Chapter 60, everybody! Oh wait dang book plot.
So if you haven't played Hogwarts Legacy do so it's pretty and fun and very appealing for Harry Potter fans…okay the point is yes there's a scroll in the Boar's Head, which also has the boar head moving. So yes, eccentricity is accurate here.
In other news, bits of this got whole sections rewritten because I'd write ahead and then get to it and go wait this doesn't work anymore. Do like the final result, though. XD
Binte Muhammad, thanks for the review! Thank Saphroneth for that—they did that with their fic and it just stuck with me.
Slytherinsal, thanks for the review! Thanks, it's good to be back!
Lucy Elizabeth Dawson, thanks for the reviews! Haha, yes—and may I recommend D, all of the above? XD
Juxshoa, thanks for the review! Very much enjoying writing the whimsy. :D
Gardengirl6, thanks for the reviews! Fluffernutters are delicious and I love it when I can write Dumbledore he's got a nice humorous streak going. XD
Harry Potter © 1997 J.K. Rowling
Aside from the whole thing with Skeeter and the general hunt for scrolls hidden around Hogwarts, the rest of the year leading up to the final task was fairly calm. The Quidditch pitch had been converted to a hedge maze, and after hearing of the success of the mermaid mirrors Dumbledore asked the twins (and company) to figure out something similar for the third task. The twins (and company) had eventually hit upon owls, who would be released after the champions went into the maze and would alternate between circling the maze as a whole and following the champions. Hedwig and Pig both volunteered for this, and the twins (and company) had eventually worked out tying a little hand mirror to Pig with the concept that he could probably more easily dive into the maze and follow the champions for up-close images.
It was all going well, and Harry was vibrating with anticipation along with everyone else at the final task and the taxing finals (Hermione was the only one actually excited for the tests themselves and not the relief afterwards), and on the final Hogsmeade trip of the semester they were mostly spending the nice spring day scouring Hogsmeade for scrolls, as it had been discovered that Dumbledore had apparently hidden some there, too. They had worked out a functioning system as well, the three of them spreading out with Snips flying high overhead and monitoring them, darting down to gather the others if one found a scroll.
Harry had just paused outside of a pub named the Boar's Head, wondering if Dumbledore had put a scroll there or not (eccentricity said yes while common sense said no) when Krum ran up to him.
"Help," he gasped, out of breath. "It's Professor Karkaroff—collapsed—need help—"
Harry didn't even think, ran after him, asking what had happened—Krum shook his head, said they needed to hurry—round a bend—
Got struck from behind, didn't remember much after that before waking up into a nightmare.
Hermione and Ron met in front of the Three Broomsticks with the intent for lunch, had been chatting with Percy (who was there to supervise the final task) while waiting for Harry to come, when Snips dove at them squawking.
"Oh! Harry must have found another scroll!" Hermione said, brightening.
Ron, however, was frowning as he noted Snips' behavior. "No…I think Harry's in trouble."
Snips pointed at Ron, dropping several inches before righting himself and flying off, caterwauling for them to follow. The three exchanged glances, ran after the baffling little creature—
It was down a switchback leading to a little graveyard where they found Krum, knocked plum out—Percy sent a Patronus for the castle, citing that something was definitely wrong here—
Which was when Snips fell to the ground, screaming.
"What's wrong with him!?" Percy squawked.
"I don't know—he's never done this before!" Ron squawked back, staring horrified at the writhing little thing—
"Ron help me!" Hermione said, trying to grab Snips to keep him from hurting himself—he kept biting at his left wing and was starting to draw blood—
Ron whipped his robes off and threw them on Snips, allowing Hermione to bundle him up right as Sirius and Lupin ran up, demanding what happened as several teachers came from the direction of the Three Broomsticks—
"Where's Harry?"
So this was going on the list of Harry's worse days.
Following Krum and getting knocked out from behind, waking up in a graveyard with Karkaroff and a cauldron, getting stabbed, watching something legitimately horrible get dumped into the cauldron—
Watching something legitimately horrible step out and summon a bunch of like-minded wizards.
And now here he was, forced into a duel by Voldemort, who apparently needed to be assured that he was better at the whole magic thing than a fourteen-year-old. Currently, Harry was hiding behind a tombstone and considering his options, none of which were very good—no one knew where he was, he didn't have a means to get away, too young to apparate—really needed a new plan—
"Come out and fight me you coward!" Voldemort stormed.
Yeah, no. If only Sirius were here, or Snips, or—hey!
"Kreacher!" Harry hissed—flinched at the crack and the elderly house elf bowing.
"Here you are—Master Sirius is wanting you home," Kreacher said.
"I agree," Harry said, grabbing Kreacher's offered hand.
"What is this?" Voldemort demanded.
"Master Harry is required home now," Kreacher said.
"I don't think so," Voldemort hissed, readying his wand—
On the list of things Harry didn't want to see, Kreacher getting struck down was one of them. "Expelliarmus!"
It was quick, dirty, and cast in haste, but it flung Voldemort's wand away. The dark wizard looked where it had gone, stunned—
"We are leaving now," Kreacher announced.
"No you are not," Voldemort said, hand out, summoning his wand back—
"Kreacher serves the most ancient and noble house of Black, not you," Kreacher said. "Master Harry is Master Sirius's godson and therefore under the protection of the house of Black and its house elf." Here he drew himself up. "And you, sir, are a very bad man for what you did to Master Regulus."
Anything Voldemort might have had to say at that was cut off by a burst of magic from Kreacher, blasting him and his Death Eaters off their feet—
And then Harry and Kreacher were back in Hogsmeade.
"Harry!" Hermione yelped. "Here he's over here!"
Harry, meanwhile, was hugging Kreacher tightly after his location registered. "You saved my life, Kreacher—thank you!"
"Kreacher lives to serve," Kreacher said simply.