Chapter Nineteen: The Mysterious Pixie
Harish finally opened the letter form Sirius once they were in the privacy of the dormitory. It read:
Dear Harry,
Congratulations on getting past the Horntail. Whoever put your name in that goblet shouldn't be feeling too happy now! I am impressed with the way you devised to get past it. Using your Firebolt? I never would have thought of that!
Don't get complacent, though, Harry. You've only done one task. Whoever put you in for the tournament has plenty of time to kill you. Keep your eyes open—particularly when the person we discussed is around—and concentrate on keeping yourself out of trouble.
Keep in touch, I still want to hear about anything unusual.
-Sirius
P.S. If you want to talk more, meet me in our usual way next Saturday night.
The next day, Harish told the others about the letter he received from Sirius. Hermione agreed with the man, saying that it was very possible that there might be another murder attempt before the year was out. This worried Daphne, though she did not say anything. The twins, however, thought that Harish would be able to manage anything that was thrown at him.
Harish himself did not exactly know what to think. It was much like when Sirius had first escaped Azkaban: when they had no idea that he was innocent. Harish had not been very afraid that the man was coming to the castle, even though he had known he should be. It was much like that now. Except this time, Harish did not know who the culprit was, only that they were already in the castle.
Still, the last week of the term passed by very quickly, and Harish found himself looking forward to seeing his godfather. When Saturday finally arrived, Harish waited impatiently or the common room to clear out. Then, Sirius's head appeared five minutes after the last person had left.
"Sirius!" Harish exclaimed.
"Harry, how are you?" Sirius asked
"Good," Harish replied. And he began talking. In his letter, he had vaguely told Sirius how he had gotten past the dragon, but had focused more on the scores he had received. Now, he gave Sirius a blow by blow account of what exactly happened. Sirius looked impressed that Harish had gotten off with only one scratch. Then, Harish had proceeded on telling his godfather about the Yule Ball.
"So who'd you ask?" Sirius questioned the teen.
"Daphne Greengrass," he supplied.
"Really?" Sirius asked. "Is she pretty?"
Harish rolled his eyes.
"Yes," he answered. "And smart."
"Are you happy?" Sirius asked.
"Not as happy as Draco," Harish said, before covering his mouth at his slip up.
"What? Malfoy's kid? Who did he ask?"
"No one," Harish backtracked.
Sirius raised an eyebrow.
"Fine," Harish huffed. "But you can't tell anyone. Draco would kill me…He is taking Ginny Weasley."
Sirius's head began laughing almost hysterically.
"A Malfoy and a Weasley?" he asked. "I would pay to see that!"
"Exactly why you can't tell anyone!" Harish said. "Ginny would be grounded for life if her mother knew, and if Uncle Lucius found out…Well, I don't doubt that he would disown Draco."
"Nor do I!" Sirius said, laughing still.
"This is serious!" Harish exclaimed, but that only seemed to make the man laugh harder. The teen rolled his eyes.
"Well," Sirius said, wiping his eyes. "I need to go. Make sure you take care. Your father wants me to tell you that he would be willing on helping you with the second task."
"Thanks," Harish replied, and Sirius's head disappeared with a pop.
The next day Voldemort received a fire-call from Sirius. He had been sitting at his desk in his study, a fire crackling merrily in the fireplace. Voldemort dipped his quill in an ink well an began writing a letter to Yaxley. Over the years, the Dark Lord had been trying his best to slowly overtake the Ministry of Magic. It was slow work, depending mostly on his having at least one follower in every department.
And, as Voldemort was being forced to fast forward his plans, he was slowly rebuilding the connection to the Dark Mark of the rest of his followers. He had only contacted his most devoted followers during Harish's first few years at Hogwarts. Now, as he thought he might start an open war again, he was contacting the rest. The Dark Lord figured that his son would be ready for the war, now that he was almost seventeen and had his OWL's.
Suddenly, the fireplace flared green and Sirius's head appeared in it.
"What do you want?" Voldemort asked, without bothering to glance up from the letter he was writing.
"I can't just speak with you about Harry when I want to?" Sirius questioned in returned.
Voldemort glanced up and lifted an eyebrow at the dog animagus.
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Sirius said. "You're the Dark Lord. Blah, blah, blah."
"Exactly," Voldemort said, looking back down at his parchment. "And his name is Harish. Not Harry."
"He told me I could call him that," Sirius protested.
A vein ticked in the Dark Lord's forehead.
"What do you want?" Voldemort finally repeated.
"Harish found a date to the ball," Sirius replied, waiting eagerly for a response. He was sorely disappointed. "Daphne Greengrass."
Voldemort was inwardly pleased, although he did not say anything. He did not show any emotion on his face either. Instead, he said, "That's good."
"Draco found a date as well," Sirius continued after a pause. "Apparently both he and Miss Ginny Weasley have developed a liking toward each other."
Voldemort's eyes snapped to Sirius.
"You are joking," the man said slowly.
"Nope!" Sirius said gleefully, popping his p. "You can ask Harry, if you deem it necessary."
Voldemort hardly noticed that the man was still calling his son "Harry". His thoughts were racing a mile an hour at the possibilities this brought. For starters, Voldemort knew for sure he would have an alliance in the Weasley girl.
He quickly entered Sirius's mind to confirm that the animagus was telling the truth. Then, he stood, turned, and said.
"If what you say is true, I am sure we can welcome the girl into our arms. I could see to it that her status as a bloodtraitor is resolved."
Sirius nodded and the green flames dispersed as his head disappeared with a pop. Then, Voldemort smiled a rather twisted smile. He grabbed some floo powder of his own and threw it into the flames.
"Lucius," he called out.
Lucius appeared seconds later.
"Yes, my lord?" the blonde asked.
"You will never believe what a little pixie informed me of, just now."
"Oh?" Lucius asked, raising an aristocratic eyebrow.
"Your son has apparently invited Miss Ginny Weasley to the Yule Ball," Voldemort replied.
"WHAT?!"