"See you on Wednesday, Professor Sprout!" Anne pulled off her dragon-hide gloves and waved goodbye. Professor Sprout nodded in return, and Anne pushed open the greenhouse door to leave.
She had barely walked a few steps when she ran right into Hermione and Harry.
A familiar scene, only missing one person. Anne considered pretending not to see them, but behind her was the greenhouse, one path led to Hagrid's hut, and the road ahead went straight to the castle. It was almost dinnertime. After a moment's hesitation, Anne decided it would be quicker to just answer whatever they wanted and be on her way.
Harry and Hermione looked flustered, practically jogging up to her. By the time they stopped in front of Anne, both of them were panting, completely out of breath.
This might take a while, Anne realized. Better to just get ahead of it, she could probably guess what they were going to ask.
"I believe you didn't enter your name yourself, Harry," she said calmly, "but I don't know who did it or why. I do know what the first Triwizard task is, but I'm not going to tell you. However, I will give you a friendly hint, Hagrid knows what it is too. And given his nature, even if you don't ask, he's probably going to tell you anyway. Anything else?" She tilted her head slightly, as if thinking. "Hmm, I guess that's it. Dinnertime's almost here, can I go now?"
Hermione was still catching her breath, but she started smiling from the moment Anne said she believed Harry. "I knew it... I knew you'd believe Harry didn't enter himself. But… we actually came to ask if we could borrow Momo."
Harry, still breathing heavily, looked incredibly grateful that someone actually believed him. Few people did. He managed a short, breathless "Thanks…"
Anne blinked. Well, she'd guessed wrong. So they weren't here to interrogate her, interesting. And what was with this unshakable trust in her?
Still, if they just wanted to borrow Momo, it wouldn't take long. They didn't press her for more or drag her into the tournament mess. That was good enough.
"Momo? Sure. Just give me a second." Anne pulled out her wand and tapped a small silver bell hanging from her bag. A crisp, clear chime rang out… then silence.
"Momo will be here soon. You'll see." She held out her hand to Harry expectantly.
"Uh… I haven't written it yet," Harry said awkwardly.
Anne narrowed her eyes and stared at him for a moment. "Why are you always so slow? Time is money, you know…" What if all the good food in the Great Hall got snatched up before she got there?
Without another word, she quickly fished out a blank piece of parchment and a quill from her bag and shoved them into Harry's hands.
Harry immediately bent over his palm and began scribbling furiously.
Meanwhile, Hermione pointed at the bell on Anne's bag, curiosity piqued. "Anne, what is that? You hung it up last month, but I thought it didn't actually work, until today."
Anne smiled proudly. "Hehe, it's my new invention, still in testing. It looks like an ordinary bell, but inside is a kind of magical legume, 'round magic beans,' from a plant in the legume family. These beans have a special trait: if you activate one with magic, its twin, no matter how far away, will sense it and react. I gave Momo one to wear around his neck. So when this one rings, his rings too, and he comes flying right to me. Saves me from having to climb all the way up the owlery just to send a letter."
Just as she finished, a black owl dove swiftly from the sky and landed gracefully on Anne's shoulder, nuzzling her cheek affectionately. Anne patted Momo's head and chin, then lifted her arm.
"Come on, Momo, hop onto my arm."
Momo obediently shifted to Anne's forearm and stood there steadily. Harry, having finished the note, watched with fascination.
"Do a good job delivering this letter for this gentleman, alright? Work hard, and I'll give you something tasty next time."
Momo gave a very human-like nod and held out his leg to Harry, who tied the letter to it and whispered the recipient's name, Snuffles.
Anne didn't care who Snuffles was. As soon as Momo flew off, she packed her parchment and quill back into her bag and began speed-walking toward the castle. "Oh no, it's nearly dinnertime… better hurry! There's a new dish tonight!"
Hermione and Harry exchanged a smile and hurried to catch up.
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Monday
Care of Magical Creatures Class
"Look, everyone! It's the Champion himself," Malfoy said loudly to Crabbe and Goyle. "Did you get his autograph yet? Better hurry, doubt he's got long left. Half the Triwizard Champions died, didn't they? How long do you think you'll last, Potter? Ten minutes into the first task?"
Before he could say more, Hagrid came trudging out from behind his hut, arms full of wobbly, teetering boxes, each containing a massive Blast-Ended Skrewt.
"Did I miss anything?" Anne asked softly as she arrived from the castle path, walking toward Hagrid's hut. She leaned close to Fanny and whispered.
"Malfoy was just saying…" Fanny whispered back, halfway through her explanation when Hagrid began speaking loudly.
"Alright now, Skrewts've grown up some, but now they're killin' each other. Too much energy, nowhere to spend it. So today, each of yeh is gonna take one Skrewt for a walk, burn off some steam."
Anne stared. She had to have misheard that. "Did he just say… take a Blast-Ended Skrewt for a walk?" she asked Fanny, aghast. Fanny, face pale, nodded slowly.
And they weren't the only ones terrified, most of the class looked absolutely horrified.
Hagrid picked up a Skrewt and began demonstrating. "Just tie the rope here, around the, "
Snap!
A spark exploded from the Skrewt, and Hagrid jerked his hand back. "Er… maybe best yeh wear yer dragon-hide gloves for this. Safety first. Alright, everyone, grab a box, Harry, come here, get a big one just for you…"
Several Gryffindors shot Harry sympathetic looks as they reluctantly stepped up to claim their Skrewts.
The Skrewts looked nothing like they had at the start of term. They were over three feet long now, unnaturally strong. They'd grown thick, shiny, greyish-white armor plating, and resembled something between a scorpion and a stretched-out crab, still no visible eyes or head.
"Absolutely terrifying…" Anne muttered after the class finally ended. She dropped her box like it was cursed and hurried back to the castle with Fanny.
"Anne, I figured something out!" Fanny said mysteriously.
"Oh? What?"
"Ron and Harry had a fight," Fanny said, as if revealing a great secret.
"How do you know?"
"Well, yesterday at dinner, they didn't sit together or talk like they normally do. Hermione sat between them, and today during class, Ron and Harry didn't say a single word to each other. Ron only talked to Hermione, and so did Harry."
Ah. That explained why the famous Gryffindor trio hadn't shown up together yesterday. Anne thought about it and asked offhandedly, "So what do you think happened?"
"My guess is, it's because Harry got chosen for the Triwizard Tournament. That's a huge deal. Even Fred and George think he used some kind of trick to enter. They threw a big party in the Gryffindor common room the other night.
Ron probably thinks the same. His best friend enters a legendary competition and doesn't tell him how? Of course he'd be angry."
"Hmm, makes sense. Good reasoning, Fanny. Nice observation and analysis, smart thinking."
Fanny beamed. Anne's praise went a long way in lifting her spirits, which had taken a hit from the whole Blast-Ended Skrewt ordeal.
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In the following days, Harry had a rough time. Most students thought he had tricked the Goblet of Fire into selecting him, desperate for more fame.
Anne saw Cedric and Krum constantly swarmed by gaggles of students asking for autographs or photos, both younger and older.
One evening, when Anne returned to the Slytherin common room, she found Malfoy gleefully handing out badges that read:
"Support Cedric Diggory – The Real Hogwarts Champion. Potter Stinks!"
The words "Potter Stinks" flashed in blazing red letters. Malfoy laughed heartily, Crabbe and Goyle flanking him as usual, and every passing Slytherin was handed a badge, whether they wanted one or not. Anne saw a first-year try to walk past and ignore it, only for Goyle to raise a threatening fist.
"So childish…" Anne sighed, shaking her head as she walked past toward the girls' dormitory.
Perhaps emboldened by the crowd, or maybe forgetting how badly he'd lost to Anne before, Malfoy called out as she passed.
"Hey, Reeves! Want a badge?"
Most of the common room turned to look at her.
"No thanks," Anne said calmly, not breaking stride as she walked straight into the dormitory.
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