Chapter 201
Harry, Shiva and Daphne met up with Sirius and Remus in the atrium of the Ministry of
Magic. Harry idly fingered his badge – Harry Potter, Fireworks Observer/Instigator – and
peered curiously at the woman standing beside Sirius. She looked vaguely familiar but he
couldn't put his finger on it…
"Heya, pup," Sirius said smiling. "You got here fast! Dumbledore just called the meeting
ten minutes ago and it starts in another fifteen. I thought we'd have to have Remus sit for
you."
"We watched Dumbledore literally run out of the Great Hall after reading the paper.
Figured it'd be a good idea to come straight here," Shiva said shrugging. "Hello,
Andromeda. I'm a little surprised to see you here."
The woman besides Sirius just lifted a corner of her mouth and shook her head bemusedly.
"Professor Babbling, did you really think I'd let my cousin come to an important
Wizengamot session without an actual legal advisor?" Sirius held a hand to his heart while
the rest chuckled. "Miss Greengrass, I assume you're fulfilling the same role for our young
Lord Potter?"
Daphne nodded and gave a slight curtsey. "That would be correct, Mrs. Tonks."
Harry's eyes widened as he looked back at Andromeda. His mouth went a little dry and he
had to fight the urge to run and hide in a corner somewhere. "Um, hello, Mrs. Tonks. It's
nice to meet you."
"Oh no need to be so formal, Harry!" Andromeda said smiling evilly at him. "Call me
Andromeda or Andi. After all it's only a matter of time before you're officially family now
isn't it?"
Harry gulped. "Err, so I guess Tonks talked to you already then…"
"She stopped by a few hours ago," Andromeda said with a shrug, chuckling lightly. Remus
and Sirius just looked between the two confused. "I asked about when I should start
planning for a wedding but she didn't very cooperative." Harry blanched and started trying
desperately to loosen his collar completely ignoring Daphne and Shiva rolling their eyes to
either side of him. "You're going to have to talk to Dora. I realize it may be some time off
but really, these things take time."
"Right. I'll uh, get right on that…"
Andromeda broke down laughing and pulled Harry into a brief hug before moving back to
Sirius' side and shaking her head. "Kids these days are far too easy to set off balance. Don't
worry, Harry, I'm just teasing. My husband and I would like to sit down with you at some
point in the future, but we realize you're quite swamped at the moment. Shall we all head
down? We can talk on the way."
Harry breathed a sigh of relief as they all piled into the lift. Sirius leaned against the wall
with his arms crossed and said, "So I take it you and my cousin are dating, Harry?" Harry
nodded trying and failing to suppress the blush on his cheeks. Sirius snorted. "Man, pup,
James would be so proud. Not even 15 and already has two girlfriends." He wiped fake
tears from the corners of his eyes while Remus just shook his head. "I was wondering how
much truth was in that article. Anyway, try to let me take the lead in this session for the
most part yeah? If you're directly addressed respond, but have Daphne give you prompts.
Marcus may be a bit frustrating, but he taught his girls well." Harry and Daphne both
nodded. "Amelia is of course on our side in practically everything, as is Augusta
Longbottom. I got word from the Abbotts, the Browns – and surprisingly the Bulstrodes –
that they'll vote with us as well. The Patils and the Lis don't have a seat on the
Wizengamot but they've both already informed their trading partners to follow along with
us. Even if things go utterly off the rails we should be able to prevent a two thirds majority
to overturn anything. Daphne can we count on your father's help?"
Daphne grimaced. "I'm not sure. Lord Greengrass votes according to who presents the best
case for his own interests. He's never been a fan of the Headmaster, so I would say it's
likely however I would not recommend counting on him."
The others nodded. Harry frowned. "Could we use this session to bring Dumbledore or
Umbridge up on charges?" The lift pinged and the group walked out.
Andromeda shook her head. "Dora has explained some things to me. Unfortunately, as
Umbridge said yesterday, you really don't have any actual proof of wrongdoing."
"But they rigged the Tournament! And with all the other stuff he's done…" Harry muttered
scowling.
Andromeda just shrugged. "He was your magical guardian. While his actions were
underhanded and highly suspect they nearly all had legal justification and precedent. They
didn't show good judgment and we will certainly use that, but they also were not
technically illegal. Even the barrier around the Task had a legitimate reason. You can't
prove the intent was malicious even if we all know that was likely. The fact that five X
creatures would be near casual observers gave them the right to construct safety measures.
I'm certain it wasn't Umbridge or Fudge who came up with that little gem of wisdom since
neither are intelligent enough for that." She smiled and Harry felt a chill run down his back,
suddenly very glad that the woman was not directing that at him. "However, just because
we cannot accuse the esteemed Headmaster does not mean we cannot imply anything…"
They reached the Wizengamot chamber and headed up into the stands taking their seats,
Sirius next to Harry and the others sitting behind the two. Sirius clapped Harry on the
shoulder. "Just relax and enjoy the show, pup."
Harry sighed and nodded. Politics really made no sense whatsoever. Less than a minute
after they sat down, Dumbledore strode into the Chamber and took a seat in the center
chair with Fudge sitting beside him. He banged a gavel against the podium in front of him
and called out, "I call this emergency meeting of the Wizengamot into session. A matter of
grave importance has recently come to my attention which necessitated this meeting. I
apologize for the short notice and thank all for their prompt attendance." He paused and
cast a grandfatherly gaze at the assembly. Harry just snorted wondering when the man was
going to notice that he was here. "We have convened this morning to discuss the oversight
leading to young Harry Potter being cast adrift in our world and to ensure that it is
corrected so that he can be properly guided as befitting all other young wizards among
us."
Sirius stood and cleared his throat. "Chief Warlock, are you referring to Lord Potter's
emancipated status?"
Dumbledore nodded with a deep sigh. "Yes, Lord Black, that is exactly what I am referring
to. Such a sad state that a fault of our own led to this circumstance. We simply must
address this issue."
Sirius shrugged. "Well sure, but if you're so concerned why didn't you bring it up two
months ago when it first happened? You were his magical guardian up to that point
weren't you? Surely you received the notification? It wasn't a problem then for Lord Potter
to take up his seat, why has this suddenly become an issue requiring the entire
Wizengamot?"
Dumbledore shifted slightly and frowned at Sirius. His eyes widened as he locked eyes with
Harry and Harry gave the old man a little wave. "I must have missed that notification, Lord
Black. I assure you, as soon as I became aware of the occurrence I immediately moved to
convene this body."
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Chapter 202
Sirius grinned. "You must have been pretty busy to not realize for two months that your
charge wasn't your charge." Dumbledore's eyes narrowed slightly and Sirius charged on.
"But I suppose we all might as well hear whatever arguments you have to try and overturn
the fully legal means that Lord Potter has obtained his emancipation."
"Perhaps first we should determine exactly how said emancipation occurred," Dumbledore
said. "Surely this technicality must be addressed and corrected."
Sirius made a show of rubbing his chin. He turned to look at Harry and there were a few
gasps as several close by people recognized that he was in the stands. "Hmm, Lord Potter,
you claimed emancipation because the Minister for Magic's direct representative claimed
that only legal adults could participate in the Triwizard Tournament and they were refusing
to allow you to disqualify yourself, yes? And your magical guardian was in the room at the
time and said nothing to contradict either point?"
Harry nodded and stood up. Many more in-drawn breaths greeted him as he nodded.
"That's correct, Lord Black. When the Ministry itself proclaimed that I needed to be
recognized as an adult in the magical world in order to compete in the Tournament
emancipation seemed like the best option. I am rather interested in keeping my magic
after all." He sat back down and smirked at the pursed look that Fudge developed.
"So, Chief Warlock," Sirius said cocking his head at Dumbledore, "now that we've cleared
up how, shall we hear your counter-arguments?"
Dumbledore's eyes closed briefly and he visibly shifted gears apparently recognizing that
he wouldn't be able to get Harry's emancipation thrown out via improper procedures.
Once Harry had mentioned losing his magic he'd more or less won that argument hands
down. "An adult in our world must be capable of supporting themselves. Mr. Potter – "
"I believe that's Lord Potter in this setting Chief Warlock," Sirius interjected.
Dumbledore pursed his lips and replied, "Of course. My mistake, Lord Potter, must be
capable of supporting himself. He is still a mere schoolboy. He cannot possibly accomplish
his studies while maintaining a living."
Sirius outright laughed. "Really? Chief Warlock, you embarrass yourself! Completely
discounting that Lord Potter has full rights to access his own inheritance, he is also the Heir
Black meaning he has my House's reserves as well. In addition Professor Babbling still
assists in this aspect. Plus on top of all that he has successfully started his own business
already. I believe he's already associated with Fred and George Weasley's business as well.
Perhaps you've heard of either one? Weasley Wizarding Wheezes or Potter Runes?"
Dumbledore spread his hands beseechingly. "Lord Black, a simple schoolyard owl form
hardly covers a child's full expenses."
Sirius raised his eyebrows and was about to motion for Harry to stand again when Amelia
abruptly stood up from her position near Dumbledore. "Chief Warlock," she said, "Potter
Runes has recently supplied their proprietary Silver Spirit rune to the entirety of the Auror
department. This alone has greatly increased the ability of the Aurors to control – and if
necessary combat – a Dementor. While they were provided at a steep discount I'm sure it
still turned a nice profit for Lord Potter. I've been in talks with him to supply additional
types of rune clusters to further increase the Auror's standard arsenal."
Harry stood as Amelia sat back down. "That's just the first professional contract, Chief
Warlock. The prank stones have a high demand and we're already getting a bit of a
backorder on several items. When I get the opportunity to expand, I imagine I'll be making
more money than several people in this room."
Dumbledore frowned. "Be that as it may, you still require a place to reside, Lord Potter."
Daphne leaned forward and whispered, "Mention your estate and how you've been having
it fixed up for a while. Also bring up your Muggle legal guardian status before he attacks
you there. Make it a positive, Harry."
Harry nodded and turned back to the chamber. "Currently I'm living with my legal guardian,
Professor Babbling." Dumbledore opened his mouth to say something but Harry kept
talking before he could. "She became my guardian in the Muggle world prior to my third
year and has done an excellent job of correcting my previous medical issues and living
conditions. Her flat is more than accommodating enough for the two of us, but it isn't
necessarily fitting for a Noble House. So we've been in talks with the Goblin Nation to
restore Potter Manor since I moved in with her. The work is nearly complete and will be
ready for inspection sometime during the winter holiday."
A flurry of murmuring broke out at that and Harry saw Dumbledore's frown deepen. Harry
sat back down and let Sirius take over again. Dumbledore sighed and said, "While Lord
Potter's foresight in some matters can be seen, his overall inexperience and lack of wisdom
is readily apparent. This is clearly shown in his choice of relationships. Why just this
morning we all read how Lord Potter has entered into a relationship with a woman quite a
few years older than himself. Miss Tonks left a stable job with the Ministry for no reason,
with no warning and she is far too old for him. That Lord Potter thinks this relationship is
acceptable is deeply concerning."
Harry growled low, but stilled as Daphne laid a hand on his shoulder shaking her head
slightly. She nodded towards Andromeda and Sirius both of who had gone rather still.
Andromeda leaned in to whisper to Sirius and the smile he sent Dumbledore afterwards
probably lowered the temperature in the room by several degrees.
"Chief Warlock," Sirius said, "allow me to address some of those points. Miss Tonks did not
leave the Aurors with no reason. She had been consistently sidelined and belittled despite
many of her suggestions leading to money saving alternatives or increased security. In
addition her deductive skills were proven correct several times, one of the primary cases
being my own proven innocence." The room again broke out in murmurs.
Amelia stood and glared at Dumbledore. "I spoke with Former Auror Tonks quite
extensively about her decision to leave. Her reasons were valid and pervasive. Her
complaints brought to light a frankly absurd level of derision and prejudice within the
ranks that I am still working to stamp out. Her competence was never once in question and
the simple fact that she was the last protégé of Alastor Moody should prove that beyond
the shadow of a doubt."
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Chapter 203
"If you are implying that Miss Tonks is lacking in employment you are flat out wrong since
she was working for me up until accepting a post as Lord Potter's personal trainer for the
aforementioned Tournament," Sirius continued. "He's recently gone on record stating that
her work with him was one of the primary reasons he survived the Task yesterday. Without
her training he would've had to be rescued long before his eventual solution was
implemented. A rescue which would have been quite impossible thanks to the…'last
minute additions' to the wards preventing any outside assistance."
Harry noticed several people turn direct annoyed gazes at both Dumbledore and Fudge at
Sirius' remark. He wasn't done yet though. "In addition to this, Miss Tonks and Lord Potter
have had previous interactions for several years and have come to know each other quite
well. Even discounting all this…Nymphadora Tonks is a member of the House of Black
through her mother Andromeda Tonks nee Black my own cousin. Lord Potter has a relation
to House Black through his grandmother, Dorea Potter nee Black allowing me to name him
my Heir. However, this connection is not as strong as my family tends to prefer. Should Heir
Black's relationship with Miss Tonks progress to a marriage it would certainly strengthen
the familial ties to a point where the family blood and name would be assured to be pure."
Harry frowned at that, but again Daphne leaned in. "Don't dispute it, Harry. It's just politics.
Your friends all know you didn't start anything with Tonks because of that, but the
Purebloods in the room will never say anything against either of you if they think that
you're basically being set up as a political marriage to strengthen a claim. It's common
practice among some of them and gives you even more pull in those circles for having the
respect to play their game." Harry sighed and nodded he understood.
Dumbledore was straight up scowling at this point. "Certainly the boy is too young to be
making such decisions."
Several people in the audience laughed at this one. Harry waved for Sirius to sit down and
stood to defend himself this time. "Chief Warlock, was I too young when I fought a
Professor at 11 to safeguard the Philosopher's Stone? Was I too young when I fought a
basilisk at 12 to save a classmate? Was I too young when I fought off hundreds of
Dementors at 13 to save my godfather, the head of the DMLE, and more classmates? Was I
too young to fight off rioters at the Quidditch World Cup over the summer? Was I too
young to enter the Triwizard Tournament?"
Dumbledore just shook his head. "That you have had to face such things despite your age
is deeply regrettable, Lord Potter. But surely I have served as your magical guardian for
long enough to warrant being reinstated. I understand the unique requirements that come
from caring for the Boy-Who-Lived and can ascertain that all your needs are met without
incident. I am the only one who can be trusted with such a burden, Lord Potter. Surely you
understand this. Surely you don't wish to take on everything by yourself."
Harry narrowed his eyes at Dumbledore. "Lord Black, perhaps you'd like to answer this. I
don't quite trust myself to maintain my calm."
Sirius snorted and stood. "Of course, Lord Potter. Chief Warlock, every incident that Lord
Potter just stated except the World Cup occurred at Hogwarts under your very nose.
Whether these attacks were intentional or not doesn't particularly matter. You were
unable to protect him from them while he was at your own school." Murmurs rose in the
audience again. "You neglected to remove a mail ward after he began attending school
preventing Lord Potter from retrieving his correspondences. You neglected to inform Lord
Potter about his heritage, inheritance and his expected duties as an eventual member of
this very body." The murmurs rose in volume and Harry could hear several angry whispers.
"You were his magical guardian since his parents were murdered yet you never checked on
him during his time with his magic-hating Muggle guardians; time spent against the wishes
of both his parents I might add." The whispers increased in volume and Dumbledore
shifted his weight looking increasingly uncomfortable.
Sirius sighed and shook his head theatrically. "This lack of oversight led to neglect, abuse
and malnourishment. Lord Potter has recovered significantly thanks to Professor Babbling,
but the process continues. You, Chief Warlock Dumbledore, utterly failed as a magical
guardian to Harry Potter. You hold far too many titles: Chief Warlock, Supreme Mugwump,
Headmaster of Hogwarts. Just one of these jobs is supposed to be a full time position yet
you hold all three. Chief Warlock, you are far too overworked to ever be expected to act as
an effective magical guardian. Lord Potter is doing perfectly fine on his own and he has
several advisors and friends to assist him if he ever requires it. Something you might think
of doing yourself."
Augusta Longbottom stood up nodding. "Well said, Lord Black. The Longbottoms have long
been allied with the Potters. Had we realized the deplorable conditions that Lord Potter
was left in prior to his recovery I would have made it my mission to see you in a cell for
neglect, Chief Warlock. You are lucky that the young woman took charge of the situation
before we were forced into that action and that the young man has recovered."
Mr. Bulstrode stood drawing several raised eyebrows. "He is also proving to be an
extremely good influence at the school. My daughter was thought of as a simple brute not
suited to anything beyond housework – even by my wife and me. She has since taken Lord
Potter's attitude and work effort to heart and has risen to become the third highest scoring
Slytherin in her year group. If he can inspire that sort of change in my daughter I see no
reason why he shouldn't be left to his own devices."
Dumbledore gave a heavy sigh and sat down in his seat. "Shall we cast a vote on this issue?
All those in favor of returning Harry Potter to my custody cast your spell into the white
orb." He raised his wand and a white and black orb appeared in front of him. "All those for
Harry Potter maintaining his emancipated status, cast your spell into the black orb."
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Chapter 204
Harry couldn't help the large grin that spread over his face as almost the entirety of the
Wizengamot members cast their votes into the black orb. Shiva had been right. It was
supremely entertaining getting to finally put the aged Headmaster in his place.
"I admit, I expected us to have a bit more trouble than that," Daphne said as the small
group left the Wizengamot chambers.
Andromeda shrugged. "Albus Dumbledore is not used to people questioning him,
especially not in a setting he normally controls such as this. He wasn't prepared for
informed, logical arguments. I doubt he was expecting us to actually have been ready for
this meeting and to have thought it out beforehand." She tapped her chin thoughtfully.
"Actually many witches and wizards tend to blindsided when presented with a properly
reasoned and logical argument. We really do need to include more Muggle-born in our
proceedings…"
Harry snorted. "Agreed. But hey, it worked out for us at the moment so I'm not
complaining right now. They were still so annoyed with Dumbledore that I was able to get
Remus as my official proxy without anyone even commenting on him being a werewolf!"
Remus smiled shyly. "I'm still honored that you trust me with this, Harry."
Harry shrugged. "It's nothing, Remus. Just make sure to ask me about anything big
beforehand." The older man nodded and they all stepped out of the lift onto the floor with
the animagus registration office.
"I must say, I am looking forward to seeing your transformation close up, Harry."
"Yeah, pup, I can't wait! Don't get me wrong, you ever do something that foolish again and
I'll…um…I'll uh…Andi?" Everyone laughed as Sirius fumbled for an appropriate
punishment.
Andromeda eventually quieted and turned to Harry grinning. "Please ignore my cousin,
Harry. He tends to be the one being punished rather than the one doing the punishing."
Harry just smiled and shrugged. "Don't worry about it. Shiva's got that part covered
anyway. I lose apple tart privileges."
"Amongst other things," Shiva muttered at the raised eyebrows. "What? He's got the
innocent kid look down pat. You try punishing him with anything long term and we'll how
well you do."
They were still chuckling as Harry stepped up to the counter and said hello to the wizard
behind the desk. The man looked up and nearly fell out of his chair when he saw Harry
standing in front of him. "My word! Harry Potter as I live and breathe! Oh I had hoped that
you would come while I was on shift! May I have your autograph, young man? Please? It's
for my daughter. She's followed your creations and was one of the first on your owl order
listing!"
Harry managed to stop his groan before it left his lips and just nodded his assent. At least
he was being praised for something he'd actually done instead of his parent's sacrifice. The
wizard quickly grabbed some parchment and slid it across the desk. "Her name is, Marie,
Mr. Potter."
Quickly signing the parchment, Harry handed it back to the beaming man and cleared his
throat. "Um, can I register my animagus form now?"
"Oh, certainly, certainly! My apologies, please just step through here," the clerk quickly
ushered all six into a side room with a large circle outlined in the middle. "Stand in the
center, Mr. Potter. Now, your animagus is a panther, yes? Good. We won't need to use the
expanded room. Some people's forms are quite large and don't really fit here. Whenever
you're ready, Mr. Potter."
Harry took a breath and shifted. Once he was on all fours the clerk stepped forward to
peer at him. Harry hesitantly took a small breath. The nearby smells were still strong but
they weren't as bad as back in the Gryffindor common room during the party. One quick
sneeze and he could breathe normally. As the clerk took his notes, Harry's friends all
peered at him curiously as well.
Sirius gave a low whistle. "Still got those green eyes, pup. Maybe I should start using 'cub'
instead…That is a really beautiful fur coat. I wish my hair was that soft and silky when I
transform."
"Maybe you should bathe more as a dog then, Padfoot," Remus commented amused.
Daphne frowned and leaned forward tentatively reaching out a hand towards Harry's head
but stopping halfway. "May I?" she asked. Harry responded by leaning forward to bump
her hand with his head and purred softly as she idly scratched him. "Your fur is a bit grayer
in this section above your eyes, Harry."
Shiva and Andromeda looked where she was pointing and Shiva nodded. "Yeah, she's right.
It looks a bit like your scar actually. Man, kid, you're stuck with that thing even as an
animal!"
Harry did his best to shrug his shoulders. The wizard moved back to Harry's front and
tapped the parchment he had been using with his wand. "You may change back now, Mr.
Potter." Harry shifted and the man smiled. "Anything unique besides the eyes and the
slight coloration on your forehead that you know of?"
"I don't think so," Harry said shrugging. "It feels…weird. Like there's something I'm missing
or not doing, but this is only like the third time that I've changed and I wasn't really paying
much attention the first time so…I don't think so?"
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Chapter 205
The clerk nodded. "Well there likely isn't anything else. Odd feelings during the first few
transformations are common. Should anything strange develop in the future please keep
us posted so we can update your records. I'll make sure a copy of this license is entered
into the Hall of Records. It should be automatic just like trial proceedings, but one can
never be too careful! Would you like a copy as well?"
Harry nodded. "Yes, please. Also can we have one extra copy for Gringotts?"
"Of course, of course!" He made the copies and handed them over. "A pleasure to meet
you, Mr. Potter! Have a pleasant evening all of you!"
As they walked out, Sirius stared at him contemplatively. "You said it feels weird, pup?"
Harry nodded. "Weird like too much information or weird like a thrumming in your
bones?"
Harry considered as the lift started to move. "Maybe the latter? I don't know. It's really
hard to describe. Could it be a side effect of the ritual?" he asked grimacing slightly.
Daphne reached over and squeezed his hand. "I checked into that last night, Harry. If there
were dangerous side effects you would've known by now."
Shiva and Sirius both nodded their agreement. "It's not meant to be done with magical
creatures as the focus though," Sirius said shrugging. "While a chimera is based largely
around the lion body it is still magical. The ritual really shouldn't have worked using it in
place of a regular critter. That it did was a huge stroke of luck, Harry. It's possible that the
chimera did end up contaminating your form somewhat though. Maybe you got a bit of
something extra from the deal. Most animagi gain some sense of their animal's instincts
while transformed. Whatever is feeling odd about yours, just go with it. See where it leads,
what the panther wants. You never know, there might be something awesome at the end
of that road."
Harry nodded thoughtfully. "Okay. Thanks for the advice, Sirius." He was still deep in
thought as they split up to head their separate ways.
Barty watched from the staircase as Potter, Greengrass and Babbling came back into the
castle. He allowed himself a quick glance at the two women before nodding his respect to
the boy. While he'd never admit it out loud he was quickly coming to see why his Master
was so obsessed with Potter. It took a special kind of blind stubbornness to survive against
a chimera. Granted there had been quite a bit of luck involved, but even the spell chains
before he bothered to try the ritual had shown a large amount of promise. The battlefield
transfiguration was nothing to slouch at either. Not for a fourth year.
It was a true shame they'd be killing the boy at the end of the year. The Dark Lord had said
that Potter had impressed him enough that the boy would be offered a duel to allow for a
quick, honorable death but still…Crouch started to wonder if they might be able to turn
him. He'd make for a powerful asset and it would greatly demoralize the Light if their
savior ended up assisting the Dark Lord. Something to consider at least.
He frowned as his magical eye caught Draco Malfoy slinking up the dungeon staircase.
Potter had stopped to tie his oxfords while his companions continued forward. Draco
muttered something below Barty's hearing range and lifted his wand pointing it at Potter.
Snarling slightly Barty stepped off the stairs. Potter may be the enemy, but he certainly
didn't deserve to be cursed in the back by a cowardly little weasel like the Malfoy spawn!
Draco managed to get off a spell but Barty levitated a suit of armor into the path causing it
to ricochet into the ceiling. Potter immediately dropped and rolled while Babbling and
Greengrass also drew their wands and turned back towards the entrance hall. Barty just
grinned at their reaction times and watched Draco's mouth drop open. He savored it for a
moment before flicking his wand and in the little Malfoy's place was a tiny ferret. Barty
laughed at getting to have some fun for once and kept flicking his wand bouncing the
ferret up and down in the hall a few times. Oh this should be the common punishment for
students!
Potter cocked his head and sidled up next to Barty. "Um, thanks for blocking that spell,
Professor. Is that ferret Malfoy?"
"Constant vigilance, Potter. Constant vigilance. Imagine if I hadn't been here!" He let that
lie for a moment as the other two came up followed shortly by McGonagall.
McGonagall uttered a horrified little gasp. "Is that a student?!"
"Yup. Ferret boy here was trying to curse Potter in the back. I don't know what kind of
school you're running here, but that constitutes an attack amongst the Aurors. A bit of
transfiguration is far easier than I could have been," Barty said. It was true too; he could've
cruicio'ed the little coward. He had to restrain his smile at the thought of torturing the
little brat. Lucius had gotten to keep prancing about maintaining his status by just lining a
few pockets and abandoning their Master. Torturing his spawn a bit seemed like fair play. A
bit of a smirk slipped through as he kept bouncing the ferret.
Greengrass raised an eyebrow. "He's almost cute in this form. Can we just leave him like
that?"
McGonagall gave another strangled noise and pulled out her wand transforming Draco
back to normal. Barty sighed. Such a shame. "We do not transfigure students as
punishment!" Draco looked around, blinking stupidly. The boy looked torn between
leaping at Barty and running away.
Shiva sighed. "Malfoy, get to the hospital wing. Detention tonight. We'll discuss just why
you feel it's acceptable to try and curse someone in the back then. And depending on your
answers, we'll see just how many more detentions you end up with."
Barty shrugged. Well it wasn't torture, but it was something. At least the woman showed
nerve to go along with her appearance. He cursed having chosen to be Moody yet again.
Looking at women was all well and good, but no one would ever consent to going out with
the gnarled old man. Shame Lockhart wasn't still around…that had certainly been an
excellent specimen of a man.
Andromeda sat down in the chair across from Rita Skeeter all smiles. The reporter grinned
back at her and pulled out a Quick Quotes Quill along with some parchment. If there had
been any doubt at all in Andi's mind that pretty much killed it right there. The despicable
little worm couldn't even be bothered to use a real Dicta Quill. Bitch deserved this. "Thank
you for agreeing to meet with me, Ms. Skeeter."
Skeeter smiled and waved off her concern. "I admit I was a bit surprised. I never expected
you to ask to give an interview concerning your daughter's…activities," the woman said
with a sly little grin. "She must have quite frustrated you for you to be willing to reveal the
true extent of her time with Mr. Potter."
"After a fashion," Andi said. She reached for the tea set beside on the table and poured
two glasses passing one to Skeeter. "Please, have some tea. Only the best for my guests."
Andi wandlessly vanished her own drink before lifting the cup to her lips. Skeeter smiled
and sipped her tea while Andi kept in her snort of amusement. It was simply amazing how
often that little trick worked. It was one of the first things her mother had drilled into her,
pour the laced drink, vanish the laced drink, pretend to drink the laced drink, watch as
your rival drinks the laced drink now assuming it's safe.
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Chapter 206
"This is delicious, Mrs. Tonks," Skeeter said. She quickly draining the cup and Andi nearly
didn't manage to cover her urge to facepalm with a cough. Really, the compulsion charm to
drink wasn't even that strong! And the tea was awful!
"I'm glad you enjoy it. Now shall we get to business?"
"Of course, of course!" Skeeter leaned forward with a hungry, slightly glazed look in her
eyes.
"So then, tell me, Ms. Skeeter, what don't you want me to know?"
"Well I found out that info about your daughter by spying on her," Skeeter said leaning
back with a smile. A moment after she finished speaking her features morphed into horror
and she glanced down at the tea cup. "What did you do?!"
"Just a touch of veritaserum in the tea. Really, quite simple. I'm honestly a bit disappointed
that I didn't have to try anything more complicated. How did you spy on my daughter?"
Andi asked waving a hand in dismissal.
"I'm an unregistered beetle animagus and I listened on the tree behind them talking. I was
hoping to get something juicy on Potter and the Veela, but I got something with your
daughter instead." Panic crossed her eyes and she clapped one hand over her mouth while
the other reached for her wand only to find it across the room being held by a grinning
house elf.
"Winky is good elf. Winky takes bad reporter's wand, as Mistress' mother asked," the elf
said bowing low.
"Thank you, Winky. Just leave the wand over here, please. And tell Dora I'll have a bit to
add to whatever the little Ravenclaw is cooking up."
"Yes, Ma'am!" With a pop the elf had vanished leaving just the wand sitting beside Andi on
the armchair.
"Now, where were we? Oh yes," she quickly sent a spell at Rita forcing the woman's arms
onto the couch. "So you were just telling me about you being an unregistered beetle
animagus. Have you spied on any others of note with this skill?"
"Yes," Skeeter said through clenched teeth. "My boss, three of my competitors, the editor
for Teen Witch Weekly, Madame Rosmerta, Krum, several team members of the Holyhead
Harpies, the manager of the Chudley Cannons, the Weird Sisters, the Lis, the Patils, several
other trading partners, a few business owners, patrons at the Leaky Cauldron, patrons at
Gringotts, Madame Marchbanks, others who I forget."
Andi's eyes widened. "I admit I'm a bit impressed. That's quite a list. I assume you tried to
stay away from anyone who you'd offend too greatly?"
"Yes," Skeeter practically spat out. "I didn't screw with the important people because
they'd come after me."
"Well, it's really a shame that you forgot that despite my name change I am still a Black,"
Andi chuckled. "While Dora may be frustrating and annoying at times, I love her dearly. I
don't take kindly to people accusing her of being a whore on national news. So, Ms.
Skeeter, what is your dirtiest secret?"
Skeeter visibly fought against the potion and the spell, shuddering in her seat and clacking
her teeth trying to stop from answering. The fight didn't last very long. "The Carrows," she
mumbled slumping into the chair. "They're my darkest secret."
Andi leaned forward intrigued. "Oh? What about the Carrows?"
"Amycus and Alecto are together. Together, together. A couple. The twins regularly are
intimate with each other," Skeeter said looking away from Andi. "I found out about two
years ago while I was looking for some juicy gossip. Saw them going at it on the couch.
They caught me, offered me a bribe to stay quiet about it. I took it and also made sure that
I can join in every once in a while. It's harder to get laid when most of society's suitable
people rather despise you or are worried you'll find blackmail on them. And the twins are
somewhat attractive."
Andi leaned back and couldn't hold in her laughter. "I was hoping for a bit of blackmail or
some juicy tidbits to give to the Quibbler. I certainly wasn't expected anything this good!
My, my, Rita. You've been a bad girl!" She stood still laughing and moved over to Skeeter.
"Here's the antidote. Drink up."
Skeeter hurriedly gulped the potion and glared at Andi. "What do you want?"
Andi shrugged. "Honestly I would've been perfectly content to simply keep blackmailing
you with this and have you become our personal attack dog. My daughter's new boyfriend
and his other girlfriend though were rather insistent that, and I quote, 'we want her
destroyed'. So I will deliver this information to your newest adorable little rival and watch
the sparks fly!"
Skeeter's eyes widened. "You can't do that! Please! I'll do anything! I'll report whatever
you want. I'll stop reporting. I'll move to another country. Please!"
Andi sighed and shook her head. "Sorry, Rita, you've succeeded in tickling the sleeping
dragon. Harry and his friends can be quite ruthless to those that threaten the people they
care about. You've done that. Now, let's erase this conversation shall we?" Andi pulled out
her wand and a quick obliviate later, Rita was walking back to her desk annoyed at
Andromeda Tonks berating her on lying about Nymphadora Tonks instead of giving
anything useful for the interview.
The Writing and Lies of Rita Skeeter – A True Harry Potter Story
By Luna Lovegood
Rita Skeeter is widely known as a prolific reporter primarily writing for the Daily Prophet
and Teen Witch Weekly. While her articles are generally interesting and entertaining to
read they very rarely have a basis in fact aiming primarily for shock value. They twist
kernels of truth into paper-selling stories of lies and scandal. This may sound funny coming
from the Quibbler but the truth is often far stranger than fiction.
A primary example of Rita's version of the 'truth' concerns one Harry Potter and the most
recent article printed about him. Several claims were made by the paper against him, none
with any context, and all involving a healthy amount of invented scandalous details and
speculation. Let us examine these points on a case by case basis with quotes from
The-Boy-Who-Lived himself.
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Chapter 207
Hermione Granger: "Hermione has been my best friend since we survived a troll attack
together on Halloween, 1991," Harry Potter states. "Becoming her friend is one of the only
truly good things I can say has ever happened to me on any Halloween ever. Hermione has
always supported me no matter what and she is the most brilliant witch of the age. I'm
honored to know her and call her my friend." Harry Potter began dating Hermione Granger
in 1993 satisfying a great many personnel in Hogwarts castle who had been running a pool
for when they would make it official. Sadly this author did not make much money from the
pool herself, however the point is, their relationship was no surprise to anyone who spoke
with either for longer than 60 seconds.
Fleur Delacour: "Hermione and I both met Fleur as she was being assaulted by the Death
Eater wannabes at the Quidditch World Cup. Even with a really bad head injury she was
still able to fight back and she saved both of our lives that night. Fleur may be Veela, but
she has more self control than almost anyone else I've met. One of the reasons we are
such good friends is that I'm one of the few people mostly unaffected by her Allure and
Hermione is getting better at ignoring it as well. Fleur can be herself around us without
needing to worry about whether she's talking to a dumbstruck zombie." It should be noted
that the Beauxbatons Champion has made many inroads with multiple other Hogwarts
students and is quite well liked and respected among both the students and staff.
Nymphadora Tonks: "Tonks is probably the main reason I'm alive to talk to you today.
Without her training this year I never would've survived the First Task. She also really
helped me with clearing the name of my godfather, Sirius Black. Even before all that, Tonks
helped me to stay calm when there was an issue with getting to school in my second year.
She's been a good friend for years now and while yes, it's true that we recently started
dating, it's not true that Tonks and I have been having an affair. Due to my godfather
naming me his Heir I'm expected to have two wives eventually. Tonks was against starting
anything between us for quite some time due to the age difference and only the reality of
my potential death in these Triwizard Tasks has changed her mind." One topic that both
Harry Potter and Tonks repeatedly avoid concerns her abilities as a metamorphmagus.
While neither will explicitly discuss it this reporter has been given leave to explain that
Harry Potter is only the third male outside the immediate family to never once ask Tonks
to take a specific form and that this was a large factor in their original friendship.
Bathsheda Babbling: "Professor Babbling is the first adult who I ever trusted. She was the
first person to actively try to help me, and probably saved my life and the lives of my
classmates by showing me safer ways to work with runes. She's constantly supported me
and as soon as she found out about my living conditions with my relatives she immediately
began acting to try and get me removed from that environment and into someplace safe.
After several long discussions I asked her to be my guardian as there simply wasn't anyone
else I trusted more for the task. I consider Bathsheda Babbling more of a family member
than my Aunt and Uncle ever were." Bathsheda Babbling's first actions as Harry Potter's
guardian were to ensure that he obtained inoculations and treatment from St. Mungo's.
He had never had a magical physical before and several problems were corrected and
prevented before they could develop into lifelong ailments. In less than three years, Miss
Babbling has done more for The-Boy-Who-Lived than anyone else in our world other than
his late mother and father.
Rita Skeeter: This reporter has come into some rather startling information regarding the
Rita Skeeter. Many have wondered over the years just how she manages to obtain some of
her most inflammatory knowledge. It appears that Miss Skeeter is in fact an animagus. Not
just any animagus either, but a beetle animagus. She has used her alternate form over the
years to spy on everyone from her own editor to Holyhead Harpies players to patrons
inside the walls of Gringotts. These underhanded tactics are severely frowned upon in the
reporting community. Bringing a story to light is important, but ethics are also primary and
Rita Skeeter has ignored those principles. Even more disturbing is her depravity. While
marriages and relationships involving cousins are very prevalent in our culture,
relationships between siblings are less well received. Information has recently come to
light about an incestuous relationship between Amycus and Alecto Carrow stretching back
years. Rita Skeeter has known about this for quite some time and has even leveraged her
knowledge of the relationship to join in with the twin siblings on their intimate encounters
on multiple occasions. This fact was easily verified during a raid just last night on the
Carrow siblings. Multiple dark artifacts were recovered from their home and veritaserum
questioning revealed their relationship as well as the involvement of Rita Skeeter.
Skeeter did well at her chosen profession for years largely because she was skilled with
twisting facts, spying, and making implications. She got away with it because she chose her
targets well and was careful to avoid drawing too much attention to herself. Now that her
own deep issues and scandals are coming to light however, one cannot help but wonder:
just how far can Rita Skeeter fall?
Several days after Luna's article had been released Harry was on Cloud 9. His friend had
received quite a lot of praise over bringing to light Skeeter's hypocrisy. Privately Harry and
his friends all agreed that both Luna and Andromeda deserved some rather large gift
baskets. It was nice finally getting some karmic justice for once. He still may not be able to
truly touch Dumbledore or Umbridge with the people protecting them both but…well Rita
certainly hadn't made very many friends in high places. And now she never would. Last he
heard she was running from a mob of goblins after they found she had spied on their
patrons while within the bank's sovereign domain.
Things had been going rather well for the past week. He had gotten comfortable enough
with his alternate form that he didn't even sneeze most of the time – though he hadn't
gotten much closer to tracing that continued odd feeling of something more whenever he
changed. He also hadn't named it yet since he wanted Hermione and Tonks to be the ones
to have that honor. They had both decided to wait until the next Hogsmeade weekend to
sit down together and go over options. Normal days were simply too busy with the
continued training for the upcoming Second Task. A Task Harry had just been called to
learn more about.
"Good afternoon, Champions!" Bagman said smiling at the group of contestants and
judges. Harry completely ignored Umbridge and sat between Fleur and Fred. "Now, about
the Second Task, it will be held the first weekend of December and the theme is Face
Yourself." He spread his hands, obviously expecting some reaction but raised eyebrows
were all that greeted his pronouncement. "Yes. Well. So, for this Task, Mr. Weasley, you
won't be able to walk in with those potions you used. While a full rule addition cannot be
added until the Tournament has ended, it's been decided that your potions should be
classified as 'spellcasting implements' and are thus required to be left out of the initial
starting ring." Fred shrugged and nodded having expected that to happen. "In addition,
this Task is somewhat nebulous in nature being largely dependent on the individuals
participating in the event. As such, we have decided to again include the barrier
surrounding the arena in order to ensure audience safety." Fleur's hand tightened around
Harry's. He made sure his face was completely neutral. Plan B was going to have to be
implemented for sure now. "In an effort to avoid the risk to the Champions present in the
First Task, this barrier will be modified and tested beforehand to ensure that items and
personnel can enter – but not leave – the battlefield."
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Chapter 208
Harry let out the breath he'd been holding. That did make it easier, but he wouldn't trust
Bagman's words alone. Not when Umbridge was involved in this.
Viktor raised his hand and asked, "This Task, vhat do you mean by it is 'nebulous' and
based on the individual? Are ve not all supposed to face the same sort of obstacle?"
"Of course you'll all be facing the same obstacle," Umbridge simpered. "You'll be facing the
darkness within you. It will be quite enlightening to see what each of you looks like at your
worst, I'm sure."
Harry tuned out the rest of the Umbitch's words focusing instead of the dangerous
implications of what she had said. 'Darkness within you' could refer to quite a lot. The idea
of having to face more Dementor hordes was predominant in his mind though he doubted
it'd end up being something so simple. Perhaps he'd have to include a Silver Spirit in his
plans just in case…that could be…problematic. He'd been hoping to avoid resorting to
using soul runes. They were simply too unpredictable when paired with others…
"Harry," Daphne said hesitantly, "are you really sure about this?"
"I'm sure," he nodded in reply.
"I know I said we had to go farther, but this wasn't exactly what I had in mind," she said
frowning.
"I know. But I've been thinking about doing this for years, Daph. I can't do it on my own. I
need your help."
"Wouldn't you prefer to have one of your girlfriends or your mentor doing this? Or at least
be here supervising?" she asked.
Harry sighed. "I've already talked about it with Shiva and she's been against it. Hermione
wouldn't be very happy and Tonks doesn't know enough about runes to feel comfortable
with giving her opinion." He set his shoulders and turned to stare hard at Daphne. "I need
to do this, Daph. If they pull something like the First Task I can't count on another Deus ex
Machina miracle to pull my arse out of the fire. I need to have a backup plan and be
prepared. I'll bring Shiva and the others in after I have a proof of concept."
Daphne turned away and stared at the wall of the Room with her arms crossed for several
long, uncomfortable minutes. Finally she turned to him with worry etched all across her
face. "Can we at least start with your left hand? I don't want to risk hurting you, Harry…"
He sighed and shook his head. "It'd be a lot riskier to start with the Concussor, Daph. That
actually destructive potential. The right hand is just a summoner, nothing dangerous about
it."
"And if I slip? If I miss a mark? If this doesn't work at all and ends up looping the magic
back through you? You could lose the hand, Harry!"
He grimaced but nodded. "I know. I can learn to fight with my left hand though."
"In three weeks?" she asked raising an eyebrow in challenge.
"Better that than risking a loop failure with the Concussor. Please, Daph…please…"
Daphne scowled and threw her hands up in the air. "Fine! Fine, I'll bloody help you! You
stupid, Merlin-be-damned idiot! But I want to know why me. Why not one of the others?
And don't give me that bullshite reason you just tried!"
Harry shifted his weight from foot to foot. "Well, it's true I need someone who
understands this stuff…" He paused but Daphne waved him on impatiently. "And it is true
that both Hermione and Shiva don't like the idea, but they'd be willing to help if I spoke to
them long enough. It's just…the fights that we get into, Daph, it's like you're basically my
right hand. Have you noticed how whenever we used to form up you were at my side with
Hermione behind me and the others arrayed out around us?"
The girl nodded slowly before saying, "Yes. Partly it was intentional to play up the Slytherin
Slayers thing. Partly it was because I'm simply one of the best heavy hitters in our group. A
large portion was simply due to intimidation – both my own inherent Ice Queen persona
and the sight of a Gryffindor and Slytherin standing shoulder to shoulder. But that's not
going to last anymore, Harry. Tonks is with you officially now. She's far more of a fighter
than I am."
"Tonks is a really good fighter yeah," Harry agreed. "But she's also used to fighting either
alone or with one or two others. She's better with Hit and Run tactics or evasion things
rather than a true heavy hitter. You're better at straight up offense while she's stronger
with guerrilla tactics. That was one of the things that Moody drilled into her and it plays to
her metamorph skills. You'll still probably end up being my right hand in major fights,
Daph."
Daphne furrowed her brow and considered her friend for a long moment. "You really
believe that don't you?" Harry nodded causing her to sigh. "Okay. Fine, consider me
satisfied for the moment. I still don't think this is a good idea, but at least I get now why
you want me to help."
Harry sat down and held out his hand palm up, smiling encouragingly. "You can do this,
Daph. You're good at this."
"I hope so…" She took gingerly took his hand and drew her wand. "Now you're absolutely
sure, you want an accio instead of a Fishing Line? There's no going back after this, Harry."
The teen nodded. "Yeah. I'm sure. The Fishing Line is great and super useful but if I lose my
wand or something an accio would be far more effective."
"Okay. Okay. Here we go." She took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "Merlin and
Morgana please don't let me screw this up," she muttered as she drew her wand across
Harry's palm.
Hermione, Tonks and Shiva met up with Harry and Daphne in the Room while it was in a
Training configuration. The three women looked at each other and all shrugged. Together
they turned to Daphne who softly shook her head and gestured towards Harry.
He stepped forward a bit and gulped. "Hi, girls. I um, asked you all to meet up here
because I need to show you my backup plan for the Second Task. I asked Daphne for her
help so please don't get mad at her. It wasn't her idea, it was mine."
Tonks frowned. "Harry, you're not instilling very many warm and fuzzy feelings here."
"I know! I know, and I'm sorry. I'm just not really sure how to explain this very well
without getting yelled at…"
"Even less good feelings now, kid," Shiva said narrowing her eyes.
Hermione stepped forward and gave Harry a quick hug. "Just tell us quickly and get it over
with, Harry. Unless you're doing blood rituals or sacrificing animals I promise I will only be
angry with you for the night."
Daphne raised her eyebrows. "Well that's a new one," she muttered.
Harry walked to the center of the girls and slowly turned his right hand over showing off a
rune tattoo along his palm. Shiva reached out and ran her hand over the mark noting how
it felt completely flush against his skin and she couldn't feel any magic or heat running
through it. She frowned and looked up at Harry's face letting her hand drop to her side.
"You did it without talking to me, Harry. You promised me we'd talk about this, kid."
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Chapter 209
Tonks was frowning and running her fingers over Harry's hand while Hermione just peered
over his shoulder curiously. "What is it?" Tonks asked. "It looks like a rune."
"It is a rune," Harry said keeping his eyes on the floor. "It's a rune for the summoning spell.
I considered trying to learn it wandlessly, but everything I've seen says that that takes
months at minimum and most likely years. Plus this gives a good proof of concept so that I
can take runic tattoos further. I asked Daphne to help me with this one because it's simple
and not dangerous and I can't really draw or write well with my left hand." He grimaced
and finally looked up at Shiva. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Shiva. But I needed to do this
early enough to get used to the feeling of them on my body prior to the Task and I knew
that if I talked to you before showing you it could work…you'd talk me out of it until it was
too late."
Shiva slowly shook her head and spoke very softly, very calmly, "I'm not happy about this,
kid. I'm not happy at all. Obviously it's worked, but we've been over how wrong runic
tattoos can go. How many more of these do you plan? Where do you plan on putting them?
I expect to be here for each and every additional one. This is completely non-negotiable,
Harry. Do you understand?"
"I understand."
"Do I need to make you swear an oath that you will call me and get me before adding any
more?" Shiva asked still sounding deathly calm.
Harry shook his head. "No. I promise, I won't do any others without you. I just needed to
prove that it could work first."
Hermione moved over to quietly talk with Daphne while Harry spoke with Shiva. "He
roped you into this?"
The blonde nodded and followed Hermione into the corner. "Yeah. I'm sorry for going
behind your back. I think he didn't want you to worry."
Hermione sighed. "As much as I hate to admit it, it was probably a good call. I very much
enjoy Ancient Runes, but I can be far too protective of that boy to sit calmly by while he
gives himself a runic tattoo." She paused and narrowed her eyes at Daphne. "You were
confident you knew what you were doing?"
Daphne scowled. "Do you really think I'd let myself work magic into his skin if I wasn't sure
I could do it correctly?"
Hermione shook her head. "No, I don't think you'd be willing to move ahead if you weren't
certain. I apologize." She looked back at Harry who was still nodding at whatever Shiva
was saying. "There weren't complications?"
Daphne shrugged. "If there were I haven't seen them. We've been running a few tests for
the past hour. I am sorry, Hermione."
"Don't be," Hermione said crossing her arms. "I'm good at research and spell invention.
You're strengths are here, helping him to survive by any means necessary. Thank you for
helping him, Daphne." The Slytherin girl looked uncomfortable but nodded. Hermione
sighed and asked, "How deep have you two gone? I know you've taught him some of the
Darker spells, but…how far have you taken it?"
Daphne scowled and turned to wall obviously not thinking of the current locale. "We've
gotten through most of what my father taught me. The worst I've shown him is the
Bone-Breaker curse. I…don't want to teach the blood-boiling one. And I flat out refuse to
explain some of the worst ones. I'd prefer to forget they exist entirely to be honest."
Hermione considered that. She nodded and gently squeezed the other girl's arm. "Thank
you, Daphne. Truly, thank you. If you know how to transfigure a person into an animal,
show him that as well. If not, I will. It's something that's grey enough we'll all be
comfortable with it, but it will still quite effectively remove a combatant from the fight."
Daphne turned to her friend and smirked. "Like what Moody did to Malfoy the other day?
I'm not so good at transfiguration and I never learned that. If you figure it out though, let
me know. I'd like to sit in with Harry on that lesson."
"I will," Hermione nodded smiling back.
"So does it work?!" Tonks asked loudly. She finally let Harry's hand go and was smiling
widely. "Come on, let's see it in action, Wonder Boy!"
That comment drew chuckles from everyone in the room. Harry stepped back with a smile
and raised his hand towards a pillar in the other corner of the room. A quick look of
concentration and the pillow on the top of the pillar soared into his hand. With a flourish
and a bow, Harry turned to Tonks handing her the pillow. "My lady."
Clapping Tonks took the pillow and sat down on it as the rest smirked and came to sit
beside her. "That's really cool, Harry!" she said. "So you just channel magic into it and it
works like a spell?"
He nodded, "Pretty much, yeah. I also have to think about what I'm summoning just like
the real spell, but it is just that simple. I want to tattoo either a Concussor or a bludgeoning
hex into my left hand so that I can cast some offensive spells that way. I'm leaning a bit
more towards just a bludgeoner that way it's less likely to be potentially lethal."
"Why not just a stunner then?" Tonks asked.
"Well for one, I have no idea how to make a stunner rune cluster," Harry shrugged. "For
two, I honestly don't really believe in stunning someone or something trying to kill me. I
know that's what they teach you in the Academy, Tonks, but it just doesn't seem smart to
simply stun someone when their buddies are right there to wake them back up. If you're
going to knock someone out of fight it should leave them actually out of the fight."
"That seems a little ruthless," Hermione said frowning.
Harry turned to her and raised an eyebrow. "You cast cutting curses when saving Fleur over
the summer."
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Chapter 210
Hermione blushed and muttered a retraction to her objection. Harry pulled the brunette
into a one armed hug. "I'm not talking about killing people just because they're on the
other side. I'm just saying that tying them up or breaking a leg is a far more effective
means of taking someone out of a fight than a stunner that can be cancelled with a simple
charm. At minimum, being able to shoot off a bludgeoner would knock people away from
me if I keep the magic channeled pretty low."
Tonks cocked her head and picked up his hand again to look at the rune with wide eyes.
"You can change how much magic is channeled through this? Wow…"
Harry nodded. "Yup. It's not a big deal with this one, but it'll come in handy with some of
the others."
Hermione peered up at him. "What else are you planning?"
He shrugged. "Well, the bludgeoner on the palm of my left hand, a Lockpick on the top, a
Spiker on my left forearm, probably a Boomstone on the top of my right hand. I want to
put a Reflector or an Armor cluster onto one of my shoulders, but I can't figure out how to
make it project outwards instead of just wrap around a small section of my skin so those
are on hold. I also don't think the Freezer would work very well without the stone and it
would be downright dangerous to tattoo on a Chain Reactor Beam or any of the Feedback
stones. Considering what Bagman said about the next Task I really want to add a Silver
Spirit, but I'm not particularly keen on permanently adding anything with a soul rune onto
my body."
Shiva nodded. "Yes, agreed. Don't do that. We don't even really understand how that one
works to begin with. I don't want you putting that onto your skin, Harry."
Harry nodded. "I'm also conflicted about the Ninja. If I add that one to my back then I can
– "
"NO!" Four voices rang out causing Harry to rock back a little.
Hermione growled low in her throat and pulled Harry's head around to look her straight in
the eyes. "That cluster has never once reacted well to any other spells or magic cast on or
near it. How you got it stable enough to work to begin with I will never understand, but
one thing clear beyond a shadow of a doubt is it does not like additional magic! You will
NOT be adding any rune cluster that is unstable around magic to your magic channeling
body, Harry Potter!"
Tonks jerked her flaming red hair towards Hermione. "What she said. Harry, it's not a good
idea and if I have any say in the matter, it's not happening."
"I will certainly not be helping you tattoo that one on, Harry. You have other options and
you can fight without being invisible," Daphne said crossing her arms and glaring at him.
Before Shiva could put in her two knuts Harry held up his hands warding them all off.
"Okay, okay! I already said I was conflicted! Jeez, I was going to ask for your opinions,
people," he grumbled.
Hermione let out a loud breath, "Good. Well you have them. Now about these other
runes…"
Barty watched as the group of Gryffindors and Slytherins walked into his classroom. This
was going to be such a fun class! He had been looking forward to this one since he'd
started this year. Surprisingly he'd actually almost enjoyed the teaching thing in general
but this time…this time he'd get to expose them to a bit of the real Barty Crouch Jr.
"Professor, why do you have spiders on your desk?" Weasley asked with a slight whimper.
Barty barely managed to hide his smile. The Weasleys may not rate very high on the Dark
Lord's priority list but the boy was part Prewett too. And the Prewetts were always fun to
play with.
"Well, Weasley, these volunteers are going to help with today's demonstration," Barty said
grinning. He saw Greengrass' eyes widen and was somewhat impressed that girl had
already sussed out his intentions. Or maybe he was giving her too much credit? Eh, didn't
matter. "Now, today we'll be going over something that the Ministry doesn't like you folk
knowing, but times are changing and if the World Cup was any example you lot need to
know what's coming so that you can properly defend yourself. Who knows what the
Unforgivable Curses are?"
That comment drew quite a few more in-drawn breaths and Barty saw the Longbottom boy,
the Granger girl and Potter all narrow their eyes. There was a definite growl coming from
one of them too. With amusement he also saw the Davis girl snarling low. Greengrass
seemed to have drawn an aura of calm detachment down over herself. Useful skill that.
Maybe he could recruit her too? Perhaps if he could grab both her and Potter he could use
the two to turn each other and gain two skilled servants for the Master?
"Professor Moody, I thought the Unforgivables were illegal to use?" Granger said.
Barty nodded. "Aye, that they are. There are some exceptions such as demonstrations and
during the last Blood War the Aurors were given leave to use them on Death Eaters
resisting arrest. Good riddance to bad rubbish I say. Now, Miss Granger, do you know just
why the Unforgivables are classed as Unforgivable?" If they were going to be put under
these spells they really ought to understand just why they were special after all. Such
beautiful, beautiful spells.
"Well the use of one immediately confers life in Azkaban," Granger said with a bit of a
frown.
"Yes, but why? What makes them special? What makes them different? A blood-boiling
curse is certainly more dangerous than the first, a transfiguration that turns blood to mud
is both more painful and more lethal than the second and there are far more painful ways
to kill than the third. So what makes an Unforgivable, unforgivable?"
Granger frowned, shook her head and sat back thinking. Eventually Malfoy raised his hand.
Holding back his groan of annoyance Barty nodded to the boy. "Well, speak up, ferret."
Malfoy scowled and the round of quiet laughter was quite satisfying. "They bypass any
form of shield and they target a person's soul instead of the body."