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 two main pairings to differ from canon. However, the path to them certainly 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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Chapter 41: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang
The first day of lessons after the return to Hogwarts had come. While all students were at the breakfast table in the great hall, announcements were made that their class schedules from now on had to be picked up at the administrative office, just a few doors away from the great hall. That in turn meant the teachers had more time to prepare for their actual lessons that day.
The one topic at the tables of course was the Triwizard Tournament and what it would mean for them and the school.
Dudley for his part rolled his eyes when hearing how that pretty much was the only topic of conversation at the Slytherin table. "Honestly? I actually was glad that Malfoy and his gorillas didn't talk about it last night, and now this?"
"Don't blame them for this being the biggest thing right now. After all, it will go on for all year," Millicent said while filling her mug with milk. "I think we better get used to the whole circus quickly. I'm more annoyed that Quidditch got canceled."
"Yeah, that sucks," Dudley agreed with her, then looked around. "Still no Daphne?"
Millicent shrugged while buttering her toast. "She said she has to stop Astoria from having a stupid idea. Apparently her sister thinks about trying to enter into the tournament anyway."
"Sure, like a twelve-year old can outsmart Dumbledore. I think Astoria should be more worried that Daphne will write their parents about that," Dudley answered, knowing any respectable parent would tell their child why trying to enter would be a stupid idea.
"Well, too bad for Astoria then," Millicent concluded before taking a bite from her breakfast.
Over at the Gryffindor table meanwhile there was more discussion.
"And both of you really want to risk it? You don't even know what kind of judge that is who decides who competes," Lee Jordan asked Fred and George, for once seemingly not wanting to take part in their plans.
"We can outsmart him, you'll see! We are both older and smarter now," Fred declared.
"Well, count me out. After that little fiasco last year I think you are prone to misjudge certain things," Lee Jordan said, not wanting to be roped into their plans this time.
"Oh, come on, Lee," George whined at the reminder. "How were we supposed to know that there was a booby trap on the door? McGonagall after all managed to turn us back to human without problem."
"They seem to be really excited," Colin commented while he introduced his brother Dennis to people he had missed yesterday.
"Stupid would be more of a fitting word. I guess they forgot the incident with the age line around the forest. That attempt to outsmart Dumbledore went disastrously for them," Ginny commented while putting bacon onto her plate.
"Let them. After all, we won't get yelled at," Ron waved it off before digging into his breakfast. No way he would save the twins from their own arrogance after years of them making him the target of their antics.
"As I said before; money and fame tend to make people a bit stupid," Luna repeated her observation.
"So none of you even thinks about trying to cheat the system?" Dean asked, having listened to the exchange.
"Do you have any idea how my guardians would react to me trying that?" Harry asked. "All the stuff that happened to me and my friends over the past years was most certainly not wanted, so I see no reason to seek out something dangerous."
"Think about it. If the prize money is one-thousand Galleons, how dangerous is this tournament to warrant such a high reward?" Hermione reminded them, reading a book while eating her breakfast.
"There is something to that..." Seamus realized, feeling that maybe he should leave the tournament to the seventh-year students.
"What are you reading there, Hermione? You've already had this book and were at the table when we arrived," Neville asked, unable to see the title.
"I went to the library really early and checked out a book about the Triwizard Tournament. What I'm reading is not exactly reassuring, some of the tasks done at past tournaments were outright insane and it sounds like a massive contest of egos," Hermione explained her findings.
"Does the book also say why the tournament was no longer held?" Harry asked his friend.
"That's right here." Hermione looked at what she was reading right now. "The 1792 tournament at Beauxbatons was an utter disaster. Holding it in the middle of the French Revolution - which I have to stress caused severe upheaval in Magical France as well - was already a burden and the reputation of the tournament was damaged by previous incidents. Then a cockatrice that was intended for one of the tasks went on the rampage, caused numerous deaths and injured three judges. After that incident they abolished the tournament," Hermione explained what had led to the end of the tournament.
"Ouch..." Ginny commented. "But really, a cockatrice? What will they do for this tournament? Dragons?"
"Charlie would not like that," Ron added, knowing how much Charlie was concerned about the dragons he was responsible for. Ron then shrugged. "At least we know they would never use a basilisk."
Other than that however, breakfast did go by without anything unusual and they left a bit early so they wouldn't end up having to stay in a line while fetching their timetables from the new administration office.
The door to said office was hard to miss due to the big sign next to it which proclaimed the room's use together with the opening hours. Entering however, they stopped for a moment.
The room looked, well, like an administrative office found in a school. There were desks, filing cabinets, charts and calendars on the walls and stacks of paper everywhere. A big clock on the wall told the time and a long counter separated the actual office from the area for visitors. Highly unusual also was not only the use of modern writing materials but also of typewriters. The rattling of several of those caused them to see that some machines had clearly been enchanted to act as magical teleprinters for incoming messages.
The whole thing looked incredibly modern for Hogwarts, but then again they had also seen the anteroom to the Headmaster's office and how Ms. Spencer had modernized it.
"Impressive, isn't it?" Only now did they notice Penelope standing behind the counter. "You would not believe how difficult it was to untangle the mess that the administration of Hogwarts had become over the years. Now however everything is running smoothly and we still have room for future expansion."
"Question is why you didn't say anything about this," Ginny complained, still thinking about how that had hit them on the wrong foot.
"It was worth seeing the surprise on your faces. And even more how surprised Fred and George looked," Percy said, arriving from the back of the big office. "Now you can no longer call me a snitch when I write to Mum."
"I think that will be more of a problem for Fred and George. I think you already heard of their newest harebrained plan?" Ron asked.
Percy looked a bit disappointed at the reminder. "Trying to sneak their way into the tournament. Not that they will be successful with that. The Headmaster told me however to only become active after each failed attempt. Smart man, Dumbledore, must be planning something."
"Here you are, all of your timetables," Penelope then said, distributing the papers.
"One final question. How did you two actually get this job?" Neville asked.
"The Headmaster was planning all of it for a long time and had wanted to approach Percy at his graduation about it. But then he got his facial injuries and his future was in doubt. So the Headmaster approached him shortly after that happened and also offered me to be part of it," Penelope explained.
"Headmaster Dumbledore is a very generous man," Percy added, knowing otherwise his future would have looked dim.
While leaving the office, the six friends looked at what they would have first today.
"Oh, History first..." Harry sighed, making no secret he found History of Magic boring and repetitive. "Then double Charms and after lunch double Potions. That's not too bad, since Flitwick always livens up his lessons and Slughorn is a good teacher as well."
"Too bad we won't have Moody until Tuesday. After the great things Dora showed us last year, her teacher does have to be even more skilled," Hermione sighed, really looking forward to what she imagined to be the second competent Defense teacher after Remus.
"Yes, it's sadly... hey, careful!" Harry had almost run into someone. Then however he saw who it was. "Malfoy."
"Don't overuse my name, Potter. Seeing you, I bet you would love to enter this tournament. Oh yes, the Boy-Who-Lives wants to get even more fame to his name than he already does," Draco needled, clearly hoping for a reaction.
Harry was able to endure many things, but bringing up the fame he only got due to his parents dying and implying he enjoyed it was a sure way to anger him. "Better watch you mouth, Malfoy! And for you to know, I most certainly won't try to enter this tournament!"
Draco chuckled darkly, then decided to provoke Harry further. "Are you chicken, Potter? Where is the great basilisk slayer now? Perhaps you..."
"Stop it right there, laddie!"
Draco stopped his needling insults and looked around, spotting Alastor Moody walking up to him, his magical eye staring at him. Draco felt unwell under the gaze of that eye, feeling like it was peeling him open layer by layer, like an onion. Draco tried to look indifferent, but that was impossible due to the sheer intensity radiated by Moody.
"Trying to mark your territory, are you? Like father like son - I expected that," Moody observed.
"Do you even know who my father is?" Malfoy asked, trying to appear brave.
"Oh yes, I do. After all, I'm the reason why a number of his buddies are cooling their heels in Azkaban." Moody saw that this casual mention shook Draco's confidence. "Make no mistake, lad, I know your father lied to save his own skin. If I would have had my way, he would be in a cell as well. So ask yourself, do you really want to follow his example? Now all of you be on your way."
Draco continued his way to the office, realizing Moody was continuing to observe him. "Wait until the wind blows from a different direction..." he grumbled under his breath. "As for Potter and his friends... just wait until the tournament starts, then their suffering starts as well."
...September 5th...
Well, new school year but the same runes, Harry thought while unpacking his books and writing utensils.
The electives had been restructured this year with the exit of numerous people from them who clearly had made the wrong choice and realized that. It was a bit complicated but essentially there were now three double-blocks in a week, all electives having compressed their schedule so that each elective now only took one double-block in a week. Some electives still ran in parallel and one still had two separate classes - namely Arithmancy.
Today, at this double-period, he was having Ancient Runes while Luna at the some time had Divination. After lunch in turn, Hermione and Ginny would have Arithmancy while Ron and Neville got Muggle Studies. All of them together would have Care of Magical Creatures on Wednesday.
Today they'd already got Herbology and the plants got more weird and bizarre than ever - though very little could top how unpleasant mandrakes are. Today they got introduced to Bubotuber plants and later the week would squeeze Bubotuber pus out of its swellings. Everyone was disgusted by it except for Neville and Luna, who found the whole thing fascinating.
Good for them, but I know for sure now that I won't continue Herbology to NEWT-level. I can imagine in those years they could have things like man-eating Venus flytraps, Harry thought, knowing for sure that after History that was one subject he most certainly would not continue.
"Hello Harry," Dudley greeted him while sitting down next to him. "Looks like we now have this subject together."
"Hello Dudley, looks like it." Last year they had been in two different classes for Runes, but now all of them sat in one class due to several people bailing out. "Didn't really have a chance to speak with you yet after your little warning on the train. How are things with you?"
"Let's put it this way: I'm glad to be back in school," Dudley said while unpacking his own books.
"So it's still bad," Harry concluded, having learned of Dudley's ever-worsening relationship with his father over the summer - not that difficult considering how close together their homes were.
"Mum is honestly trying to understand me and I have a feeling she lives the magical life through me. Dad on the other hand is getting worse. I fear where that could end," Dudley admitted.
Honestly, Harry some years ago would have never even dreamed that he and Dudley would talk about things and issues like that. Dudley was very different from the little terror he had been before running into the dementor. Yes, Dudley actually was now a guy he could get along with well enough. Fate at times had a strange sense of humor.
"Still cozying up with Potter, Dursley?"
Of course, since Malfoy also took Ancient Runes, he was in the classroom as well. Sitting at a desk in the row in front of them, he had turned around to look at them. Harry and Dudley both by now were wondering what Draco's game was, since despite him and Pansy continuing to be jerks to them, they had not done anything for months. Truth to be told, that inactivity was a bit disturbing.
"Malfoy, I can be friends with whoever I want to. I also know you don't like me, so if you have something against me, act on it," Dudley challenged Draco.
Draco however didn't bite. "Tempting, but there are other ways to hurt people... believe me." Draco let then ominous warning hang in the air for a moment. "No idea why Potter decided to make friends with you of all people, since you have little to offer."
That was the thing - Malfoy had no idea that Harry and Dudley were cousins. Apart from their friends and the teachers, no one else at school knew. They had both agreed to let it stay that way since they feared Dudley otherwise would have to endure ass-kissers who would try to cozy up to him as a way to get into Harry's good graces as well as ill-conceived attempts of revenge by proxy by people who disliked Harry.
"What do you know about friendship, Malfoy?" Harry wondered openly. "Since Crabble and Goyle hardly count, that leaves Parkinson. God only knows what she sees in you apart from being a fellow bigot."
Right then Professor Babbling entered.
"Don't get too comfortable, Potter," Draco warned, then turned his attention back to the front.
No way I'll turn my back to him while we are alone. He's capable of cursing me without blinking an eye, Harry thought while the professor walked to behind her desk.
"Welcome back for fourth year, my students," Professor Babbling greeted everyone. "As you can see several students decided to quit this elective. All of you who have decided to stay will be richly rewarded. Last year we mainly worked in our understanding of the runes, but this year we additionally will start with how to use the runes to achieve effects that a normal spell could not."
One student raised her hand to ask a question. "Professor, we can enchant objects?"
"Oh yes. The best thing is, objects enchanted that way are a lot more durable than those enchanted with a single spell. The better the runes on the object in question, the higher the quality of the enchantment," Professor Babbling confirmed.
While the professor drew the runes they would use in the next weeks for their first enchantments on the blackboard, Harry had to think of the Marauders Map. Sirius and Remus had told him that they had used runes in its creation and that was why it was such a high-quality product. Surprisingly, his father himself had not taken Ancient Runes, Sirius remarking it again showed their very different personalities.
Hermione learning that all in her free time because she couldn't take this elective as well is truly impressive, Harry thought while he started to copy the runes into his notes.
o
"Looks like not many people quit," Ginny remarked while sitting down in her seat.
"That's why there still are two classes for Arithmancy. For being so difficult, it surely is popular as well," Hermione remarked while sitting down next to Ginny.
Indeed, the class looked almost exactly the same as last year, only one or two students no longer attending the elective. That however also meant they were still sharing the class with Pansy Parkinson, whom they spotted easily enough. Thankfully, the girl at least right now was distracted and thus wasn't causing any trouble.
"At least this is a clean class and not a mess like Herbology," Ginny then said, remembering the lesson from the morning.
Hermione did remember as well. If even Ginny, a girl who honestly had no problem with getting dirty, found working with Bubotuber plants disgusting, it meant there was something to it. Ginny had already said that she would not try to continue Herbology to NEWT-level, especially since it honestly didn't contain anything useful for her own future plans. Hermione was no quitter, but she understood Ginny's reasons.
"Ah, there are the two of you." That had been Daphne, who sat down together with Millicent in the desk right next to theirs. "I see her majesty is also present, however. Not unexpected, considering the news we heard today."
"Hello Daphne, Millicent. What is the news?" Hermione asked.
"Rumor in Slytherin has it that Parkinson, Malfoy and his gorillas all collectively quit Care for Magical Creatures starting this year. Crabble and Goyle are said to actually have dropped all their electives," Millicent explained.
"The latter news are little wonder. Considering how dumb these two are, there was no way they could keep up in any elective. I bet all four of them only took Creatures to attempt and bully Hagrid and now realized that it doesn't work," Ginny said with a snort, not being surprised by these news.
"I should have expected you to literally bitch about me behind my back." Pansy must have heard them, having turned around to look at them. "Are you not brave enough to say that to my face?"
Millicent couldn't help but to snort. "We see your face often enough in the dorms, there is only so much we can take of that."
Pansy tried to ignore that barb. "Shows how deep your families have sunk..."
Daphne would not stand for that. "That's a bit rich. Aren't you always the one causing the biggest mess in the dorm?! Not to speak of your habit of lounging on your bed only in your underwear during strange times of the day."
"Better be careful what you are saying." Pansy warned them with a dark look.
"Is that supposed to be a threat?" Daphne asked, clearly daring Pansy to say it was one.
Pansy however knew better by now and did not take the bait. "No, just a friendly warning. After all, unexpected things can happen whn you least expect it." She then turned back around, giving them no more attention.
"Jeez, how friendly..." Ginny commented, then saw Professor Vector enter and everyone hurried to their seats.
"Hello, class. First let me tell you how proud I am that so few gave up on the wonderful world of numbers I'm opening up for your to explore," Professor Vector greeted the class. "All of you want to explore deeper and you will get the chance now. Starting from this year the use of Arithmancy in spell creation will gain much more weight."
With a wave of her wand multiple equations appeared on the blackboard. "Now, before we start for real, take a look at these and write them down before you tell me what you see."
"This sounds really exciting!" Hermione whispered, being in her element while already writing down the equations.
"If you say so..." Ginny for her part felt a bit envious how easy this came to Hermione. She herself had to work hard to keep up, making her at times feel like she'd bitten off a bit too much. However, her pride didn't allow her to back out now.
If I back out now, my brothers would never let me forget it, she added silently.
...the next day, Defense classroom...
Rumors were flying when the Defense classroom filled. Other years already had Alastor Moody as a teacher and they were eager to tell of his unusual and very direct teaching style. Thing was, he had said openly he was restraining himself for the younger years and the fourth-year students - meaning them - would get the full experience as the highest class he was teaching.
Students were kind of nervous what that would entail, many having read up on Moody's career in the Aurors and his accomplishments. His list of prominent arrests was quite impressive... as well as the injuries he had sustained in the field.. His wooden leg, damaged nose and magical eye were silent witness of how intense his career had been.
"Colin seemed a bit intimidated when he told us to expect an intense lesson," Ginny remarked while they sat down in their seats, waiting for Moody to arrive.
"Mr. Moody indeed has a reputation for being very direct," Luna agreed. "Astoria told me that he had to restrain himself with them due to their age."
"Considering his past career he'll at least know what he's saying. It won't be like Quirrell sabotaging us under Voldemort's orders or Lockhart being an utterly useless tool." Harry reminded his friends.
Hermione for her part thought back with disgust at her first two years of Defense lessons. "Thank all goodness we did our own lessons in those years, or we would have learned nothing at all."
"It surely will be intense. Just look at the man! One wooden foot, a nose prosthesis and an artificial eye. He must have gone through several really intense battles," Ron added, clearly being impressed by the man.
"I honestly don't care about his past as long as he teaches us useful things..." Harry stopped when the door flew open at that moment.
Everyone fell silent when they saw Moody walk in, his wooden foot making a very distinctive noise.
As soon as he had arrived behind his desk, Moody's magical eye took in the class. "Put your books away. You'll only need those for your homework, since I believe in practical lessons."
That already rose excitement. Last year Remus also had been big on practical lessons, only having them use the books in lessons occasionally for reference. Even the Ravenclaws in this class, who normally were quite bookish, had learned the value of practical lessons. Moody meanwhile was doing the roll call, leaving no doubt the man had breathed and lived a life of discipline for decades. Once being satisfied that everyone was present, he addressed the class.
"Now, I've had several long chats with Remus Lupin as well as with my former cadet Tonks. They told me what they taught you and it is a good foundation. However, there are things out there which make what you have learned up until now not enough!" Moody certainly was quite passionate about the topic.
It certainly felt like it when going against the basilisk or Greyback and his pack, Harry thought, remembering both instances too well.
"Always remember, all of what I will teach you will be of no help if you don't show Constant Vigilance during danger! Without that you'll end up dead really fast, and even with it there is the chance your enemies have tricks up their sleeves. Take a good look at me, I'm living proof how that can happen." Moody then looked around and noticed how some students looked a bit pale.
"Ah, you wonder how this in my face happened, right?" He knew he had hit dead center and then gave them the explanation. "That's a lasting souvenir which that Death Eater scum Evan Rosier gave me by way of a blasting curse directly into the face."
He enjoyed the looks of horror for a moment, before he explained further. "There however is one big difference - I came out of that encounter alive... he didn't. I'm here to ensure you are the ones that stay alive."
Moody then continued "Now, under normal circumstances you only start to learn about dark curses in sixth year, but these times are not normal and Headmaster Dumbledore wants all of you prepared for the worst..." Moody then stopped and turned to Lavender Brown. "Miss Brown, put that away. You and Miss Patil should give me your full attention."
Both girls blushed at being caught, Lavender quickly putting some kind of girls magazine into her bag. It seemed Moody's eye gave him enhanced vision.
"Good. Now, there are curses that get the highest punishment - life in Azkaban. I want to show you the worst first before we start with the curses I'll actually teach you. There are three of them that are called the Unforgivables. Which of you knows one?" Moody then waited, seeing several hands rise. He picked Ron first. "Well, Weasley, what is your answer?"
"I heard about that one from my father. He... called it the Imperius Curse," Ron answered, remembering his father's rants about that particular curse.
"Your father has every reason to rant about that curse, since it is a really nasty one," Moody agreed and faced the class. "All of you imagine your free will being taken from you and become a puppet to be used by your enemy. The most devious thing about this form of mind control is, that it truly makes you believe you actually want what you are doing under it... until the spell is broken and you realize all the horrible things you've done under it and feel ready to kill yourself in horror."
The class shuddered at this graphical description, while Moody felt he still had been too soft. "It will make you do anything you are ordered to, even if you are not physically capable of doing so and doomed for failure. You could also be ordered to kill yourself... That spell was a huge problem at the end of the war, since many claimed to have been under it and it is impossible to prove the opposite - a cheap trick to escape justice."
"I wonder if he will also say that to the Slytherins? Malfoy especially will be quite offended," Harry whispered to Ron. It was well-known that Malfoy's father used the Imperius-defense to escape punishment for his horrible crimes.
"Who can tell me of another one?" Moody this time selected Hermione. "Which one do you know, Granger?"
Hermione gulped, but answered anyway. "The Cruciatus Curse."
Moody gave Hermione a deep look. "I knew you would pick that one. After all, you are the only student in this class who has suffered under it."
Hermione paled a little at the memory. It was no secret that Quirrell had tortured her with the Cruciatus Curse. Even if it only had been for a short time, the horrible torture was burned into her memory. It had been pain like she had felt never before, a pain so horrible she had lost control of her body and actually wished for death so it would stop. Even after years it still gave her the occasional nightmare.
"That curse is the perfect torture tool, causing untold pain without resulting in direct injury. However, in order to inflict the curse on someone, you truly have to mean it - you have to want to see your target suffer. That's why this one is especially popular with sadists and those who already are complete monsters in their heads," Moody explained.
Hermione's friends gave her concerned looks. They knew Hermione even after years couldn't bring herself to talk about the experience, only saying she wished it on no one else.
"Now, one left. Who knows...?" Moody waited a few seconds, then picked Harry.
"Avada Kedava... the Killing Curse," Harry answered, knowing exactly what that one was due to his history. He would never forget the horrible green light and the faded scar was a lasting reminder.
"Yes... Compared to the others, this one is really simple. Once the green bolt of light hits you, you are dead. And again, if you want to use the spell, you really have to want that person dead. Think about it..." Moody let them think about it, letting them draw the horrifying conclusions by themselves.
"I see you understand, only someone who decided there was no going back would ever use it. There is only one person ever who survived it and he's here in our class." Moody clearly didn't have to spell out Harry's name.
Way to put the spotlight onto me, Harry thought in annoyance, since he hated being famous for that.
One Ravenclaw girl dared to ask a question. "Does that mean we won't get any demonstrations of these curses?" She then shrunk back into her seat when Moody's eyes seemed to stare holes into her.
"Girl, they are called the Unforgivables for a good reason - we are not to use them at all. Why do you think the late Barty Crouch wanting to legalize their use during the war was seen as horrible?!" Moody lectured her, then calmed down a bit. "Yes, no live demonstrations for obvious reasons. The best way is to always be vigilant so you won't get hit in the first place, but for two of them there are counter-strategies. Like regardless how deadly the Killing Curse is, put an object in the way and it'll destroy that instead."
There was some whispering if it really was that simple to neutralize the Killing Curse, but one look from Moody silenced them all. "Good, looks like I finally made you understand. Get out your writing utensils."
The rest of the period was filled with Moody grilling them on how they would avoid the Unforgivables, what they imagined involved resisting the Imperius Curse and strategies how to neutralize the beam of death of the Killing Curse in various scenarios. It was quite hard on them, but Moody also was not stingy with positive feedback whenever he heard a good answer.
Defense this year looked to be difficult but rewarding.
...September 11th...
Hermione Granger was a girl on a mission - a mission to finally meet house-elves.
Her curiosity had been stoked for a long time. The whole story surrounding Dobby, her shock of learning how house-elves are treated by many families, Remus explaining more of the issue and reminding her to pick her battles and fight smart, Dobby being freed from the Malfoys and then being reminded of the whole issue by seeing one of the Longbottom elves who was a stark contrast to the abused Dobby.
She had read a lot about the elves in books. For beings of such great power, magical society seemed strangely dismissive of them, as if being willfully blind to the fact they were abusing beings which could kill them just with a hand gesture. The issue of the geas on the house-elves - the only thing that saved the abusers from bloody revenge - was confusing. Had it been put onto elves sometime in history or was it a natural part of their biology that they acted like that?
Fact was, there was only so much she could learn from books. She now had to go to the source.
She was not as arrogant as to believe she right now could change anything. Her parents had told her trying anything as a powerless student would only get her laughed at. They'd told her if she was serious about that then she would need a long breath and be well-prepared. And for that reason she finally needed to meet real house-elves.
She knew they would be found in the kitchens and had finally learned by eavesdropping on Fred and George of all people how to find the hidden kitchens. In retrospect, the hints about the entrance had all been there, hidden behind a pun.
Take a look at me: Hermione Granger being about to break the rules, she thought, being well aware that this was not like her at all.
Finally reaching the end of the stairs, she saw the to her left the corridor would lead to the Hufflepuff dorms - the rebuilt barrel entrance now sported a magical eye that could identify students of the house and open the lid automatically - while to the right was a corridor with food-themed paintings. In hindsight the hint was very obvious.
Reaching the big painting of a fruit bowl she tickled the pear and it transformed into a door handle. Using that, she opened the secret door and down a small corridor entered the actual kitchens.
It looked... well, like a kitchen. Like something you would expect in a big school or a large hotel, though of course being more fitting with the medieval look of Hogwarts. The huge tables were filled with all kind of ingredients and many elves were being busy working at those tables, clearly preparing dinner. The walls on one side were dominated by huge racks full with ingredients and cookware, while the wall facing it was dominated by a long row of old-fashioned iron stoves, many elves also being busy there with cooking pots and pans. The wall she was facing was dominated by a big fireplace with currently not used spits for roasting.
The kitchen and the sheer amount of elves working in it was almost overwhelming, but then she noticed a small side table with someone having a little extra snack. "Ron?" Hermione gasped.
Indeed, Ron sat there, having a nice snack and being waited on by an elf. He looked up in amusement. "Hello, Hermione. Got the same idea as me?"
Marching to the small table, Hermione heard the elves giggle, clearly being amused by the situation. "Ron, what are you doing? How did you get in here?"
"I got in the same way you did, I think." Ron then saw the look she was giving him and decided on a more detailed answer. "I asked Lee Jordan. He learned from Fred and George how to do it, but no way I would ask these two. They would have never told me anyway."
"Ah... And I can already see what you are doing," Hermione added, not being surprised at all.
If anything, Ron didn't look ashamed at all about it. "You wouldn't believe how accommodating the elves are, though since they are a bit busy, Dobby here decided to help me out."
"Dobby?" The elf standing at Ron's table turned around and only now did she recognize him. He was not wearing the same uniform as the other elves, though it did display the crest of Hogwarts. Compared to the last time she had seen him, he looked much more healthy and happy. "I honestly had not expected you to be here."
Dobby, if anything, seemed quite amused by her reaction. "As Headmaster Dumbledore would say, life has some strange ways. Dobby also is always happy to help out Harry Potter's friends. Yes, he does."
"How did you end up here? Last we saw of you was recovering from your injuries well over a year ago," Hermione then asked, wondering about the elf's story.
"Oh, Dobby has travelled through the world for some time, but then Dobby felt the urge like all of us house-elves feel it. Sadly, Dobby has not found work for a long time, since Dobby now wants payment - something most households don't take kindly to." Dobby did look a bit embarrassed by his failure. "But now things are looking up. Dobby has found work at Hogwarts. Headmaster Dumbledore gave very generous conditions."
"Conditions all of us still find weird."
Two more elves had joined them while Dobby had excitedly told them of what he had done since they'd last seen him. These two elves clearly were older than the others and had to hold some kind of seniority. Although Hermione had some difficulty to tell it correctly, she had a good idea that one of the elves was male and one female. The tunics looked a bit more ornamental than that of the other elves, underlining their seniority.
"Ah, this to be Yander and Blinky, head elves at Hogwarts," Dobby quickly introduced these two to Hermione and Ron.
"Uhm, I hope you don't mind Ron and me being here?" Hermione asked, feeling a bit awkward once she realized these two held positions of authority.
"Oh no, the elves of Hogwarts are always eager to help out students - even if their presence is not officially allowed." It was clear that Yander felt that without an explicit ban students could continue to visit the kitchens. "Seeing both of you talk to Dobby is a reminder of the enigma he is."
"Hogwarts took up numerous abused elves over the years, but Dobby still is an enigma in behavior," Blinky commented.
"Yes, a free elf working for pay was never heard of before. Many are weary of Dobby; think the long years of abuse caused something to go wrong in his head," Yander added. "Dobby earned the ire of Kreacher as well. Good thing Kreacher is tending to his Master's house on the weekends."
"Kreacher... I know I heard that name before..." Ron thought about it and then remembered. "Ah, now I remember! He's an elf working for Sirius, right?"
Dobby grimaced. "Dobby did try to keep Harry Potter away from Hogwarts when the chamber was opened. Kreacher took offense at Dobby's actions and has not forgotten. Kreacher also took offense at Dobby being free and getting paid, said this not being the way of house-elves."
"That Kreacher does," Blinky confirmed, looking annoyed at the whole situation. "Kreacher refuses to work directly with Dobby."
Hermione for her part was a bit disappointed that this Kreacher was not present during the weekends - such as right now - since it would have been interesting to talk to the elf who was tending to Sirius' ancestral home. That elf after all must have gone through quite the hell when the other Blacks had still been alive.
"All of this is why I'm down here. I honestly have difficulties understanding your people. Perhaps you can help me understand better? There are some questions I have," Hermione asked them.
What followed over the next half an hour was equal parts enlightening, weird and frustrating. Hermione indeed had numerous questions for the elves, but the answers at times were concerning or created only more questions. The elves in turn had become confused or thoughtful at some of her questions, like the one if their need for domestic work was natural to their species - which did create the question how something like that could develop in the first place - or if some kind of geas had been put onto their species centuries ago.
Hermione was a bit disturbed with what she managed to puzzle together from the answers while Ron and her walked back to their dorms.
"I don't like this. Regardless how they got this compulsion that gives them fulfillment in domestic work, they are being taken advantage of. Granted, many elves are treated well, but there are just as many that are simply being abused..." Hermione said, still trying to understand the complexity of the problem.
"Don't forget what Sirius' family used to do to their house-elves," Ron reminded Hermione with a slight shudder.
"I don't want to remember that. The thought alone that there are people out there who are that sick gives me nightmares," Hermione groaned. Sirius had told them of that barbaric tradition started by Elladora Black.
Beheading the poor elves when they could no longer hold a tea tray due to old age already was bad enough, but that the heads then had been displayed as trophies in the entrance corridor of the house was proof that many Blacks clearly had suffered from madness turning them into psychopaths. Thank goodness Sirius had added in his explanation that he had removed those heads.
"So, what do you plan on doing?" Ron wondered.
"Right now? Nothing at all. It's not like I have the means to do something meaningful, nor would anyone listen to me. I can only bring along change once I'm done with school." Hermione scratched her chin for a few moments. "The Hogwarts elves are treated well anyway, but I honestly need to learn more about their species. It's like they have been pushed into slavery and made to also enjoy it."
"If you put it that way, it does sound kind of sick..." Ron, who before had not given much of a thought about the situation of house-elves, now looked rather thoughtful. "You seem to really care about all of that."
"I find it horrible how many take this deep desire of the elves to help others and twist in into something horrible, while at the same time denying them even the most basic of rights. In a way this is worse than any kind of slavery in human history." Hermione looked a bit defeated. "It is sobering to see how horrible people can be."
Ron honestly had nothing to counter that. However, he was impressed with how strongly Hermione felt about it, yet also realizing that right now she had no way to improve the situation.
And I never wasted a thought on this, Ron admitted to his own shame. Hermione also shows why she is a Gryffindor... Wow.
Thinking so much about her, he also couldn't deny she had changed quite a bit when looking to her. Hermione was gaining feminine curves and softness. It was only when Hermione asked why he was giving her these looks that he noticed and quickly apologized, blushing a little.
Hermione however didn't mind, realizing something. For the first time he looked at me and saw a girl, not just his friend.
In a way the realization that the dynamics between the two of them had started to change helped brighten up the day. She hoped Ron wouldn't notice the slight blush that had appeared on her cheeks.
...September 12th, Collège Beauxbatons, France...
It was a warm day in the Pyrenees in southern France. Being located so close to to Spain, even at this time of the year the heat was still significant. Nestled inside the mountains, but still well on the French side of the border, was Collège Beauxbatons, the primary school for magical children in France. Beauxbatons was a magnificent place; a massive Renaissance palace surrounded by beautiful parks and gardens. It essentially was everything what someone would see as a French palatial estate, like a prototype-Versailles.
The school also enjoyed a great reputation in the academic field, though common people also disregarded its students regularly.
That perhaps was due to the uniforms; colored pale blue and made of the finest fabrics like silk it made the students look more like models or fops instead of students. This was causing some unrest in recent years and many boys were not impressed with their uniforms, saying that they made them look stereotypically gay. Considering the number of letters from angry parents, there would be a redesign in the near future.
However, none of these things were on the mind of a young woman named Fleur Delacour, who sat on a bench near a fountain dedicated to the late Nicolas and Perenelle Flamel.
Of course I as the model student would be dragged along for this. Well, should I get selected, at least I can finally prove that I'm more than just my ancestry, Fleur thought while looking at the waters of the fountain.
One would think a girl being gifted with the beauty and attractiveness of Veela ancestry would have it easy, but that was not the case. She was in the paradoxical situation that while she was one of the top students in the school and named model student, a huge number of the students just tolerated her and a good chunk outright detested her.
It had been no problem in the prepubescent days, but once her fellow students had entered puberty, things had started to go downhill quickly. During that time she had not been able to properly shut off her allure - it was still prone to leaking nowadays when she was distracted - and it quickly had degenerated to a point where boys avoided her out of fear of becoming her 'brain-dead slaves' and the girls saw her as a boy-stealing attention-whore using magic to get her kicks.
It most certainly had not helped that the constant negative reactions caused a change in her personality. In reaction she hardened her heart, shutting out her peers and projecting a blunt, arrogant and snobbish personality to the outside world. That emotional mask was her way to keep people at a distance so she wouldn't be hurt anymore.
I wonder if I can ever have the same luck as Maman in finding a man who sees my true self instead of falling for a biological compulsion, she wondered.
After all, her mother had told her that meeting her father - a man who was not influenced by the allure and thus began to love her for who she was and not what she was - had been the best thing that had happened to her, but also how rare such people were. Finding such a man for herself would be next to impossible, as many other frustrated Veela had learned over the years.
"Ah, there you are! Hiding again from the others?"
Looking up, Fleur saw her two only true friends at the school approach, both from her year. "After I was named one of the students who would go to Hogwarts for the tournament, I decided to keep my distance."
Sabrina Raincomprix and Marc Anciel were her only real friends at the school, and both of them were special cases.
Sabrina was social outcast herself. While certainly a very smart student - easily close to Feur's place in the rankings - the bespectacled redhead was handicapped by the misfortune of looking like the stereotype of a female nerd. Having been the target of scorn herself, she had not not given up on Fleur and patiently worked her way through Feur's defenses until the girl had realized that Sabrina was truly looking for a friend.
Marc in turn was a social outcast simply due to the fact that he was gay - a fact that even he himself had only found out when he didn't at all react to Fleur's allure. While that had destroyed his social life, he himself had been relieved that the uncertaincy was finally over. Fleur had felt a bit guilty at first, but Marc over time did become a good friend - the only boy in school she now was sure was a true friend.
That Fleur also knew that her allure did work on homosexual girls was due to an incident two years ago where she had accidentally outed a new transfer named Chloé Bourgeois. The traumatized blond girl, who had not known about her sexual preferences, had quickly been put into a different class and Fleur's reputation had taken another hit in the process.
That had been one of the most humiliating days I ever experienced, not to speak of poor Chloé after getting outed in front of everyone... Fleur thought, still feeling sorry for the poor girl whenever she saw her in the school.
"Try to take it easy. They can't think worse of you than they already do and Madame Maxime made sure that our group of hopefuls does not include people that despise you," Sabrina told Fleur.
"Yes, especially since both of us are also two of the hopefuls. We are really good students and we are friendly with you, that helped her to make the decision to invite us as well," Marc added, knowing there was some resentment the two of them had been nominated.
"At least I won't be alone while at Hogwarts. Madame Maxime really has a soft spot for me," Fleur said, feeling that without the support of the Headmistress she probably would have given up on school and went into homeschooling.
"Don't sell yourself short!" Sabrina lightly scolded her friend while sitting down next to her, with Marc sitting on the other side of Fleur. "You have the best chance to be nominated as champion for Beauxbatons and Madame Maxime knows that."
"Though she most certainly doesn't think highly of the whole contest. She made little secret about it, considering the rumors how she has ranted about 'those political windbags in Paris'," Marc added with slight amusement.
"Politics," Fleur said with a shrug. "I bet despite her disliking the whole contest, she still hopes for our school to win it. You know... if the school has the opportunity."
"Honestly, girl, you need some serious cheering up!" That said, Sabrina started to pull Fleur up to her feet. "Come, that calls for my supply of special chocolate biscuits. Marc, you come along as well."
Fleur only put up a token resistance but otherwise surrendered to Sabrina leading her back inside, and an amused Marc following the two girls. Fleur would never admit it and her Maman would probably be horrified to learn about it, but she got a huge weakness for chocolate biscuits. She could never say no to those, keeping her figure be damned.
While walking back to the main building, they noticed two students in the garden who were being busy with tongue-wresting. Fleur rolled her eyes a little. "These two are not very discreet. Do they come along as well?"
"Yep, they do. Maybe it's because they are so much in love with each other that he can shrug your allure off," Marc said, looking a bit amused at how these two didn't even notice them walking past them.
Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Adrien Agreste could be pretty oblivious once being busy with each other.
...the same day, Durmstrang Institute, Norway...
Durmstrang Institute was more hidden then most other magical schools, since the leadership of Durmstrang was not keen on even other magical authorities getting involved in their matters. The massive castle stood on a cliff overlooking a fjord in northern Norway and was hidden under so many enchantments it was bordering on paranoia. However, considering the reputation of the school, such paranoia perhaps was warranted.
The castle itself was built from dark stone, part of it actually built directly into the cliff wall. Many meters below it was a pier at which the big ship of the school was docked when not being in use, such as right at the moment. Cold winds always blew around the castle, since this far north the weather rarely was nice and the temperatures stayed low.
Standing on a balcony of the outside face of the castle built directly into the cliff wall, Viktor Krum looked at the fjord while thinking about recent events.
Even after four years I don't still like this place. How fortunate I'll be gone from it for most of my final year, went through his head.
Fact of the matter was, him being at Durmstrang was entirely due to his Quidditch powers. Already an excellent student, him absolutely dominating all Quidditch contests at his old school had resulted in the at the time still struggling national team becoming aware of him. At the age of merely 14 he joined them - and only shortly later Durmstrang approached the Bulgarian Minstry and said they wanted him.
That had been in the middle of that turbulent time of change in Eastern Europe and Durmstrang was in a strong position. Minister Oblansk himself had explained to him that this was an offer they couldn't refuse - not in their current weak position - and that neither he nor his parents would have a choice in the matter. Krum still felt bitter that it was pressure from Durmstrang that forced him to leave everything familiar and attend this place instead.
Durmstrang was not a nice place and he most certainly did not appreciate it had been the place where Grindelwald had learned how to use magic. True, he did get expelled since even Durmstrang felt he was shaping up to be a monster, but seeing the engraved symbol of Grindelwald in many places - with the school clearly being unable to remove them - felt like a massive insult. His family after all had suffered in the war Grindelwald had caused., the dark wizard personally having murdered his grandfather.
As if it was not annoying enough he had to learn to fluently speak Latin - since the students came from so many places this was the school language - he then had found out that he mainly was here because Headmaster Karkaroff wanted him as another trophy of the school to show around. The man was constantly giving him special treatment, even though he didn't want any special treatment, as it isolated him from the other students.
Well, not that the man is very popular. Under him the already bad reputation of the school has worsened significantly, Krum thought, then looked down to the ship. Not that he cares and now he's using me again.
At least with the tournament coming up, he would spend the vast majority of his final school year in Scotland, only being surrounded by only a dozen other Durmstrang students. Sadly, Karkaroff would be along together with an educator. Since Karkaroff wanted to make sure Krum would be selected, the other students coming along were either not powerful magically, were physically weak or they showed not much talent at all. That in turn made these students tolerable for Krum, since being underdogs meant they were not the sycophants had normally had to deal with.
"Want to get away from all of it?"
Looking to the entrance to the balcony, Krum spotted one of the students that was selected to come along. His name was Poliakoff. Like him he was wearing the red uniform of Durmstrang as well as a pelt coat and fur hat for outside use. Even though he couldn't see Poliakoff's hair, he knew it was in a buzz-cut like his own. Hell, even the girls got the same haircut - something which was causing ever-growing irritation with them - underlining how this place was more run more as a military academy than as a school.
"I know this all is a farce. Headmaster Karkaroff is using me for his own ends. He couldn't care less about me as a person," Krum said. While Poliakoff was not a friend, he was polite and honest enough for an uncensored conversation. That, and being disliked by Karkaroff had soured Poliakoff on Durmstrang as well.
"Wouldn't I know it? I know exactly that you will be selected; the others of us are only there as an alibi. If it had been possible, Karkaroff would have traveled to Scotland only with you," Poliakoff said slightly bitter while leaning on the stone raining next to Krum. "Some say you hold a special place in Karkaroff's heart."
"There is not enough space in Karkaroff's heart for anyone except for Karkaroff," Krum said, giving an idea how many in the school thought about their Headmaster. "I'm only a chess piece for him to further his own goals... Who else is coming along? I didn't ask."
"I don't know of all of them, but let's see..." Poliakoff then thought for a moment. "I know Piotr and Illyana Rasputin are in it for sure, as are Pietro and Wanda Maximoff. Don't know about the others."
"I guess Karkaroff has a thing for selecting siblings," Krum snarked. "Still, no way they will be selected as a champion. He selected them carefully, knowing they would not succeed."
It was damn certain that none of the four would be selected as champion due to each of them having a bad handicap. Piotr was built like a tank but his magic abilities were only mediocre. Illyana was gifted at magic but cursed with a weak constitution. Pietro, while being the quickest duelist in Durmstrang, was dumb when it came to any other magic. Wanda in turn had her gift crippled by her arrogant personality - causing many to call her the 'Scarlet Bitch' - with the result that she would never be as good as she could be.
"Karkaroff gets what he desires in one way or another," Poliakoff sighed, knowing he himself also was just there to make the cheating not so apparent.
Both young men then fell silent again and looked over the fjord, knowing that at least their final year would be away from most of what they learned to hate in Durmstrang.
...September 17th, Hogwarts Quidditch pitch...
The mood in the Gryffindor Quidditch team was not the very best while they sat on the benches at the edge of the Quidditch pitch. Today there would be first the tryouts for the open position in the reserve team and then the first training. However, the whole business with the Triwizard Tournament had thrown a wrench into their plans, explaining why the mood was not the best.
"I know, people, it stinks that we have no regular games due to the tournament, but we still can't neglect training, nor can we neglect filling the gaps in the reserve team," Angelina told the team while they were waiting for the hopefuls who wanted to compete for the open position in the reserve team.
"Must stink for you too, Angelina. Oliver trusted you to lead the team trough this year, and now you don't get your chance to shine," George said, knowing that this had to blow for the girl.
"Yes, I'm not happy with it... But I won't break my word. I promised I would step aside for Ron next year and I'll do so," Angelina said, seeing that Ron had looked a bit concerned. "Now, we'll do training and mock games as normal, though I was approached by Cedric Diggory if our teams can do some training games together."
"I guess that's better than nothing," Katie Bell sighed, knowing it could not replace the real deal.
"Since Ron ascended to the main team, we have to fill the position of reserve keeper, that's what today's tryouts are about," Angelina explained.
"What about the peanut gallery? Oliver never liked having spectators this close," Harry asked, pointing to their audience.
Indeed, on one of the benches sat not only Hermione, Neville and Luna, but also Colin and his brother Dennis as well as several other Gryffindor students. Clearly they all had decided the tryouts would be one of the more exciting things at this weekend.
"Well, and I'm not Oliver. Since they won't see any games this year, it's only fair they get better seats.," Angelina countered.
"Oh, don't mind us. I for my part want to show Dennis how brooms are flown outside of a controlled environment. The preschool lessons were rather strict," Colin said while Dennis looked to be a bit impatient.
"Ah, there come our hopefuls," Fred said flippantly.
Indeed, five students were walking onto the pitch to try out for the one open position, the one of the reserve keeper. Most of them were from the lower years, since for someone from the higher years it would have been pointless to apply for a position where they wouldn't play a single game due to graduating before Ron would do so. However, there was one exception to that rule.
Ron groaned when seeing an unwanted face. "What is Cormac McLaggen doing here?"
"I guess he thinks with Oliver gone he's got a better chance to make his way in," Ginny guessed, remembering the tryout from three years ago and McLaggen complaining bitterly that he was not chosen.
Alicia Spinnet snorted. "Fat chance if he's still the same egoistical prick as during his first attempt."
Soon enough the tryouts started and the peanut gallery watched how the hopefuls would do.
"I guess there is a reason why they decided to test McLaggen last," Neville observed.
"I find his behavior interesting. Normally, doing the same action again and expecting different outcome is a sign of insanity. They want to test the others first in case there will be an incident with McLaggen," Luna observed while looking at the efforts of the first candidate to stop as many shots as possible.
Dennis meanwhile looked in awe at the first candidate trying to defend the goal hoops. "Whoa! It's like a goalie in football constantly has to catch penalties!"
"Yes, and there is a good reason why unlike goalies, the keeper has to wear protective gear," Colin added, pointing at what the current candidate was wearing.
Angelina, Alicia and Katie were not gentle in their assessment of each candidate, wanting to make sure they would only get the best one available. However, all three of them were also again testing the character of the candidates, trying to help them with suggestions and seeing how they would apply them.
Finally, it was time for McLaggen to try out.
"All right, now we either get an improvement in his ability to play in a team, or a really bad shitshow," Harry commented, hoping this would not end in some sort of disaster.
Things went awry really fast - even worse than Harry had feared it could.
McLaggen was constantly egging on the girls to try harder, which was not helping his concentration, while even aggressively throwing back quaffles. He clearly had an anger problem about the team but seemed to think this kind of behavior would make him look better. Perhaps he had not overcome his disappointment from three years ago? Though if someone was that petty...
"No way he'll get in. Not with such a shitty attitude," Ginny said bluntly.
Suddenly McLaggen shot forward, the tip of his broom slamming into Angelina's stomach, causing the girl to cry out in pain and fall from her broom - thankfully not from a great hight. Angelina seemed stunned for a moment then held her stomach in pain before vomiting out her breakfast.
"MCLAGGEN YOU PIECE OF CRAP!" Angelina shouted, her anger overcoming the pain. "LEAVE THIS PITCH AND NEVER SHOW YOUR SHITTY FACE HERE AGAIN!"
McLaggen did the smart thing and fled as soon as he had landed.
"Oh shit, Angelina!" George gasped, seeing she had also vomited out blood. "Can you move?"
Angelina felt the pain return. "Gods, no... Feels like something is ruptured..."
"Fred! Fred! Get Madam Pomfrey and a teacher! NOW!" George shouted, suddenly feeling very concerned when seeing Angelina shivering in pain.
"Oh crap," Harry gasped when seeing what had happened. "Let's hope she gets help real quick, because I doubt any of us can transport her without causing even more damage."
Dennis for his part had paled when seeing this. "Does that happen often?" he asked, unable to look away.
"Some would say too often," Hermione said, making no secret of her opinion on the matter.
Thankfully, the whole episode ended without any permanent injury, but it had been damn dangerous. McLaggen's broom slamming into her had caused a rupture in Angelina's stomach, causing the girl to experience fear that she could actually die, especially when the pain got worse and she blacked out. When she woke up hours later in a bed in the hospital wing, the whole team was there, having waited for her to get better.
She however also noticed that for some reason George had held her hand the whole time.
...Care for Magical Creatures class, September 21st...
"I'm still astounded how much easier these classes have become ever since those four troublemakers decided to drop it entirely," Neville said while they walked to Hagrid's hut for the weekly Care for Magical Creatures lesson.
"You three never witnessed Crabble and Goyle attempting to get along with animals. The ways in which they failed utterly at it had us laugh many times," Ron added, still remembering some of the more memorable incidents.
"Just imagine these two trying to have a pet... Horrible thought for the pet in question," Ginny added, being a bit sad she had missed these antics, since Malfoy and Parkinson after the first few lessons learned to not act up and thus had not been very amusing.
They were arriving at the hut as usual a bit earlier than the other student, since it always gave them the chance to have a little chat with Hagrid. The big man in question was at the moment busy with throwing a number of big crates onto a trash pile, clearly intent on burning them later on. That was a bit curious, so they decided to ask what that was about.
"Hagrid, are you cleaning your hut?" Harry asked when they approached.
"Ah, it's the six of you." Hagrid always enjoyed their little chats before the lessons. "I have to get rid of those. See, I did a little breeding experiment over the summer; thought I could breed something interesting. Didn't exactly go as I intended."
"Why? What happened, Hagrid?" Hermione asked, suddenly getting a feeling of possible trouble.
"It's a bit embarrassing, since I have no idea what I've created. Tried to mix Manticore and Fire Crab, but instead got ruddy things that look like shell-less lobsters that propel themselves forward with small explosions from their read ends," Hagrid explained the end result of his experiment.
"That sounds repulsive," Luna said bluntly. There were few creatures that Luna didn't like, but the description alone sounded disgusting to her.
"Useless things they were. I gave them to the Unspeakables to figure out what these things are. I can't myself do that and still have time for my lessons. The things were in the crates and ruined them with their explosions," Hagrid finished his explanation.
"Hagrid, please tell me you got prmission to breed these things," Hemrione asked the big man, knowing that he tended to do things a times without thinking of the consequences.
"Of course I did. Me being a teacher, I asked the Headmaster and he got it for me," Hagrid put her fears to rest.
"Can you give us a hint what the next creature is we learn about?" Harry then asked Hagrid, knowing the man liked to give little spoilers - though he always stayed quiet about the big animal at the end of the year.
"Today is all about Murtlaps. Critters are mostly harmless, unless you annoy them," Hagrid told them, causing Hermione to quickly look through her book to find the correct page.
"Then it's a good thing all the troublemakers are gone," Ron remarked, playing at the four Slytherin students who had bailed out of the elective.
Hagrid snorted while setting the pile of crates ablaze with his wand. "And I'm glad for it. The way I always had to make sure they are not causing trouble made my lessons less interesting."
It was at that point that the other students started to arrive, thus marking the end of their conversation. Hagrid after all had to look professional in front of the class and they honored that. They again thanked all goodness that Hagrid hd been trained how to conduct classes, since they knew him. Without such training they were sure the big man would have made Care for Magical Creatures a chore of an elective due to his strage priorities when it came to creatures.
They after all still remembered the almost-disaster with Norberta from their first year at Hogwarts.
At the same time at a desk in the library, Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson were being busy with setting up a letter they wanted to send off as fast as possible.
Crabble and Goyle were sent to keep watch so that they wouldn't be interrupted. At least for that kind of task these two were good for, which spoke of their uselessness in many other aspects. Madam Pince currently was being busy with repairing a book manually, since it had been damaged by magic, and thus also wouldn't annoy them. The place also meant there were no curious eyes from Slytherin or professors watching them.
Thankfully, they knew for sure that Potter and his little gang were at their Creatures lessons and thus would not be able to snoop into their matters.
"That woman is a bit impatient. We told her things can only start for real once the tournament champions have been announced, and she still asks if it can begin earlier," Pansy commented while Draco tried to find the best words to convey his intent without sounding rude.
"What did you expect, Pansy? She is smelling the chance to make lots of money without the threat of legal troubles, of course she can't wait to start," Draco remarked, finally having found the correct words.
"It certainly helps that she has some kind of axe to grind. I wonder what kind of slight it was that set her off?" Pansy then asked while pointing out something that had to be spelled out better to get the point across.
Draco snorted. "Probably something minor that they have already forgotten but she can't. We both know the type." Draco left unsaid the irony of him saying something like that.
"We both know she's scum. However, she is useful scum. Our goals overlap, that's the only reason we approach someone like her and she knows it," Pansy mused, knowing a cutthroat woman like that wouldn't have any illusions about it.
"Good thing we'll do all of the work by mail and never have to meet her in person. She doesn't even know who we are," Draco added, not looking forward to said meetings. "However, father made it clear that certain sacrifices have to be made to reach a goal."
It took a bit longer, but finally the letter was done. Draco then carefully folded it, put it into an envelope and sealed it with a touch of his wand. They then quickly made their way to the owlery, Crabble and Goyle following to make sure no one would get too curious about their activities. It was only when Draco's owl had taken off to drop the letter at the post office that they relaxed.
"That should tell her we'll only start to release material to her once the tournament begins," Draco said on the way back down.
"Too bad for her she can't enter the castle, thus she is relying on us. However, I'm pretty sure she'll also write up a huge pile of crap around it. Well, the more the better. I really can't wait to see the results... You think any of Potter's group will try to enter the tournament?" Pansy then wondered.
Draco only shook his head. "As much as that would make is juicier, we sadly have to accept facts. They are too much goody-goodshoes to attempt that."
Yes, both of them were realistic enough to know that Potter and his friends would never try to enter - not that they thought they would be able to get their names entered anyway. As much as they disliked Dumbledore for political reasons, even they had to admit the man was really good when it came to keeping students out of certain things.
to be continued...
Next Episode:
"The Goblet of Fire"
Notes:
Here the notes.
They do have an interesting first day back at Hogwarts. I wanted to give a bit more background and reactions to the tournament. I also wanted to show the work environment of Percy and Penelope and how it already very much resebles an office as we think of. Also, what is going on with Malfoy?
I can't exactly manage to write the actual lessons in Runes and Arithmancy, but I hope I gave a good idea what these courses are about. Of course the confrontations with Draco and Pansy only create more question marks.
Ahhh, Moody. Notice how his lesson is very different from the canon one. I won't say more about it and leave you to speculation.
We also get to see Hermione actually being sensible about her wish to improve the situation of house-elves. In the course of it, we again meet Dobby, get a mention of Kreacher and Ron and Hermione show progress.
I know I misled with the title, instead we see all three schools. In case you didn't notice, I couldn't resist and the non-canon named students in both schools are from two sources. The Beauxbatons students are from Miraculous Ladybug and the Durmstrang students from the X-Men.
And what are Draco and Pansy doing...?