Chapitre 348: HPF201-210
Chapter 201
"After questioning the healer, he was taken
away and... further questioned. Apparently,
the Minister was just in time as the healer
was getting ready to dose them again. With
some of the potion on hand, a hospital
Potions Master was able to develop an
antidote and the Longbottoms were
immediately dosed with it.
"They woke up this morning. That is, the
potion was neutralised, allowing them to
come back to their senses, this morning.
They're now, in there, with family and a new
healer and medi-witch team."
"And, you're here, because?" asked Sirius.
"Orders. Apparently, direct from the Minister,
himself," said Senior Auror Savage. "'If
anything happens to them after they've so
recently woken up, it would disastrous!' were
his words, I think."
"Let me guess, said Sirius a little sarcastically.
"The story in tomorrow's Prophet will be
something along the lines of how the
Minister, himself, solved the problem of the
Longbottoms' long term insanity, and saw to
them getting their sanity back."
Savage just smirked and was about to say
something back when the door opened.
Madam Longbottom stuck her head out.
"Dumbledore gone?" she asked.
"Yes, Ma'am," replied the other auror as
Madam Longbottom looked about.
When her eyes recognised Sirius she looked
at him for a moment before she said, "Get in
here, Black." Then she held the door open.
Sirius said to the two aurors, "Nice talking to
you. And, thanks for blocking Dumbledore."
Both aurors smiled and nodded as he
stepped between them and through the
open door.
As soon as Sirius stepped in, Madam
Longbottom shut the door, pointed with her
chin and said, "This way."
She led Sirius down the length of the ward
and through a set of hospital shielding
curtains.
She immediately said, "Frank, Alice? Sirius
has arrived."
Stepping within, Sirius could see both were
sitting up on their beds, with both beds
pushed closer together. Both looked about
how he looked when he first escaped
Azkaban; but, a lot cleaner.
"Frank, Alice," he said giving both a smile
and nod. "You both look like shit."
The comment earned him a wide grin back
from both but an angry rebuke from Madam
Longbottom for both his remarks and his
language.
After dinner, while Harry was pacing the
floor in their apartment unable to
concentrate on assignments, he felt his
communications mirror vibrate. Whipping it
out he opened it up and waited for the
screen to clear.
As soon as Sirius appeared on the screen he
asked, "Well?"
"I am. Thank you for asking, Pup," his
godfather cheekily replied.
While Harry rolled his eyes in annoyance,
Sirius gave a little chuckle before he said,
"I've been in to see them both. I only left
their bedsides about ten minutes ago,
actually; when I was tossed out to allow
them to rest."
Before Harry could even ask his first question,
Sirius continued. "They're both well. Both
have their full mental faculties back.
However, they're also both quite weak.
That's understandable. It's going to take
them quite some time to rebuild their
wasted muscles and be able to at least move
about unaided.
"The first people they asked to see were
Madam Longbottom and Neville, of course.
However, while I was there, Alice asked after
you. She wants to see you. So, I'll be
organising a time for you to visit with
Professor Flitwick. I also had to tell them that
you are bonded to two witches in your year
as I expect you'll want to bring both when
you come in to visit with them. I didn't want
to tell them more than that because I didn't
want to shock them with it.
"Neville will be spending the next few days
living at Longbottom Hall and will return to
school on Sunday afternoon. He's not happy
with that. However, he has to attend school
and, therefore, cannot take too much time
off.
"While I was there Madam Longbottom and I
had a private chat. Apparently, their
Healer-of-Record had been dosing the both
of them with a senility-inducing potion. He'd
been paid by someone to keep them in that
state. That person had also been supplying
the healer with the potion. The DMLE cannot
get the name of the person who's been doing
that due to a Wizard's Oath. But,
current unsubstantiated belief is that it was
Dumbledore.
"Dumbledore?" asked Harry. "Why would
Dum... Ah!" he said, suddenly understanding.
"Yes," said Sirius. "Because of either who
Neville might be; or because Alice is your
godmother; or both. Plus, the potion used is
supposed to be something no one's ever
seen before. And that includes the team of
Potions Masters and Mistresses employed by
the hospital. They say it's almost alchemic in
nature."
"And Dumbledore apprenticed under the
world-renowned Alchemist, Nicholas
Flamel," said Harry.
"Precisely," agreed Sirius, before he changed
the subject. "I hear from her that Daphne
wrote to her asking her to investigate why
you've not received your Order of Merlin
yet."
"Yeah; I'm not that bothered by it, but both
my ladies are," replied Harry. "As slaying the
basilisk was something I did, not something
my parent's did for me in eighty-one, I'm
willing to go along with it."
"Well, she's now going to be busy with
tending to Frank and Alice," explained Sirius.
"So, starting tomorrow, I take over the
investigation."
"Of course," said Harry. "And thank her for
tending to it until now. It is very much
appreciated."
"I already have, knowing how you'd have
reacted," said Sirius.
"Thank you," said Harry, honestly moved his
godfather was looking out for his interests
and knew exactly how he'd react.
The second task was only a couple weeks off,
but Harry's mind was almost fixated on the
Longbottoms and how they came to be
woken up.
It was a few days later, on the weekend,
when Harry and the girls were picked up by
Sirius from Hogwarts and taken to Saint
Mungo's. They Floo'ed directly from
Professor Flitwick's office, this time.
"Remus has a job," said Sirius by way of
saying hello.
Chapter 202
"I know," said Harry. "He's working for the
Lily Evans Memorial Scholarship Fund."
"He's the Bursar," said Sirius.
"That means he runs the fund," said Harry,
not expecting Sirius to understand the
muggle term.
"You set it up for him," said Sirius, not even
asking.
"Did not!" denied Harry.
"Did too!" disagreed Sirius.
"Did not!" said Harry.
"Did too!" said Sirius.
"Did not!" said Harry.
"Did too!" said Sirius.
"Stop it, you two," interrupted Hermione.
Both just grinned at each other.
Arriving directly at the public Floo point at
Saint Mungo's the four made their way
directly to the fourth floor and to a private
ward just the other side of the Janus Thickey
ward.
Sirius gave a nod to the lone auror on guard
outside the door and led the three Potters
inside.
Walking in, Harry saw Frank and Alice, of
course; but also present were Augusta
Longbottom and Neville, Amelia Bones and
two other adults Harry hadn't seen before,
but looked a lot like those born as
Longbottoms.
Both beds were close together. And Harry
could see from the marks on the floor that
they were often pushed together and pulled
apart. A large window was letting in the
morning light that was showing a dazzling
display of colours from the various vased
flowers throughout the room. Neville was
carefully going through the various vases
muttering to himself.
As soon as he saw it was Harry, Daphne and
Hermione who walked in behind Sirius, his
face lit up both in happy surprise and, it
looked like, relief.
"Harry, Daphne, Hermione!" he exclaimed,
turning away from the vase of flowers he was
looking through. He quickly crossed the room
to be with them.
Surprising him, Hermione reached out and
embraced him in a hug. Daphne gave a little
snicker from the look of trepidation he wore
while hugging back and looking at Harry, and
stepped in for her own hug. That helped the
other boy relax.
Harry stepped forward and said, "Don't
expect me to hug you." He stuck his hand out
to shake and, as Neville almost solemnly
shook it, said, "Expect a hearty handshake
and..." slapping Neville on the arm, "... an
even heartier 'attaboy!'. So, attaboy!"
That earned him a grin in return and smiles
from everyone else.
A raspy male voice from the beds said, "Yep.
That's James's son, alright."
"Harry?" asked a tentative female adult voice
almost as raspy as the male voice.
Harry turned to look back at the Longbottom
parents, smiled and replied, "Yes, Ma'am.
Harry James Potter, at your service...
godmother."
With a smile Alice held out her hand and said,
"Come here, Harry. Let me get a good look at
you."
Harry walked over to Alice's side of the two
beds and held his own hand out to the
woman. She grasped it in her own and pulled
him a little closer.
"Yes," she softly said, peering at his face and
letting her eyes drift over his features. "The
Potter mop for hair. Lily's eyes, colour and
shape. Your paternal grandfather's jaw. But
you're rather undersized for a Potter. Potter's
are usually a little on the larger side than the
norm."
Instead of explaining why, Harry just smiled
back. "It's good to see you, godmother."
"Now," she said, still holding his hand. "I've
been told you have found yourself in a
three-way soul bond." Turning to look at
Hermione and Daphne, she asked, "I take it
these two lovely young ladies are them?"
"Yes, ma'am," he replied, also looking at
them.
Letting go of Harry's hand she beckoned to
them both. "Well, come over here and let me
get a look at you."
Harry stepped back as his two wives came
forward.
Reaching out with both her hands, Alice
grasped one each of Daphne and Hermione.
Peering at Daphne she said, "You'd be
Daphne. I can see the Greengrass and
Pinegrew bloodlines in you." And, turning to
Hermione, asked, "And you'd be...
Harmony?"
"Hermione," Hermione softly corrected.
"My apologies," replied Alice.
"It's a common mistake," said Hermione,
softly shaking her head. "I'm not offended."
"Thank you," said Alice. "He takes care of
you?" she asked, looking to them both.
"He does," said Daphne with a small smile.
"He's very good to us."
"Let me know if he ever needs setting
straight," Alice said quite firmly.
Both girls nodded.
As the ladies were talking, Harry moved out
of the way and beckoned Mesdames Bones
and Longbottom and Sirius over to the side.
When they joined him, he quietly said,
"Something about all this has been bothering
since I learned the news Frank and Alice
were back with us."
Frowning, Madam Longbottom warily asked,
"What do you mean, young man?"
Ignoring the unspoken put-down in the older
witch's voice and words, he replied, "It's the
timing of it all."
That got their attention.
Turning to Madam Bones, he asked, "Who,
among your aurors, did the Minister use to
investigate, as he claims?"
"No one that I know of," replied Madam
Bones. "I've been asking that same question.
None of my aurors have admitted to being
involved until the day we came to arrest
Healer... the healer."
"That's what I thought you'd say," he said.
"Why?" she asked.
Gathering his thoughts, Harry said, "What
I'm going to say is going to make me sound
like a conspiracy theory nutter. But, please,
hear me out."
He received a nod from Madam Bones and
Sirius but Madam Longbottom just frowned
at him.
"A little over a week ago, Daphne wrote to
Madam Longbottom asking her to investigate
why I've still not heard anything about that
Order of Merlin Chief Investigator Fitzwilliam
practically ordered the Minister to award me
for slaying the basilisk in the Chamber of
Secrets.
Chapter 203
"Madam Longbottom immediately set about
to discover why, only to find out it was being
held up in the Minister's office. Like a terrier
after a rat she went on a tear throughout the
Minister's office, and just wouldn't quit.
"Now, the Minister is always one for
garnering publicity. And, awarding an Order
of Merlin to whom the populace of magical
Britain consider a hero, would be a win-win
for him. He could use that to easily boost his
own popularity. So, I asked myself, why is his
office deliberately trying to block it?"
Harry could see the three adults hadn't
thought of that. And it was making them
really think.
"He was either bribed, or someone had
something over him," Madam Bones mused.
"Either way, he was obviously under
pressure," said Madam Longbottom, now
coming to understand where Harry was
going.
"Irrespective of whether it's a bribe or
blackmail, he was clearly under pressure to
block it," said Harry. "Personally, my money
is on either Dumbledore or Malfoy... or both
for different reasons."
"Alright, I've got that," said Madam Bones.
"But, what does that have to do with Frank
and Alice."
"Getting there," he said. "Now, the Minister's
in a bit of a pickle. He has to block me getting
the Order, but he also knows Madam
Longbottom won't quit. So, he's between a
rock and a hard place. He can't go against
Dumbledore or Malfoy and, if she keeps
going, Madam Longbottom is eventually
going to force him to make the award.
"So, he works out... or, I suspect Dolores
Umbridge worked out... their only hope laid
in getting Madam Longbottom to stop. But,
how to get her to stop? What was more
important to Madam Longbottom than her
responsibility to the alliance?"
"Family..." said Madam Longbottom softly,
suddenly understanding.
"Exactly," said Harry. "Now, threats were
never going to work. Especially, against
someone who combated three inner circle
Death Eaters and another,
and captured them. Nor against someone
who sits on the Wizengamot and is used to
the pompous blustering fool we call a
Minister, and his pet pink toad of an
Undersecretary.
"So, what I'm horrified to suspect I'm right
about," he said, carefully watching their
expressions. "I think the Minister... or far
more likely the Pink Toad... has known about
this healer dosing Frank and Alice with that
horrid potion for quite some time.
"The Pink Toad knew that Madam
Longbottom would drop everything and rush
to their bedsides if Frank and Alice came out
of their... illness. Nothing else would be as
important to her. Nor, should it be."
Harry could tell Madam Longbottom, let
alone Madam Bones with her decades of
investigative experience, was putting two
and two together and coming up with the
desire to kill a Minister and his Pink Toad.
"Now, let's put the facts together," said Harry,
forging ahead. "The Minister apparently,
according to him, runs an off-the-books
investigation into the health of Frank and
Alice, more than a decade after they were
hurt. Madam Bones is unable to
discover who of her aurors was involved in
that investigation, if any. This so-called
investigation reaches its conclusion right in
the middle of when Madam Longbottom,
who also happens to be the mother and
mother-in-law of the two who were hurt, is
on a tear through his office. This, at a time
when the Minister is far too busy trying to
fight off the effects of Madam Longbottom
on his office to get much work as a Minister
done, let alone anything else. It also happens
to be the one thing, or one of the very few
things, that would cause Madam Longbottom
to break off her tear. And what are you left
with?"
Harry could see the three adults well
understood. Madam Bones was both
stunned and appalled, as was Sirius. But,
Madam Longbottom was definitely building
up a head of steam.
"The bastards!" Sirius softly but angrily
muttered.
"I'm going to kill him," growled Madam
Longbottom. "I'm going to call him out;
him, and that Pink Toad."
"Gus; no!" said Madam Bones, a little fearful
for what her friend would do. "You leave
them to me. Let the law handle this."
"He's mine!" softly snarled a now thoroughly
worked up Regent Longbottom, hoping not
to be heard by her children.
"No!" snapped Madam Bones. "I need him
alive so I can force him to tell me who
pressured him to stop your investigation. I
want all the answers."
"I'm going to kill him!" snarled Madam
Longbottom, again and just as softly as last
time.
"No, you're not!" snapped Harry. "Augusta
Longbottom, you're going to stop acting like
a bloody Gryffindor and listen for a few
minutes. You can kill him later."
Shocked that Harry would speak to her that
way, the elderly witch stopped for a moment.
"We've got him, Augusta," he said.
"Him and that Pink Toad that simpers about
him. If you go and kill him his replacement is
likely to be just as bad.
"Fudge is only interested in four things. They
are: Holding on to power, his reputation, his
life, and the money he's obviously collecting
in bribes; probably in that order. We
can use that. With the threat of going public
with what we now know, we can blackmail
the shit out of him. We can force him to do
just about anything.
"Threaten him with going public and he'll be
forced to know, if we go ahead with it, he'll
get fired by the Wizengamot as Minister, his
reputation will end up in tatters, his bribe
money will dry up, and those who bribe him
will probably kill him for you anyway. Just kill
him and he's a wasted asset.
"Plus, we don't know when he... or, rather,
the Pink Toad... figured out what was going
on with your son and daughter-in-law. It may
not have been that long ago. Or, it might
have been years ago. We don't know.
"If we threaten him and keep him where he
is, he's ours to control. Amelia can still get
out of him who it was who demanded he
stop your investigation or block me receiving
the Order. She can do it in secret. It's time to
use their modus operandi against them."
"Alright!" she snapped back. "But,
afterwards, he's mine!"
"Fair enough," replied Harry, calmer now
that Madam Longbottom was not just going
to immediately hare off and kill the man and
his toad. "Now, I personally think this has
Umbridge written all over it. If Fudge knew
before now he'd have immediately used it to
boost his popularity. Especially after what
came out about me and Sirius a few months
ago.
Chapter 204
"Think about it. Why hold back something
like this if the only one you can blackmail is a
lowly healer? No. Umbridge was after, or
already knows, whoever it is that got the
healer to do it. I think, however, she was still
trying to figure that out and gather proof.
That leads me to suspect it was someone in
power who is a political enemy. And that
leads, most likely, to Dumbledore."
"Why Dumbledore?" asked Madam Bones.
"Dumbledore knows there's a prophecy
about me in the Hall of Prophecies. I think
it's about me facing Tom Riddle. So,
Dumbledore wants absolute control over
me," he explained, unsure of how much he
could tell them. "So he can, as he would put
it, directly guide me to my destiny."
"But what does that have... Alice is your
godmother," said Sirius, suddenly figuring it
out. "Just as I'm your godfather."
"Exactly," confirmed Harry. "Dumbledore
demanded magical guardianship of me. He'd
never have that if Sirius wasn't in Azkaban,
or Alice rendered... mentally incapable... of
looking after me. My guardianship would
have been given to either or both in joint
custody."
"You honestly think Dumbledore would
stoop so low?" asked Madam Bones.
"Yeah, I do," he sighed. "Think about what
he's been up to recently regarding me. He
sent me to live with relatives outside of the
magical world, and he blocked me from
receiving mail from it. Both of those led to
me having no idea about the magical world,
or my place within it, until I reached
Hogwarts as an eleven year old. I was...
magically clueless.
"Lately, he tried to stop me from clearing the
air about what my life was like, he tried to
stop me from telling the world Voldemort's
real identity, when my magical guardianship
was stripped from him he tried to get it back,
when I was emancipated he tried to have it
overturned and to again be awarded magical
guardianship, and he's tried to stick his nose
numerous times into my House business.
Why?
"Simple. He wants control of me and have
me stupid. There's no doubt, in my mind,
he's aware of the same prophecy in the Hall
of Prophecies. And he thinks he's the only
one who can guide me to fulfilling it the way
he wants it fulfilled."
Turning more fully to Madam Bones, he said,
"Amelia, I need to get into the Hall of
Prophecies to hear that prophecy. I think it
holds much of the answers as to what's going
on. And, I want you and Sirius, at least, there
when I hear it. Can you organise that?"
She looked back for a few moments before
she said, "First, I want to confirm
there is actually such a prophecy there. If
there is, I'll organise for you to hear it."
"Thank you," he replied.
"I'd like to be there, too," said Madam
Longbottom.
"You'd be welcome," he replied.
"In the mean time," said a clearly
determined Sirius, "I'm going to take up
where Augusta left off with the investigation.
Fudge... or Umbridge... might have thought
they've won this round; but, I intend for
them to learn they've simply replaced a
terrier with a grim that's just as tenacious.
"Maybe doing that will help us to learn of the
identity of whomever it is that's pressuring
Fudge to block Harry's Order of Merlin."
"Be careful when you do so," Harry said
firmly. "When they realise, as you put it,
they've just exchanged a terrier for a grim,
they may try a more... permanent measure."
Sirius nodded back and said, "I'll be careful,
Pup."
"Good," said Madam Bones. "And I'll attack
him from the other side with questions
about how he learned of the activities of the
Healer-of-Record."
"Then we begin to... extort... what we want
out of him," added Madam Longbottom,
equally determined.
"Then we have a plan, and a puppet." said
Harry. "Now we just have to figure out how,
and in what way, to make it dance to our
tune."
When the three returned to Hogwarts Harry
immediately told them of his talk with
Mesdames Longbottom and Bones and
Sirius.
"But, Harry; that's a lot of guesswork," said
Hermione.
"Yes, but also likely," said Daphne. "It fits
with what we know and makes sense. It also
shows a likely explanation of why the
Longbottoms were woken in this timeline,
but not in the original one.
"My letter to Madam Longbottom had her go
after the Minister and his office. That caused
the Minister and, likely, Umbridge to come
up with a way to stop her. Umbridge, in
response, used her knowledge of what was
happening to the Longbottoms to redirect
Madam Longbottom's attention, which she
didn't have to do in the original timeline. And,
the Longbottoms were revived."
"Yes," replied Harry. "Plus, I think it was
evidence against Dumbledore being the one
paying the Healer-of-Record to keep them
mentally incompetent she used against him
when she turned up here in our fifth year. I
think it's why he was such a wimp against
her and her activities. She might not have
actually had the evidence; but, telling him
she did, might have been enough to get his
compliance."
"This is what's had you so mentally
distracted these last few days, isn't it?" asked
Hermione.
"Yes," he replied.
"You know you can use us as sounding
boards, don't you?" she asked.
"Yes," he sighed, realising she was right. He
should have. "Sorry," he sheepishly said. "It's
just... I used to always just use my inner voice
to do this when I was... before I came to
Hogwarts."
They both understood.
Neville returned late afternoon on the
Sunday and immediately sought out the
three.
"What did you say to my Gran, Harry," he
demanded, as soon as the door to the
apartment was opened for him. "She's been
furious about something ever since. I know
it's not me, because she'd not have kept it
from me. But, she's clearly upset about
something."
Harry sighed and said, "Take a seat, Nev."
Neville walked over and sat down on the
edge of it, still looking quite antsy. And
clearly still wanting answers.
"I figured out the Minister... or Madam
Umbridge, more likely... knew your parents
were being dosed with that hideous potion
well before he, the toad and the aurors
stormed into the healer's office," Harry
explained, getting right to the point.
Chapter 205
"I also pointed out how it looked... how it
was such an incredible coincidence that the
Minister discovered what was happening to
your parents, as it was the same time your
Gran was on a tear through his own offices
about me not being awarded the Order of
Merlin he's supposed to award me, yet.
"And how, something happening to the
health of one of her family would be about
the only thing that would instantly stop your
Gran continuing her investigation."
Harry watched as Neville's face morphed into
one of great anger.
"It's just an incredible coincidence that what
was happening to your parents was
discovered and acted upon at the same time
your Gran was making life extremely difficult
for the Minister? I think not," replied Harry,
answering his own question. "That's what
your Gran, Madam Bones, Sirius and I were
discussing that angered your Gran."
Neville suddenly shot to his feet and began
pacing. Harry was thankful that the young
man wasn't immediately talking about going
and killing the Minister. But, the future Head
of House Longbottom was now clearly in
evidence.
The young man suddenly stopped and glared
at Harry. "How is it Gran hasn't gone straight
over there and confronted him with it? I'd
have expected her to challenge him to an
honour duel on hearing something like that."
"There are... plans in the works," replied
Harry. "We convinced your Gran not to
behave so brashly with this. We're going to
use this information to get concessions and
further information out of the Minister and
his Pink Toad, first. However, when the time
comes, your Gran will exact her vengeance
on both of them. Do not concern yourself
with that."
"What are the plans?" he snapped.
"I'm sorry, Nev. I spoke to your Gran as
Regent Longbottom; one allied House to
another," replied Harry. "I really shouldn't
have told you as much as I have. But, I
consider you my friend. And, if your father
still remains unable to take the mantle, you'll
be the Longbottom and Head of House soon
enough. I think you had the right to know
that much.
"However, the plans must remain secret.
Only four people will know what is going on,
and they're all Regents or Heads of Ancient
Houses. You need to trust in your
grandmother to do what is right for House
Longbottom."
Neville scowled back but didn't disagree.
"You've had a Hell of a couple of days,
Neville," said Hermione. "Here you were,
another day of school at Hogwarts. Suddenly,
you're told your parents have... woken up
from their conditions. You're quickly sent
through to see them. You probably don't
even believe it until you actually get to lay
eyes on them and see it for yourself..."
He nodded back, a little sadly.
"A couple of days later and you're beginning
to accept they're back," she continued.
"Suddenly, Harry's there telling your
grandmother something. She becomes quite
angry about what he's told her; and, she's
been angry ever since. And you now find
yourself happy about your parents, but
worried... if not a little afraid... about your
grandmother."
Again he nodded.
"It's completely understandable," she said,
walking over to give him a hug where he sat.
"Has what Harry told you helped?" she asked,
pulling away from him a little.
"Yeah," he croaked, a little emotional.
He looked to Harry, cleared his throat a little,
and asked, "So, you think the Minister knew
about what Healer Tompkins was up to and
didn't act until he needed a way to... divert
my grandmother?"
"Close," replied Harry, surprised Neville
figured out that much so quickly. "I
think Madam Umbridge, the Pink Toad,
figured it out... when, I don't know... and
gave that tidbit of information to the
Minister, so he could use it to divert your
grandmother's attention away from her
investigation.
"I'm sorry it's upset your grandmother, Nev;
when she should be experiencing a period of
great happiness..."
Neville gave a wave off gesture. "You were
honour-bound to tell her, Harry.
I know that," he sighed, sitting further back
in his seat to lean back onto the backrest.
"But now you know what happened," said
Daphne. "You're going to need to keep that
you know a secret. How're your Occlumency
shields?"
"Pretty good," he replied. "I might not keep
out a powerful Legilimens; but, I'll know if
they're rummaging around in there."
"Good," said Daphne. "That should do. We're
worried someone like the Headmaster might
get it into his head to read your mind to find
out what you know."
"He's tried. So has Snape," he replied.
"They've not tried since I first detected them
both, though. That was in first year."
"Yeah, same with me," said Daphne.
"You both know that's illegal, right?" asked
Harry.
"Yes. But, where's the proof?" asked Daphne.
"Unlike when Dumbledore tried it on you in
his office, he'd have cleared his wand before
we could get the aurors here."
During the days leading up to the second task,
Harry trained a fair bit more, but also made
both his wives also train minimal wand
movement casting. His argument was, if
either of them were taken down to the
bottom of the lake, they'd also likely be
casting spells underwater.
Of the two, Hermione was managing it a bit
better. Her wand gestures were more precise
- and, therefore, lent themselves better to
minimal casting - and were quicker. But,
Daphne was more accurate and able to think
more creatively.
As soon as classes finished for the day, a
Monday, the three hurried back to their
apartment. Once inside, both girls handed
off their wands to Harry. But, with a slight
change of plan, both girls strapped their
second wands to the inside of their thighs
with tape.
Harry looked on, amused. "Do I need to be
jealous of a wand? I think those two sticks
are going to get more action than me,
tonight."
"You get enough," Hermione smirked back.
Not wanting to appear as if they knew what
was going on, the three went down to dinner,
as per usual. It was as they were about to
leave that Professor Flitwick asked the three
of them to accompany him to his office off
his classroom.
Once in the charms corridor, as it was
unofficially known, the Professor ushered
them inside his office.
After taking seat, he turned to them and said,
"Mister Potter, have you determined the
nature of the second task, yet?"
"Yes, Professor," he replied. "Some... item... I
place great personal value in will be taken
from me and will end up in the lake. My task
will be to recover it."
"Errr... not quite," the Professor corrected.
"A... person... will be taken and placed in the
bottom of the lake."
Chapter 206
"That's not what the clue states, Professor,"
Harry angrily retorted. "It states: 'Come seek
us where our voices sound; we cannot sing
above the ground. And while you're
searching, ponder this: we've taken what
you'll sorely miss. An hour long you'll have to
look; and to recover what we took. But past
an hour - the prospect's black; too late, it's
gone, it wont come back'.
"That means it's something... not someone."
With a sigh the little Professor said, "Be that
as it may, it is hostages that have been
chosen for you for the four of you to rescue. I
suppose that's what they mean by 'it'."
Shaking his head, Harry asked, "So they want
a hostage. Any idea who they've chosen for
me? Or, don't I get to know until I find
them?"
"That's what this meeting is about, Mister
Potter," replied Flitwick. "For the three
champions a hostage was selected without
their awareness. The champions won't even
know that until they arrive on the dock of
the Black Lake.
"However, you're a little different. Because
you're sharing an apartment with these two
ladies, if one of them was to be taken the
evening before, you'd immediately know of it.
And then you'd spend the evening and night
searching the castle for them before calling in
the aurors.
"And that's why the three of you are here. If
anyone other than one of these two ladies
was taken, it would not be someone you'd
sorely miss. So, I convinced the Headmaster...
especially given the nature of your bond and
your heightened level of protection over
them both... you should be told one would
be taken and put in the lake."
Harry snorted and said, "You can tell the
Headmaster you've just saved his life, at the
worst, or saved him a long stay in hospital, at
the least. That aside, I take it you're asking
permission for one of these ladies to be
placed at the bottom of the Lake?"
"That's it exactly," the Professor replied.
Harry turned to his wives and asked, "Are
either one of you willing to do this?
Remembering, of course, I really don't give a
toss about the whole thing."
Daphne and Hermione looked at each other
before both turned back. Hermione said,
"We've decided, and it'll be me that get's
taken."
"You're sure?" asked Harry. "I know I'll get to
you well before the hour's up, but it means
you're going to get wet and look pretty
bedraggled coming out of the lake."
"We're sure," smiled Hermione.
"I have no idea, other than voyeur thrills,
why a hostage needs to be taken," said Harry
turning back to the Professor. "But, it seems
Hermione's volunteered and willing to be
taken.
"However, if Daphne's taken because
Dumbledore's decided other than my choice.
I call the aurors rather than jump into the
lake. I'm telling you, in advance, it will be
considered a kidnapping, and I will press
charges against him."
"Understood, Mister Potter," the little
Professor replied.
Daphne and Harry left Hermione behind in
the Professor's office and, quite tense,
quickly headed back to their apartment.
"Did you cast the tracking charm?" asked
Daphne, as soon as they were in the door.
"Of course," said a somewhat distracted
Harry.
"She'll be fine, Harry," she said.
"Hmmm?" he asked before he said, "Oh!
Your wand." And pulled her wand from his
pocket, handing it to her.
"That's not what I said; but, thank you," she
said, taking it from him.
"Do you know, this is going to be the first
night we've been more than a couple of
rooms away from one another since we got
back?" he asked.
She softly sighed and replied, "I know. And
the first night we've not all slept in the same
bed since returning from the Christmas
break."
"You also realise this means I don't get to yell
at Dumbledore for kidnapping one of you
two, right?" he asked.
"I know," she replied. "But that was only a
bonus. It has no effect on the task at hand.
Harry, worried and muttering to himself
while he tried to work on homework, soon
gave that up as a wasted idea. He sat back
and said, "That's not going to work."
Setting her own homework aside, she moved
to sit next to him. "Do you want to go
through the plan again?"
"No," he sighed. "It'd just worry me more."
"Ancient Runes memorisation charts?"
He thought about that for a few moments
before he sighed and replied, "Why not. Let's
give them a go."
"Which set?" she asked. "Elder Futhark,
Younger Futhark or Anglo-Saxon Futhorc?"
"Elder, I think," he replied. "I think it's easier
to work with."
"Elder, it is," she replied.
After about an hour of memorisation testing,
together with examples of how the rune
could be used in modern wizardry, Harry
called it quits.
"Sorry," he said. "I think that's more than
enough."
"Actually, you did very well," she said.
"When you stop trying to let your head get in
the way, and just rattle off what you now
instinctively know, you do brilliantly."
"Something to work on, I suppose," he said,
still distracted.
With an annoyed sigh, she called Dobby. And
the little elf popped in.
"Yes, Mistress?" asked the little elf.
"Could you bring me a Calming Draught,
please?" she asked.
"Yes, Mistress," replied Dobby, before he
popped away.
He was back a moment later with a small
phial of potion, and handed it direct to
Daphne.
"Thank you," she said.
And he popped away again.
"Pack everything up," she said to Harry.
"We're going to bed."
Once everything was packed away, Daphne
dragged him into the bedroom, where they
both readied for bed.
For her part, she simply stripped off and
climbed in.
Once they were both in, nude, she handed
him the phial and said, "Drink."
He downed it and laid back, hoping he'd drift
off soon; but Daphne had other ideas. She
reached across and grasped him, beginning
to massage him.
"Errr, Daph?" he asked, a little surprised by
her ministrations. "You do realise you just
gave me a Calming Draught, right?"
"Of course," she said. "But, I don't think a
Calming Draught, alone, is going to get you to
sleep."
"And what do you intend to do to help, when
what you're doing is keeping me awake?" he
asked
"This," she said, before suddenly ducking her
head under the blankets.
A moment later and Harry moaned,
"Oh, my!"
He wasn't even able to return the gift before
fading off to sleep.
Chapter 207
The next morning both were up, dressed and
down early to breakfast in the Great Hall.
Though again tense, Harry had calmed a lot
and had actually had a good night's sleep.
After breakfast, they returned to the
apartment so Harry could change into his
swimwear. He donned the thermals, and
then pulled his swim trunks on and, finally
the tight elasticised t-shirt he wanted to wear,
over the top.
His wand went into its sheath on his right
arm, with Hermione's in the sheath on his
left. That one was disillusioned. Finally, he
strapped his dive knife in its sheath to his left
thigh.
He pulled on his pair of lightweight trainers
for his feet, and stood ready to go.
Daphne gave him a quick check over to
ensure he had everything, and handed him
the little bag of gillyweed. Finally, she
grabbed his heavy, winter cloak and pulled it
around his shoulders, fastening it in place.
"You're ready," she said.
Harry nodded, squared his shoulders, and
said, "Thank you. Now, let's go get our wife."
On the dock sticking out into the lake, Harry
was able to manoeuvre things so that he
stood next to Delacour. "Miss Delacour?" he
softly asked her.
Looking askance at him she softly replied,
"Mister Potter."
"Stay out of the kelp beds, alright? They're
full of vicious grindylows," he softly but
firmly said to her.
She looked at him for a while longer before
clearly deciding he wasn't trying to sabotage
her. "Thank you," she replied, and turned
back to the preparations.
With her attention no longer on him, Harry
moved away and stripped out of his robe and
trainers. And immediately activated the
runes Daphne had weaved into his thermals
to keep a Warming charm activated and his
body warm. The layout was designed to keep
his trunk warm and faded out to the
extremities.
Once Harry began disrobing, so did the three
Champions.
He quickly checked himself over to ensure he
still had everything. Gillyweed, check.
Hermione's wand - still disillusioned, check.
Knife in sheath and strap securing it, check.
Dive watch - of course, check. Rune-based
warming charm activated, check. Ready to
rock!
Once he was ready he looked to the judges
table for the first time. As expected he saw
Dumbledore looking back at him with not a
little worry on his face.
Calling over, Harry said, "Headmaster
Dumbledore. Did you warn the merfolk that
if they get in my way I'll kill them?"
His face almost immediately changing from
worry to anger, Dumbledore replied, "Yes,
Mister Potter. However, I also warned them
you won't attack unless directly provoked.
Don't make a liar out of me."
Harry was going to taunt the old man about
how he already thought he was a liar; but
Bagman, realising he had to say something
fast, stepped forward and cast his Sonorus
charm.
Bagman ran through his spiel for the
spectators, who wouldn't actually be able to
see anything, anyway, and he was about to
start the countdown. As soon as he called
'three' Harry threw the mouthful of
gillyweed into his mouth and braced himself
for the change.
On 'One!' he readied to dive into the water,
doing so a second later, and waited for the
transformation to complete. It did, a few
seconds later.
He popped his wand, cast a quick Point Me
charm to ensure his direction, then pointed it
behind him and cast the Aguamenti charm
while also kicking with his now very large
webbed feet. Holding on to the wand tightly,
he soon caught up to, and passed, the other
three competitors. The only one who had any
chance of keeping pace with him was Victor
Krum. His incomplete transformation into a
shark allowed him to breathe under water
and travel quicker than the other two; but,
without a tail, most of his propulsion was
lacking.
Harry maintained a steady rhythm that
powered him through the water. He
conserved as much energy as he could, and
kept the pumping of his legs and magic
through his wand at a pace he was
comfortable with.
He felt he was about halfway there when he
suddenly heard the voice of Moaning Myrtle
Cummings from off to the side. "How're you
getting on?" she asked.
Harry grinned back and flipped her a thumbs
up. He'd completely forgotten Myrtle had
helped point him in the right direction in the
previous timeline.
"You're doing very well, and you're going
really fast!" she said. "You just need to turn
ever so slightly to the left."
He flipped her another thumbs up and made
the slight course correction.
"You're a little over halfway there, Harry,"
she said. "I'd like to stay some more and
guide you right in, but they don't like me
very much. They chase me away." And, with
that, she was gone.
When he knew he was close he began to
hear the merpeople's song. A quick stop, a
recast of the Point Me charm, and he was on
his way again. He only had to change his
direction a few more degrees to the left to
have him heading direct to the village.
Coming up on the village from high, he
ensured he passed over many of the merfolk
below before conjuring up a heavy dumbbell
to hold in his left hand. Using that, he then
dropped straight down into the centre of the
village as if in the aquatic version of a
Wronski Feint. He simply dropped the
dumbbell once he was about five feet off the
bottom, allowing it to continue to fall and
puff up a small cloud of silt as it landed.
Right in front of him were the four hostages.
As per the previous timeline they were in an
enchanted sleep and fully clothed. Each was
tied to the tail of a single large statue of a
merperson. Harry assumed it was the
founder of the merpeople's enclave, here, in
the Black Lake.
He spotted Hermione immediately, of course.
Either side of her were Megan Jones of
Hufflepuff, and little Gabrielle Delacour. And
Cho Chang was on the other side of Megan.
'Hunh!' he thought. 'I'd forgotten Krum went
to the Ball with Jonesy, this time.'
He quickly pulled the knife from it's scabbard
at his left thigh and moved forward to cut
the kelp rope tying Hermione to the statue.
He pulled her adrift before cutting a short
piece of the kelp and using it to tie her hair
back. The movement of the water had it
getting in the way of her being able to see
clearly.
Resheathing his blade, he switched hands to
hold her and used his wand to cast the
Bubblehead charm at her head, using his
deep unabiding love for her to power it to
make it last as long as possible. He knew she
was capable of casting it silently; but, didn't
want to take the risk of it failing before she
reached the surface, and being unable to cast
it again.
Chapter 208
As expected and hoped, she woke up. For
only a moment she was confused before her
eyes snapped to look into Harry's own eyes.
She grinned back.
With a grin of his own, Harry released his
grip on her and handed over her wand.
Watching, he could see she was struggling a
little to stop from floating up. So, he created
a small dumbbell she could hold in her left
hand. It only weighed about a pound but,
apparently, it was enough.
Harry pointed upwards to her before
pointing two fingers to his eyes before
making it look like he was peering into the
distance. She nodded back, knowing the
plan.
Kicking her legs a little she floated upwards
before coming to a stop about twenty feet
up.
While he waiting for her to get into position,
Harry took a look around, himself. For the
first time, he realised the merfolk warriors
had closed in and were making threatening
gestures to him.
Again, he drew his knife and gave them a bit
of a maniacal grin before threatening them
right back. They immediately backed off,
though still looked angry.
'Dumbledore did warn them,' he thought.
'Thank God.'
And there they waited for the other
competitors.
After a while Harry glanced at his watch and
realised the first of the other champions
should just about be onto them.
However, the merfolk seemed to rally their
courage and started to move back in again.
Again, he had to threaten them to make
them back off.
With the merfolk backed away again, Harry
glanced up at Hermione. Catching his eye,
she gestured off into the distance before
holding up two fingers. Two champions were
now within visual range. She hoped one of
them was Delacour.
A few minutes later, he saw Krum's shark
form come swimming in to the village.
Delacour was not far behind. Thankfully, the
vision of a half man half shark was enough to
scare the merfolk right off.
As Krum approached, Harry held up the knife
to show him.
As soon as Krum arrived he paused just a
moment before he made as if to bite at the
kelp. Instead, Harry moved forward and cut
the kelp for him, thereby lessening the risk of
a bite wound to his hostage. He thought
Jonesy would appreciate it.
Krum looked at him for a moment before he
made a weird sort of bow. He then grasped a
loose end of kelp rope with his teeth before
heading for the surface with his hostage.
By the time he'd finished Delacour had
arrived. Again, he stepped forward to cut the
kelp. However, this time, the merfolk
warriors tried to step in. They were looking
quite angry.
Harry cut the kelp while also raising his wand
to point at the nearest merfolk. Delacour
hadn't seen them moving in, so fixedly was
she attending to her hostage – her younger
sister.
As soon as young Gabrielle was free, Fleur
looked around for Harry, and saw that he
was holding off the merfolk.
He cast a quick glance at her, and pointed to
her before he jabbed his finger skywards. As
she began to ascend, towing her little sister,
Harry brought up the rear, waving both his
wand and knife around at the merfolk.
He again cast a quick glance upwards and
saw Hermione latch onto the robes at the
shoulder of young Gabrielle, before adding
her efforts to those of Fleur to ascend.
Hermione nearly hit him with the dumbbell
weight as she let it fall from her grasp.
With the ascent now assured, two of the
merfolk tried to dash forward with their
spears raised threateningly. Harry cast a
quick two bludgeoning curses to the face of
both before all the merfolk backed off again.
At that point he swum up under Gabrielle
and, pushing upwards against her bum with
his shoulder, rapidly kicked with his massive
flipper like feet and powered all three to the
surface.
Watching as Hermione created a small boat
for the three of them, he then boosted,
Hermione first, then Gabrielle, and finally
Fleur, into the boat before he moved around
to the rear of it.
He held his breath and stuck his head out of
the water for a moment to orient himself
before dropping back under.
Gripping the stern end of the keel, he turned
the boat in the direction of the dock and
powered it back. Unsurprisingly, he passed a
now untransformed Krum with a struggling
Jonesy. It looked like the girl couldn't swim.
But he watched as Hermione conjured a
small raft for them as they passed, leaving it
in the water for them.
As soon as Harry had pushed the boat to the
dock, he quickly checked his watch. He
figured he had time.
Quickly, he powered back to the village; but,
only made it about three quarters of the way
back before he saw Diggory and Chang
swimming on the surface.
He stopped just ahead of them and conjured
another small boat. Then helped them both
to climb in before pushing it back to the dock
just as his gillyweed ran out.
As he climbed out he was lifted under his
arms by Krum and Diggory, who pulled him
the rest of the way up onto the dock. As they
stepped away from him a blanket was
thrown over his form and together with
Diggory, Krum, Hermione, Chang and Jones -
who also all had blankets draped over their
forms - he was hustled off to the medical
tent. Obviously, the two Delacours couldn't
wait. But, Harry was okay with that,
considering both were Veela.
As he entered the medical tent, Fleur dashed
forward and wrapped her arms around him
in a big hug for a moment. She then backed
off and gripping the sides of his head, quickly
planted a big kiss to each of his cheeks.
"Zank you, Monsieur Potier!" she exclaimed,
almost gushing with gratitude. "Zank you!"
"Hey you!" called Hermione. "Get your mitts
off my man!" But, a quick look at Hermione's
face, and you could tell she wasn't angry; she
was grinning.
Fleur immediately released Harry and quickly
moved in to hug Hermione. "You too!" she
cried. "Zank you! Zank you!"
Harry just rolled his eyes as Madam Pomfrey
was trying to get them all to sit on hospital
cots.
Quickly, while angrily declaiming the whole
event, the medi-healer forced Pepper-up
potions into each of their hands. "Who ever
had the stupid idea of holding
a swimming competition, in the Black Lake,
in the middle of winter, needs their collective
heads examined!" the medi-witch angrily
muttered. "Of all the idiotic,
Merlin bedamned..."
Chapter 209
Harry just tuned her out and made sure
Hermione was alright. He cast drying and
drought charms on them both before moving
to do the same to young Jonesy. Fleur had
already looked after her sister's needs, and
he figured the champions could take care of
their own.
A few moments later, Daphne hurried in and
engulfed the both of them in a hug. "Thank
Merlin you're both alright!" she softly
exclaimed while holding on to the both of
them.
"We are, love," replied Harry, just as softly.
"We are."
Pulling her head back a little to look them
both in eyes she asked, "Did the plan go off
alright? From what I could see it did."
"Yeah, it did," said Harry. "I only had to hit
two of the merfolk in the face with weak
bludgeoning curses to get them to back off.
The rest of the time they just threatened.
They weren't happy I took their toys away
from them."
"Well, you've got the judges all arguing now,"
she said. "Karkaroff is trying to claim Krum
should get the maximum points and first
place for the task because Krum was the first
back to the surface. Maxime is arguing that,
as the elder Miss Delacour was the first onto
the dock with her sister when you pushed
them all back in the boat that Delacour
should receive the maximum points and first
place. But the others are arguing that you
were the first to reach and rescue your
hostage, which was the point of the task,
so you should receive maximum points and
first place.
"There're also arguments that you interfered
with the task for the other competitors
except Diggory and, therefore, you should be
disqualified. And that points should be
deducted from Krum and Delacour because
you had to step in to help them. It's a mess."
"Not if we have anything to say about it!"
exclaimed Diggory. Harry didn't realise they
were all listening in.
Diggory turned to the other two champions
and brought them into a huddle, as Harry sat
with his wives. Daphne blushed and looked
sheepish at him and softly said, "Oops!" This
just made Harry lightly chuckle while
Hermione grinned back at her.
Not more than fifteen seconds later, their
mini huddle broke up. Diggory turned to
Harry and said, "Come on. We're going to see
the judges."
Harry gave a little grin and shrugged his
shoulders. "Okay," he said as he climbed
back to his feet, ready to follow the other
three. "But, as I've made clear, I'm really not
interested in the points."
"Maybe not," replied Krum. "But, vee are."
Just as they were standing, Daphne suddenly
reached out with the lid and glass halves of a
glass jar and snagged something from
Hermione's hair between them. Quickly
pulling the two from Hermione's hair, both
Harry and Hermione's eyes widened at what
she'd caught within the jar, as she screwed
the lid down firmly - one animagus water
beetle. And the beetle was frantically trying
to escape.
Holding the now sealed jar in her left hand
she pulled Harry's knife from its sheath on
his thigh and quickly stabbed a couple of
holes into the lid, before handing the knife
back. Hermione's hand came up with her
wand and she cast an Unbreakable charm on
the jar.
As the three grinned at each other and
followed the three champions back out of
the tent, Daphne slipped the jar into her
pocket. "We'll have a chat with nosey Miss
Skeeter back in our apartment, later."
The four contestants, plus their four hostages
and Daphne, all walked back down to the
dock where the judges were gathered and
still arguing.
As they walked onto the dock, Bagman saw
them and his eyes lit up. He was about to say
something when Diggory pulled his wand out
and cast a Cannon Blast charm into the air.
That frightened just about everyone within
ten feet. But, it did silence the judges, which
was the effect he was going for.
"Since none of you could see what was going
on below the water, perhaps you should
ask us what happened before you think of
awarding anyone points, hmm?" he asked.
Harry cocked an eyebrow in amusement at
that. He never saw, before, that Diggory had
a firm backbone and could stand up to
authority figures like that. Especially, when
three of those authority figures were the
Heads of schools.
"Now, Cedric my boy," said Dumbledore.
"We'll be with you in just a moment."
"Yet, vee are wif you now," said Krum with
his somewhat laconic style of speaking.
"Zey are... correct," said Delacour. "We
will not accept points unless our views are
'aird."
With the three Heads, Bagman and Crouch
the elder all looking back in surprised shock
at the four competitors, Dumbledore looked
to Harry and asked, "Is this your view, as well,
Mister Potter?"
With a snort, Harry replied, "I've told you
before, Headmaster; I really don't give a shit
about the points. However, these three do;
and I'm here to present a... united front, so
to speak."
With his disappointed grandfatherly persona
going full blast, Dumbledore said, "Very well.
Then it behoves us to listen to what you have
to say."
"Dumbledore; surely, you can't..." began
Karkaroff.
Dumbledore didn't even turn to look at the
man. He just held his hand up in a stop
gesture and expected silence. He got it.
"Mister Diggory?" he enquired. "I take it you
wish to put your views?"
"We do, Headmaster," he corrected. "Harry
won this event, just as he clearly did in the
first task. You lot robbed him of his rightful
points for that task. You will not rob him of
his rightful points for this one. He will get full
points and, if you can swing it, he'll get bonus
points for clearly saving the lives of both
Miss Delacour and her hostage, her sister.
"This whole... farce... is supposedly about
friendly competition between the schools.
You, as the judges, obviously seem to have
forgotten that. However, we have not. And
Harry staying behind to assist Victor, before
then saving the lives of both Miss Delacours,
epitomised that. I daresay the only reason he
did not remain behind to assist me is because
he had to get the Delacours out of there."
He turned to look questioningly at Harry.
Harry nodded back at the boy before
returning his attention to the judges.
"Obviously, those who set up this event
clearly forgot two important facts," he said.
"First, Veela... as creatures of fire and air...
are grossly disadvantaged by an event held
underwater. That created a
very unfair playing field.
"And, second, you all were so
fucking stupid as to utterly forget that Veela
and Merfolk are mortal enemies; and that
the feud between them has existed for
centuries. We, however, did not. That's why I
stayed back. I was worried the merfolk were
going to seize their opportunity and kill both.
By the way they attempted to attack as I
assisted Miss Delacour, it appears we were
correct.
Chapter210
"Now, since both also happen to be the
granddaughters of the head of the main
Veela enclave in Europe... and, together, are
well-known to be the only children of the
Head of the French DMLE... it still seemed to
take the understanding of three teens to
figure out what was going to happen, both in
the water and afterwards, if we didn't
intervene.
"Tell me, Chief Warlock Dumbledore, is
magical Britain ready to prosecute a war
against both magical France and the entire
Veela populace? Because, if either or both of
these young ladies were killed down there
today, I think even people as stupid as you
lot have proven yourselves to be could
understand what was going to happen."
He waited for that to sink in before he turned
back to Diggory. "Sorry, Cedric; you were
saying?"
"Errr... yes," said Diggory getting his thoughts
back in order. He turned to the now
thoroughly stunned judges and said, "That's
even more of a reason why Harry won this
event. So, we don't care how you do it, but
Harry comes first by a wide margin, Victor
comes second, Fleur comes third and I come
fourth. That's the order we rescued our
hostages, which was what we were told the
task was. We're agreed; now, make it happen.
If you don't do it that way, all four of us will
challenge your rulings, as per the contract, in
an open court of findings."
Dumbledore stood a moment more looking
into the faces of the resolute competitors
and hostages before he turned back to the
other four judges.
As the judges, again, huddled and conversed,
Diggory gestured for the others to move
away and form their own huddle.
Harry grinned and said, "Cedric Diggory... the
idyllic Hufflepuff one moment, the epitome
of Gryffindor courage the next."
"Shove it, Harry," he said, making Harry
snicker, before looking at Delacour. "Is what
Harry said true?" he asked. "Is there a feud
between the Veela and Merfolk?"
"Oui!" she said. "Zough, I must admeet,
even I forgot zat. It makes Monsieur...
'Arry's... show of bravery zat much more...
impressive."
As they talked they were finally interrupted
by Bagman's Sonorus. "The judges have
reached a decision!" he cried.
The points were then tallied as the
champions demanded. Harry received
forty-eight points, Krum received forty, as did
Delacour, and Diggory received thirty-eight.
Harry just snorted in amusement back at a
grinning Diggory, and escorted his two wives
back to the castle. This time, he walked back
accompanied by the three champions and
their hostages. Krum broke off to return to
the ship to change, the Delacours broke off a
short while later to return to their carriage to
do the same, and the rest returned to the
castle.
For after lunch, the competitors and their
hostages were invited back to the
bondmates' apartment.
Just before they entered, Professor
Whittaker told them that while they were
out a red-headed boy had first tried to gain
entrance by demanding it, and then tried to
fire curses and hexes at him. All of which,
failed.
Glancing at each other, Harry turned back to
the statue and asked, "Was one of those
hexes... 'eat slugs'?"
"Yes, it was," replied the statue, chuckling.
"That would have been an interesting
experience, for a statue."
Hermione just muttered, "Ron. What an
idiot."
"Well, at least we know the ward scheme for
anti-curses and hexes holds up to a
determined sub-par fourth year," grinned
Harry.
While Harry and Hermione were changing
out of their lake-dunked clothes, Daphne
alerted Dobby to the influx of guests to
arrive after lunch. Between them, she laid
out the drinks and finger food she wanted to
see served; with Dobby confidently making
his own suggestions and promising he'd have
everything ready while they were away.
Because they would all have just had lunch,
she made sure the finger food was only what
Harry and Hermione called 'nibblies'.
She then fished the jar containing Skeeter
out of her robes and placed it on the
mantelpiece above the fireplace. "You best
know, Skeeter," she said. "The jar has an
unbreakable charm on it. Transform while
inside it, and you'll shoot out in bloody
mushed flesh and bone fragments through
the air holes.
"Secondly, I'm placing a silencing charm on
the jar so you cannot listen in on what's
being said. We'll deal with you later. I suggest
you use this time to consider just how badly
you messed up."
She then stepped back a little and cast the
charm on the jar.
After they'd both had a quick shower to get
the smell of the lake out of their hair and off
their bodies, Harry and Hermione joined
Daphne back in the living room. Quickly,
Daphne helped her sister-wife with her hair,
making sure it was dried, treated and
brushed. And then helped apply a little light
makeup before touching up her own.
"You know I don't think the makeup's
necessary, don't you?" asked Harry.
"Of course we do, love," said Daphne, as she
worked. "However, as the Ladies Potter...
even if most people don't know that yet... we
represent an image of the House. We have to
look the part."
Once ready, the three dropped down to the
Great Hall with lunch about to be served.
Walking in, as usual, with a lady on each arm
had now become commonplace for Harry as
far as the other denizens of Hogwarts were
concerned. Other than breakfast, that
morning, none could recall when the three
had done otherwise since their re-sort,
except for when Daphne was attacked by
Flint.
When Hermione was not on Harry's right arm
that morning, some thought it meant they'd
had an argument. However, they quickly
rethought that belief when they saw it was
Hermione who Harry rescued from the
bottom of the lake.
So, the thoughts of three fellow students
went from a sense of happiness during
breakfast, to annoyance at lunch.
Ginevra Weasley had thought, with
Hermione not on his arm that morning, an
opportunity was presenting itself for her to
be the one on that arm. And, eventually, be
the only one on his arm. When Hermione
suddenly popped her head out of the lake,
conjured a small rowboat and hopped into it,
Ginevra quickly realised what had happened.
And her hopes were, once more, dashed.
Ronald Weasley thought the sight of no
Hermione on Harry's arm meant she had
broken it off with him and was soon to be
running to his own arms in comfort. He'd
been, while shovelling food into his mouth
during breakfast, thinking about how he was
going to make her wait - tell her he was
considering things - before allowing her, out
of the goodness of his heart, to be accepted
back.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone