Chapter 9
Something is Bugging Me
Time passed not unnoticed. The date of the third task was growing near. We practiced more and more. Harry's list of mastered hexes, jinxes, and spells grew greater and greater.
Sirius sent daily owls. He encouraged us to keep practicing for the task. He told us not to worry about things going on outside of the walls of Hogwarts. They were out of our control. They could wait. We needed to concentrate on the tournament.
One afternoon Harry and I were headed off to meet Ron for more preparation. I asked Harry a question that had been busy buzzing around inside my mind. "Harry," I said. "Why have you kept that stuff about Draco and Pansy quiet? Why not turn them in? I would have thought you would have been thrilled to get their prefect badges taken away—and maybe gotten them expelled to boot."
"That is a good question. I have thought about it a lot. It's complicated," he replied as we headed up the stairs to the Room of Requirement.
"Complicated? How so?" I asked in reply
"The easy answer is they aren't worth it. I told myself that several times. However, there's more to it than that," he said, clearly withholding something of importance.
"What is it, then?" I said, hungry for more details. "Is it something secret—uh—something private?"
Harry stopped walking. We were still a flight and a half below the seventh floor. I could see his mind spinning in his eyes. He was obviously looking for the right words. I waited patiently, not wanting to disturb his train of thought.
"If I tell you something," he finally said. "You have to swear to take it to the grave and not go nosing around."
"Oooo—kay," I drawled. "What is it?
"You have to swear," insisted Harry.
"I swear," I said in a voice indicating this better be good.
"Well," said Harry as he drew in a breath. "I was walking around the castle early last year. It was a Saturday. I was bored. You and Ron had gone home. Neville, everyone was either busy or off who knows where. I don't know why but I decided to go searching around the dungeons. I guess if I were you, I would be in the library."
That remark caused me to scowl at him. He chuckled in response.
"I was well past the Slytherin dormitories and the potions lab when I heard a noise from up around a corner," Harry continued. Do you remember that time we bumped into those two Slytherin girls on the way to lunch? They acted all embarrassed and hurried off. You and Ginny got all curious about the encounter. I said it was nothing but it wasn't."
"Yes. I never bought that. I always felt there was more than you would admit.
"I kept walking. The rubber soles on my shoe hid my approach. Then, as I rounded the corner, I saw them—"
"—Them?" I kind of interrupted.
"Those two girls. They were doing stuff—uh—sex stuff—uh—probably the same kind of stuff Sam and Daphne were doing. I didn't really understand it but I saw it all."
"OH MY!" I gasped. "That is dreadful."
"Yes," said Harry. "They screamed and ran. I wanted to run, too—but where?"
"I will admit that is awful but not awful enough for having to swear it to secrecy. Besides, they graduated and are gone," I said, feeling slighted. I had somehow expected more.
Then, Harry said, "That's not the big secret part. I kept exploring after a few moments. That's when I found the secret stuff."
"What secret stuff?"
"I can't tell you. Dumbledore made me swear to never tell anyone about it. He might already be mad that I told you this much," said Harry.
"Okay. I will never speak of it. But, what does this have to do with Draco and Pansy?"
"Yeah—uh—that," Harry hemmed. "After I saw the girls, I was thinking about what I was going to tell everyone. I had a really juicy story. I wasn't thinking about them or how it would affect them. Then, after I—uh—well I saw the other—uh—stuff, I had to talk to Dumbledore. By the time we finished talking, I realized that I shouldn't tell anyone about the girls."
"So, you kept their secret."
"Yes, I let it go. At the end of the year, they gave me a big thank you. Then, when the Draco and Pansy story came to me, I decided to do the same thing. If the situation with Sam and Daphne had not occurred, I would still be sitting on it.
On the morning of the task, an article appeared in The Daily Prophet. It was about Harry. Rita Skeeter called him disturbed and dangerous. She made the dream in Divination sound like a frequent occurrence. The article was full of innuendo and hyperbole. It made Harry out to be a friend of werewolves, giants, and other objectionable characters. She said he was power-hungry. She felt Harry should not be allowed to continue in the tournament. She even thought he should be expelled.
Suddenly, I had a thought. I decided to act on one of my suspicions and bolted from the breakfast table as Ron yelled about our History of Magic exam being in 10 minutes. This had the potential to be immensely important. I had heard Ludo Bagman telling Dumbledore he was going to visit Madame Pomfrey. He said he needed to ask her something before the Third Task. If I was correct, this could turn into one of my greatest triumphs.
As I walked into the infirmary, I saw Mr. Bagman and Madame Pomfrey talking near the far end of the room. The acoustics of the room prevented any privacy. Mr. Bagman looked at me and stopped talking. He excused himself and started to leave.
Madame Pomfrey looked in my direction and asked if she could help me. "I'm having some—uh—some lady problems—uh—cramps," I replied, telling a lie to cover my visit.
"Yes. Of course, dear," she said like she heard the same complaint all too frequently. "Wait here while I fetch my wand. You'll be fine in a few moments."
As she walked off toward her stores of medical supplies, I saw a beetle scurrying along a window sill. It almost looked like it was on a mission. I walked over to look at it. It had the most curious marking on its shell. It looked almost exactly like Rita Skeeter's jeweled spectacles. " YES! " my mind screamed. " I knew it! " I quickly looked around. Picking up an empty jar, I removed the lid and knocked the fleeing beetle into it. With a wave of my wand. I placed an unbreakable charm on it to prevent her escape. " THERE! "
Madame Pomfrey returned a moment later. She waved her wand and said "Leniens". I felt a soothing wave pass through my lower region. "How's that, dear?" she asked.
"Fine. Yes. Thank you," I said as I looked to leave. "I feel much better."
"What have you got there?" she asked, looking at the bottle with what I was certain was Rita trapped inside.
"Nothing—uh—just a beetle that was crawling on your window sill. I'm going to take it outside and release it."
"Oh. Very well. Better it is out of here. Come back and see me if you have any further trouble."
"Thank you. I will," I said as I hurried out of the room.
A strange euphoria filled me. Now, what was I going to do with her? The evil and more intelligent, more reasonable sides of my brain were already locking themselves in a wrestling match. Rita's future, if she had one, was lying in the balance.
"Welly, welly, welly, welly, welly, welly, well. Hello, Rita. What should I do with you?" I chirped as I gave the bottle a bit of a shake causing Rita to pinball around inside. Her response indicated she fully understood my disdain for her and was fearful for her life.
I gave her a horrible scowl as I headed upstairs toward my dorm room. "I guess I could dump you right here on the steps and squash you like the cockroach you are," I said with the sneer of a movie villain. "Or—or, I could feed you to Neville's toad. Trevor would surely relish a nice, juicy, crunchy beetle. Or maybe, I should pull off your legs like Crabbe and Goyle do to flies during class."
Rita was racing around inside her prison. She was fearing for her life. She seemed desperate to escape.
"How about I put a pin through you and add you to the Lille ben Væsen collection of insects in the library?" I asked as I brought her up to my face. She scurried against the glass on the opposite side of the bottle. "No. I know. I'll stun you really well and stick you in a spider web. One of those big, nasty, pointy-fanged spiders in the dungeons will find you a delectable treat to paralyze, wrap up in silk, and slowly drain your juices. Ohhhh. So many choices."
Once I got to my room, I poked a few air holes in the top of the bottle and redid the unbreakable charm. "I'll deal with you later," I said as I headed back downstairs. "Enjoy your new home."
The day passed. I decided to keep my capture of Rita a secret, at least for the time being. Suddenly, it was time. Dumbledore was sending the champions, and then the spectators down to the Quidditch Field for the Task. The pitch had been transformed into a maze with twenty-foot-high hedge walls. It looked scary and imposing.
When it appeared that everything was set and the crowd had settled in, Ludo Bagman got up and said a few words. Then, a whistle sent Harry and Cedric into the maze. A few moments later, all of the champions were inside. I grabbed Ron's arm. He gave me a strange look. I let loose as my face turned bright red.
" What's happening in there? " I asked myself. " This is terrible. I want to see what's going on. "
As everyone listened and stared at the maze. Strange, unusual noises randomly emanated from it. The crowd was creating a nervous buzz like a swarm of bees. Everyone was wondering what was happening—wondering who was winning.
A few minutes in, there were flashes of light accompanied by some bangs.
"Skrewts!" blurted Ron. "There has to be Hagrid's bloody skrewts in there. What are they thinking putting them in the maze? Someone is going to get killed."
"Ohhhh," I choked as I buried my face against Ron's shoulder. "This is dreadful."
"Several moments later, there was a sound like a scream. "What was that?" I gasped as I grabbed Ron's arm.
"I don't know. It sounded a bit like Fleur. It definitely wasn't Harry."
Seconds later, red sparks went up. " Please don't be Harry. Please don't be Harry," I begged. The rescuers went in and emerged with Fleur Delacour a minute later. She seemed shaken and her clothes were ripped. Her tournament was over.
Time passed as tensions rose. Then, there was another scream and red sparks once again filled the air. My grip on Ron's arm tightened. This time, the rescuers came out with Viktor. He was unconscious but announced as unhurt. " This means Harry and Cedric are the only champions left in the maze. Hogwarts is going to win if one of them succeeds. C'mon, Harry, " I thought.
The maze went deathly silent. Not a noise was to be heard. Even the bushes which had been moving frequently were still. Several minutes passed. The crowd grew more and more restless. We could see the people in the judge's box anxiously talking.
Then, there was a whoosh and the cup appeared with someone lying next to it. The crowd gasped, then started to cheer. Someone had won. But why were they just lying there? They should be on their feet proclaiming their victory.
The judges followed by people from the lowest seats started onto the field. " Who won? " my mind was screaming. " Is it Harry? "
There was a sudden scream from someone close to the front. Then, there were more screams and cries. Something was wrong. Did I hear somebody say someone is dead?
The scene was turning to chaos. I was clinging to Ron as panic enveloped my mind. "WHAT'S HAPPENING?" I was screaming over and over.
All of a sudden, the crowd started to part. Madeye Moody was pushing through. He had Harry in tow. The expression on Harry's face was not one of victory. It looked more like one of tragedy. I pulled at Ron. We needed to follow them. However, the crowd closed in around us and they disappeared.
"Something is wrong, Ron," I said.
"I know."
Then we saw Fred and George. They had been in the front of the crowd that had poured out of the stands. Their faces were ashen. They looked like they were in shock.
"He's dead," said Fred as they approached us.
"Dead? Who's dead?" said Ron before I could say anything.
"Cedric," replied George. "Cedric is dead. Harry kept saying Voldemort was back. He said Voldemort killed Cedric and tried to kill him."
"Ohmigawd," was all I could choke out.
The next couple of hours were a blur of panic, worry, confusion, and a thousand other emotions pinned on not knowing what had happened and what was happening. We needed answers. The stress of not knowing them was so intense that I felt like I was going to explode.
"I don't like this," I muttered.
"I know," replied Ron. "Something isn't right."
"We need to find out what happened. We need to talk to Harry."
"Unbeknownst to us, a lot was still happening as we stood around wondering. Things more insidious than we could imagine were still in the process of unfolding.
Molly, Bill, Ron, Sirius, and I were finally allowed into the hospital wing but we would still have to wait. Harry was asleep. Before he woke up, a violent row broke out. Professors McGonagall and Snape were at odds with Cornelius Fudge. As Harry woke up, Professor Dumbledore came in demanding to know what was happening. Professors Snape and McGonagall told Dumbledore that Fudge had brought a dementor with him up to the office as a guard. As soon as he entered, his dementor attacked Barty Crouch Jr. and delivered its kiss.
Dumbledore was outraged. Fudge defended his action saying it was his right as Minister to bring security with him when interviewing a dangerous criminal. Dumbledore said it was now impossible with Barty Crouch Jr. dead to prove that Lord Voldemort had returned. Fudge called Barty a deranged lunatic and said that Voldemort was not back.
The situation came to a head when Fudge started to ask Dumbledore if he was prepared to believe Voldemort was back based on the words of a lunatic and a boy who has, but he was interrupted by Harry. "You've been listening to Rita Skeeter," said Harry.
None of us had realized that he was awake. Fudge immediately tried to discredit Harry. Harry said he had seen Voldemort and the Death Eaters. He started listing their names. Once again, Fudge claimed Harry was deluded and that he could have gotten the names from several sources such as old court documents. His mind was locked. To him, Voldemort was not back.
" What's the matter with the Minister? " I asked myself. " Why won't he believe Harry? He is the one who sounds delusional. "
Fudge went on to say Harry was full of a different crackpot story last year. And, he can talk to snakes. I was ready to say something but Professor McGonagall jumped in calling the Minister a fool. She said the events of tonight were not the act of a lunatic. Fudge, his face purple with anger, claimed we were all trying to start a panic to destroy all of the work of his past thirteen years. I always thought the Minister was a good person, just a little blustery and pompous. However, he was now an angry little man more concerned with protecting his comfortable world than the truth.
Dumbledore suggested the dementors be removed from Azkaban. They are natural allies of Voldemort. He also suggested we talk to the giants. This threw the Minister into an even greater rage. He said that he and most people only feel safe knowing the dementors are protecting Azkaban. He said that talking to the giants would cause people to kick him out of office if he did either of these.
Finally, Dumbledore had to settle on the fact they were at odds with each other. We were aghast. This sounded like the beginning of an open door to a second rise of Voldemort.
Then Snape stepped in and showed Fudge his scar. He said this is proof of Voldemort's return. Fudge ignored him. He turned, giving Harry a bag with 1000 galleons for winning the tournament, and stormed out of the room.
Dumbledore sent Madame Pomfrey to help Winky. My heart felt good that Dumbledore had the heart to care about an elf. He then had Sirius change back to his human form from the dog that had been in the room all of this time. This caused Mrs. Weasley to panic. However, Ron calmed her. Snape was less receptive. However, after some words from Dumbledore, Snape and Sirius reached a tense agreement to work together.
Sirius was sent to lay low at Lupin's and to start warning the old crowd. I think he meant members of the Order of the Phoenix. Snape was sent to do something, as well.
Harry was instructed to take the rest of his potion as Dumbledore left to talk to the Diggorys. The next morning, Harry was taken to a meeting with the Diggorys while Dumbledore talked to the whole school. He told us all to give Harry some space and to not bother him about the tournament. I was burning to hear Harry's account of the Third Challenge and the situation with Cedric and Voldemort. It made me feel like Rita Skeeter. I felt ashamed.
Harry, Ron, and I spent our time not discussing that which we were not supposed to discuss. We busied ourselves talking about other things or letting Harry be while Ron and I played chess.
A week later, Dumbledore talked to the entire school about Cedric's death, Voldemort's return, and the need for us to all be united. As leaving time arrived, the Beauxbaton's carriage was being loaded. Fleur Delacour ran up to say goodbye to Harry and to thank him for saving Gabrielle. She said she was trying to get a job here to improve her English. Ron gushed that her English was plenty good already. " What a suck-up, " I thought. " She's finally leaving—and good riddance. You can quit getting all googly-eyed at her, Ron. Maybe you can pay a little more attention to me. "
Just as the Beauxbaton carriage started to leave, Viktor Krum came up and asked if we could have a word. I felt flustered but followed him as Ron gave us a scowly stare. We found a quiet spot. Viktor took one more shot at getting me to come to visit him in Bulgaria over the summer. I declined but promised to write to him. I could see Ron craning to watch us as we talked. I found a strange satisfaction fluttering inside me.
When I returned with Viktor, he said he really liked Harry because he had always been nice to him even though he was with Karkaroff. As he turned to leave, Ron choked out, "Can I have your autograph?" I nearly collapsed in laughter.
Harry, Ron, and I got a compartment all to ourselves for the train trip back to London. Harry felt Dumbledore's speech had freed him to talk about what had happened. He told us of the maze, skrewts, golden mist, the sphinx, and the cup. He told us Viktor had been jinxed. He said Cedric and he argued about who should get the cup. He wanted Cedric to take it. However, Cedric finally convinced them to do it together. This seemed to hurt Harry. I think he was feeling guilty that their agreement led to Cedric's death. He said the cup was a portkey that took them to a graveyard where Peter Pettigrew killed Cedric at the command of Voldemort. He told us how Voldemort had been restored to life through a macabre ceremony. He told us about seeing his parents and how they helped him escape.
The oddest part was learning how Barty Crouch Jr. had been using polyjuice potion all year to impersonate Madeye Moody. Now the talk of him being killed by Fudge's dementor made sense. Finally, the lunch trolley arrived and we paused for something to eat.
As we started to eat, I told Harry there was nothing in the copy of The Daily Prophet he had picked up. I said there was nothing in there about him. I said I thought Fudge was suppressing what they could publish. Harry felt it would be impossible to stop Rita Skeeter. I said she had not written anything since before the third challenge.
Inside, I was nearly bursting to tell my secret. I told them she was not going to be writing anything unless she wanted me to spill her secret.
"I found out how she was finding out everything," I started to gush.
"How was she doing it?" asked Harry.
"Yeah. How?" echoed Ron.
"You gave me the idea, Harry," I said. "Bugging."
"What?" said Harry. "You said they didn't work at Hogwarts."
"I didn't mean electronic bugs. Rita Skeeter is—" I was trembling, it felt so good to finally be saying it. "—she's an unregistered animagus. She can turn into a beetle."
Ron and Harry gave me a strange look as I reached into my bag and pulled out the bottle with her, a couple of twigs, and a couple of dung balls in it.
"You haven't—she isn't—" gasped Ron.
"Yes, she is—I did," I beamed proudly as I showed her to them.
"You're kidding," said Ron as he stared into the jar.
"No, I am not," I said. "Look at the marking on its back. It looks just like her ugly glasses. I caught her on the windowsill of the infirmary. She was listening to Ludo Bagman talking to Madame Pomfrey."
"I remember a weird-looking beetle on the statue when we heard Hagrid talking to Madame Maxime about his mum," said Harry.
"Yes," I said. "And Viktor pulled a beetle out of my hair on the beach. And—and I bet she was in the Divination classroom the day your scar hurt. I bet she has been buzzing around all year listening in on conversations."
"Yeah," said Ron, suddenly jumping in. "That was her in Malfoy's hand under the tree. Slytherins wouldn't care what she was doing as long as it was to their advantage."
"I told her I would let her out after we got back to London. She will have to keep her quill to herself for a whole year if she wants me to stay quiet about her.
Just as I put her away, Malfoy came in with Crabbe and Goyle. He was being his normal, rude self. He was telling Harry he had chosen the losing side. Then, he commented Cedric. The room exploded with a blaze of curses. Malfoy and crew were stretched out on the floor. When Fred and George entered, they made a point of stepping firmly on all of them. We played Exploding Snaps all the way back to King's Cross.
Once we arrived at the station, my parents were waiting for me. I hugged Ron and gave Harry a kiss on the cheek. I don't know why I chose to kiss Harry and only hug Ron. I just cannot sort out my feelings some of the time. A short while later, we left with me hoping for a great, uneventful summer.
NOTE:
If you want to know what Harry found in the dungeons, read "What Happens in the Dungeons, Stays in the Dungeons".
s/13027158/3/What-Happens-in-the-Dungeons
It is fairly short-about the same length as a long chapter in this story.
