章 23: Chapter 23: Fallout
Harry walked into the open medical tent and practically collapsed onto the bed open for him. Despite his dislike of the hospital ward he had never been so happy to get to lie down in one of Madame Pomfrey's beds. The mediwitch rushed over to him and immediately began casting diagnostic spells while muttering about "idiot organizers and their fool ideas". Harry just grunted in agreement.
" 'arry!" Fleur cried jumping up from her own bed and rushing over. " 'arry, you are alright! I tried to go and watch from ze stands but zis nurse refused to allow me to leave ze tent." She cast a disparaging look at Pomfrey who completely ignored her and instead shoved potions towards Harry. Grimacing he chugged them and turned to Fleur.
"God, that stuff tastes awful. Probably a good thing you didn't watch. I'm already likely going to get yelled at by everyone else so at least you can't join in on that."
Fleur's eyes narrowed. "And why would ze others be yelling? How bad was it?"
Before Harry could respond, Pomfrey handed him another potion. "Potter, your physical injuries will be taken care of by the first few potions and I've healed over the major cuts and bruises. You have rather severe magical exhaustion however and that can only be fixed by rest. I imagine you need to be awake for at least another hour so here is some Pepper Up. Take it or don't, your choice. Just remember, if you do want it, you will crash within six hours and coupled with the magical exhaustion that crash will be quite abrupt."
Harry nodded, took a look at the potion, sighed and gulped it down. He shook his head as steam came out of his ears and turned back to Fleur. "The chimera wasn't slowed down by losing two of its heads and I couldn't hit the stupid snake one. I couldn't hem it in since it was too fast and the arena was too wide so I…kinda turned myself into…an animagus to outrun it…" He rubbed the back of his neck and stared at the floor while the girl in front of him could only blink. On his other side Madame Pomfrey froze while reaching for a salve and turned back to him.
The nurse started speaking very slowly, "Potter, perhaps I should check you over for a head injury as well…"
He snorted. "Well it did knock my head into the wall a few times. But trust me I'm not exaggerating with the animagus thing."
"You…became an animagus…to survive ze Task…" Fleur said softly sinking into a nearby chair. "Mon Dieu."
From the other side of the tent Fred started laughing so hard he fell off his chair. "And I thought my performance would be the most outrageous one! You don't go for anything halfway, Harry! Well done mate!"
Krum just looked between everyone else and shook his head. "And they call me crazy…"
The tent flap burst open and Daphne and Luna ran in. Both stopped and cocked a head at Fred still laughing on the floor before turning to Harry and sighing in relief. Luna took a flying leap and Harry barely managed to catch the smaller girl before her head was buried in his chest and her arms wrapped around his waist. Daphne was statelier in her approach but she was no less gentle in how she pulled him into an embrace.
"That was extremely impressive, Harry," Daphne murmured. "But, please, don't ever do that again. It would be rather hard to convince my father to allow me to keep associating with a panther."
Luna shook her head and said softly, "You'd always be welcome to come on my excursions with Daddy if you get stuck as a large cat, Harry. Daddy always said the blibbering humdingers are attracted to cats."
Harry just chuckled. "Thanks, girls. Where are the others? I kinda expected Hermione and Shiva at least to be here yelling at me for being a bloody Gryffindor."
Luna finally pulled back and moved over to sit next to Fleur. "Tracey and Neville were helping to calm down some of the others while Professor Lupin and Madame Bones went to look at the unexpected extra wards. Hermione, Tonks, Shiva and Sirius were…" she trailed off and glanced to Daphne with raised eyebrows and a bit of a knowing smirk.
Daphne gave Harry a predatory grin. "Well about that…"
The four walked towards the judges box, Hermione trailing slightly behind them and holding her notebook to her chest like a shield. Tonks was out front with her hair back to short and spiky in a flaming red color with orange highlights. It looked remarkably like her head was actually on fire an illusion made even more convincing as she kept it waving slightly as she moved. Shiva and Sirius both looked just as angry though they lacked the theatrics. Halfway there, the Delacours and the Krums joined them as did Arthur Weasley though all hung back near Hermione.
"Dumbledore, Bagman! What the bloody hell was that shite?!" Tonks snarled as she stomped towards them. She poked a finger into the old man's chest while Shiva scowled down at Bagman. The Head of Games and Sports gulped and pushed back into his seat.
Dumbledore just smiled up at Tonks with his trademarked twinkle and grandfatherly smile firmly in place. "I'm afraid you'll have to be a bit more specific Nympha – "
Tonks switched from poking him to grabbing his beard and yanking the man's head down. The surrounding personnel bearing witness all gasped and drew back. All theatrics left Tonks and her voice dropped several decibels. "Finish my name old man and I will wrap this beard around your throat. You and these idiots," she waved her free hand towards the rest of the judges, "just sat here and watched a blatant assassination attempt on a 14 year old young man from your own school."
Bagman held up a hand and said in a forced lighthearted voice, "Now, that seems a bit harsh there. It was just part of the Tournament after all."
Shiva crossed her arms across her chest and took several deep breathes in order to avoid drawing her wand on the man. Beside her Tonks released Dumbledore and stepped up beside her. "Bagman, can you explain to me where in the rules it states the arena is placed on lockdown as soon as a contestant enters the battlefield?" Shiva asked. When Bagman just frowned she continued, "How about where the rules state that things from outside the field are forbidden from being summoned?" He opened his mouth to respond but again was left with nothing to say. "Or perhaps you could explain how not one but four five X creatures were the opponents. Especially in light of the Triwizard rules clearly stating that anything above four X creatures are highly discouraged from being included in anything other than cooperative battles due to the risks involved." Bagman deflated completely. "That's what I thought," Shiva nodded.
Umbridge uttered her annoying "hehem" and stood with a smile on her face. "You should know better than to come in here and make threats Miss Tonks, Professor, Black." Sirius's eyes narrowed to slits at her slight. "The Ministry always has a reason for its actions."
Sirius stepped forward leveling his glare on the pink toad. "Oh so this was a Ministry decision? Perhaps you'd like to explain those reasons then before I convene a meeting of the Wizengamot to bring you up on charges."
Dumbledore cleared his throat and smoothed his rumpled beard. "Now, I believe that might be a bit hasty. We should allow Dolores to speak prior to making any further accusations."
The Umbitch nodded politely to Dumbledore and turned back to the others with her simpering smile firmly in place. "While I don't feel you deserve to have anything explained to you at all…seeing as the Ministry would like to avoid any…unsettling implications, I will attempt to set the record straight. The repelling ward was added just this morning. It was an effort to prevent any potential harm coming to the audience members of course. Nothing in, nothing out. Everyone kept perfectly safe by the brilliant foresight. Why could you imagine the danger if the dragon had gone on a rampage?"
Shiva's scowl deepened. "Oh and I'm sure that preventing any summonings was simply a 'dreadful oversight' in that case."
"Most unfortunate," Umbridge agreed, her grin spreading.
Shiva gestured to Hermione. "Hermione?"
The bookworm stepped forward and opened her notebook schooling her features into a completely neutral expression. " 'The Tournament organizers will make every effort to ensure that no discrimination is enforced upon any of the competitors. Exotic forms of magic are allowed and no protective measures are to be implemented to prevent their use. This includes but is not limited to any inherent species-specific magic, ritual based magic, crafted magic and component based magic. The only limitation placed is that the initial Task must be started with a single spellcasting implement. Any additional required components may be summoned upon Task initiation and the organizers are to ensure that this is not interfered with. The spirit of the Tournament is of priority in these uncommon situations.' Section 512, subsection C, paragraph 5."
Hermione looked up and a flash of loathing appeared on her face before it returned to her neutral mask. "On the subject of the magical beasts the rules state – "
"That's enough, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said smoothly. "I believe we can admit we made a mistake when we erected the ward in a hasty decision to protect the public."
Sirius growled but Tonks spoke before he could say anything, "Oh no you don't old man! You are not twisting this to make it seem like you arseholes are the beleaguered good guys being set upon by the distraught family. You yourself have admitted that the likeliest reason Harry was entered into this thing was because someone was trying to kill him and now you're assisting in trying to do just that. That barrier wasn't put up to prevent the creatures from attacking us. It was there to prevent Harry from attaining his normal means of combat and to stop anyone else from entering to save a Champion in trouble."
Umbridge just spread her arms and giggled. "A shame that you can't actually prove that now isn't it?"
Karkaroff stood and addressed the group. "Neither Madame Maxime nor myself were informed of this change until immediately prior to the Task. We were annoyed with several of the implications ourselves but were convinced that it was an acceptable safety measure."
Maxime raised herself up as well and bowed to the others. "You 'ave my assurances zat we did not realize it would also prevent ze introduction of items zrough ze boundary from outside. It was never ze intent to put Mssr. Potter at a disadvantage. If zis safety measure iz necessary in ze future I will personally ensure zat it is merely a one-way barrier."
Bagman hurriedly nodded seizing on the opportunity for a middle ground. "Yes, yes exactly. You're perfectly right. No Champion should be inconvenienced unnecessarily nor should rescues be prevented! This was simply an unfortunate unforeseen side effect of a last minute decision. It won't happen again."
Krum's father came forward to stand next to Sirius. "I vould also hope that this decision to include two of the deadliest creatures in this hemisphere will not be an indication of further…complications. Our understanding vas that this was intended to be a friendly competition – not a blood sport. I vould not be surprised to see your Ministry has obtained a nundu for one of the Tasks at this rate," he finished with a distasteful tone.
Sébastien Delacour raised his hand from the edge of the box and said, "I for one am willing to accept this whole Task as being the result of poor decisions. I'd also like to mention that if we should see a nundu or anything equally as foolish during this event…well, that might lead to rather bad relations with France in the future."
"And a rather exceptionally lowered opinion of all the personnel involved. Including yourself, Dumbledore. I would've expected better judgment coming from you," Arthur said shaking his head sadly.
Tonks snorted and turned on her heel striding out of the box with Hermione following closely behind. Shiva glared at Umbridge for a moment longer. "Keep screwing with my ward toad and you'll find out why Voldemort keeps running away with his tail between his legs." She turned and stalked out. Sirius smiled and waved goodbye with a decidedly false cheer.
Luna and Daphne had returned to their seats in the stands while Harry and the other Champions walked back to the center of the cleared field to receive their scores. Harry had had some help with transfiguring his trousers into a something less likely to fall apart as he walked but his shirt was still mostly shredded.
He stood beside Fleur on the end and smiled up at his friends when he caught sight of everyone. Hannah was still clutching Neville but Tracey caught his eye and gave him a thumbs up. All eyes quickly centered on Dumbledore as he stood and started to speak. "Well, this was certainly an exciting event this morning. It is not entirely through yet, as points still need to be awarded." The Headmaster paused and nodded down to the Champions his grandfatherly look firm. "All the Champions performed very impressively and while we would love nothing more than to declare you all equal, that is not how a competition functions unfortunately. Miss Delacour, please step forward to receive your point distribution. The scores will be out of 10."
As Fleur stepped up, Dumbledore raised his wand and cast an 8 in the air. "A slight point deduction for allowing the hydra to form an extra head as well as lack of diverse spells. Excellent maneuverability, speed and accuracy however."
Madame Maxime stood and cast a 9. "I also feel that allowing ze hydra to gain a fifth head was a mistake. However ze Task was accomplished with great speed and skill."
Karkaroff hesitated and sighed before he sent up an 8. "Zero injuries. Very impressive."
Bagman also scored Fleur a 9. "Excellent showing Miss Delacour!"
Umbridge considered for a moment before sending up a 4. The resounding shouts of disbelief and derision swallowed her initial comments and Umbridge had to repeat them after Dumbledore quieted everyone with a canon blast. "You were forced to resort to utilizing your heritage to escape from injury as well as to finish what you had started with disabling the beast. A more skilled witch would have been able to complete the Task without resorting to such desperate measures. And you showed such barbarism by killing the creature when it had already been defeated!"
Fleur growled softly as she stepped back muttering under her breath of prejudiced little toads. Harry leaned over and bumped her shoulder. "Hey," he whispered out of the corner of his mouth, "you got Karkaroff to praise you. Everyone knows the Umbitch is evil. Take the win."
"Zank you for zat 'arry," Fleur replied.
Fred stepped forward and Dumbledore sent off a 7. "While you were completely uninjured, there was no visible spellwork either. An ingenious use of potions, but they were borderline unacceptable. Be careful in the future, Mr. Weasley."
Maxime also gave Fred a 7. "While zat was certainly amusing I would liked to have seen more spellwork."
Karkaroff gave Fred an 8 as well. "Same as the others. More spells, boy. Impressive use of resources and good foresight though."
Bagman shrugged before tossing up a 7. "I don't have a problem with the lack of spells, Mr. Weasley. I do think that you showed us an area where we need to improve the rules though. If Mr. Potter wasn't allowed to bring his rune stones into the arena those potions probably shouldn't be allowed in the future either." He paused and cocked his head at the red-head. "I didn't even know potions could do that…"
Umbridge gave Fred a 5 to more boos. "Flaunting your disregard of the rules and established procedure. I would expect nothing less from a Weasley."
Fred snorted as he stepped back and Harry heard his softly say, "Wait til Percy hears about that comment toad. We'll see how much paperwork dealing with cauldron thickness you have to deal with after today."
Krum stepped up and Dumbledore gave him a 9. "Truly excellent footwork and spell combinations. A slight deduction for injuries but overall very impressive."
Maxime scored Krum with a 7. "A single injury against a manticore. Well done. You really shouldn't have expected it to be sleeping at first zough and you had a free initial shot you passed up zere."
Karkaroff sent 10 into the air. "Extreme bravery against a manticore. A slight error in range but superb display of skills otherwise."
Bagman gave Krum an 8. "Well done, Mr. Krum. Well done! Excellent reflexes!"
Umbridge stood and sent off a 10 into the air with zero hesitation. "I have not seen such a display of prowess and skill in quite some time."
Krum stepped back and scowled saying softly, "I did not deserve those 10s."
Harry shrugged as he stepped up to get his own scores. Dumbledore frowned at sent up a 6. The crowd's reaction was rather poor to that score and again Dumbledore had to let off a loud bang before he could speak. "While the display of spellcasting was very impressive, you were unable to get passed the chimera until extraordinary measures were taken. I advise more practice in the future, Mr. Potter."
Harry snorted at that. "You try fighting a chimera as a fourth year student and without your usual primary tools," he muttered.
Maxime looked down at him for a long moment before finally sending off a 10. Harry stared with wide eyes as she stated her reasons. "You were clearly outmatched yet kept attempting different methods. Your ingenuity was impressive as was your determination. A superb showing, Monsieur."
Karkaroff sighed and sent up a 9. "I was impressed by the skill and stubbornness shown as well. The successful completion of a ritual mid-combat was also noteworthy."
Bagman stood and sent off a 10. "I haven't seen a ritual circle completed since I was in school! Well done Mr. Potter!"
Umbridge stood and cast a 2 in the air. Dumbledore was forced to send off two canon blasts before the noise lowered enough for her to speak. "Really now, if I could give you a zero I would but as you successfully retrieved the egg and did not die I am forced to award at least two points. That was a horrendous showing all around. You were unable to best the creature, it continually outwitted you and you showed off an illegal transformation to top things off. Stay behind afterward, Potter."
Harry narrowed his eyes as he stepped back. Of course The Umbitch was going to twist this. There were probably going to be Aurors waiting to arrest him as soon as the crowd dispersed. Dumbledore gave some platitudes while Fleur grabbed his hand. She leaned down and whispered into his ear, "Don't worry, zey won't be taking you anywhere if I have anyzing to say about it. And even if zey do…well, France doesn't extradite its own citizens."
Harry started to say something but fumbled for the words. He ended up just turning to Fleur and staring at her with a slack jaw. She chuckled and patted his cheek. "I am just saying, 'arry. It iz somezing to keep in mind iz all." He eventually just settled for a stunned nod.
Most of the audience started to disperse while Harry and Fleur headed out to the exit with Fred and Krum following close behind. True enough as soon as Harry stepped outside the arena there were three Aurors nearby. Scrimgeour, Dawlish and a bald black man with an easy smile. Harry sighed and said, "Hello. I don't suppose you actually got the full story by any chance?"
Scrimgeour frowned but Dawlish spoke up before the boss could. "An unregistered animagus transformation. No further explanations are needed. Come with us immediately, Potter. There's a holding cell with your name on it."
"Are you daft?" Sirius' voice shouted from around the corner. He came striding up with Remus at his side and the others close behind. Harry was a bit surprised that Amelia was letting him take point. "No explanations are needed? How in Merlin's name did you pass any of the training?"
"How dare you!" Dawlish shouted back.
Scrimgeour stepped between the two his frown morphing into a full scowl. "Dawlish! Do not antagonize the Lord Black! We are not here for him."
The bald man came forward and nodded to both Harry and Sirius before turning to Amelia. "Ma'am Director, would you please settle this little dispute? I get the feeling we are missing a key piece of information."
Amelia just smiled. "Let's let the Undersecretary make a bit of a fool of herself first, Shacklebolt." Right on cue, The Umbitch strolled over from the direction of the stands.
As soon as she was close enough she started pointing at Harry with a huge grin. "There. Arrest the boy. An unregistered animagus transformation! In front of thousands of witnesses! No way out of this one, child. A more open and shut case I have never seen. Such arrogance! Such blatant disrespect for our laws! I'll see you in Azkaban by the end of the night." She almost seemed about to laugh.
Before anyone could say anything Amelia stepped up from behind Sirius and approached Umbridge. "Unregistered transformation? Were you sleeping prior to that, Undersecretary? Or are you just showing how stupid you can be? I am honestly curious."
"What are you talking about, Amelia?" Umbridge asked with a sneer. "The boy didn't even try to hide it!"
"Well considering it was the result of a ritual found in Advanced Techniques For the Forward Thinking specifically designed to force an animagus form I don't see why he should," Amelia paused and tapped her chin. "It's been quite some time since I read that book but…oh what was the wording…oh I remember: 'This ritual will fail spectacularly if the enactor already has access to an animagus form.' Yes that was it. So that would make this his first transformation. Meaning he has a full week to present himself and register the animal form assuming he can transform again."
Umbridge scowled. "We don't even know that was the specific ritual he performed. It could have been a fancy light show!"
Amelia sighed and turned to the three Aurors. "Scrimgeour, Dawlish, Shacklebolt return to your duties. No crime has been committed. Madame Umbridge," she turned back to the pink toad and shifted her hand towards her wand, "you should probably go home. Or perhaps you should check in with the Minister and update him on your recent sabotage failures." Umbridge tossed her nose in the air and turned stalking off. The Aurors waited a few seconds longer, looking between Harry and Amelia before nodding and leaving as well.
Krum turned to the others and nodded politely. "Vell, now that the excitement is over vith, I think I will go find drink. Vell done and congratulations to you all. Pleasant evening."
Fred sighed and clapped Harry on the back. "I got to go find Dad and the rest of the family. I should probably also apologize to Charlie for feeding his dragon some of my products. Catch up to you later, mate."
Fleur simply stepped partly to the side as Hermione pushed through the adults and barreled towards Harry. He chuckled softly as she almost knocked him over with her embrace and he squeezed her back. "Are you okay?" she asked quietly.
Harry nodded and lifted her head up to kiss her. "I'm fine, Mione. Just tired." Hermione slowly nodded and let him go.
Shiva stepped up next to hug him. "I feel like I should be yelling at you, kid," she said. "Honestly though I'm far too relieved you're alive to bother. You realize how lucky you were that worked right?"
"I do," he muttered into her shoulder leaning his head down for a moment. "I could feel how screwed I was by the time I got to the fifth section. I just didn't know what else to do, Shiva. I thought…I've started the meditation stuff that Sirius gave me over the summer and I knew my animagus form was fast and I knew I needed speed to get around the chimera…I couldn't even see that stupid snake head half the time let alone hit it…I just…I'm sorry."
Shiva ruffled his hair and pushed him back to arms length. "Don't apologize, kid. It worked in the end. It was dangerous, but you didn't really have many options. I'm not going to yell at you for surviving against that thing. And hey, a panther is pretty awesome!" She smiled and shook a finger at him in a mock glare. "But don't you dare scratch the furniture young man or you will not like the punishment!"
Everyone burst out in laughter at that and the mildly depressed mood broke easily. Shiva slung an arm over Harry's shoulders and turned him towards the castle. "Come on, kid, let's get back."
Tonks cleared her throat and stepped up to Harry's other side with a slight blush on her cheeks, her hair a resolute pink. "Actually I think I'm going to steal him away for a minute. Party in the Gryffindor Common Room I'm guessing?" At the answering nods she continued, "Okay. I'll get him to you guys in a few minutes then."
Harry peered curiously at Tonks as she led him over towards a tree near the Black Lake and well away from anyone else. Harry leaned against the tree trunk still feeling his exhaustion despite the Pepper Up – just another example of how amazingly tired he was. "What did you want to talk about, Tonks? I really am sorry about using the ritual."
She waved a hand, still looking out over the lake with her back to him. "You know that was foolish, it worked, you're alive, that's all I care about. I'm not going to yell at you for that anymore than Shiva did. No, Harry, I – I almost ended up strangling Dumbledore with his own beard a few minutes ago."
Harry started chuckling but trailed off as he noticed she wasn't laughing. His eyes widened. "Merlin, you're serious."
"Yeah," Tonks sighed. "When I saw your harness fall next to that arena shield I glanced towards the judges box and I noticed a flash of…well something suspiciously like triumph on his face. After the Task was over when we were confronting the judges on that damn thing, I kinda lost it for a moment there and grabbed him. I assaulted one of the most important and well respected wizards in the past hundred years."
"Oh," Harry said softly.
"Do you know why I did that, Harry?" She crossed her arms and her hair shifted to a dark blue. "I saw some bad things while I was Auror, but that was the first time I truly almost lost control completely. That was the first time I genuinely wanted to hurt someone. And it was because he had hurt you."
"Tonks, I…" Harry shifted and looked down at his feet. "I appreciate that, Tonks, but I don't think I'm really worth that. Dumbledore is powerful and important. You shouldn't risk getting on his bad side just because of me."
Harry heard her give a rueful laugh. "Jeez, squirt, you really need to work on your self-esteem issues. I thought Hermione and Shiva would've knocked that self-deprecation out of you by now."
He shrugged, smiling wanly. "Still crops up from time to time."
"Apparently," she muttered, though she didn't sound angry. "Harry, I'm sick of trying to fight this and I'm sick of pretending that it doesn't matter to me. I'm sick of lying to myself and saying that you're just a good friend."
"Tonks, where are you going with this?" he asked frowning. Why couldn't girls just say what they meant instead of talking in circles? He was far too tired to try and make sense of this conversation.
Tonks made an annoyed groan. "Merlin, you are dense." Harry was still looking at the ground when she strode up to him, grabbed his head pulled him up into a kiss. Harry's mind ground to a halt and, without any conscious input from him, one arm came out to wrap around her waist while his other braced against the tree trunk. He lost count of how long they stayed locked together. Eventually Tonks pulled back and took a deep, shuddering breath. "What I'm getting at Harry is quite simple: is that second girlfriend position still available?"
Mentally kicking his brain back into gear Harry shook his head and grinned. "Not anymore."
Tonks' face fell and she turned away to stare at the lake with her hair shifting to black. "Oh. Oh. Sorry. That's what I get for taking too long I guess. Just forget I said anything and – " She cut off her mumbling as Harry strode forward and laid a hand on one shoulder. He spun her around and leaned in to capture her lips again.
A few moments later Harry pulled back and smiled again. "What I meant, Nym, was that the position became filled about 60 seconds ago."
"Oh." Tonks blinked. Neither said anything for a short period before both laughed. Tonks' hair shifted to a light red and she reached out to take his hand. "Well, now that that's decided we should probably get up to that Tower so you can hang out for a few minutes before you crash completely."
The two walked off with matching shy smiles. Neither noticed the fat beetle flying off the tree behind them.
Harry walked through the portrait hole into the Gryffindor Tower to cheers, shouts and general chaos. The entire place was decorated with streamers and mini-fireworks were going off every so often. Fred was in the middle of the couch regaling firsties with how he had gotten through the Task and come up with the ideas; Neville was in the corner retelling Harry's efforts to Fleur who had her arm around a blushing Hermione; Daphne and Tracey were on the couch talking with Ginny while Astoria bounced around the room nearby; Susan and Hannah were both deep in conversation with Lavender, Parvati and Padma; Shiva, Sirius, Remus and Amelia were sitting with Flitwick and McGonagall drinking butterbeers; even Su Li and Millicent Bulstrode were sitting down with the Gryffindor Chasers, Luna and Coco all laughing.
"Wow…" Tonks muttered as she followed Harry in. "I expected a party but…Merlin, Hogwarts has loosened up since I graduated."
"Yeah, no kidding," Harry said.
"HARRY!" The room seemed to explode with noise as people realized he had arrived. Harry was immediately swept into the crowd. He was passed from handshake to handshake, back slap to back slap before finally being deposited on the couch near Fred and Daphne. Looking over the room he saw Tonks had pulled Hermione to the side and breathed a sigh of relief after Hermione smiled and pulled the metamorph in a hug. Tonks caught his eye and flashed him a quick thumbs up before sitting back down with Fleur and Neville, a beaming Hermione in tow.
"So, Harry, let's see the panther!" Fred suddenly shouted leaning over pump his hand. Harry turned to him and cocked an eyebrow. "Oh don't give me that, mate. I got us both free advertising and only Fleur and I haven't seen it firsthand. Come on! Don't keep a friend waiting!"
"Fine," Harry sighed and stood up. The room quieted and it seemed like every eye was watching him. "This is like the second time I'm doing this so I don't know if I'll be able to stay in it for too long okay? Don't get your hopes up. It feels…weird." He closed his eyes concentrating back to how it had felt to change. A few moments later he felt his body flow and shift and the floor was suddenly a lot closer. He could see clearly and could feel the softness of the carpet under his paws. Harry chuffed good naturedly at Fred who reached out to pet his fur. Harry took a breath and promptly sneezed as his nose couldn't handle the myriad conglomerate of smells in the air. He tried to take another breath and sneezed again setting off even more sneezes. Less than thirty seconds after shifting Harry turned back and collapsed back into the couch to a chorus of disappointed groans.
"Hey," Harry harrumphed, "you try smelling a hundred different things at once and see if you want to keep breathing that shite in. You want to pet me, fine, but we'll do it outside in a day or two. Where I can breathe." The group started laughing and the party picked back up.
Fred leaned over and clapped Harry on the shoulder. "Sorry about the Task, Harry. George and I found the little loophole about the potions thing but it didn't apply to rune stones. If I had realized you wouldn't be able to summon your stuff I would've given you some of our stock to use too. Apparently potions weren't considered 'spellcasting implements' by whoever made the rules originally. They had their own category. That's probably going to be changed by the time this one's over, but I figured I'd use the ambiguity while it existed to go in locked and loaded."
Harry shrugged. "From what Tonks said, you did good, Fred. I'm just glad you're okay." The red-head grinned and turned back to the firsties waiting for his story to go on.
Harry felt himself shifted to the side a bit as someone bumped his shoulder and he opened his eyes to see Daphne beside him. "Hey," she said just barely loud enough to hear over the commotion.
"Hey," he responded.
"I'm glad you're okay, Harry. That was…rather frightening," her eyes closed and she squeezed his leg. "I knew this was going to be dangerous, but that was worse than I had feared. We're going to have to take bigger steps I think."
Harry nodded agreement. "Yeah, I think you're right."
Daphne nodded her head towards Tonks in the corner still talking and laughing with Hermione. "So you and Tonks are official now?"
Harry's eyes widened as he turned fully towards his friend. She just smiled and shrugged. "I didn't get into Slytherin because I was blind, Harry." Her grin drooped a bit and Harry thought he caught something akin to regret flash across her face before it was again happy and she was hugging him. "I'm happy for you, Harry. Those two get along well and are good for you. Don't expect Fleur to give up so easily though. And I've done some digging; you may need to watch out for a third option from her."
"What?" Harry asked confused and finding it hard to follow what Daphne was saying. Maybe the Pepper Up was starting to wear off.
"Don't worry about it, Harry. I'm sure Fleur will bring it up herself soon enough if she's going to go that route."
"Umm, okay," Harry sighed. "Daph, would you tell the others I'm going to go and sleep? Madame Pomfrey said the potion should last longer, but I'm already losing it." Daphne nodded and Harry headed up the stairs to the boys dorm.
He had just enough strength left to kick off his shoes before he collapsed back into the bed. Thinking he should probably take his shirt and trousers off at least, he tried to convince himself to move just a bit more. He gave it up after a minute and just lay there. The door to the dorm opened again but Harry couldn't be bothered to care.
"Ugh, Harry, you can't sleep in those clothes. They're filthy. Come on, let me help you get undressed then you can sleep," the soft voice of Hermione rang through his ears.
"Hey, Mione," Harry murmured keeping his eyes closed.
"Come on then," she said sitting down beside him and pulling him up into a semi-sitting position. Harry groaned in protest. Hermione chuckled and maneuvered him so that she could pull his shirt over his head. "There. You can lay back down now. You are wearing pants, yes?"
"Yes, Mione," Harry said snuggling back into the blanket. He felt her move down to his trousers. "So you're not mad about Nym?"
Hermione paused. "Nym? Oh you mean Tonks. No, Harry, I'm not mad. It would be rather hypocritical of me to be mad when I was the one to push for it to begin with."
"Still…"
Hermione chuckled. "Harry, I like Tonks. And she is certainly very protective of you. You should've seen her with Dumbledore earlier."
"She said she grabbed his beard," Harry mumbled.
"It was glorious. I wish I was that brave."
"You're brave, Mione." She had finally succeeded in wriggling his trousers off and pulled his socks down as well leaving him in just his boxers.
"Thank you, Harry. Lift your legs up. Come on, get on the bed fully now. You'll get a horrible crick if you sleep half on, half off." He shifted and pulled his legs where she directed and felt her pull the blankets over him. "Get some sleep, Harry. I love you."
"Love you too, Mione. Tell Nym, and the others, I said night…" Harry yawned and passed out while Hermione smiled and slipped back down to the party.
Dumbledore strode into his office and sat down at his desk with a heavy sigh. Fawkes watched him absently cast a spell to freeze the portraits and start muttering to himself. "The luck involved in that task…one would be forgiven for thinking a higher power had a hand in this." Albus rubbed his beard and peered towards the shelf with his pensieve. "No. No, that can't be. Coincidences do happen after all and Harry Potter has nothing if not the best of luck at the worst of times. Fudge will likely lean on Dolores to tone down her attacks on the boy now. It certainly doesn't help that half the school and soon half the country will believe this was a deliberate attempt on his life."
Fawkes trilled softly. Perhaps his bonded was finally starting to recognize his errors?
"I will simply have to be more subtle. The woman is a fool to the highest degree. There is still the Aspect Columns. They are completely foreign and it will be fully understandable that none of us knew of the dangers associated with their use." Albus nodded slowly. "Yes. That will work. Harry may be lucky but that should easily balance out when his own darkness is his opponent."
Fawkes crooned a sad song. Albus was straying dangerously close to unforgivable. The phoenix had been together with the old man for so long…yet everyone had a breaking point. Albus' issues were mounting faster and faster. Soon Fawkes wouldn't be able to keep making excuses for the man.
"I wish there was another way too, my friend," Albus whispered as he looked at Fawkes. "Today's events only provided further proof I'm afraid. Even without his crutch, Harry Potter is dangerous. We must act now, before he has a chance to gain even more power and skill. With Barty acting to insert him into the Tournament it could still count as Voldemort's hand. The prophecy will be fulfilled, the Horcrux destroyed, a future Dark Lord's birth prevented and the way clear to forever destroy Tom."
Fawkes could only turn away. How had Albus come to this point? How had he forgotten all his old feelings and beliefs? Was it the disease that pushed him here or what it simply exhaustion? Did he truly not see how close his thoughts matched his old lover's?
"I must stay strong and do what is right over what is easy. I must ensure that this is finished," Albus sighed. "For the Greater Good."
Fawkes uttered another sorrow filled trill. Albus' course was set. Now it was only a matter of time before he left his friend forever.
Dolores Umbridge strode into the Minister's office the next morning feeling rather pleased with herself. Sure her initial plan hadn't quite panned out, but it had given her another delightful opportunity. That fool boy thought that he could use the rules to escape what was coming to him? Not while Dolores Jane Umbridge was in charge!
She sat down in the chair across from Fudge and smiled. "Good morning, Cornelius! I – "
Fudge scowled and held up a hand stopping her. "What the bloody hell is going on at that school, Dolores?! Do you have any idea how bad this looks?"
She frowned. "Well, I admit the boy surviving without any lasting injuries was frustrating, but I know just how to deal with the animagus fallout. All we need to do is lose some of the paperwork he submits and then we can arrest Potter for not properly registering."
"Animagus? Lost paperwork?" the Minister leaned back and rubbed his forehead. "I don't care what the brat did! Have you seen these papers?!" He tossed two folded Daily Prophets across the table. "Two issues, Dolores! Two! A special issue last night dealing with our incompetence and then another one this morning!"
Umbridge leaned in to read the headlines. Ministry of Magic Endorses Deadly Tournament was plastered over the top half of the page from last night's printing and Blatant Sabotage and Rampant Favoritism Taint First Task was printed along the bottom half.
The second paper, the one from this morning, was devoted to the headline: Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Cheated?
She pulled back and shrugged. "Well we will have to lean on her a bit, but at least she got the part about the half-blood cheating."
Fudge literally growled. "That article is 95% devoted to his love life! And it also makes casual mention of how us entering him into this thing granted him full emancipated adult status! You assured me you had this handled, Dolores. He was supposed to appear the villain not a gossip topic!" Fudge slammed a hand onto the table. "Potter has enough allies that he could make real trouble as a member of the Wizengamot. How could you let this happen?!"
Dolores blinked and simply stared at the Minister. "He – what?"
"As if this wasn't bad enough I've already had visits from the Bulgarian and French Ministers! Both of who expressed their supreme disappointment that five X creatures were included in a single combat Task and that there was a 'safety shield' that would have prevented assistance from being rendered. Both made clear threats of diplomatic and economic sanctions should any more blatant attempts at sabotage be present!"
"The shield was a suggestion by Dumbledore though," Umbridge said floundering. "He seemed to think it would be perfect for ensuring audience safety while I realized it would work perfectly to trap the fools inside it…surely we can just explain the original reason behind it?"
Fudge scowled and poured himself a drink of firewhiskey. "Why do you think I'm still in office? As valid as the excuse is they have legitimate grievances with the methodology and lack of foresight concerning consequences. I can't even blame this on the idiot Bagman because you quite clearly took credit for it!" Fudge leaned back and glared at her. "Fix this, Dolores. I will not be taking the fall for this mess."
Umbridge gulped and nodded. She hurriedly scampered out of the office desperately trying to figure out where she had gone wrong and what she had missed.
Nymphadora Tonks walked up the driveway to her parent's house as if going to an execution. It probably wasn't all that different anyway. Andromeda Tonks may have been struck from the family for a few years but she was still very much a Black through and through. Ted Tonks was a nice man all things considered and he had taught Tonks a lot about humor and how to have fun but…that sword went both ways. Both parents loved nothing more than teasing their daughter until she exploded. And now she had to tell them that not only was she dating a younger man, not only was said younger man 14, but that her boyfriend happened to be one of the most famous teenagers in Britain for several generations. This was going to a nightmare.
She checked her hair one more time to make sure it was a nice neutral purple and gulping, knocked on the door.
"Nymphadora, what a surprise!" Andromeda exclaimed pulling open the door and folding Tonks into a hug. She grimaced trying to avoid flinching at her mother's not so subtle needling. Sure the full name thing had started off innocently enough but for the past two decades Andromeda only did it because she knew she could get a rise out of Tonks.
"Hey, Mum. Is Dad around? I kinda need to talk to you both for a few minutes."
"Of course, dear. Come in, have a seat, I'll go get us some tea." Andromeda moved off into the kitchen as Tonks went to the couch. "Ted! Nymphadora stopped by! Get off that infernal machine and come say hello to your daughter!"
"Coming, love!" Ted called back from somewhere in the bowels of the house. He stepped into the living room after another minute, gave Tonks a quick hug and smiled at her hair. "I like the purple, hun, but I think it would go better if your eyes offset it a bit. Maybe a yellow?"
Tonks raised her eyebrows and snorted. "What and look like a Sith? No thanks, Dad."
He shrugged and sat down on the loveseat accepting the proffered teacup from Andromeda. "Lucas ruined yellow eyes for everyone with that series."
"Now, Ted, most people can't have yellow eyes so I hardly that's a fair comparison," Andromeda chided.
Tonks groaned and leaned back. "Why are we arguing about yellow eyes?"
Andromeda smiled and patted her leg. "Well because you don't want to tell us why you came to visit us of course."
"I didn't say I didn't want to talk about it…" she grumbled.
Ted chuckled. "Oh, Dora, you'd think you could lie better."
"Well to everyone else I lie fine."
"But not to us," he replied with a smile. "Now, what has you up and about so early? I'd imagine you should be training with your friend at Hogwarts."
Tonks shifted uncomfortably. "Um, well…you know that the First Task of the Triwizard was yesterday?" Both parents nodded. "Okay, and you know that Harry actually did remarkably well considering some attempts at sabotage?"
"I heard rumor that he performed the animagus ritual. Dangerous gamble that. I'm glad it worked out for him," Andromeda commented.
Tonks nodded. "Yeah. Agreed. He didn't have too many other options. We talked about it for a bit afterwards."
"So you're giving him the day off then, Dora?" Ted asked.
"Well yes. But that's not why I'm here, Dad. I um…I have something to tell you…I uh, wanted to be the one to explain things. You know before you heard from someone else and got everything all twisted and weird and not cool and got some crazy ideas in your heads and gave him a hard time or tried to forbid me from it or…yeah, that's not why I'm here," she lamely finished off her ramble.
Andromeda smiled. A chill went down Tonks' back. Her mother smiled like that only when she was about to play a particularly good card. "Oh really dear? So than I assume that this is about your recent relationship upgrade with a 14 year old young man with brilliant green eyes."
Tonks blinked, staring at her mother and father neither of who seemed particularly surprised at Andromeda's words or Tonks' lack of reaction. She groaned and let her hair shift through to bright orange. "Dammit you already knew. I was hoping to get here before you found out."
Andromeda patted her daughter's leg. "Oh, Nymphadora, you should really know me better than that. I am a Black again after all thanks to Sirius. I have access to all my old sources. Now, has he gotten you pregnant?"
Tonks' eyes widened and she choked on her tea. "What?!"
"Hmm, I imagine I'll have to get the wedding plans set up if that's the case. Would you both be okay with the week that the term ends? I'd obviously prefer to wait until he's at least 15 but we don't want the baby to be illegitimate after all and that would be cutting rather dangerously close."
"Mother! Stop!" Tonks yelled holding her hands over her face and desperately trying to dampen the full-body blush. "I'm not pregnant! We've only snogged twice, I'm not shagging him yet!"
"Oh good. That leaves me more than enough time to plan the wedding then!"
"Mum, please just stop!" Tonks moaned. "And how did you find out anyway? This literally just happened last night!"
"It's already in the paper, Dora," Ted said with a smile.
Andromeda rolled her eyes. "Well take all the mystery and fun out of it why don't you?"
Tonks had meanwhile sat up straight and stared at her father. "Paper? Already? That…that shouldn't be possible. I only got over myself yesterday afternoon after the Task…" She lifted her wand and summoned the Daily Prophet which zipped into her hands from the kitchen. Reading through it saw her hair shift into brilliant displays of red, her face heat up and her hands shake in rage. "Skeeter. I'm going to murder that woman."
Andromeda casually sipped her tea. "I taught you better than that, Dora. Murder is easy. You want payback instead. I think we can do far better than a simple murder."
Tonks' eyes widened and she calmed back down. "You're honestly not upset by…me and Harry?"
Ted shrugged. "Well of course we'd like to meet the young man. We haven't forgotten though how he believed in you and gave you good advice for the past two years and how he's done more since re-entering our world three years ago than most of your former compatriots did in a decade of being with the Aurors. I'm not particularly happy about his age personally – but, honey, better a younger man who appreciates you rather than an older man who only wants your abilities."
Andromeda just lifted an eyebrow. "I was almost married off to a man forty years my senior when I was 15, Dora. Never forget what family I was raised with. Since I'm assuming you're not playing Celebrity Who's Who bedroom games with the young man to win him over," Tonks growled low at that and Andromeda rolled her eyes. "I have no real issues beyond advising you to be careful, be prepared for the criticism and the comments and to make certain that above all, you are all happy with a multiple relationship."
Tonks fidgeted. "Yeah…um, about that. I did already talk with his girlfriend, Hermione Granger. She, err, is rather eager about that aspect it seems."
"Oh, good!" Andromeda smiled wide. "I remember you swearing off boys for a few years after you started off in Hogwarts. Now you get the best of both worlds!"
"Mum!" Tonks groaned. Her father just laughed and patted her leg. "You guys, suck."
Ted shrugged. "True. We're your parents. We're supposed to get that reaction." Tonks just groaned louder as her parents started to laugh.
Harry sat down to breakfast that morning feeling decidedly chipper for the first time in weeks. The mood was not to last unfortunately.
Hedwig swooped down to greet him with the other owls. She initially refused his offer of bacon and instead affectionately nipped at his fingers for a minute. "Thanks, girl. It's nice to know you care." She barked and puffed up before turned her head to the side. "Well of course I knew you cared before." She eyed him and the people sitting nearby stared between owl and human. "Oh come on, I'm fine! And I even get to be a cool animal now!" Hedwig barked at that causing Harry to snort. "I'm not going to eat you when I change, Hedwig. I'm still me." Hedwig preened her wing and ignored him. Harry sighed and held out his bacon again. "And I'm sorry for almost dying. Happy now?" His owl looked up, barked one final time, took the bacon and dropped the two issues of the Prophet she had carried in earlier. "Thanks, girl."
Daphne reached over to grab one of the papers. "I really wish I understood how you talk with that owl," she muttered. Hedwig barked at her and nipped her fingers. Daphne lifted an eyebrow. "What? I certainly can't understand you like him. Well, actually for that matter I can't understand him like you can either. He's your human not mine." Hedwig puffed up and flew up to Daphne's shoulders.
Harry grinned at the two. "She likes you, Daph." Daphne's raised eyebrows garnered several laughs and Harry went back to his breakfast.
"Oh listen to this, guys," Daphne said sounding excited. "Skeeter wrote an article decrying 'awful mismanagement', 'unthinking potential homicides', 'lack of foresight'…it goes on and on. There's very little fact here at all and mostly speculation, but it's actually not too bad overall. At least it slams the organizers rather than the contestants. Mostly."
"Mostly eh? What does it say about the contestants?" George asked from nearby.
Daphne sighed. "Well it decries Fred for using a loophole to cheat on the starting line though it does mention your owl order catalog so I'd recommend just taking it as free advertising. It says that Viktor shouldn't have bothered playing with his creature and should've taken it out at the first glance. Fleur is beaten down for being French, being a Veela, not showing varied enough magic, etc. Harry is berated for using a dangerous ritual mid-combat as well as not knowing enough spellwork to get around his beast without resorting to extremes…the typical drivel I suppose. Certainly not as bad as it could've been."
Harry had been looking at his own paper as Daphne talked. He was snarling to the point of practically spitting. "Yeah, because she saved all of the worst stuff for this one!"
The others turned to Harry. He started to read the article out loud:
Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Cheated?
Both in skills and in love Harry Potter is not as innocent as he appears. It has long been known that the young Boy-Who-Lived is skillful with his rune crafting and experimentation. What has only recently come to light is that he also seems to have a way with the fairer sex. Mr. Potter has been surrounded by the female gender for several years now. Ever since he reentered our world, he has been in the company of Hermione Granger, Muggle-born. The two made their relationship official at some point the year prior. One wonders just what the Granger girl did – and continues to do – to ensure that Harry Potter remains so attached to her for so long…
Not content with just the one girlfriend though, Harry has also flirted heavily with fellow Triwizard Champion, Fleur Delacour. The French girl has been seen shamelessly pursuing our young wizard since the Quidditch World Cup this summer. "It's just sickening watching how open those two are about being interested in each other," Pansy Parkinson, Harry's schoolmate, comments. "Doesn't he already have a girlfriend? Does he really have to wave it in our faces that he can have anyone that he wants whenever he wants them?" Perhaps there is some truth to this statement or perhaps it goes deeper than that. Fleur Delacour happens to have Veela blood. Could she be enchanting our dear national hero? Could she be seducing him with her charms and her powers that he has no defense against? One certainly hopes not, but the possibility cannot be ignored.
To further complicate matters, Harry just last night added Nymphadora Tonks, disgraced former Auror, to his growing harem. This woman graduated Hogwarts in 1991 making her nearly six years older than young Potter. They have had several meetings prior to this year but this reporter has discovered their steamy affair has heated up through repeated personal training sessions in the past two months. Just how deep do these sessions go? Just how much has this aged metamorphmagus abused her powers to snare and seduce Harry Potter? Just who has she impersonated to keep his interest or satisfy his fantasy?
Even more disturbing, Harry Potter has been taken in by young Bathsheda Babbling – the youngest professor on staff at Hogwarts. "Yeah, Professor Babbling starting hanging out with him and inviting him into her office first year," Draco Malfoy, another fellow schoolmate says. "I know she graduated a few years back but it still seems inappropriate. And she always sticks up for him when he gets into trouble. They've got to have some sort of relationship. It's the only thing that makes sense." Careful investigations have uncovered that Babbling somehow managed to acquire legal guardianship status for Mr. Potter prior to his third year. Just what interest does this woman have for keeping the boy close? Just what sort of relationship do they really have? Inquiries to Gringotts about whether the Professor had managed to obtain magical guardianship status as well – which would have granted her complete control over our hero's fate – was met with laughter. This reporter finally managed to find records showing that Harry Potter was legally emancipated September 3rd. Is it coincidence that this coincides with the boy's selection into the Triwizard Tournament? Surely not! Could Harry have entered the Tournament solely to escape Ms. Babbling? We can only watch and wonder. Keep reading while we at the Daily Prophet follow up on this horrifying story concerning Harry Potter!
By the time Harry had finished reading the paper there were literal sparks jumping from his feet into the ground and a magical wind was fluttering the floating candles above. "When I catch that woman I'm going to – "
"Harry James Potter, you calm down this instant!" Luna yelled without any of her customary detached tone. Everyone stopped and looked to her. Harry blinked at Luna several times before he took a few deep breaths and relaxed his hands. The candles steadied and he seemed far less likely to strike someone. "Better," Luna said. "Now remember that Rita Skeeter makes her living printing off vitriol and that you have a ready source to counter these lies. A source that has been growing larger and better respected for the past two years. A source that likes and trusts you. Remember that the wizarding world has no such thing as libel or slander laws so you legally can't touch her." Luna's eyes narrowed and her voice took on a dangerous undertone. "Also remember that everyone has secrets. It is merely a matter of finding those secrets. We will retaliate. We will not give her further cause to injure us."
The Gryffindors were quiet for a long minute. Eventually Tracey broke the silence. "Bloody hell, Luna, how did Ravenclaw survive you? You're as dangerous as Harry's girlfriends!" She grinned like a loon and pulled the little blonde into a hug. Luna blushed and muttered something unintelligible and people started going back to their meals.
Harry shook his head as Hermione squeezed his hand. "Thanks, Luna. I appreciate the reality check," he said glumly.
Luna pulled away from Tracey slightly and smiled at him, her dreaminess back in full force. "Anytime, Harry. That's what I'm here for after all."
Dumbledore noticed a disturbance by Harry's table and frowned. The magic that boy let off when he was truly angry was worrisome and it further cemented the resolve he had renewed last night. Things around the young man calmed before Dumbledore felt the need to intervene however. A little curious, he turned to regard Babbling to see why the woman hadn't gone down to check on the boy. Holding in a chuckle Dumbledore saw her glaring the Daily Prophet in front of her and seemingly trying to cause it to catch fire with her eyes.
Cracking a smile, Dumbledore opened his own paper intent on seeing just what it was that had gotten under the woman's nerves. With a chuckle he read through the article. While he knew that Harry did have the same magnetic personality so prevalent in Dark Lords, it was obvious that the article was a huge exaggeration. He took a sip of his pumpkin juice as he finished up the amusing commentary.
Harry Potter was legally emancipated September 3rd
Dumbledore sat straight up and spit his juice out violently enough it reached a third of the way down the Ravenclaw table. He clutched the article and reread the last paragraph. Surely it was simply a falsification! Surely this couldn't have happened! Not right under his nose! With horror Dumbledore realized that he hadn't spoken against anything stated at the choosing of the Champions. There was in fact a distinct possibility that Harry could have wormed his way into twisting that to acknowledge an updated legal status.
With wide eyes, Dumbledore stood up fast enough that his chair was thrown backwards. "Minerva, I will be out for the day. Please handle matters here for me." He ignored the odd looks several students and staff sent at him while he hurried out of the Great Hall. He had to call an emergency Wizengamot session to fix this immediately!
Harry watched Dumbledore practically sprint out of room and turned to his group. "What in Merlin's name was that about?"
Daphne snorted reached over the table and tapped the article in front of him. Harry just frowned and Daphne rolled her eyes. "Neville? You want to take this one?"
Neville shrugged and said, "Sure. Harry, you never let Dumbledore know he wasn't your magical guardian anymore right?" Harry agreed with his friend. "Well, Skeeter just let the cat out of the bag on that. He's probably just run off to try and get that overturned and himself reinstated."
Harry frowned. "Can he do that?"
"Doubt it," Neville snorted. "He'd have to get a two thirds vote in the Wizengamot to overturn any guardian issues. The Headmaster has allies but not enough to pull favors like that. The real question is if you want to be there to watch the fireworks or if you just want Sirius and Remus to give you the highlights later. You're Lord Potter now even if you don't officially use the title. You're entitled to the seat at the Wizengamot."
Harry frowned. He opened his mouth to speak but cut off as Shiva laid a hand on his shoulder from behind. "You're going to the meeting, kid. Come on. Let's collect Sirius and Remus and wait for him to call it. I want to watch this thing firsthand. At minimum it'll take both our minds off strangling a certain reporter."
"But your classes?"
"Are being covered by McGonagall. I'm entitled to attend as your legal guardian. Daphne, Neville, would either of you like to come as well? Both of you are far more suited to politics than me."
Neville shook his head. "Sorry, I promised I'd help Professor Sprout in the greenhouse a little later."
"I'll go," Daphne said moving her things into her backpack. Tracey shook her head beside her but didn't say anything. "I'm certainly not about to let either of you take advice from Sirius Black. Remus Lupin might be skilled with Defense but he's certainly not a politician."
Snape strode up behind the group as they all stood up from the table. "Greengrass. Class starts in five minutes. I suggest you hurry along."
Shiva gave the greasy haired man a soft smile. "Sorry, Professor Snape, Miss Greengrass is going to be attending a Wizengamot session in a few minutes. As her and Mr. Potter's escort I assure you, I'll keep watch over her."
Snape frowned and glared at his colleague. "She is neither of age nor are you her Head of House. You do not have leave to exit the grounds, Greengrass."
"Professor," Daphne said smiling, "I am acting as the official legal counsel for Lord Potter. The position is an honor and a privilege. I have no intention of slighting a Noble House by refusing and I doubt my father would take barring me from attending to my duties in any sort of favorable light. If you wish to force this issue than I can contact him via Floo to ensure that everything is cleared up prior to whenever the meeting should commence."
Snape's frown deepened into a scowl, then he jerked his chin down in a brief nod. He looked like he wanted to spit out an acerbic reply but ended up biting his tongue. "Ensure you do not dawdle or sightsee Greengrass." Turning on his heel Snape left in a huff.
Harry waved goodbye to his friends and followed Shiva and Daphne out into the Entrance Hall. Hopefully the Wizengamot session would be entertaining instead of annoying.
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