Harry had thought that breakfast on New Year's Day might be a bit awkward, and he was right. Dan and Helen were both ridiculously cheerful, but Hermione was, in a word, pouting. It was actually quite cute; Hermione was typically more of a no-nonsense, let's move-on type of person. Harry hadn't seen her act like this since the Polyjuice mix-up in 2nd year… Though he valued his life enough to not remind her of that particular incident.
"I am going to find that camera." Hermione said. It would have been much more intimidating if that hadn't been the fourth time she had brought it up, and if Dan hadn't already cheerfully told them that the camera was no longer in the house.
"If you wanted a copy that badly, Sweetheart, all you had to do was ask." Helen said innocently. Hermione seethed.
Harry made a mental note to ask her for a copy later.
The 'domestic bliss' was interrupted by a scratching at the window. The usual Daily Prophet and Quibbler owls were accompanied by three additional owls today.
"We're outnumbered." Dan commented as Hermione went to let the owls in. The newspaper-bearing owls dropped their post and left immediately, as they were prepaid subscriptions. Two of the remaining owls landed in front of Harry, and the other perched delicately on Hermione's chair. Harry immediately recognized the first owl as being from the Romanian Dragon Preserve, but the other, much thicker envelope was unfamiliar to him.
"It's Ministry postage," Hermione said, inspecting the heavy official envelope in her hand. "We've both got one." She tore it open and inspected the paperwork within.
OFFICIAL NOTICE
To: Hermione Jean Granger
From: Wizarding Child Protective Services Court of the United Kingdom
Official Summons:
The individual(s) named above has been summoned to serve witness in an ongoing investigation regarding alleged abuse of a magical individual under the age of majority. The individual(s) named above are NOT under arrest, are NOT the individual being investigated, and is NOT legally required to testify in court. The individual(s) named above is legally required to cooperate with case investigators by submitting to at least one interview. Minors are entitled to the presence of a parent/guardian, or school representative of their choice.
An official from the WCPS department will be in contact with the individual(s) named above to schedule a time for an interview. Any questions can be directed in the form of a letter addressed to MoM: WCPS Court Cleric 70021.
Thank you.
"Oh Harry, I'm so sorry." Hermione said morosely, "I've no idea who told them about the Dursleys, and this is just the last thing you need during the tournament-"
"It's not about the Dursleys. It says I'm summoned as a witness."
"What?"
"This letter says I've been summoned as a witness in a child abuse case."
Hermione leaned over and saw an exact copy of the letter she had received. "But if it's not about the Dursleys, then who…?"
"I dunno; can't be Luna. Neville maybe? His uncle did drop him out the window that one time."
"Yeah, but that was so long ago, I can't imagine that's cropped up now." Hermione said, puzzled. Then the headline of the Daily Prophet caught her eye, "Harry, look…"
Severe Abuse Case Opened At Hogwarts!
Maybe the 'safest place in the wizarding world' isn't so safe after all…
The WCPS department has opened a case regarding an as-of-now unnamed underage student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Details of the case are still pending, however, the student in question has reportedly been under numerous compulsion charms for at least 2 months, possibly longer. The student's condition is currently not being disclosed to the public, but according to the case filing by WCPS, the student has been in round-the-clock care for the last several days as the result of months of continuous physical and magical exhaustion from attempting to fight the compulsions.
This case brings up all sorts of questions about the safety of our youth, especially while Hogwarts is hosting two other schools during the….
"This is… this is bad." Hermione said, wide-eyed.
"Yeah, but at least we know it isn't Neville or Luna, right? They've both sent letters in the last few days." Harry tried to comfort his friend.
"It's still someone we know, though." Hermione furrowed her brow.
Dan cleared his throat from across the table, drawing their attention back to present. "Say… What did you mean earlier, when you said you 'didn't know who told them about the Dursleys'?" Harry and Hermione both froze. Harry had never heard the man sound so serious; Dan's voice was almost chillingly calm and his usual playfulness had almost entirely disappeared.
"Well, erm, I don't exactly get along with my relatives." Harry said, looking downwards.
"You don't get along?" Dan asked. "Please define what 'not getting along' looks likes to you."
"To be clear, you're not in trouble and no one is mad at you." Helen asserted calmly, "But you won't be leaving this table without explaining what you two meant earlier."
And so the discussion that Harry had been avoiding all his life began. He initially tried to downplay the Dursleys' treatment, but every time he did so, Dan just looked at him with that even gaze and waited patiently.
Eventually, it all came out. The cupboard under the stairs, the food, the chores, Dudley's bullying, Petunia's frying pan, Vernon's temper, he told them everything. He told them about asking Dumbledore to let him stay at Hogwarts after his first year, but how the blood wards needed to recharge so he didn't have a choice other than to go back. He told them about the bars on his window and the Weasleys rescuing him before second year. He told them about blowing up Aunt Marge and running away, and he told them about using Sirius as a threat to keep them in line the next summer. Finally, he finished, and they sat in silence.
"Helen, Mia, can you give us a minute?" Dan asked quietly.
Hermione started to protest, but stopped at her mother's look. The two left Dan and Harry alone at the breakfast table. The silence stretched on for several more minutes, until Dan spoke again.
"It wasn't your fault." He said simply, and Harry prickled. "That's what every adult will say to you, anyway." Wait, what was he- "It wasn't your fault. You didn't deserve it. They'll chant that at you, thinking it'll fix what happened, but they don't get it. They don't understand that deep down, it is your fault. You know it's your fault. Because that's what you've always believed and what you've always known; that's just the truth, and if that isn't the truth, then what was it all for? Then why did other kids get to be loved, to get lifted back up when they fell down, to be able to walk around the house without being afraid?"
Harry looked at Dan with wide-eyes. "Sir?"
"Harry, I-" Now Dan was avoiding looking at him, "I didn't grow up in a good home. Until I was around ten, I, well, I-" He cleared his throat. "I didn't grow up in a good home." He paused, "Eventually, my aunt got custody and it got better, but… I, I can understand some of it. So you don't need to explain. You don't need to put on a show, but you do need to know that the Headmaster was wrong to send you back there. It's-it's impossible to tell people, and you tried, but he—"
Harry looked at the man struggling to find the right words and simply said, "I know."
Dan choked up for a moment, then slowly nodded. "Good." They sat in silence for a few more minutes. "Harry, Hermione doesn't know yet."
"I sort of had a feeling." Harry said simply. "Her grandmother who fell before Christmas; was that your aunt?"
Dan nodded. "Yes. And I think we're going to go visit her again in a few days. It's been a while since she's seen Hermione, and it's probably about time I tell her that her gran is really her great-aunt."
Harry nodded slowly, "She'll understand once she knows why. She's always been brilliant with me about it." He paused, "I don't think I should go with you, though. It's not really my place to be there when your family is having that kind of important moment."
Dan raised a brow, "I don't want to make you uncomfortable, and I especially don't want to force you to sit through our family drama, but you are our guest. I can't, in good conscience, just abandon you for two days while we visit France."
Harry picked up the other letter he'd received, the one from Romania. "If this says what I think it does, then you won't have to worry about that."
Hermione later asked Harry what he had spoken about with her father, but he told her it wasn't his place to say. Instead, he showed her the letter from the Romanian Preserve.
He and Director Roland had been in steady contact the last several weeks about him visiting the preserve, and while the original plan had been for him to spend his Easter break there, she was more than willing to host him a bit earlier.
"Charlie wasn't kidding when he said the reserves would be dying to get their hands on a Parselmouth." Harry mused, "She's setting up an international portkey for me with almost zero notice and acting like that's nothing."
"The fact that you have a one-in-a-billion bond with an egg that gives you the equivalent of 'infinite dragon street cred' doesn't hurt, either." Hermione said dryly.
Harry choked, then said, "That probably helps."
"A bit, yeah. Are you sure about going it alone?"
"Yeah… I think it's good, actually. I'm kind of excited to meet the dragons and the keepers, see if it's a good fit." He grinned, "When I was visiting Ignis before they went back to the reserve, it was awesome. Everyone was excited to see me because of something I actually did, not because of the stupid scar on my forehead."
Hermione smiled back at him, "It's rather pleasant to be acknowledged for your abilities, isn't it?"
"Yes, Miss-Straight-Os, it actually is."
"What can I say, I live for academic validation."
"Yeah, I know." Harry put on a high pitched voice, "The only fate worse than death is getting expelled! Oh Professor McGongall, I want to be you when I grow-"
Hermione threw a pillow at him.
When Harry's portkey arrived, the state of the Romanian Dragon Reserve could only be described as pure chaos.
He had landed on what he assumed must be an observation deck overlooking a large valley between mountains. About 300 feet behind him, there were around half a dozen larger buildings, and he could see several cabins further off in the distance. The valley in front of him was nothing short of idyllic; there was a huge lake off in the far end with some smaller streams feeding into it. There were also several small ponds scattered throughout the valley, and the whole view was covered in a dense layer of grass and foliage. There were several footpaths between the trees and winding up the sides of the hills, one of which led to a valley filled with purple and red flower-bearing plants. The most stunning part of the view, however, was the caves. There were dozens and dozens of caves carved into the rocky mountainsides, and dragons were flying to and fro. In a word, it was magical.
Harry had very little time to take in the view before a voice behind him yelled, "DUCK!" He obeyed without question; years of dodging bludgers and kitchen appliances had taught him well.
A pillar of flame blasted by over his head, and someone grabbed Harry's arm and began tugging him back toward the buildings. Groups of people were running back and forth, and a woman of average height with jet black hair and intense brown eyes was barking out orders. There was smoke everywhere, and a cacophony of roars sounded in the distance.
Harry stumbled along through the haze, recognizing the person pulling him along as Fnord, Charlie's friend. "Fnord, what's going on?" Harry yelled.
"Dragon fight! I'll explain inside!" The man called back.
The duo made it into the first building, and the slightly winded keeper turned to Harry with a smile, "Sorry about that! We were trying to impress you by having you arrive on the observation deck, but Beefcake and Gertrude are at it again."
"No worries, this is actually a pretty typical Thursday for me." Harry brushed off his pants and quickly checked to make sure the egg and the snake in his satchel were both still in good condition. He rolled his eyes when he realized Monty hadn't even woken up from the commotion. The snake was wrapped around the gently humming egg and snoring contentedly. Typical. "By the way, is it tradition to give dragons ridiculous names? Before we met, you were calling Ignis 'Shirley.'"
Fnord gasped and put a hand to his chest in mock outrage. "What do you mean, terrible names! I named Gertie myself."
"My point exactly," The teenager retorted dryly.
Fnord laughed, "Okay, yeah, we have a bit of fun. But don't tell me the thought of a ten-ton apex predator being named something like Pookie doesn't make you smile."
"Fair enough. I-" But Harry's sentence was cut off by a barking voice behind them.
"Haugen! If you've got time to chat, you've got time to help. Go join Team C, Bina could use some backup." A diminutive woman called out in an American accent as she approached them.
She was moderately attractive, with curly blond hair pulled back in a low bun. She looked to be in her mid-40s and was wearing the same uniform as the rest of the keepers, fitted olive cargo pants, a long sleeved black shirt, and a vest with several bulging pockets. Rather than being tan like the others, however, her vest was black and had a large flame symbol on it, which presumably denoted some form of authority.
"Roger that, Boss Lady! Later, Harry!" Fnord trotted off to join the woman Harry had spotted earlier.
The woman approached Harry and held out her hand to shake, "Harry Potter, I assume?" He nodded and shook her hand firmly. "Nice to meet you in person. I'm Jane Roland, head director of this reserve. Sorry for the commotion; we have a Welsh Green that's been antagonizing one of the Romanian Longhorns for months now. They seem to have decided that right now is a great time to duke it out, and our observation deck's barrier went kaput after one-too-many direct hits." She shook her head and chuckled. "I guess there goes the plan to wow you with the view, huh?"
"Well, I wouldn't say that. I'm definitely pretty wowed." Harry grinned. When chaos wasn't directly specifically at him, it was actually fairly refreshing.
The director rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Listen, I hate to cut this short, but I need to go help defuse the situation. Beefcake has a soft spot for me, and sometimes I can talk her down. You can sit tight here, the wards on this building are excellent and I'll take you on a tour and keep 'wowing' you once the crisis is averted." She said dryly, turning for the door.
"D'you need another hand?" Harry called after her. The director looked back at him, raising a brow, "I'm just saying, the whole 'being able to talk with the angry dragons' thing might be useful in this situation."
She looked him up and down. "Depends. How good are you on a broom?"
Harry grinned, "Youngest seeker on my house team in a century."
She nodded, summoning a tan vest and throwing at him. "Put this on and follow my lead. And try not to get killed, will ya?"
"That's my specialty," Harry said cheerfully, following her out the door. Yep, he thought to himself, chaos was much more fun when it wasn't his fault.
A few days prior, the New Year's headline in Bulgaria:
Krum Shocks World With Yule Ball Date!
Could this Scarlett Man be the new Scarlett Woman?
International Quidditch star, Triwizard Champion, and all-around pride of Bulgaria Viktor Krum dropped a bombshell on the wizarding world this week. How? By attending the traditional Yule Ball with one Mr. George Weasley (pictured below). One anonymous source claims Krum's father has taken to the bed in shock, and quite frankly, we at Sofia's Digest can't blame him. The community is obviously devastated by this unexpected development, but President Milev and the Bulgarian Magical Parliament are imploring protestors to have open minds and refrain from resorting to violence.
While Mr. Weasley has impeccable lineage as a member of one of Britain's Sacred 28 families, the shocking fact still remains: he is, undeniably, a redhead. This betrayal stings even more when one recalls the Bulgarian International Team's recent loss to the Irish in the 422nd Quidditch World Cup.
Please see page 7 for the continuation of this article.
Please see page 4 for a special piece on redheads' unnatural resistance to painkillers and dementors.
A/N: Thank you all for the love and support on chapter 16!
Our update schedule moving forward will be weekly, on either Saturdays or Sundays-please let me know which day is better for y'all. I've spent some serious time on this, and am pleased to say that I have chapter 18 done and am editing/polishing the last few bits of chapter 19, so we are on track for consistent updates! That being said, things are about to get a little serious... but we'll pop back into our normal shenanigans once Harry and co. return to Hogwarts. I miss writing Luna and Hermione's dynamic ;)
As per usual, please review and let me know what you think! I read them all and take suggestions into account, especially when writing the comic bits.
On that note; this chapter is dedicated to HawthornBranch and A10riddick. To HawthornBranch: for inadvertently inspiring the Viktor article with their review on Chapter 16 :) I was giggling and kicking my feet while writing that haha. To A10riddick: for leaving a review at the end of every single chapter and reminding me why I do this. Thank you both.
Cheers! - PW