't make such a decision without the others, especially the American president."
"I fear it won't be any decision of ours that will reveal the truth to the world. While we are preparing to continue to operate under the assumption that the secret will hold, I can only implore all of you to prepare for the possibility that it could fall," Major explained to the others.
"This is a very dangerous situation," Kohl brought it to the point. "You all know that should that happen, there will be no going back. We would enter very uncertain times."
Scalfaro only shook his head. "Everything started to balance on knife's edge when wizards decided to pour oil into an already dangerous fire decades ago and made the war that set our continent ablaze much worse than it already would have been anyway."
Everyone did remember how they were told of Grindelwald and how he and those that followed him managed to make the last great war in Europe even more horrible than it already would have been. And once Grindelwald was defeated, the cooperation between wizards and non-magicals had right away been unilaterally ended by the former, who now again only cared for their own matters, leaving everyone else to pick up the pieces.
No, should things take a turn for the worse they had no wish to again be at the mercy of the whims of such people.
...July 20th, a hospital near Hampstead Garden ...
"Hermione, if you continue to do that, you might wear out the floor."
Hermione, once actually being told what she was doing, felt rather stupid that she had been pacing back and forth and returned to her seat. "Sorry, Grandpa. It's just that waiting is starting to become unbearable."
Her grandfather on her father's side chuckled. "Now you know how we felt when you were on the way. You took your sweet time as well your poor mother told us later. That really did a number on her as well."
"Please don't dig up things like that..." Hermione said, feeling a little embarrassed.
It had started early this morning when her mother's water broke, making it utterly clear that the baby was now on its way out. Thankfully, her parents despite that had tried to stay calm and while they prepared to leave for the hospital, Hermione had quickly called some relatives and then Harry so he could tell her friends why she would be unreachable today.
Hermione did have several cousins, but she was not particularly close to them, so it had slipped her mind to call them. No, the most important people for this were her grandparents. Her grandmother on her mother's side had died some years prior to her birth, thus Hermione had no memory of her, but the others were still alive and now present, waiting for news how the birth was going along.
She had not told her parents, but when calling Harry on the phone, she had also asked him to send a letter to Professor McGonagall about the impending birth and for her to keep an eye on the book that recorded all future students and write her in case this new sibling did turn out to have magic. No way she wanted that to be a surprise to her parents.
"I know you are nervous, dear. It is not every day after all that you are gifted with a sibling," her grandmother added. "I know you are still too young to think about such things, but there is a good chance that some day in the future it will be you on the birthing bed."
"Gran..." Hermione gasped with mortification. "I'm not even fifteen yet. I don't even have a boyfriend!"
Now her grandfather on her mother's side looked amused. "Oh, but we did hear rumors that you are strangely fond of one of your friends. You know, that redhead chess player."
"Oh yes. Don't you plan to be moral support when he plays the finale in less than a week?" her other grandfather added, also looking more amused than anything.
"That... that has nothing... Something very different..." Hermione stuttered, blushing red and knowing that her parents must have shared their observations with her grandparents.
"Better stop now. The poor dear looks ready to faint from embarrassment," her grandmother told the two men.
Hermione tried to hide her face in her hands. Her grandparents always had the uncanny ability to embarrass her. She loved them dearly, but at times she was tempted to disassociate from them. Thankfully, her torment was cut short when the door opened and her father walked out, looking like the happiest man on the world.
"All of you are here. Mother and child are well and we can't wait to show you the newest member of the family. Please come..." Ian told them with a smile.
The tension left when they followed her to the room where Jean was holding her newborn baby.
Jean looked up, if anything looking even more happy than Ian. "All of you, say hello to the newest member of the family, Jonathan Granger. Hermione, I want you especially to greet your little brother."
Hermione did do so - not that the baby would understand - and took a closer look at her newborn brother. She honestly could not tell apart one baby from the other, but her brother did have a distinctive feature. "He is quite hairy for a newborn baby," Hermione observed.
"Considering you had just as much hair on your head at birth, we can take a good guess Jonathan's hair will be similar to yours," Jean said, taking a look a Hermione's bushy hair.
Hermione simply accepted the comment, as she had never known her hair to be any different. Then all of them stepped closer to take a look at the newest member of the family, while said baby boy was disinterested and did what most babies of that age did; he was sleeping.
While they did so, something happened miles away at Hogwarts.
Having been forewarned that something could happen, Minerva McGonagall was not surprised when the quill registered a new future student. Jonathan Granger, born today. I better prepare a letter to explain what they should expect.
McGonagall hoped that none of the magical families would get wind of her little arrangement with certain families, otherwise she would be asked after each birth if the child was registered with Hogwarts or not. That not only was due to the annoyance factor, but also the consequences, should she have to tell a family that the newborn is not in the book.
She didn't even want to imagine the consequences of such a scenario.
...July 26th...
It was very silent in the hall where the finale of the national chess tournament for teenagers in the United Kingdom was being held. The ranks were full, not the least due to one of the contestants, who had managed to win a tournament in the lower age group and made a second place as well. Everyone wanted to see how much better he now was after maturing a little.
Like with the last two times when Ron managed to get this far, one wall was dominated by by a scoreboard with big chessboard, on which the current situation in the game was shown with wooden representations of the chess figures hanging on it, thus the audience wouldn't miss any turn.
The names of the two final contestants were shown as well.
RONALD B. WEASLEY vs. STEPHANIE C. BROWN
This time however Ron's opponent was a teenage girl easily three years his senior, who clearly had a lot more experience. Her crystal-blue eyes showed utmost concentration, her long blond hair was bound into a ponytail to keep it out of her eyes. Considering this tournament was for the ages of 13 to 19, him at fourteen getting this far clearly made him the surprise of the tournament. This girl was really giving him a run for his money - of which there was quite a lot of to win.
I can't blow this one... not when everyone is watching, Ron thought, knowing who was in the audience watching him.
Literally the whole family was watching. Bill had returned to Britain some days earlier, saying that he would be redeployed and had some weeks for himself, while Charlie had saved up so much vacation time that his employer had almost forced him to take all of it, so he would be home for several weeks as well. His mother seemed especially happy with having the house this full and the whole family together.
Despite the whole family being present, part of Ron especially didn't want to lose because Hermione was sitting right next to them, looking quite nice in the dress she was wearing... and he had no idea where that thought came from.
Hermione for her part was watching Ron intently.
Part of her was relieved that she was here due to the fact that home right now felt a bit empty. Her mother was still in hospital recovering from the birth, and logically little Jonathan was there as well. Her father was either at work or was visiting Jean, so she had rarely seen him the past week. Getting away from this temporary limbo had felt like a weight taken from her shoulders.
Watching him, this is a totally different side of his. He looks so serious and immersed. Even during all the games I've watched he'd never been like this, Hermione observed.
Ron normally was a relaxed guy, prone to goofing off. Seeing him like this however proved that if he did commit to a task, he would put all of his energy behind it. This was a side of Ron that Hermione... found appealing. She wished he also would use that much energy for his school work. His marks were actually decent, but she now knew he could achieve so much more.
Keep your thoughts together, Hermione, she reminded herself, putting her attention back to the game in progress.
The game in question was slowly entering the endgame and both opponents were still fighting tooth and nail for the win. Ron would have to give that girl his congratulations for being an opponent who was really make him sweat and work hard for his win.
He was about to make his move... and then his hand stopped when seeing again that Hermione was watching him closely. Seeing her observe him made him reconsider his move, and taking a closer look at the board, he pulled his hand back, realizing he almost had made a move which would have made him start lose the game. Judging by the disappointed look his opponent sported, she had realized that as well.
Crap, pull yourself together! Without that silent reminder I would have messed up. Ron then analyzed the board again. There!
Ms. Brown looked surprised when Ron made a move she obviously had not anticipated and now was trying to find an answer on the quick. Ron on the other hand glanced to where Hermione was looking at the big board where his move was announced, surprise visible on her face. Clearly he had surprised her as well with that move.
From that moment the game was clearly moving in Ron's favor until his opponent saw that she was in an inescapable situation and knocked over her own king to acknowledge defeat.
"Congratulations. For a moment I thought I had you, but then you made that great move and it was downhill for me from then on," Brown congratulated Ron honestly while both of them shook hands under thundering applause.
"You made me work really hard for it. I hope we meet again in the future for a rematch," Ron answered while camera flashes went off to document this moment of sportsmanship.
It was some time later, after the ceremony and dealing with the press, that Ron found himself in a secluded corner of a nearby park, with his family and Hermione congratulating him to his win - which besides the fame also would net him a very nice sum.
Ron for his part felt he needed to confess. "I admit, I almost screwed up. I was about to make a big mistake, but then I thought better about it."
"Well, Ron, that most certainly didn't come out of nowhere. What made you reconsider?" Charlie asked, giving his brother a knowing look.
Ron looked a bit embarrassed but then decided to get over with it. "Look... Hermione, I saw you and I really didn't want to lose in front of you. That made me reconsider."
"Oho! Looks like little Ronnie has started to discover girls!" Fred laughed.
"Indeed! Now it won't be long before Mum has to tell him how to treat a girl properly," George added.
"You tossers..." Ron growled, especially when seeing that Hermione was blushing up a storm.
Molly looked ready to tell the twins off, but Bill was faster. "That's rich coming from you two. If I remember correctly, both of you didn't manage to get a single date despite being two years Ron's senior. What is that telling about you two?"
Fred and George fell silent, causing Ginny to snort. "Doesn't feel so great once you are the targets, eh?"
"Hermione... I didn't plan on embarrassing you," Ron tried to apologize to the girl, but she held up her hand while trying to get herself back under control.
"No... no need to. I actually feel flattered you feel of me as being this important." While she had wished for some time Ron would send some signals, this had come out of nowhere and Hermione realized how unprepared she had been for this.
Seeing that Hermione was still struggling, Ron knew he should better not add to it and looked to his family. "Eh, can we leave that alone? I'm right now wondering what to do with the prize. I mean... I already have a lot after the whole chamber thing. Perhaps I can add part of it to the family reserves?"
Ron's parents had known that would come up. After all, it had come up the previous two times as well and the part of the prize money that had gone into a special vault was still there. That Ron was so willing to part with part of his prize money just like that to give the family a financial security was selfless and at least reassured his parents that Ron was most certainly not greedy.
They probably would never touch the money unless there would be a real, unavoidable emergency, but even Molly by now was more impressed than anything else how Ron, who in the past had lamented about the finances of the family, was consistently parting with part of his money to creature a financial buffer for the family.
Hermione for her part, seeing this side of Ron, had a feeling her blush would need some more time to fade away.
...the Burrow, July 31st...
The fireplace of the Burrow flared up with green flames. Moments later Harry was ejected from the flames, stumbling and almost falling. He then quickly had to turn around and catch Mark, who literally was ejected from the fireplace.
"Urgh, how wizards can travel this way every day I'll never understand," Mark said while getting back onto his feet.
"I know, it's worse than the carts in Gringotts or the Knight Bus. Something tells me magical society has a fetish for unpleasant methods of travel," Harry replied, then looked a bit envious when Thomas and Veronica walked out of the floo without any problem. "Both of you don't have magic, yet you are better at this than either of us."
"Well, perhaps it's due to us having gone through these things more often than both of you?" Veronica speculated, though she didn't hide her amusement. "We honestly don't like using it as well, since it's disorienting."
"Maybe the knowledge that people with magic can have trouble with transportation that is normal for us helps a bit. Remember Molly's first encounter with an escalator," Thomas added, remembering the incident too well.
"Ah, you mean the one where she screamed like a little..." Harry was unable to finish the sentence however.
"Please do not bring that up." They all had missed Molly entering the kitchen, looking mortified at the reminder of how she had embarrassed herself. "We are nearly ready, so please wait outside. We are still busy with cooking."
They knew it was better to not intrude, catching glimpses of not only Molly Weasley, but also Pandora Lovegood in the kitchen - meaning Mrs. Weasley had felt overwhelmed enough that she had called for reinforcements.
Essentially, they would today celebrate Harry's 14th birthday. Since Ginny's birthday did take place only days later, she again had insisted on celebrating together with Harry to make things easier. The celebration also would be big because all of the Weasleys would be present for it - the main reason it was being celebrated at the Burrow.
Walking into the garden, they were greeted with the fact of how many people were present.
Granted, the Weasleys were a big family, but the addition of Harry, Hermione, Neville and Luna plus their parents - minus Hermione's who were absent for good reason - guardians and their other children was showing that their whole circle by now had grown to be rather big.
Hearing laughter they saw Steve and Kathleen laugh while watching Crookshanks chase around a garden gnome, the potato-shaped small pest clearly not appreciating the attention the big cat was giving it. The gnome finally managed to rescue itself by jumping into a hole. Crookshanks seemed disappointed, but was compensated when the two children gave him attention.
"Looks like he is having fun with it," Harry remarked at the sight.
"Hello Harry, there you are, our guest of honor," Hermione greeted Harry. "Ah... Crookshanks can never get enough of the gnomes. Of course we do look the other way should he actually manage to catch one."
"Well, since you seem to have everything in hand, we'll leave you and your friends in peace," Thomas told Harry, before he and Veronica left to join the other adults. Mark meanwhile had joined Stave and Kathleen in giving Crookshanks the attention he liked.
"Hello Hermione. How are things?" Harry greeted her.
"It's a bit lonely at home. Mum is still recovering from the birth in the hospital, where my new brother logically is as well. Dad is either at work or visiting Mum, so I rarely see him at the moment. Coming here is a relief from the empty house," Hermione admitted.
Right at that moment Ron appeared, looking quite giddy. "Harry, Harry! Guess what?"
Being a bit confused about his friend's behavior, Harry asked "Ron, I honestly have no idea what you are talking about."
That did not reduce Ron's excitement. "Dad managed to get his hands on more tickets! Top box at that, right next to us!"
Harry finally understood what this was about, since up until now there only had been tickets for Sirius, Diane as well as for Harry and his friends. Ron and Ginny had been a bit bummed that the rest of the family could not attend the World Cup final. That had obviously changed now, thought Harry was still in the dark how that change of fortune came to be.
"That's great, but how did he get these tickets? Also, isn't the top box... you know, very expensive?" Harry asked his friend while seeing Hermione roll her eyes, clearly already knowing the answer and not being impressed with it.
"There is this guy, Ludo Bagman, who is responsible for everything sports-related in the Ministry. He's got a brother named Otto who enchanted his lawnmower and could have gotten into trouble for it. Dad smoothed the whole thing over with the Ministry and Bagman was really thankful," Ron explained.
It was this moment that Ginny joined them, having heard the tail end of their conversation. "Yep, for saving his brother from a hefty fine, Bagman gave out these tickets like candy, which creates the question why he sat on them in the first place. Guess no one wanted to buy them off him."
"I don't even want to imagine what kind of outrageous price he had demanded that no one wanted to buy tickets from him. You however don't sound as enthusiastic as Ron," Harry observed.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm happy that the whole family minus Mum, who never got into the sport, will be there. We even got enough tickets for Percy to invite his girlfriend Penelope. However, I'm with Hermione that Dad should be careful, since this could veer into the direction of corruption," Ginny explained why she felt the way she did.
"I told Mr. Weasley so as well, and he admits it was borderline," Hermione added, feeling relieved that the man did see the problem.
"Harry, Ginny!" That was Neville calling them. "We can't start without the two of you!"
"Coming!" Harry called.
With that the double birthday party started and it all was a lot of fun for children and adults alike, who clearly saw this as a chance to socialize among themselves as well. Presents were opened, food was enjoyed and there generally was lots of fun and laughter. It was about an hour later that Arthur asked for some attention.
"Ahem, can I have some attention? I guess all of you know by now that I managed to secure tickets for the World Cup final of Ireland against Bulgaria, allowing the rest of the family to attend as well," Arthur began.
"Too bad he didn't get more tickets, I would have loved to see that," Mark lamented.
"Don't worry, son," Thomas told Mark. "I managed to secure two tickets for a football game at Wembley. You and me." Thomas then saw his son's mood improve significantly.
"Too bad that England humiliated themselves against Transylvania with 10 to 390 and got booted out, not to speak of Wales and Scotland, but at least Ireland got in. Yes, I can see them win against Bulgaria. They have to win," Charlie, the biggest Quidditch nut in the family, said.
"But the Bulgarians have Viktor Krum. Surely that makes a difference?" Fred asked, also being in the know about such things.
"Granted, the guy is really good, but he still is only one man. One excellent player against a full team of good ones means the excellent player still loses," Charlie told his younger brother, drawing upon his own experience.
"Who's Viktor Krum?" Harry asked Ron while the two brothers debated.
Ron looked quite excited. "The Bulgarian seeker, who is awesome! Some of the things he pulled off seem impossible. It's kind of a dream to play against him. And you know the most insane thing? He's not even out of school yet."
"Sounds like he's got exceptional talent," Harry remarked, now anticipating seeing the game itself.
Hearing Mr. Weasley knock onto the table, everyone returned their attention to him.
"Now I have already spoken with Harry's, Neville's and Luna's parents and they agreed that in light of the changed circumstances the three of you can have a little stay here with us until the World Cup. See it as an extended sleepover." Arthur then looked to Hermione. "I didn't get the chance to contact your parents about it."
"Don't worry. I'm sure they will agree once I tell them about it." Hermione for her part actually really liked the idea of spending some time at the Burrow, especially due to how empty home was at the moment.
Hermione then excused herself and left with Arthur so that she could contact her parents about the matter, causing the table to dissolve in conversation.
"All of the Weasleys at the World Cup. Wonder if it survives that?" Neville wondered aloud, then looked to Percy. "You know, I wonder about something. We know you have a job, yet you seemingly don't have work right now. How comes? I don't think they would give you time off directly after starting."
Percy pushed up his glasses, the action giving prominence to his facial scars. "My work actually only starts next week, so I do have the time."
"And you still haven't told us what your job is. Why all the secrecy?" Ginny complained.
Percy however wouldn't reveal anything. "All of you will know soon enough, trust me."
Watching Percy go back to his seat, Ron grumbled "He's only doing this because it means keeping us guessing. Fred and George have tried a lot of stuff, but Percy kept his silence. Bill is almost as bad about his redeployment."
"Ah yes, your oldest brother talked about that. It's a bit puzzling why he wouldn't say where he would work next, as if he wants it to be a surprise," Luna concluded, and it made sense to everyone.
"Someone talking about me?" Bill cut in, having heard his name.
"Yes, Bill, we are still confused why you are pulling a Percy and don't talk about your redeployment," Ginny asked her oldest brother, hoping she could get him around.
Bill however seemed immune to anything she tried. "Oh, don't worry, you'll learn about that soon enough. I certainly don't want to spoil the surprise." Chuckling, Bill then went back to his chair.
"It's like everyone suddenly has secrets and says we'll learn soon enough," Ginny sighed.
"Ah yes, speaking of secrets, before I forget it..." That was Frank Longbottom. "Now, while the others felt it should be a complete surprise, I think I can reveal that there is a big event planned at Hogwarts for this year."
"Frank... of course you have to give spoilers to the children," Alice sighed, sometimes wondering about her husband's behavior. "Sometimes you can be quite childish."
"Big event? I hope it's something less nerve-wrecking than what we went through in the past years," Neville said, making it clear he could live with some less excitement.
"Oh, nothing bad, trust me. I don't want to ruin the surprise, Dumbledore will announce it after the sorting. However, when you get your Hogwarts letters later today, better expect a requirement for evening wear," Frank explained.
"You mean there is a formal part in that event?" Neville looked a bit unsettled, remembering the few times he had to wear formal wear. That had been enough to make him thoroughly sick of dress robes.
Frank could help but to look amused when seeing his son look like he's swallowed Trevor the toad. "Don't worry, it will nothing like what you had to endure and maybe you should select your wardrobe for that."
All of that made them wonder what kind of event it could be, all the hints not helping them much with solving the puzzle.
"You couldn't resist, Frank, could you?" Alice asked her husband when seeing the children try to speculate what kind of event could ask for evening wear. "Now they'll wonder what kind of event it will be."
"Something is going on at Hogwarts this year and I'm not informed?" Xenophilius wondered, almost looking a bit insulted. "You have to tell me."
"No, you have to wait like everyone else," Alice told Xenophilius. "Knowing you, you would spill it as soon as you could."
"Well, she got you there, dear," Pandora told her husband, looking quite amused. "You are very bad at keeping secrets so it's better you don't learn about whatever it is. I don't know about it either, after all."
Xenophilius sighed. "The women are conspiring against me."
"Oh, Xeno, don't be so theatralic," Pandora said with slight amusement, knowing her husband all too well.
o
A bit over half an hour had passed and Hermione not only got the OK to stay at the Burrow until the World Cup was over, but also got clothes for several days from home. All of them had then quickly followed her example and after putting their bags upstairs, were back in the garden to enjoy the relaxing atmosphere, everyone once in a while helping themselves at the plentiful leftovers on the table.
To their surprise, it was that moment that a swarm of owls appeared, dropping letters in front of everyone that attended Hogwarts, while Percy had already knew his NEWT results even before school had ended - since logically those had to be processed as fast as possible in order to allow those that graduate to enter the workforce.
Molly for her part was expectedly looking to Fred and George, who for their part clearly were uncomfortable to open their letters in their mother's presence. "Eh, Mum...?" George tried to reason with her.
"No, after all the excellent OWL results that Bill, Charlie and Percy got, my expectations are substantial." Noticing how the twins were trying to not show her the letters, Molly became suspicious. "What are you two not telling me?"
Realizing that it perhaps would be better to quickly pull off the band-aid, they gave her their letters. Judging by how the further Molly read the more her mood darkened and her eyes narrowed, the letters most certainly were not holding positive news. Ron and Ginny, seeing that Mt. Molly was getting ready to explode, were already pulling their friends back from the now inevitable showdown.
"Each of you... only three OWLs?" Molly said slowly, everyone knowing that was nothing compared to what Bill, Charlie and Percy achieved. "Do you even care about your future?"
George was the one brave enough to answer. "We do care, but we see our talents in a different place. The OWLs we got are exactly what we need for that."
"Oh yes," Fred agreed. "We do plan to open up a private enterprise once we are done with school."
Molly was trying to process this while Arthur looked a bit concerned. "Boys, you know that it will be difficult to start up your own enterprise from out of nothing, do you? You will be nobodies in whatever economic field you want to enter. Also, this will be quite expensive, where do you expect to get the money to start a business?"
"Of course we thought about that," George tried to placate their father's concerns.
"What do you think we were so busy with all the time over the past two years? We have already created and tested our first merchandise. Selling that at school will net us a nice profit and give us not only the money to start out but also a foothold with pleased customers," Fred then explained further.
"What... are you planning?" It was clear that Molly was already not approving of their plans.
"We do plan to open up a joke shop, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, and sell joke items and everything associated with it," George said proudly, but then noticed his mother's mood worsening.
There were some moments of silence, before Molly raised her voice.
"No, absolutely not!" she said in a way that demanded no backtalk. "I will not allow you two to throw away your future with such a foolish dream."
"You can't do that!" Fred protested.
"Watch me. I'll make sure about that..." That sounded like a nasty promise from Molly.
"Let's get out of here..." Ron told his friends and all six of them quickly retreated to a far-away corner of the garden to escape the quickly escalating argument between Molly and the twins. All of them knew they wanted no part of that and the quickly escalating volume told them to stay away for a while.
"Yikes, suddenly I realize how fortunate I've been up to now to not see your mother being truly angry," Neville said, still trying to come to terms with how nasty Mrs. Weasley could get.
"It's said that you are especially tough on those you love when you feel that they are endangering themselves," Luna added to that, seemingly unfazed by the confrontation. "She only wants the best for them, though it is what she believes is the best for them."
"That finally explains what they were doing in their room," Ginny said, remembering the one time they had head an explosion in the twins' room.
"I don't know about you, people, but I won't even touch that situation with a ten-feet pole," Harry then said, and everyone agreed to stay out of that as far as possible. "Mrs. Weasley can be downright scary when she's angry and Fred and George are right now pouring oil into the fire."
Hermione meanwhile again looked at the letter from Hogwarts. "Like your father told us, Neville, the letter tells us to get evening wear. Eh, what kind of evening wear is there in the magical world? I've not yet been to any formal events."
"There are dress robes and that's it, as long as you want to stay traditional." Neville looked a bit pained. "I had to wear those a few times and felt like I was wearing a girl's dress. Also, despite all possible extras on them, they still look plain on women."
"I remember seeing Mum and Dad in dress robes one or two times. I wouldn't want to be caught wearing one of those. Maybe it's because I've seen so many pictures of evening wear in non-magical media, but no way anyone can make me wear dress robes! Hell, I've never even worn normal robes," Ron ranted, clearly being uncomfortable.
Ginny grimaced as well. "I have nothing against wearing dresses for special occasions, but like Ron I've never worn robes. Looking at adults that do so, I probably would look like I'm wearing a potato sack, regardless how nice it's supposed to look like."
They all knew Ginny was a tomboy. Not that Ginny was rejecting things like dresses or make-up, she simply didn't feel the need to obsess over it like other girls her age and only used them on special occasions. It was just like her interests, like playing Quidditch and not being afraid to dig into the dirt, were not stereotypically feminine. But Ginny of course still had her feminine pride, as she was showing right now.
Hermione said nothing, having never been one to put much emphasis on what was typically seen as feminine beauty ideals - no wonder considering her hair and that she always would retain a slight overbite - but hearing this, her normally low-key feminine sensibilities were rebelling. No, she most certainly would not wear dress robes.
As for Luna... Well, she was Luna. Though, lately she did seem to put a little more emphasis on the fact she was a girl and thus put a bit more thought into how she dressed.
Harry looked at his own letter a second time. "Wait a moment. The letter only spoke of evening wear, not specifically about dress robes. You think this is again Dumbledore trying to mix things up without the usual suspects noticing?"
Neville read his own letter. "Considering his track record, I would not put that above him."
"Then we will follow the letter and get evening wear," Harry decided, looking like he just got a brilliant idea.
His friends needed a moment but then understood the point Harry was making.
...two days later, August 2nd...
I didn't imagine I would be woken up THIS early in the morning, Harry thought while stumbling his way down the stairs.
He was used to the wake-up time at Hogwarts so much by now that he even did so when school was not in session. However, it still was pitch-black outside when Mrs. Weasley had woken them up. At least the cold water from a quick wash had woken him up more, but it still was way too early for his liking.
Wordlessly he stumbled into the kitchen, where he spotted Ron and Neville already sitting at the table, both looking like death warmed over. It had to be especially difficult for Ron, who really liked his sleep and now looked like he could faceplant into his porridge bowl at any moment. It was frankly amazing how awake the Weasley parents were, though the big mug of coffee in front of Mr. Weasley gave a big hint at his secret.
Fred and George entered moments later, their mood despite their tiredness still not having recovered from their mother's hunt for their merchandise. "Where are Bill and Charlie and Per-Per-Percy?" George said, failing to stifle a huge yawn.
"Well, they're apparating, aren't they?" Molly told the twins, heaving a large pot over to the table and starting to ladle porridge into the bowls. "So they can have a bit of a lie-in."
"How unfair life is..." George grumbled. "Perce only passed his test two weeks ago..."
Fred didn't look happy at the reminder. "His habit of apparating downstairs every morning just to show he can is starting to get tiresome."
"That may be, but still all three of them passed their apparation lessons and are of age, so you have no grounds to complain," she told them, being a bit harsher than normal, clearly still having her mind on the previous two days of relentless searching for anything connected to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.
After the initial explosion, Molly Weasley had seemingly made it her most important task to stop Fred and George from continuing their plans for the joke shop while she still was in a position to do so. In her opinion, their idea was harebrained and would only end in tears with them landing in poverty. Thus she believed in tough love to steer them back onto the safe path.
To that end she had made it her mission to find and discard anything connected to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, which included order forms, written plans and already created merchandise. God only knew how much merchandise the twins had already finished and got out of the house before the purge had begun.
"Remember what I told you about Charlie..." Ron mumbled, clearly having heard the exchange.
"I do remember," Harry told his friend. After all, the story how Charlie messed up his first apparation test by appearing atop an old lady and falling onto her - which caused a number of problems - was a good object lesson on how you could screw up magical teleportation.
"Wouldn't have dreamed that the secret to magical teleportation is the same as to driving a car: by getting a licence," Harry then remarked, still finding the idea hilarious.
"Considering what can happen without training..." Ron did remember the horror stories his father had told him of failed apparation.
It was that moment the girls entered. Ron looked up and then barely managed to say nothing.
All three girls showed significant bedhead - which was no wonder considering all three of them wore their hair long. While Ron had seen Ginny's bad case of bedhead often enough, it simply was astounding how Hermione's bushy hair could look even more wild than it normally already did. Luna's blond hair in turn looked like it wanted to go in all directions. Also, Luna clearly did not appreciate being woken up this early, not exactly acting like her normal self due to lack of sleep.
"Morning, girls..." Neville said when looking up from his porridge. "No time to wash you hair?"
"You obviously have no idea how long it takes for long hair to get dry," Hermione grumbled, clearly also not being in the best mood due to a lack of sleep.
"Dad, tell me again why we have to get up this early," Ginny complained while listlessly looking at her porridge. "I thought you told us your tickets came with a reserved spot."
"I did," Arthur told Ginny, but also everyone else when seeing the general mood. "We are set to use the portkey at the morning. Still better than those who got the normal tickets. Those poor souls had to arrive days or some even two weeks in advance due to the sheer hassle it was to organize transportation for so many people."
"I understand the need for secrecy, but when I remember that a highly anticipated football match draws the same number of people..." Harry grumbled, then returned to eating to get the needed energy. "Sirius has it easy; he can ferry himself and Diane with apparation."
There was not much conversation after that, no one feeling awake enough for it.
Soon enough they were getting ready to head out, Arthur carrying a backpack with the tents - magical ones he added - secured on top of it. However, it was that moment when his wife spotted something and things became a bit ugly.
"George!" she shouted sharply, and they all jumped.
"What?" George asked in an innocent tone that deceived nobody.
"Don't play innocent!" Molly pointed her wand at George's pocket and said, "Accio!"
Several small, brightly colored objects zoomed out of George's pocket; he made a grab for them but missed, and they sped right into their mother's outstretched hand. "More of these candies you created for your shop that do things like making the tongue grow or cause nosebleeds! We told you to get rid of the lot! Empty your pockets, go on, both of you!"
It was an unpleasant scene; the twins had evidently been trying to smuggle as many candies as possible out of the house, and it was only by using her Summoning Charm that Mrs. Weasley managed to find them all. Granted, the places where the twins had tried to smuggle their wares out were impressive and creative, but their mother's magic did find them all.
"We spent six months developing those!" Fred shouted at his mother as she threw the all of it away.
Their mother was not impressed with that admission. "No wonder both of you got so few OWLs..."
The mood of the twins had turned downright frosty after that and everyone was thankful that they were right about to leave the house anyway, since they clearly were quite unhappy with their mother. Everyone had soon shouldered their backpacks and was on their way.
"The portkey for this wider area in Cornwall is on top of Stoadshead Hill over there," Arthur said, pointing to a hill on the other side of Ottery St. Catchpole. "We are lucky it's so close. The quickest way will be walking through the village."
Realizing they had quite a hike ahead of them, no one said anything, though the grimaces spoke volumes about how they took this revelation. The walk through the village was silent. This early in the morning - practically still at night - the streets were empty and the houses dark. The only illumination came from the streetlights. Soon enough the left the village on the other side.
Climbing the hill on the other hand proved to be unpleasant. Walking uphill with only the barest minimum of light was no fun, especially when they constantly had to be mindful where to step after Ginny had stumbled when her foot got caught in a rabbit hole. When they managed to get to the top, they saw that they were not alone.
"Over here, Arthur! We've already found it!"
They did see a man with a brown beard hold up an old boot. Arthur did recognize him right away. "Ah, Amos, thanks for finding it! Everyone, this is Amos Diggory, who is working in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. You should already know his son Cedric from school."
Thanks to how little light there was, they only now noticed the teenager standing a few meters away. "Hello. This honestly is the first time I met most of you outside of school. A bit funny that we never run into each other, despite my family also living close to the village."
"Maybe that's because unlike us, your family does forego on having any dealings with Muggles above the bare minimum," Ron reminded Cedric, remembering that the Diggorys were more traditional than the Weasleys.
"When you put it that way..." Cedric clearly had never thought about that.
"Looks like we have a few minutes before the portkey activates, let's let us catch up, Arthur," Mr. Diggory told Arthur.
Cedric sighed in relief when seeing his father being occupied. "Thank all goodness. I love my Dad, but at times he can be really embarrassing. Honestly, my father paid half a fortune to get two tickets, how comes all of you manage to attend?"
"Well, Uncle Sirius bought tickets for me and my friends. Then Mr. Weasley got more for the rest of the Weasleys through connections," Harry explained to his fellow seeker.
"I know I should be envious, but after all the crap all of you went through in the past few years, I actually feel you deserve having something this good come your way," Cedric told them honestly.
"It is not often enough that those going through hardship will be compensated... -yawn-" Luna's observation was a bit undercut by the loud yawn she then let out.
"I'm already happy enough your father is not going bonkers over me being Harry Potter. I get enough of that from other adults," Harry said while observing Mr. Diggory talking with Arthur.
"Maybe it's simply because your scar is barely visible - certainly not in this twilight? Dad sometimes has difficulties recognizing faces. So without seeing the scar..." Cedric knew he had made his point.
"Even though it has faded, I still hate the damn thing and what it stands for." To Harry, the scar represented what had been taken from him early in life.
"Children, come over here!" Mr. Diggory then called. "The portkey is nearly ready to go off!"
"Yes, it's nearly time," Arthur said while checking his pocketwatch. "Is anyone else coming, Amos?"
"No. Little Luna is here after all and her father is already at the studium since yesterday... said the press has to be there early. The Fawcetts didn't manage to secure any tickets. No one else magical is in the wider area," Mr. Diggory said.
"Daddy feels it's just as important to catch the atmosphere before the game as it is to report the game itself," Luna said, putting her father's early arrival into context.
"Now, all of you touch the portkey. It's about to go off," Arthur warned.
It looked a bit ridiculous having two adult men and nine teenagers, everyone carrying a bulky backpack, touch an old boot on top of a hill. It probably would have made a wonderful cover picture for a satire magazine in how absurd it looked.
Then the portkey activated. The six friends realized right at that moment they had discovered yet another unpleasant way of magical travel, considering how all six of them felt ready to hurl when the magical teleportation felt as if a hook behind their navels was being pulled forward before they vanished from the hilltop.
It might be perfectly safe, but still was unpleasant enough and came so suddenly out of nowhere, combined with them still being tired and just having eaten, that as soon as they had landed, all six of them parted with their breakfast in an undignified way.
No, this most certainly would not be their favorite way of magical travel.
o
Little did they know that while they were on their way to the World Cup, that someone else would also be sent onto the way, albeit not with the intention to watch the game.
"Barty, you will keep a close eye on Lucius whenever possible. Bring him to me as soon as you get the opportunity," Voldemort gave last instructions to Barty, who was preparing for his own departure.
"I understand, my Lord. Thankfully, my father donated this wonderful invisibility cloak, meaning that I can observe Malfoy without any trouble," Barty said, seeing the irony in his father's invisibility cloak now being used for such puproses. "The best opportunity should present itself after the game. Either he'll be asleep or, if my observations of his behavior are correct, too drunk to put up much resistance."
"Ah yes, the irresistible urge to drink alcohol after such an event," Voldemort mused. "You are prepared?"
"Yes, Master. I have created an illegal portkey that will bring us directly before you, once used. That way Malfoy can get in without knowing the secret," Barty told his Master.
"Such a designation as 'illegal' will be irrelevant once it's me who makes the laws," Voldemort waved that point aside. "Do not disappoint me, Barty. If Lucius is not before me by midnight, I will be very... displeased."
"I will not fail, Master." That said, Barty left.
"He seems to be very sure of himself," Nagini hissed from where she was curled up beside Voldemort's seat.
"My dear Nagini, he has every right to be that way. Barty up to now has proven to be highly useful - loyal and yet smart and cunning. I would be quite disappointed should he fail at his current task," Voldemort told Nagini.
"But he still would be too valuable to give him to me as a meal?" Nagini asked.
"Yes. Sure, I would punish him for his failure, but then see if he learns from his failure. I know that those who follow me are like the pawns on a chess board. Once they are gone, they leave behind a gap. A removal can only be done when there is no other way or if there is no worth left," Voldemort explained to Nagini.
"Cold, calculated and maximizing their worth to you. I like that." Nagini then hissed. "Still, I'm getting hungry..."
Not wanting Nagini, someone he actually had grown fond of, have to stay hungry, Voldemort waved his wand and a bell chimed. Moments later Pettigrew walked in. "Nagini is getting hungry. Find the usual for her."
"As you wish, my Lord," Pettigrew said with a bow.
While leaving, Pettigrew tried to decide which city to go to in order to get Nagini her food. She after all liked it alive and Voldemort didn't want her to overeat and grow fat. He decided York would be a good place, since he had not been there yet. As usual he would scout out playgrounds and then snatch a kid once the opportunity presented itself.
Yes, Voldemort insisted on Nagini only getting fresh stock.
to be continued...
Next Episode:
"The Dark Mark"
Notes:
Here the notes.
My plan for now is to make sure all of Year 4 will be in the two-week publishing rythm, then there again will be a hiatus before Year 5 starts publishing. Considering how much original content these later years now hold, this pretty much is a must now.
As you can see, Dudley's situation detoriates even further. While Petunia is actually starting to come around, Vernon is getting more and more alienated. The events I described only hastened the process. There will be a breaking point next year.
Of course Umbridge is scheming and writing her thought processes was outright disgusting. Stewing over her defeat, this also lays the groundwork for Year 5.
The political game continues, and again we see small hints of the background of MI-X. I wanted to make sure that all the politicians in the scene actually were in office at the time (not an easy task).
The girl Ron plays chess against... guess who that is. I couldn't resist, even though in her original work she is American.
Lots of developments at the Burrow, too many to list here. I hope I made it all organical. I also had fun showing the unfortunate effect of a combination of being tired, having just eater breakfast and then using a portkey.
And things don't look good for Lucius, while Voldemore continues to show how casual his monstrous actions come to him.