Chapter 451
They arrived on a landing with three doors. Harry was surprised to see his
name on one door and Sirius's on another; the third was blank.
"I'm afraid you're sharing a bathroom." Minerva said with a sigh. "Something
to do with the plumbing but the house-elves couldn't alter the space further."
She pushed Harry towards his room. "Take a look, Harry."
Harry opened the door and took a step inside, freezing as he saw how closely
the furnishings had been duplicated to give him a sense of Griffin House. The
bed wasn't the same four-poster that adorned his dorm at Hogwarts but a
near copy of the bed he had in his own room. He frowned. Actually, he would
swear it was his bed. He quirked a questioning eyebrow at Sirius.
"Dobby insisted." Sirius said brightly.
"Hmnph." Minerva snorted.
The wardrobe, desk, chair and bookcase were similar to those in the dorms
though, and already filled with his things. Hedwig's perch was empty but the
window was open and Harry had no doubt she'd be inside by the time night
fell.
"This is great." He said simply.
Minerva exhaled with relief as her gaze moved to Sirius, an eyebrow arched
in his direction.
"Yes, it's good." Sirius leaned on the wall, folding his arms nonchalantly.
"Thank you."
Minerva nodded. "I'll leave you to settle in." She paused at the doorway. "I'll
see you in class tomorrow, Harry."
Sirius straightened once the echo of her footsteps had faded. "So what do you
really think?"
"It's…" Harry shrugged, "weird but good?"
"You know that's pretty much how I feel." Sirius admitted with a grin. He
brushed down his robes and gestured at him. "I never thought I'd be living
here again."
Harry smiled ruefully at him. "Sorry?"
Sirius lifted one shoulder in a dismissive shrug. "Frankly, I don't want to be
anywhere else."
And Harry knew that was true. He wandered over to the window and looked
out on Hogwarts. The Quidditch pitch was over to his right, the lake to his left,
with the Forbidden Forest stretched out in front of him.
He sighed. "I can still go to Quidditch practice, right?"
"Right." Sirius said, coming over to stand beside him, "I think Minnie's keen
you help the new Seeker."
Ginny.
The new Seeker was Ginny. She was the reserve. Harry groaned.
"What?" asked Sirius concerned.
"Ginny must be the new Seeker." Harry explained. "That's just…great."
Sirius gave him a sympathetic look. "Well, you can always stop helping if she
spends more time focusing on you than on the practice." He nudged him.
"Have you thought about how you're going to ask Hermione out yet?"
Harry nodded. He figured he would go with the same plan just maybe a
different location and day. The only problem was that the Hogsmeade
weekend wasn't going to be an acceptable date any longer. He and Sirius had
discussed it and reluctantly agreed that they shouldn't take the risk of Harry
being out so much in public, and definitely not without either Sirius or Remus
with him. So he had to figure out a different date other than going into the
village. Neville probably had some pointers from all the practicing with
Hannah.
"You need any help or advice or…"
"No!" Harry snapped it out hurriedly. "Thank you but…"
"Mind my own business?" Sirius smirked at him. "I see how it is."
Harry motioned at him. "We could always talk about your love life."
"I have no love life." Sirius countered with no hint of embarrassment. "I'm
living vicariously through you and Remus."
"Remus is interested in someone?" Harry jumped on that titbit immediately
because he hadn't realised that Remus liked anyone.
"Old love affair who is now tragically for Remus but apparently happily for her
married to another werewolf." Sirius explained succinctly. "You should be
grateful that you missed having to spend an evening with Remus getting
maudlin about missed chances and how he's never going to find love." He
poked Harry in his upper arm gently.
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Chapter 452
Harry batted Sirius's hand away and winced inwardly because he knew he
had tendency to forget that Sirius and Remus had lives before that Summer,
before the Halloween back in 'eighty-one that changed it all for them.
"What about you?" asked Harry, suddenly curious.
Sirius raised both his eyebrows. "What about me?"
"Did you have someone…in the past, I mean?" Harry asked tentatively. "A
missed chance?"
"Nope." Sirius answered immediately. He looked out of the window and Harry
got the sense that he was gathering his thoughts rather than avoiding the
question. "I dated a lot through school but there wasn't any specific person
that caught my attention – not the way your Mum snagged your Dad's
anyway. When I left Hogwarts…there were occasional dates, here and there?
Your Mum did go on a match-making kick soon after she and your Dad got
hitched which your Dad thought was hilarious…but then I went abroad
undercover and when I got back, I was healing and then there was you just
born, and the war and…" he shrugged. "I always thought there was plenty of
time."
"You could date someone now?" Harry pressed. "You know if you wanted to; I
wouldn't mind." He ignored the churn of doubt in his stomach at the thought of
someone else having a right to Sirius's attention and time.
Sirius smiled at him. "Let's get you through the tournament first."
Harry bit his lip as guilt quickly surged through him at the moment's relief he'd
felt at Sirius's reply. "I don't…you don't have to put your life on hold for me."
Sirius's eyes widened as though startled. "Nothing's on hold." He reached out
and clasped Harry's shoulder. "Look, if there was someone I was interested
in, this would be an entirely different conversation. But there's not." He
smirked a little. "Despite Nora Zabini's best efforts."
Harry chuckled because Nora was definitely not subtle in her attempts to get
Sirius's attention.
"And in all honesty," Sirius said firmly, "I'm happy with the status quo." He
paused and waved a hand. "Well, I'd be happier if Voldemort was dead and
you were able to have a normal school year without anyone trying to kill you
but…"
"I know." Harry said warmly, reaching out and hugging Sirius. He still felt a
little guilty that he didn't want Sirius to get involved with someone romantically
but as long as Sirius was happy then that was OK wasn't it?
Sirius hugged him back before ruffling his hair and causing Harry to spring
back with a warning expression. Sirius ignored it and hooked an arm around
Harry's neck, grinning.
"Come on. I'll show you the training room and study." Sirius said.
Harry allowed Sirius to drag him downstairs. The study was decked out a lot
like Sirius's study at Griffin House and had the same rule – Harry was always
welcome even if all he did was read while Sirius worked.
The training room was cool. Shelves filled with books filled one wall, the
duelling area was clearly defined and came with an in-built shield to protect
the rest of the room, and there was an array of physical training equipment.
Harry knew that Cedric had been given access to something similar in
Hufflepuff to ensure there was no question of favouritism. He couldn't wait to
get started.
The rest of the afternoon passed getting settled into his new room and
finishing off the homework he'd had while he was recovering from the magical
exhaustion. Hedwig turned up mid-afternoon, tired and grumpy from the flight.
He comforted her with owl treats and she tucked her head beneath her wing
and went to sleep on her perch.
By evening, the weirdness of being at Hogwarts but not in the dorm had worn
off enough that he moved onto worrying about how everyone was going to
react to him living in his own quarters with Sirius so he was pleased when
Ron, Hermione and Neville turned up early for dinner.
All three of them sprang forward for a surprise group hug that left Harry
breathless when he answered the portrait. He adjusted his glasses nervously
as he stepped back and ushered them inside.
His eyes caught on Hermione's immediately and he gestured at her hair,
which was smoothed down and pinned back in some complicated female hairdo that he'd seen on Penny before. "You look great."
Hermione's cheeks went pink at his compliment. "Lavender helped me."
"It took hours." Ron complained. "We would have been here ages ago but we
were waiting forever in the Common Room."
Hermione rolled her eyes at him. "Like I never have to wait for you." She
retorted before turning to Harry with a chagrined expression. "Actually it did
take longer than I expected. I don't think I could do this every day."
Harry shrugged at her apologetic tone, unsure why she thought she had to be
sorry about it. "Maybe for special occasions then?" He suggested. "It does
look great but your hair's good the normal way too."
Her cheeks went red again but she smiled brightly at him. "Thank you, Harry."
They both grinned at each other for a long moment.
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Chapter 453
Ron coughed loudly.
Harry swallowed the sigh he wanted to make but took Ron's non-verbal point
– he had promised not to make his getting together with Hermione
uncomfortable for Ron. He moved them into the living room and they all took
seats on the sofas as Dobby popped in with mugs of warmed spiced apple
juice. He turned to Neville.
"So, how are things?" Harry asked.
Neville straightened imperceptibly, changing from shy friend to confident
second. "We're organised. Hermione's leading up research, Heather's in
charge of your peer tutors since Robert and Natalie are both snowed under
being Head Boy and Girl…"
"Although both will make time for the tutoring if there's something specific you
need that they're good at." Hermione interjected.
Ron snorted. "They could do more!"
"They have responsibilities, Ron," Hermione contradicted him smartly, "they
can't just drop everything to help Harry especially when they're supposed to
representing Hogwarts." She sent him another apologetic look.
"No, don't worry," Harry waved her off, "I get they're caught between loyalties
here. If all they can help me out with is an occasional tutoring session then
that's fine."
Ron snorted again but softly. "You shouldn't settle for that."
"I kind of see Ron's point," Neville said before Harry could reply, "after all
Robert swore fealty." He held up a hand. "But I agree that probably not
making them choose gives us the higher ground and ultimately, I think they'll
end up helping more because of that."
Ron subsided, taking a gulp of his drink.
Harry exchanged a grateful look with Neville. "OK, so Hermione's got
research, Heather's got tutoring and…"
"And Jeremy's got PR." Neville concluded.
Harry grimaced. "Three elements, right? Press, gossip clean-up and
cheerleading?"
"Yeah," Neville dug into his pocket and brought out a braided leather bracelet
in red and gold, "Hannah made this for you. We were going to go with beads
but some found those looked too girly."
"Way too girly, mate." Ron said emphatically.
"Wow." Harry turned it over in his hand. "This is nice."
Hermione smiled at him and displayed her wrist where a thinner version was
already tied. "Professor Dumbledore agreed to the bracelets being part of the
uniform so long as there was a bracelet for every Champion."
"Diggory's is Hufflepuff colours," Ron chimed in, shaking his wrist to reveal
that he was also wearing a red and gold version, "Beauxbatons is blue and
gold and Durmstrang's is a plain black."
"They've proved very popular." Hermione added. "And, of course, some of the
Hufflepuffs' like Susan and Hannah are wearing both yours and Cedric's." She
leaned over and helped Harry tie it around his wrist.
"Or in politically sensitive positions like Robert and Natalie." Neville said. "I
have a couple spare for Sirius and Remus." He placed them on the table.
"Thanks." Harry said, knowing both men would be wearing them as soon as
they were given them. The wrist-band looked cool. It reminded him of some of
the leather necklaces and bracelets that he'd seen Noshi and his family wear
in the States.
"All of Gryffindor is wearing yours along with the Potter alliance." Neville said.
"So you do have visible support here at Hogwarts, at least comparable to
Krum's and Delacour's."
More support than Krum and Delacour if he had all of Gryffindor, Harry
mused.
"On the gossip side…everyone in the alliance is on message with you playing
to win, but respect for the other Champions." Neville said. "Draco's even
managing to not sneer every time Cedric walks near him so that's something."
"I can't believe Malfoy's coming to dinner with us." Ron complained.
"He needs the visible sign that we support him." Harry rejoined. He had been
surprised at Draco's tenaciousness in supporting him, especially given their
history, but he knew it needed to be rewarded with the same level of support
back. "Theo's coming too."
Neville nodded slowly. "It'll be good to get an update on Slytherin. There are a
lot of rumours going around about a massive argument once Bulstrode found
out about Voldemort's genealogy."
"Yeah, Draco already wrote me a letter about that. Apparently a lot of them
are not too happy with their families at the moment," Harry gestured with his
cup, "which is great for us. It's undermining Voldemort's ability to gain
supporters from this generation."
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Chapter 454
They all nodded.
"I guess I can put up with Malfoy at dinner then." Ron muttered.
"Speaking of the Houses, Hufflepuff's in a bit of disarray." Neville commented
a little hesitantly.
"I think some of them are just upset that your being in the tournament has
taken the spotlight off the fact that it's a Hufflepuff representing Hogwarts."
Hermione explained. "But there is…hostility there."
"Diggory finally shut up some of his supporters after Robert had a word." Ron
said bluntly. "But some of them are still spouting off the same rubbish as his
Dad."
"That I entered myself because I'm attention-seeking and just plain crazy?"
Harry nodded. Sirius had been furious with some of the comments Amos
Diggory had made and Harry knew he had Brian and Mary on the case to see
whether something could be done legally about what amounted to slander.
"A couple of them have had warnings from the teachers under the antibullying policy but until they say it to your face…" Hermione sighed heavily.
Harry grimaced again. Great. Just what he needed. He rubbed his forehead
and shook the thought away. Maybe being called attention-seeking and crazy
wasn't nice but it would be worse if he didn't have support and he had plenty.
He had to focus on that and forget about the rest, or at least try not to let it get
to him. It could be worse, Harry mused, if Sirius hadn't taken over his
guardianship…if he'd been entered into the tournament without warning and
without people knowing he hadn't entered himself…
He didn't want to think about it. He'd probably be on his own or, his eyes
flickered to Hermione, maybe with one friend helping him.
"The articles today have gone down really well though." Neville said, pulling
Harry back into the conversation.
Harry waved at them. "Nobody's complaining about my having my own set of
rooms and lesson plan?"
"Well, the article made it clear that it was Sirius who insisted so…everyone's
blaming him." Hermione said. "We've, uh, kind of encouraged that."
"It worked with your mind healer thing." Ron commented draining his mug and
setting it on the coffee table.
Harry nodded. "OK. Well, at least I know I won't get lynched tomorrow."
"Everyone's looking forward to having you back in class, mate." Ron asserted
with a grin.
"He's right." Neville said with a smile.
The door chimed and Harry figured it was Draco and Theo. He went to answer
it with most of his nerves about returning to Hogwarts settled. He'd made the
right decision to come back.
It was a thought that stayed with Harry buoying his spirits as he got dressed in
a variation of the Hogwarts' uniform the next morning. The cut was the same
but where his Gryffindor crests had resided, the crests of the Houses of Potter
and Black were proudly displayed. Harry ran a hand over them, checked his
appearance again in the mirror and made his way downstairs.
Sirius glanced across the room from his seat on one of the comfy sofas. The
newspapers lay in disarray around him. "All set?"
Harry nodded. "I'm meeting the others at the Great Hall." He made a quick
tempus charm. "They should have finished breakfast by now."
"If you need me send your patronus." Sirius said firmly, getting to his feet and
walking over to Harry.
Harry hugged him briefly, grabbed his book bag and left before he lost his
nerve.
He skipped down the stairs, following the usual path to the Hall. A lot of the
students he passed smiled at him and he smiled gratefully back, with each
step believing it was going to be alright. He entered the Great Hall and
ignored the lull in chatter that followed as he focused on his friends.
Two steps away from the Gryffindor table, his way was blocked by a sixth year
Hufflepuff boy Harry vaguely recognised and a Ravenclaw girl. Both of them
glared at Harry meanly. Harry's gut tensed in grim anticipation.
"You have some nerve coming back, Potter." The Hufflepuff snarled. "You
couldn't resist the attention of competing in the tournament, taking the glory
from Hogwarts' rightful Champion."
Harry didn't reply. He could see Minerva and Professor Flitwick racing toward
them and he signalled for Ron, Hermione and Neville to stay away.
"We'll be wearing these!" The Ravenclaw thrust a badge at him.
He glanced at it. It was a square badge proclaiming support for Cedric but the
words changed in front of his eyes to 'Ignore Potter the Rotter,' and Harry was
unable to prevent the flare of hurt that he felt at the nasty message.
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Chapter 455
"What is going on here?" Minerva demanded.
"Accio badge!" Flitwick said, holding his hand out to catch the badge as it
leapt out of Harry's. His expression grew stony as he took in the message. He
showed it to Minerva and glowered at the two sixth years. "Miss Tatler, I
expect better from you."
Minerva cast a furious look around the Hall. "I suggest that if anyone else has
possession of one of these...badges, they get rid of them immediately or find
themselves in detention."
Harry noted a few hasty removals by students over on the Hufflepuff and
Slytherin tables. He wasn't surprised even if he was slightly disheartened.
Hufflepuff was loyal to Cedric and the Slytherins would support a troll over a
Gryffindor. He was mostly disappointed by Cedric himself who ducked his
head and was obviously intent on pretending nothing was going on.
"Our apologies, Lord Potter." Flitwick said. "This is definitely not the way we
wanted to welcome the Champion of the Light to Hogwarts."
Harry admired the subtle manner in which Flitwick had told everyone in the
Hall of Harry's changed status. He was no longer Mister Potter, Hogwarts
student, but Lord Potter, a competing Champion.
"You carry on, Lord Potter," Flitwick continued, "but be assured the
perpetrators will be dealt with."
"I'll take care of informing Lord Black." Minerva glowered at the rapidly paling
sixth years. "You will both go immediately to my office and think about your
actions and whether they are an acceptable way to represent Hogwarts and
its Champion," she said sternly.
The sixth years shuffled out thoroughly chastised.
Harry glanced at Minerva and debated briefly whether he could convince her
not to tell Sirius, and gave it up immediately as a lost cause.
"Thank you." Harry murmured. He slid around them and joined his friends who
were hovering at the end of the Gryffindor table.
"You OK?" Hermione asked in a quiet voice.
Harry nodded briskly. "Let's just get to class."
They turned for the door and found Viktor waiting with his friend. Harry's heart
sank. He really didn't want another confrontation. But he squared his
shoulders.
"Viktor." He said evenly.
"Harry," Viktor bowed his head a touch, "I vish to welcome vou back. I am
looking forward to competing against vou."
Relief stormed through Harry. "Thank you." He said gratefully. "I hope you can
still join me for Quidditch practice."
"I vould like that." Viktor agreed. "Let me know vhen." He made another bow
and departed.
Ron gazed after him admiringly. "Now, that is a class act."
Harry and Hermione exchanged a mutual eye roll at Ron's hero worship, and
suddenly everything seemed back to normal. It was almost enough to sustain
him through the morning classes; through the whispers and stares that
followed him on his travels through the castle. By the time he settled at the
Gryffindor table for lunch, he was enormously relieved that he would have an
escape at the end of the day.
Hermione smiled sympathetically as he played with the plate of chicken stew
he had chosen. "It's pretty bad, isn't it?"
Harry shrugged. "About as bad as the Heir of Slytherin nonsense."
Neville sighed. He and Ron had sat opposite to Harry and Hermione. "It's
pretty bad that you have something to compare it to at all."
Ron snorted. He was about to speak when his eyes went wide and he stared
at something over Harry's shoulder.
Harry looked half expecting to see Viktor. Instead he found the very beautiful
Veela representing Beauxbatons in the tournament. He hastily clambered to
his feet and kissed Fleur's proffered hand.
"Miss Delacour." Harry said politely.
"Fleur, please," Fleur smiled prettily, "we are fellow Champions, non?"
"Sure," Harry said, bemused, "I'm Harry then."
Fleur's smile widened. "Bon. I am looking forward to competing with you in ze
tournament."
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Chapter 456
"I look forward to competing with you too." Harry said, feeling very awkward in
the presence of the poised and elegant Veela. He heard Hermione's small
cough and gratefully waved at her. "May I introduce my friends?"
Fleur nodded. "But of course."
Harry smiled. "This is Hermione Granger."
Hermione stood and shook hands with Fleur as Ron and Neville hastened
around the table to facilitate their introductions. Both boys were mildly affected
by the Veela's allure, but the introductions passed without incident if not
without slightly glazed looks. Fleur quietly excused herself after, ostensibly to
leave them to their lunch.
"That was nice of her." Hermione said.
Ron motioned with his knife, sending a drop of sauce flying. "She copied
Krum."
"It was still nice of her." Hermione insisted. She poked at her food wistfully.
"She's very beautiful."
"So are you." Harry stated without thinking.
He was rewarded with a huge smile from Hermione and he resolved to ask
her out as soon as he could arrange it.
Ron pointed again with his knife, but toward the door where Cedric was
hurrying out with his head down. "You'd think after his whole 'the Hogwarts'
Champion stands with you' spiel at Halloween, that he might have come over
like the others."
Hermione sighed. "It's got to be difficult for him with the stuff his father is
saying."
Harry tuned out their argument; he sympathised with Cedric but he was
disappointed in him too. He caught sight of some of the Hufflepuffs glaring at
him and pushed the last of his chicken stew away.
He really couldn't wait until the end of the day; the sanctuary of his own
quarters and the solid comfort and support of Padfoot appealed more and
more with each moment that passed.
.....
10th November 1994
The Wizengamot was in chaos.
Sirius watched carefully at the shouting brouhaha and reminded himself never
to piss off Griselda and Augusta since both of them were doing a sterling job
of shouting Wenlock into submission, and simultaneously staring down Flint
and Gibbon who had stood up to agree with Wenlock's position on the
proposed suspension of the Werewolf law.
He glanced across to where Lucius was observing the melee of heated
debate with an expression of disdain and careful calculation. Too many people
were giving themselves away, Sirius mused as he turned his attention back to
the others.
Clearly Wenlock's wooing of the pureblood Ancient and Noble Houses that
hadn't agreed détentes with Sirius had been somewhat successful since Flint
and Gibbon had stood up in support of his argument against suspending the
Werewolf law. Several of the minor pureblood houses were displaying
supportive and submissive body language accompanied by approving
expressions toward Wenlock. So Wenlock had a greater level of support than
he'd had at the previous sessions.
Maybe, Sirius considered, Lucius's prediction of some of the minor houses
rushing to hide behind Wenlock to avoid Voldemort's return was proving true.
According to Lucius, Wenlock had sneered at Lucius's attempt to warn him.
Sirius was satisfied they'd done the right thing and if Wenlock didn't take the
warning seriously than that was not Sirius's problem.
For their part, the Potter alliance had done a good job of standing firmly
behind Harry and not letting the threat of taking on Voldemort shake them.
Daniel Greengrass had done a fantastic job of corralling the minor neutral
houses. They might not be as ready to sign up to the Potter alliance as they
would have been a month before, but they were also not wandering openly in
Wenlock's direction. It helped that the neutral houses were not exactly in
favour of the Werewolf law.
Since Sirius hadn't done anything but concentrate on Harry, he was
immensely grateful to Daniel, Augusta and everyone else for stepping up. The
flash of red and gold on his wrist had him smiling. Most of the Potter alliance
was wearing them although a couple like Leonard Abbott were also wearing
Diggory's yellow and black. His eyes slid to Amos in the fourth tier and he
wasn't surprised to find the man glaring back at him. He moved his gaze
onwards dismissively.
It was a confrontation waiting to happen.
Leonard had already run interference that morning at the session break, and
Sirius was pleased for once that he had the use of Cornelius's floo which
meant that he avoided the public forum of the atrium arriving because he had
a feeling Diggory wanted a showdown in front of the press. Probably Diggoty
wanted to confront him about the warning letter that Mary Baron in her
capacity as Harry's solicitor had sent warning Diggory that if he continued to
make snide insinuations about Harry's character and well-being in
newspapers, they could and would sue him for slander, regardless of Harry's
respect for Cedric. They'd sent a similar letter to the press warning them that
they wouldn't tolerate slurs against Harry's character. They'd backed off since
the letter which was good since the laws were completely nonsensical and
Sirius wasn't too certain that they'd actually win if they brought it in front of the
Wizengamot. Sirius wasn't too worried about the impact of a public showdown
with Diggory in truth – he was fairly certain he could remain in control – but he
didn't want to take part in something that would make it more difficult for Harry
at Hogwarts.
It was tough.
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Chapter 457
Despite the visible support Harry was receiving from a good majority of the
school population and his close friends, Harry returned every day from his
classes with small lines of tension bracketing his mouth and eyes; a stiffness
to his posture that suggested hours of being braced for an attack. It hadn't
helped that the first day back, some students had worn badges proclaiming
'Support Diggory, Ignore Potter the Rotter.' The ringleaders had been
punished under the Anti-Bullying policy, but it hadn't stopped Harry from being
hurt by it. Sirius had never been so glad that he'd insisted on being on site for
his son, for giving Harry somewhere that he could relax and be himself.
He wasn't impressed by Cedric Diggory either. Whatever good will had been
generated in hearing Cedric's stand on the night Harry had been announced
as a Champion had eroded. While there was nothing to suggest Diggory
himself had known about the badges before they'd appeared, he hadn't
exactly gone out of his way to state that they were unacceptable, and while
Sirius had gathered from Harry's discussions with Neville, Ron and Hermione
in their rooms that Cedric had stopped the more vociferous of his supporters
from parroting his father, he hadn't quite shut them up either. The Hogwarts'
Champion was, for the most part, ignoring Harry.
Strangely, both the other Champions seemed much more willing to think of
Harry's inclusion as a good thing. Viktor Krum was surprisingly a stalwart
supporter; he had turned up the evening before after apparently joining Harry
and the Gryffindor team for Quidditch practice. Sirius had kept watch through
an open study door to the living area in case he was needed but the
discussion had revolved around Quidditch and Seeker moves, with Krum
mentoring Harry like a big brother, or an older cousin. While Sirius still had
concerns about Krum's befriending Harry, who was so much younger than him
(and he figured some of it had to do with mutual issues with fame and
because it was good politics), he was satisfied that as far as the tournament
was concerned, Krum didn't have a hidden agenda.
It had been Wednesday night when Ron and Hermione had popped round to
do their homework with Harry that Sirius had finally heard how Fleur Delacour
had approached Harry at Monday lunch time to welcome him back and to
inform him she looked forward to competing against him. Ron had been the
one to blurt it out, mostly excited that Fleur was Veela. Harry had dismissed
the whole thing as 'not a big deal' but accepted it was a nice gesture on
Fleur's part. Sirius suspected that his dismissal of the French girl's action was
partly to reassure Hermione that she was still the one he wanted to ask out.
Not that Harry had asked Hermione out during the past four days which was
another source of frustration for Harry. The one time Sirius had asked how it
was going and if Harry needed any help, he'd gotten snapped at in a way that
Sirius remembered all too well from when James had been courting Lily. He
had carefully not inquired since. Harry would work it out himself; Sirius knew
that.
Sirius dragged his attention back to the Wizengamot which was settling back
down after an admonition by Albus.
Dirk Cresswell, the Chair of the Committee reviewing the laws on Magical
Races and Creatures, stood up again. "The Werewolf law passed in early
June is a resoundingly ugly piece of legislation. It doesn't do anything except
make it more difficult for a wizard or a witch infected with lycanthropy to find
work in the wizarding world." The thirty-something good-looking wizard glared
at the Wizengamot. "Imagine that you were bitten tomorrow. Immediately, you
would be removed from your positions within this body. If you own your
company, you are no longer able to retain ownership. If you work for someone
else, they have the right to fire you. If you have money and property…maybe
you will be able to buy Wolfsbane and survive. But if you need that job or
need your company or rely on the status this position brings you…well, you
will struggle the same way that over two thousand weres in our society
already do."
There was a resounding silence.
Sirius glanced around and noted that there were some considering looks on
those that a moment before had been vehemently opposed. His eyes swept
over one of the minor neutral houses – Zeller – because according to
Cornelius, there was a suspicion that Arnold Zeller was actually an
unregistered werewolf.
"This legislation pushes werewolves into criminal behaviour out of
desperation," Dirk continued passionately, "or it forces them to look for work in
the muggle world and to place the secrecy of our world at risk." He made
another sweeping look of the chamber. "I encourage you all to suspend this
law immediately. Thank you."
Dirk was good, Sirius thought, impressed by the wizard. He had been Arthur's
recommendation; a muggleborn wizard in the Goblin Liaison office who spoke
fluent Gobbledegook.
Albus cleared his throat. "Let's vote."
The vote was passed in favour of suspension but it was a close thing. The
Potter alliance remained steadfast despite some of the members previous
voting through the law. Sirius breathed a sigh of relief as the session was
closed and the Wizengamot started to empty.
Richard leaned over to him. "Shall we pretend to have an in depth
conversation so Diggory can't approach you?"
"That would be great." Sirius said with a grateful smile as he sketched a
privacy bubble. "Thank you."
"No problem." Richard said, grinning back at him. "I should be thanking you
for sending me to Paris again. Flick had a great time." He waved a hand.
"Only fly in the ointment was having to deal with Fevrier again. He really is a
little turd."
Sirius nodded. Turd was a surprisingly good description of the French
antiquities dealer; conman was the other term that came to mind. "I can afford
his stringing me along for a while."
"At least we have our eyes open." Richard admitted. "Merlin knows how many
people he must con out of a fortune."
"Too many." Sirius agreed. But he figured that Fevrier would acquire the
Lumiere translation by the beginning of the next year and that was the only
important thing.
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Chapter 458
"How's Remus?" Richard asked tentatively.
Sirius gave a soft hum in response. "Good, I think. He finds being Alpha a bit
awkward but the others haven't given him any trouble at the chateau and
seem to be accepting his leadership so…" he shrugged, "I'll be glad when
he's back."
"And is Harry prepared for the Weighing of the Wands?" Richard asked.
"As much as he can be." Sirius smirked suddenly at the memory of Harry
realised that his wand was going to be examined close-up. "He's taken a
sudden interest in polishing his wand and I don't mean metaphorically or
euphemistically."
Richard burst out laughing. He motioned towards the door. "We should be fine
to leave now."
Sirius dismissed the privacy bubble and the two of them made their way down
the stairs and out into the corridors of the Ministry. They parted at the
stairwell; Sirius headed for Arthur's office and Richard made his way home.
Arthur waved him in, his blue eyes shining a welcome. "Sirius! I hoped you'd
stop by."
"I wanted to apologise again for abandoning our weekly dinners," Sirius said,
sinking into the visitor's chair, "but I don't want to leave Harry alone."
"Don't worry," Arthur assured him, "Molly and I understand. How's it going?"
"I'm glad I'm there." Sirius said simply. "I think I'd have gone mad if I hadn't
managed to convince Albus to give us our own rooms and Harry had just
gone back and I'd had to support at a distance."
Arthur frowned, his freckled face creasing with concern. "I thought the other
students were being supportive?"
"His friends, yes; the Potter alliance and Gryffindor, for the most part although
some are more vocal and visible than others; the rest of the school?" Sirius
sighed. "It's a mixed bag because of the situation with Diggory." He motioned
with his hand. "It was easy in the heat of the moment on Halloween for them
to stand up and acknowledge that Harry hadn't entered himself but to continue
to support him when he's gone on record as saying he'll try to win when the
school already has a Champion?"
"It is a bold strategy," Arthur commented, "and given his history with facing
danger, I wasn't surprised by it. But I know Molly was hoping that he'd walk
out and do the least he needed to do to pacify the contract with the Goblet."
"It's not really Harry's style." Sirius murmured, a twinge of guilt running
through him as he considered it wasn't his style either and he hadn't even
attempted to convince Harry that there was another way of participating in the
tournament. "Maybe I should have…"
"No," Arthur cut in before Sirius could verbalise the thought, "you're right to
support his decision, Sirius. Harry is…he has instincts about these types of
situations and if you'd done a Molly with him, he'd have walked out to do the
task and gone with his instincts anyway, but without probably a tenth of the
preparation he's getting now."
Whatever Sirius had been about to say remained unsaid as Percy barrelled
into the room. Arthur's third son was clearly distraught and Sirius got to his
feet, intending to leave.
"I've resigned!" Percy declared, giving no sign that he had even registered
Sirius's presence.
"Oh Percy!" Arthur said, glancing in Sirius's direction.
Percy's chin came up. "It's pretty clear I'm going to be fired, and who can
blame them since I was stupid enough to almost get my own family killed! I
just didn't want to give them the satisfaction of kicking me out."
Sirius cleared his throat and finally Percy realised he was in the room. Percy
went bright red then white under hid freckles.
"I'll leave you to it." Sirius said diplomatically.
"Thank you, Sirius." Arthur said. "Stay in touch and if you need anything, let us
know."
"I will do." Sirius promised and made his escape.
It wasn't a surprise that Percy had resigned and Sirius thought it was probably
the right decision. The likelihood of Percy being fired was very high since
someone needed to take the blame for the breach of security that had
happened with Barty Junior and Percy was a handy scapegoat. It was a
shame but Percy hadn't endeared himself to his colleagues over the previous
months. Sirius made a mental note to talk with Remus about it. It was possible
that Remus needed an assistant to help with his steward duties and Percy, for
all his faults, was a good worker.
Sirius had barely taken three steps away from Arthur's door when Amos
Diggory appeared from a side office to stand in front of him, blocking his way.
"Black." Amos snarled.
"Diggory." Sirius returned evenly. Diggory had obviously waited for him. "I
don't think we have anything to say to each other, do we?"
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Chapter 459
Amos's face turned a strange purple colour and Sirius briefly worried Amos
was going to have a heart attack.
"Your solicitor may have threatened me, Black, but you'll find it's not that easy
to shut me up!"
Sirius hummed under his breath and reminded himself that punching Amos
wasn't a good idea. A waft of the other man's breath swept over him, and
Sirius got hit with the stench of whiskey. This was not good, Sirius mused.
"You were slandering my fourteen year old son, Diggory. You can hardly be
surprised that I stepped in. You would do the same if we were to make similar
comments about your son." Sirius attempted to keep his voice calm.
"My boy isn't an attention seeking glory hound!" Amos blustered.
"And neither is mine." Sirius retorted, trying to keep his temper and reminding
himself that Amos was counting on that very outcome. "I'll also remind you
that my son didn't enter himself."
"Right," Amos said derisively, "he was entered by the oh-so-conveniently
resurrected Bartemius Crouch Junior."
Oh, so that was his latest game.
Sirius smiled, and something must have registered with Amos that Sirius
smiling wasn't a good thing because he took a step back.
"You don't want to go there, Diggory." Sirius said softly.
"Or what?" Amos bit out.
"Or you'll find yourself contradicting an official Ministry and DMLE view,"
Amelia's voice snapped, causing both men to turn to face her, "and the last
time I looked, Amos, you weren't that stupid."
Sirius could have kissed her. Amos flushed brightly and scuttled away.
"You are a lifesaver." Sirius told Amelia as soon as Amos was out of earshot.
"I'm certain the life in question was Amos's." Amelia responded dryly.
"You'll get no argument from me." Sirius said candidly.
"Come on," she jerked her head towards her office, "you can floo to Hogwarts
from mine and I'll give you my take on how Harry won our duel last night."
Sirius gave a grin and fell into step beside her.
o-O-o
13th November 1994
Harry adjusted his robes, letting the fall of material straighten. He looked at
himself critically. His hair was as good as it was going to get, his glasses
gleaned showcasing his green eyes, and his outfit was smart - sharp black
trousers and a green silk shirt under his best black open robes with his family
crests proudly displayed. He was ready.
Panic stirred faintly in the back of his mind, but he pushed it away before it
could take hold.
He marched out of his room determinedly. Sirius looked up from reading the
paper and smiled at Harry as he picked up the pink rose Neville had dropped
off earlier that day.
"All sorted?" Sirius asked.
"I think so," Harry replied, hating the note of uncertainty that crept into his
voice. He took a deep breath and nodded with more confidence. "Yes.
Ready."
For a moment Harry thought Sirius was going to tease him as he often did
when the subject of girls was raised, but Sirius smiled again instead.
"I don't think you'll need it, but good luck." Sirius said with a wink.
Harry smiled gratefully and threw on his invisibility cloak – he didn't want to be
seen in transit with the rose. He left their quarters and made his way through
the school to the Runes classroom. It was empty and for a second Harry
wondered if he was going to be stood up, despite knowing that Hedwig had
delivered a positive reply to his request for a rendezvous that morning. Before
the thought could take root, the door opened and Hermione slid inside.
"Harry?" She called out softly.
He belatedly realised he was invisible and yanked the cloak off, throwing it
over his arm. Hermione smiled brightly at him and he smiled back at her.
"Hey," Harry said warmly, "you look great." And she did. Her hair had been
tamed again into soft curls that fell to her shoulders, and although she wore
her uniform it was pristine, the Gryffindor crest catching the sun coming
through the large windows. She looked very pretty.
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Chapter 460
"So do you." Hermione said shyly. She gestured at his hand. "Is that for me?"
Harry walked over to her and held out the rose. "It is. It's a token of...of, well a
small token of how much I like you." He tried to ignore how hot his cheeks
were burning.
"Thank you, Harry," Hermione took the rose with a nervous smile, "I think it's
the first time anyone has given me a flower."
Harry took confidence from her pleased expression. "I know you know, and I
know you know I know, but I wanted to ask you properly." He said a little
hesitantly. "So…" he took another deep breath. "I really, uh, like you and I
would really like it if you would agree to go on a real date with me?"
He was blushing again but so was Hermione and he held onto the delight in
her eyes as a good sign.
"I really like you too and I would really like to go on a real date with you too."
Hermione agreed softly.
They grinned at each other for a long moment before Harry reached for her
hand and Hermione tangled their fingers together. The feel of her hand in his
made Harry breathless. He squeezed her fingers gently.
"We do, uh, need to talk about…" He began.
She nodded enthusiastically, sending her curls bouncing. "Our friendship is
the most important thing; I don't want to ever lose that." She said quickly.
"And, of course, I don't want us to make things awkward for Sirius as far as
the House of Black is concerned." She grimaced. "We need to make sure Ron
especially doesn't feel left out too."
"Exactly." Harry breathed out a sigh of relief. "Sirius approves by the way."
Hermione smiled at him, her eyes alight with laughter. "I thought he might."
Harry smiled back because she was right; Sirius hadn't been at all subtle over
the previous week.
"And so does Ron," Harry continued, "but I agree; we should make sure he's
not left out."
"We will." Hermione assured him. Her face turned considering. "We really
need him to wake up and realise Lavender is head over heels for him."
"Maybe he will now we're…we're dating." Harry said, hopefully. Delight sailed
through him as he caught Hermione's flush at his words. He shifted position
as his conscience prodded him. "About the actual date…"
"We need to wait until after the first task." Hermione said firmly. "You've only
got just over a week to prepare after today's Wands ceremony and that has to
take priority."
Harry stared at her. "You are just…thank you." His fingers brushed the band of
red and gold on her wrist.
"Are you worried about it?" Hermione asked. "I've been trying to talk to you all
week but there's always someone else around and…well, everyone else is
getting ready for the Weighing of the Wands and we're alone so…"
He had chosen the time for them to meet up precisely for that reason.
"Yeah," Harry answered her initial question without thinking about it; they'd
been friends too long for him to think twice about confiding in her – he wanted
to confide in her, "I guess I am worried about it." He pushed his glasses up his
nose with his free hand. "It is going to be dangerous and just because I
wanted to make Voldemort regret entering me by doing well doesn't mean that
I think I'm actually going to do well. Although, I mean, maybe I think I'm going
to be OK with the first task? If it is something to do with magical creatures like
everyone thinks? Because I think I'm good with those and the study plan is
catching me up with theory and Moody was brilliant about tutoring me in the
spells you listed for me, but…" he sighed and met her warm gaze, "I usually
have you and Ron with me, you know? Whenever I've gone off to do one of
these insane things and…now it's just me."
"It was just you and Voldemort at the end of the traps, Harry," Hermione
reminded him, "and just you with the basilisk."
"You were there for Sirius though." Harry reminded her.
"But you were the one who produced the patronus that saved us all from the
Dementors." Hermione said quietly. "You're…you're brilliant at this type of
stuff. Do you remember what I said to you the first time? You're a great
wizard, Harry."
A flush of warmth rushed through and his gaze snagged on hers. It was a
perfect moment and his gaze dropped to her lips. His heart pounded a little bit
as he leaned in toward her and he could feel her shift, leaning towards him…
The door to the classroom flew open and Harry immediately turned
defensively, letting go of Hermione as his wand was unleashed from its
holster.
"Expelliarmus!" He yelled.
A blur of purple went sailing back through the doorway as a wand whipped
across the air between to land in Harry's outstretched empty hand.
He and Hermione rushed to the door and took in the sight of their potential
attacker lying on the floor of the corridor with a stunned expression.