Disclaimer – It has come to my attention recently that I unfortunately do not own Harry Potter. Who knew.
To everyone planning on celebrating National Be Someone Day, I wish you an enjoyable holiday. However, I just think that everyone should know that whoever you are or whatever you do ... you are Someone special. For anyone else who wants to celebrate something else. I also hear that the third Sunday in July is National Ice Cream Day. So I hope you can all enjoy that!
Anyone who is looking to provide support and get access to early chapters for my stories or see my original content, please visit Pa t-reon / FavoriteAuthor
On that note, a big thanks to my newest patrons – Josh, Chris H., Akshay I, Thomas P., Tiwini K., Kyle U., Nitesh M., Jeremy O., TK, Shadow Stars, Hugo V., Edward F, Luke B, and Samantha H! I do not know if I would be as motivated without the support.
The Gryffindor common room was completely full, buzzing with excitement and chatter when Harry finally entered the room with Hermione and Ron. Upon noticing Harry, everyone very quickly erupted into cheers and applause, shouting out their congratulations for his showing in the task. After several minutes of being mobbed by his housemates, they finally stepped back giving him a little room.
"Come on, Harry! Open it up! Let's see what's inside," said Angelina Johnson, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"Yeah, mate, give us a look," Seamus chimed in, leaning around Dean to get a better look.
Lavender, who had immediately gone up to Ron after they entered, nodded and added, "Don't be shy, Harry. You did great out there today, don't you want to show it off?"
Harry, tried to mask a smile as he shook his head and brought the egg a little closer to his chest. "I don't know guys. After the task, Bagman pulled all the champions together and said that only when we were at out most worthwhile would we be able to open it, and I'm a bit nervous. What if I can't open?"
Ignoring the faux jeers and repeated calls for him to open it, Harry watched as Fred and George exchange a glance before they stepped forward with identical grins on their faces. Fred clapped a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Oh, don't be silly, Harry. You might only be a small, barely significant fourth year but after you handled that dragon, there's almost no way you wouldn't be able to open this egg."
"Yeah," George added, "but if you're feeling a little chicken, we'd be happy to give it a go for you. After all, while we might not have been able to enter the tournament individually, together we can surely manage to open an egg."
After watching the twins pump up the crowd and lead them on a chant to let the twins try, he struggled to keep a straight face as he made a show of reluctantly handing the egg over to the twins.
As the rest of the common room watched intently as Fred and George took the egg, they missed as Harry covered his ears in anticipation.
"Are you ready, George?"
"Uh-huh. Fred?"
"Yeah."
With a dramatic flourish, they twisted the egg open. Instantly, the common room was filled with a piercing, wailing screech. The sound was so unexpected and horrific that it took several seconds for the twins to react, by then of course the entire house had joined Harry in putting their hands over their ears attempting to block out the sound and had begun shouting at the twins to shut it.
"Close it! Close it!" yelled Alicia Spinnet, who was standing closest to Harry, although her voice was barely audible over the noise of others shouting and the wailing sound from the egg itself.
Eventually, Fred and George snapped out of their shock and managed to shut the egg, which immediately cut off the wailing sound. They turned to look at Harry, confusion written all over their faces. However, Harry couldn't contain his laughter any longer and burst out chuckling.
"You knew!" Fred accursed, though his tone was more amused than angry.
"You, you pranked … us?" George added in disbelief, before a grin started to spread on his face.
Harry, still laughing, nodded. "I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist. I had tried to open it alone on my way here and found out what happens. I'm going to guess there is a way to open it without hearing … well, that. I'll just need to find it, but that is a job for another day."
The twins exchanged a look before breaking into full smiles. "Well played, Harry. Well played, indeed." Fred said, clapping him on the back. "I couldn't be more proud of you if you had won a Gryffindor Quidditch match by catching the Snitch only using your mouth."
George ginned, "But you know what this means, right? You're open game now. Our reputation can't let this go without some form of payback."
"Of course, we'll never do anything that might harm your chances at winning the tournament, Gryffindor pride and all that, but George is right." Fred added patting Harry on the shoulder.
Harry laughed, shaking his head. "I'll keep that in mind."
After a second, Fred smiled and reached into his pocket and pulled out a small brightly colored treat, before looking to Harry. "Candy?"
Recognizing the infamous Canary cream, Harry politely declined with a laugh. "No thanks, Fred. I think I've had enough excitement for one night and quite like me just how I am right now."
Rather than looking discouraged, the twin laughed and patted Harry on the back and winked to his brother. He then turned around to face the crowd and with George's help hoisted Harry onto their shoulders before yelling out.
"To Harry Potter, the eventual Triwizard Tournament Winner! Let's get this party started!"
- HP - HP - HP - HP - HP -
The first light of the morning filtered in through the gaps of the curtains around his bed, a soft golden glow lighting up the interior as Harry's eyes opened and he looked around trying to see what it was that woke him.
A soft knock on the frame of his bed interrupted his thoughts. Harry groaned and rolled over, burying his face in his pillow. The knock came again, this time accompanied by a familiar voice.
"Harry, wake up!" Ron's voice came through the curtains, sounding annoyingly chipper for someone what was notoriously not a morning person. "Come on, mate, it's breakfast time!"
Harry mumbled incoherently into his pillow before lifting his head and repeating himself. "You go ahead, Ron. I'm feeling a bit knackered from yesterday … and then last night. "I'll join up with you later."
Ron chuckled, as Harry heard him start to move away from his bed. "Mate, if you think the party that the twins set up last night was a little much, just wait until you win the tournament. I'm not sure if the common room … or Gryffindor Tower will survive."
Harry managed a weak smile; eyes still closes as he remembered last night. "I'll keep that in mind. Save me some bacon, will you?"
"Will do, or at least I'll try," Ron replied, his voice coming from beside the door. "See you downstairs when you finally wake up."
As the door clicked shut, Harry let himself drift back into a slight doze not regretting at all his decision to stay in bed. Lying there, memories of the previous night filtered though his mind. He remembered seeing Fred and George handing out what he was pretty sure was early versions of their joke candies to unsuspecting first and second year, an assumption that was proven correct when he watched the lot began belching colorful bubbles and sprouting feathers. Then there was the seventh-year student who had bewitched a Snitch she had found somewhere to follow Harry around. The Snitch had hovered about three feet over his head, repeating Bagman's play-by-play calling of the event until it lost its voice and Harry could only make out every seventh word. And finally, he remembered the look he had shared with Hermione as he held her hand right before heading off to bed.
It was nearly an hour later when Harry finally stirred. The room was quiet, all his dormmates having long since gone to breakfast. He stretched, yawning widely, and slowly swung his legs out of bed.
As he got dressed, he savored the unhurried pace of the morning, appreciating the time by himself.
When he finally made his way down to the common room, he momentarily froze in surprise to find Ginny sitting there by herself. Set sat on one of the loveseats, a large platter of breakfast foods on her lap, as she stared at the wall in front of her.
She must have heard his decent as she spun around at the same time he finished climbing down the stairs. "Hi, Harry," she greeted excitedly, her eyes lighting up as she saw him. "I brought breakfast up for you. I wasn't sure what your favorite things were, so I grabbed a little of everything. But its still hot, I had learned a warming charm from mum over the holidays."
Harry blinked in surprise. "Wow, Ginny, you didn't have to do this. I could have gone downstairs."
Her expression fell slightly, before Harry continued. "But I guess it'll be quieter up here, thanks Ginny. This was really nice."
Ginny's face exploded into a smile as she looked back at him. "It's no worries. I'd do anything for you."
Harry's eyebrows raised as he looked at her, but she was already leaning over to put food on a separate plate for him. As she handed him his plate, piled high with eggs, bacon, sausages, and a stack of pancakes that was almost as high as his wand, his stomach growled appreciatively so he shrugged his shoulders before sitting down next to her and tucked into the breakfast with gusto. As they were eating Ginny kept wanting to talk about his performance in the first task and the tournament.
But as the conversation worse on, Harry began to notice that something was off about Ginny. Since the Quidditch World Cup, they had actually begun to form a friendship which had started to become a comfortable, easygoing thing, as she treated him more and more like an actual person rather than whatever it was that she'd built up in her mind. But now, she seemed to have reverted, and she seemed different, clingier, as she spent much more time asking him questions and staring at him as he responded than actually eating or answering questions about how her year was going, and there was a familiar and unwelcome glean of the hero worship in her eyes that he hadn't seen for a while.
Finally, deciding he had enough, he set down his fork and plate and looked at her closely. "Ginny, is everything alright? Are you alright?"
She paused for almost long enough that Harry was wondering if she wasn't going to respond before her smile faltered slightly and she looked down at her hands, twisting her fingers nervously. "Harry, I … I thought this is what you'd want. I thought you'd be happy. I wanted to be the one to do something nice for you."
"I am happy, Ginny. I appreciate this, I really do," he said gently. "But you seem … I don't know, different? Is something bothering you? I know I'm not family but as a friend I'm here for you."
Ginny looked like she'd been slapped as her eyes filled with tears and she turned away, blinking rapidly. "A friend? Isn't this enough for you, Harry?" she whispered without looking back to him, her voice breaking. "Isn't it?"
Before he could respond, she stood up abruptly, the platter and remaining food flying onto the floor. She spun and immediately ran towards the stairs, her footsteps echoing through the empty common room.
Harry opened his mouth, but she basically flew up the stairs to her dormitory. He considered going after her for a second but after remembering the enchantments that prevented boys from accessing the girl's dormitories, he shook his head and sighed, watching helplessly as she disappeared from sight,
He wasn't left stewing on his thoughts for long, however. A flash of scarlet and gold caught his attention from the corner of his eyes causing him to spin, where he was greeted by the sight of Fawkes, gliding gracefully through the open window. The magnificent phoenix landed on the arm of the couch next to Harry, a note clutched in its beak, which it dropped onto Harry's lap as he rubbed his head along Harry's arm, making a soft, comforting cooing noise.
Smiling at the phoenix, Harry picked up the note, immediately recognizing Professor Dumbledore's neat handwriting on the front. "Thanks, Fawkes," he murmured, stroking the phoenix's vibrant feathers, smiling again at the warmth he was giving off. Fawkes gave a gentle trill before taking off again, leaving Harry alone with his thoughts and a letter.
Unfolding the parchment, he began to read:
Dear Mr. Potter,
I hope this letter finds you well. I must once again pass along my congratulations for your performance yesterday, it was truly inspired no matter the age.
I assume that as I did not see you for breakfast this morning, it was likely die to the fact that you were recovering from the festivities the Weasleys arranged last night. A suspicion I believe is supported by the amount of noise I was able to hear even within my own quarters as I was preparing to head off to bed … although other than jealousy over the fact that I did not merit an invitation, I could only feel pride at the spirit of the celebrating. For what it's worth, Mr. Diggory was also not in attendance for breakfast this morning by the time I left. And while Mr. Krum and Ms. Delacour made it to the Great Hall, neither appeared to eat anything but toast and certainly did not appear to be enjoying the attention they were receiving … especially when two noisemakers went off right under their seats. Of course, I'm hoping no Gryffindors were involved in that prank.
But I apologize as I digress; if possible, would you be able to meet me at some point this morning in my office? There is something I'd like to discuss with you.
Sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore
PS – I find myself to have not decided that I am in search of a new favorite treat.
Harry sighed as he folded the letter and slipped it into his pocket. Feeling that there was nothing else he could do at the moment and determined to keep his mind off the unsettling encounter with Ginny, he decided to head off to Professor Dumbledore's office right away. The walk through the castle was a welcome distraction and gave him time to decide he needed to push either Dumbledore or the Weasley to at least have someone take a look at Ginny and make sure she was alright.
As he approached the gargoyle guarding the entrance to Dumbledore's office, he paused for a second before smiling as he remembered the last line of Dumbledore's note, wondering if maybe he should try them.
"Spicy bubotubers," he said confidently as he came to a stop in front of the gargoyle. After a brief delay the gargoyle sprang aside, revealing the spiral staircase, which he proceeded to quickly make his way up. Knocking at the door at the top of the stairs, he only waited a couple of seconds before he heard the headmasters voice from inside.
"Come in," came Dumbledore's calm, reassuring voice.
Harry entered the office, the familiar sight of magical instruments of unknown functions and the comforting presence of Fawkes making him feel slightly more at ease. Dumbledore was seated behind his desk, his eyes twinkling as he looked up from a stack of letters that had to be at least as high as Ron's usual pile of food during meals.
"Ah, Harry, do come in and sit down," Dumbledore said warmly. "I trust Fawkes found you well this morning?"
"Yes, Professor," Harry replied taking a seat across from the headmaster. "Had … a little trouble heading off to bed last night at a decent time. So had a slow morning but was up and moving by the time Fawkes found me."
Dumbledore nodded, his expression becoming more serious. "Harry, I wanted to speak with you about the topic we had spoken of before, specifically the tome I had hoped to obtain or at least borrow from Professor Karkaroff." He paused for a second as a hint of a smile appeared on his face before it disappeared. "While I greatly enjoyed your performance during the first task. Professor Karkaroff was greatly displeased with your decision and as such, in order to spite me, I suppose due to the fact that I 'let' you compete, he was withdrawn his offer of letting me see the book."
Harry stared at Dumbledore in shock, feeling his heart sink. He hadn't realized it but for a fleeting moment he had hoped that the book might hold the key to destroying or removing the Horcrux within him without requiring his death. The news hit him hard, and he felt a brief wave of frustration wash over him.
"Isn't there any way to change his mind, Professor?" Harry asked, his voice betraying his feelings.
Dumbledore shook his head sadly. "I'm afraid Professor Karkaroff is quite a stubborn individual when he chooses to be. However, we must not give up hope. I will continue talking to him, although unless something changes, I do not have much hope, and there are other ways to find the information we need. For instance, I've yet to finish going through all the books in my possession which I certainly will admit are numerous."
Nodding slowly, Harry could only remember that Professor Dumbledore hadn't been able to find the answer the first time with the resources that had been at his disposal.
Looking around the room in frustration his eyes settled on a stack of parchment on Professor Dumbledore's desk labelled 'Detention List'. He immediately looked back to Professor Dumbledore his eyes wide. "Sir, I am wondering … what if I … got it? The book that is. I could ask Fred and George for help. They always seem to have a way of getting what they need."
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled for several seconds as he thought over the idea before he shook his head. "While you are certainly determined and the Weasley twins are nothing if not resourceful, I worry that undertaking that endeavor would expose you to an unwilling amount of danger that could be avoided."
"That is …" he paused seeing Dumbledore's intense look. "I … understand." Harry said, even as he began to make plans to reach out to the twins as soon as he left the headmaster's office. "Thanks for keeping me in the loop about this, I guess."
Dumbledore looked at Harry suspiciously, without saying anything for several seconds, surprised by Harry's lack of fight on the issue, before nodding slowly. "Of course, Harry. We must not give up hope. Now if there's nothing else, I have some things I need to get through and I believe you have a second task you could start preparing for … although I have a feeling that you don't need as much work with that as …"
"Actually, professor, there is one more thing." Harry said, interrupting the headmaster, feeling a knot of worry tightening in his chest. "It's about Ginny … Weasley. I know we had talked about the diary being a Horcrux before, but we didn't really talk about it being in her possession for the whole year or what had happened to her in the Chamber of Secrets. This morning, she brought me breakfast and … well, she seemed off. I know that she had had a bit of hero worship for me due to those stupid books and whatever it was that was rumored about me, but I thought we'd actually started to build an actual friendship since the Quidditch World Cup and she seemed better. But now I'm wondering if the Horcrux might have affected her more than I thought. It couldn't have been good for her to have had the Horcrux for as long as she did, while constantly interacting with it."
"And you are sure this isn't just a young girl experiencing her first crush?" Professor Dumbledore responded, looking at Harry with a forced smile on his face which Harry felt meant that he didn't really believe this option.
Meeting the headmaster's eyes, Harry shook his head, "Maybe, that's what I thought originally, but I think it's more than that. Our conversation, our interaction, it just didn't feel … right."
Professor Dumbledore paused, his expression growing serious as he appeared to consider Harry's words. "You might be right to be concerned for your friend, Harry. I had not considered it at the end of your second year as I was unsure as to what the diary had been at that time. And then afterwards Ms. Weasley had always appeared alright to my eyes … but the effects of dark magic can be far-reaching and not always immediately apparent."
Harry nodded, grateful that Dumbledore wasn't blowing off his concern. "I'm wondering … in the Muggle world, there are psychologists or other people you can talk to after traumatic situations. Is there anything like that for Ginny?"
The headmaster looked to the wall in thought for several seconds, before looking back to Harry his eyes twinkling. "While the wizarding world does not have these 'psychologists' per se, we do have healers trained in dealing with and helping individuals who have come into contact with dark magic, including ones who focus specifically on dark magic which affects the mind. In fact, one of your godfather's cousins, Andromeda Tonks, specializes in this field, one of the premier names in the field if I recall. She would certainly be well-versed in the subtleties of identifying or treating such trauma, if indeed young Ms. Weasley has been affected."
"Do you think she'd be willing to help Ginny?" Harry asked, hope stirring within him.
"I believe so," Dumbledore replied thoughtfully. "And without even having to involve your godfather. I believe I was one of the individuals who helped her get her position at St. Mungo's. I will reach out to her today and see if we could arrange an innocuous meeting between her and Ms. Weasley. I imagine it is important for her to not feel pressure or a need to be on the defensive as Andromeda checks up on her."
Harry felt a wave of relief wash over him. "Thank you, Professor. I just want to make sure she's alright."
"You are showing great care for your friend, Harry, although I doubt, you'd do any less for a stranger." Dumbledore sad kindly. "I will make the necessary arrangements; you need not worry about anything. In the meantime, feel free to continue to be a source of support for her without pushing her. Sometimes, the presence of a friend can be the most powerful healing of all … that being said if Andromeda believes anything else is required, we will reach out to Arthur and Molly immediately.
"Of course, Professor," Harry said. "Thank you for your understanding."
"Always, Harry." Dumbledore replied with a nod. "I believe should anything be amiss with Ms. Weasley she will certainly receive the help she needs. Now I believe there certainly is plenty you could get up to today and Merlin knows I best get started on my day."
Sensing the dismissal, Harry stood, feeling lighter now that he had shared his concerns. As he made his way back to the common room, his mind buzzing with thoughts on Professor Karkaroff's book and relief over Ginny's situation, he turned around a corner almost running into Roger Davis and Fleur, who were standing very close together, and had seemingly missed Harry coming around the corner.
"Roger, I told you, this is not the time," Fleur said, her accent thick with what sounded like irritation.
"But Fleur, you know I'm right," Roger insisted, his voice pleading.
Not wanting to intrude, Harry turned around to head down an alternate corridor. As he turned, he missed Fleur glancing around, before her eyes settled on his form briefly as he walked back around the corner before they darted away. Although even if he had been looking, he wouldn't have been able to identify the look that momentarily crossed her face before she looked back to the Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain who had reached out to touch her arm.
Finally reaching the Gryffindor common room, Harry let out a sigh of relief that the room was empty of students, and especially Ginny, before beginning to pace by one of the windows, occasionally looking out onto the Black Lake, and more specifically the Durmstrang ship. As he replated Dumbledore's words over and over again in his head, about not putting himself at risk to try and get the book, his gaze happened to pass over a pile of candies that had been left sitting on the edge of one of the tables. Recognizing them as the Canary Creams, likely left there by the twins either accidentally, but more likely on purpose, Harry smiled.
"There's no way the twins wouldn't be able to come up with a plan. And I can't imagine just how disappointed they'd be if I don't even give them a chance." He said quietly to himself as he looked back out the window towards the ship, seeing a group of three heading from the castle towards it.
Kind Regards,
FavoriteAuthor
If you like this content do not hesitate to smash that like button and subscribe. Haha but seriously if you do enjoy the story - do favorite it, other than messaging me or leaving a comment it's the only way I know if you are enjoying the stories and chapters.
Story Note 1 – This is not a Ginny bashing story, where she is trying to give Harry love potions out of a desire to end up in a relationship with Harry simply due to his fame and for a desire for an easy life. Just a case of a preteen girl who went through an incredibly traumatic experience while also being in close contact with a Horcrux for almost the entire school year without (as of yet) receiving proper (or any) help.
Story Note 2 – '"Come in," came Dumbledore's calm, reassuring voice.' – This line was actually said in a calm reassuring voice.
Thanks to those of you out to those of you who enjoy my stories, I promise to keep updating the stories as long as you enjoy them, and a special thanks to those of you who have taken the time to leave feedback or reach out to me directly.
Twitter: FavoriteAuthor_
Instagram: FavoriteAuthor_Fanfic
starboy454, Hudy Leak613, cameron 1812 - Glad you enjoyed the chapter! Appreciate the time you took to leave a review. Hope this chapter was just as good!
TimC34, Hands Off MY Wolfie - I am glad the way I wrote Karkaroff works, thanks for the feedback. Obviously he will play a part in what is to come! Hope it turns out just as well. Do not hesitate to let me know!
skotos - How'd this chapter work for you? Hope you enjoyed it just as much!
AhsokaTano2291 - Really appreciate the review. I had fun coming up with the task. Obviously Harry would probably approach it a little differently with several years of experience. So glad it turned out well.
Antex-The Legendary Zoroark - Really appreciate the time and thought you put into the review. Thanks! As for Karkaroff - as mentioned above, I'm glad he turned out alright but he shall definitely have a part to play and can't imagine he was cool with what Harry had done. And with respect to Rita ... I am really proud of the way things are coming along with her. But yes I think their relationship only works as long as Rita feels she's getting something out of it ... a fact I sure hope Harry doesn't forget ... haha
Anyanwu - I really appreciate the feedback. And the cultural differences are something I'm trying to be aware of. I guess I just felt that the idea was useful to use and maybe for the sake of the story - the tailgating wasn't so much a British thing as a decision by the organizers to increase the pre-match celebrations by using a North American pre-game tradition. Or on the other hand ... what do us muggles really know about what wizards do before Quidditch matches? Maybe tailgating is a time honored integral part of international competitions that British wizards and witches feel very strongly about? Haha :) but I do see your point.
Guest - As for the lack of mention of Dobby ... that is something I am struggling with. Obviously the way Harry was affected by loss drove him to act in the way he did. But the way Dobby was handled hit me the hardest for personal reasons and while I do have plans to incorporate Dobby as I find his slightly naive happy attitude and unquestionable friendship to Harry to just be something else. I have not yet been able to find a way to write his introduction in a way I feel happy with. Although I can almost 100% promise that he will arrive before the second task
