I don't own anything related to the Harry Potter franchise
After exiting Hogwarts's grounds through the main gates, and then making a pit-stop at the stables housing the Thestrals, Harry, Fleur and Cedric sat in a carriage together, as it trundled down the hill in the direction of Hogsmeade.
As the carriage moved, Harry slowly dragged a green lit finger through the air, magically inscribing the same temperature regulating Rune Structure into Cedric's cloak as the one that he'd provided Fleur and Selene back on the Quidditch Pitch.
A few minutes earlier, just prior to their entry into the coach, Cedric once again proved that he was quite sharp, when he noticed that Harry and Fleur were completely unaffected by the unseasonably cold weather, and hadn't cast any warming charms upon themselves…. This, of course, eventually led the boy to ask them just what warming method they were using, at which point Harry offered to show him firsthand.
"It's amazing," Cedric enthused, as he put his cloak back on. "I'd wager you could make a lot of money by recreating this for the rest of the Hogwarts population."
"'Arry and money just seem to find each ozzer," Fleur admitted with a very French disregard for humility. "Ze man 'as added thousands and thousands of galleons eento ees family vault seence ze first day I met 'iim."
"Oh? How so?" By this point, Cedric was leaning forward on his knees with an intensely curious expression upon his face.
"I don't tell people this because I'm enough of a target already, but I appear to be an inventor of some kind," Harry replied, with a vaguely dismissive quality to his voice. "Then again, there's also the fact that Dobby is the most ingenious house elf in the whole entire world. I invested in the improvements that he made to those nutrition potions, and he's made me filthy rich."
When Fleur rolled her eyes in response to Harry's vain attempt at discretion, he saw Cedric's eyes dart back and forth between the two of them, and then he recognized that the boy wasn't buying it at all…
"Okay then, Harry. I'm going to keep you in mind if I ever have an invention idea, but don't know how to realize it." Cedric smiled as if to himself before he continued. "I'm getting the impression you don't even need to know how to do something, just that it needs doing."
Harry didn't reply to Cedric's implied question, so Fleur did in his stead. "Zat ees an excellent plan, Cedric. 'Arry would make ze item no problem, and zen 'aave absolutely no idea 'ow eet works. Eet would be up to you to recreate eet."
"I am quite good at Arithmancy," Cedric mused as if to himself.
Both Cedric and Fleur laughed at the chagrin on Harry's face.
"My Blood Line Test has indicated that I can technically master Arithmancy," Harry declared with an exaggerated look of mock affront upon his face. "It's not my fault that most of my closest friends, as well as my girlfriend, are several years older than me, and are extraordinarily accomplished."
"You do not zink you are to blame for ending up wiz me? Do you zink per-'aps I was ze one pursuing you, Mr. Potter?" Fleur's return look of mock affront was far, far more sophisticated than Harry's.
Without replying to Fleur, Harry instead turned towards Cedric with a sly grin upon his face. "Speaking of pursuing… Do you want to hear about the first time I met Fleur?"
"Stop right zere, 'Arry James Potter!" Fleur's tone sounded both officious and demanding, but the effect was being ruined by the smile leaking into her words.
"Maybe another time then," Harry added, as they entered Hogsmeade. "We're almost there now, and I don't wish to meet the media, while covered in bruises."
"Wise choice 'Arry," Fleur allowed, while hugging her mate in the bond.
Cedric couldn't help but laugh as he took in the battle of the sexes.
A few minutes later, they all emerged from the carriage, to a rather subdued looking Hogsmeade. It wasn't a Hogsmeade weekend at Hogwarts, so there were no excited school kids and the weather was keeping most people indoors. Harry, Cedric and Fleur, made quick work of marching into the Three Broomsticks, where they were immediately approached by Madam Rosmerta.
"Ah Harry and Ms. Delacour! We have been expecting you," Rosmerta brightly exclaimed. "There are two gentlemen from the Prophet waiting here for you, and they're in a booth near the back. I left the adjoining tables empty but unfortunately our private room is filled by a family reunion at the moment."
"That's no problem Rosy, and thank you..." After smiling at the middle aged but still rather fetching barmaid, who was the subject of many a sexual fantasy for the male Hogwarts population, Harry shucked his heavy robe and then helped Fleur do the same. Then he was hanging up both cloaks, and Cedric was doing the same at his side.
"When I was younger, I dreamed about Rosy," Cedric whispered as the hostess walked away. "She was my very first crush."
"My first crush was the school nurse at my muggle primary school," Harry replied, with a smile. To his surprise, he felt Fleur bristle in the bond, and he looked at her with a laugh on his lips. "Fleur... I was all of six years old and she was putting band-aids on me."
Fleur pouted at first but then she began smiling evilly. "Okay 'Arry... My first crush was…"
Very suddenly, Harry had his fingers in his ears, and he was whistling a tune as he walked further into the room.
"I thought so..." Fleur was pretty damned satisfied with that outcome.
Cedric laughed again, and shook his head, at the antics of his fellow Champions. "You two will keep each other on your toes, that's for sure.."
"'Arry wouldn't change any-zing about me," Fleur quietly replied in an absentminded fashion as she stared at Harry's back across the room. Finally, a moment later, she shook off her moment, and returned her attention to the boy at her side. "Let us join 'Arry wiz ze journalists, before we are forgotten."
With a pair of nods back and forth, Cedric and Fleur walked up to Harry, who was standing next to two middle aged men.
"Fleur, Cedric, this is Adam Reagan and Jeremy Wright, from the Prophet. They were just telling me how we improved their lives by getting Rita fired." Harry looked undeniably pleased with himself as he delivered that news to his friends.
A very surprised look entered Cedric's face, when he caught up with what Harry had just said. "Rita Skeeter was fired from the Prophet?"
"Yes, she was," replied Adam, immediately and cheerfully. "The Daily Prophet was about to find themselves dragged through a very messy, very public legal battle, ruining its credibility in the process. They finally decided to just get rid of the journalist responsible and Andromeda was satisfied."
"Mrs. Tonks really is scary good." At this point, Harry was incredibly grateful that Gwenog had referred him to Andromeda or Andi, as he sometimes called her.
"Yes, she is," Jeremy agreed as he stepped forward, and shook hands with Fleur and Cedric. "Andi is one of the very best and most honest. Anyways... Rita being fired gave the two of us the opportunity to step forward and get some real work. There isn't much going around, what with there being only one Ministry sanctioned newspaper in all of Magical Britain. We are grateful for both the career opportunity and for this interview."
"I'm happy to hear it," Harry replied, even as his smile slipped away and he began looking serious. "Can I explain something to you in advance?"
"Please go ahead." Adam looked both interested and a little nervous about what Harry was about to explain. He was clearly hanging a lot on this interview.
Harry took a deep breath and then began. "This will be the very first interview that any of us have ever given to a newspaper. I myself am a very private person. I'm aware that I'll need to do better in that regard, if I aim to have a high profile career. What I want in return however, is accurate journalism. If what you write is accurate, I'll continue giving you further interviews, even if I don't like what was written. If your material is made up and exaggerated, I'll avoid you in the future. Do you understand why I would say all that?"
Adam and Jeremy nodded, and then smiled in relief.
Jeremy leaned forward with an extremely pleased expression on his face. "I appreciate your candor, Harry." As he spoke, he began pulling out his writing material. "I imagine your experiences with that creature Skeeter, have colored your opinion of journalists as a whole. Adam and I want to write only the truth in our articles, with all the sources verified and beyond reproach. That's the reason Andromeda vouched for us in the first place. Now... The two of us (Jeremy gestured at Adam and himself) have a lot to gain from a healthy working relationship with you three. For that reason, we're actually quite grateful that you'll allow us to write things you don't love. If we ended up your PR team on a leash, that wouldn't be proper journalism either. It would only be the exact opposite of Rita and just as far from the truth."
"I can understand that," Harry replied, while nodding. He looked aside at Cedric and Fleur. "Do you two have anything to add before we start?"
"Non, your provision was perfect, 'Arry." Fleur was beaming at her husband and squeezing his hand under the table. "We 'aave nozzing to be ashamed of, so ze truth ees best."
"I like it," Cedric declared, with a very casual smile on his face.
Harry returned his attention to Jeremy and Adam, with a curious look on his face. "So how do we start?"
Jeremy turned towards Cedric, and then raised both hands in an expansive gesture. "Well, we could address the injustice done to the other Champions, by that last rag of an article. You are Cedric Diggory and Hogwarts's legitimately chosen Champion. From beginning to end, that last article had about eleven words about you. I think we need to complete a full bio-pic on you, before you leave here today. So... Are you mentally prepared for this?"
Cedric looked nervous but after a few seconds he smiled and then nodded.
"This might put you on the spot but how about you tell us a quick rundown of your childhood. If you tell us about your parents, your hobbies and the different accouterment of your life thus far, then we can smoothly move forward to more recent events. We will both be using these industry standard dicta quills. These are very different from those quick quotes quills, Ms. Skeeter uses to such a damaging effect. These take every word you say verbatim so that our journalism will be as accurate as possible.
Cedric nodded and began to explain his life. "I was born in...
Harry listened attentively, because he didn't know much about Cedric's life growing up, and he was learning quite a bit. He also decided to extend his magic around the area, as he waited. In Hogsmeade there's always interesting magic happening, and he might just learn something.
"I've heard that you're a seeker on your house team," prompted Jeremy, to Cedric.
"Yes I am," Cedric replied, immediately and with a note of pride in his voice. "I'm the Seeker on Hufflepuff's house Quidditch team. I'm also the backup Seeker, for the Hogwarts team, under Harry."
"You're rivals then?"
Cedric glanced at Harry, who smiled at him, before he returned his attention back to Jeremy. "Up until this year, and joining the Hogwarts Quidditch team, I had said maybe seven words to Harry, and I wouldn't be able to remember what they were. The Hogwarts house system doesn't foster outside friendships, but I don't think it would be accurate to call us rivals either. Harry was a mystery to me. I'll admit I always looked forward to playing against him. I enjoy a challenge."
"You became close to him this year on the school team?" Jeremy paused for a second, and then decided he'd clarify something. "I'm not asking these questions because I want info on Harry. That will come later, straight from the source. I'm asking the question because if you two are friends, that's important information. Being both Quidditch as well as Tournament rivals and friends at the same time, sounds like quite the difficult situation."
Cedric smiled good naturedly at the journalist and then nodded his understanding. "I get where you're coming from but I haven't found it as hard as you're describing. With the exception of one or two difficult days I experienced after the tryouts, Harry's had a beneficial effect on my life. Please bear with me as I explain... During the Hogwarts Quidditch team tryouts, Harry performed some of the most impossible flying I, or anyone present at the time, has ever seen, and yet he tied me for first. He only tied me because there were a little less than a dozen extra people taking part in the tryout test, trying their very best to knock him off of his broom. When the tryout ended I was upset at my perceived loss, at the obvious difference in skill between us, and I'll admit that I was frustrated with Harry. A few days later however, I ran into and began talking to another seeker who'd tried out that same day, with similar results to mine. She and I talked for several hours about all our frustrations, about how unreal Harry is in the air, and then finally we moved on to other things. We bonded at first, through our mutual frustration with Harry. I'm now courting her and she's become extremely important to me. Cedric beamed a huge smile, as if to prove just how pleased he was with how things had turned out. By the time I met Harry again, at the Hogwarts team's first meeting, I was more than over my defeat at his hands."
Everyone at the table laughed at the story, even Harry who'd already heard it.
Cedric waited for the laughter to die down, before he continued. "Harry's also put a whole lot of work into the team, and I've never been in better shape in my life. He's also been showing me exactly how he flies, and I've shaved off huge amounts of wasted movement. We became friends during the training."
"That's a really nice story but who's the lady seeker?" Jeremy was leaning forward and had some journalistic stars in his eyes.
"Her name's Cho Chang," replied Cedric, who couldn't quite stop a blush from forming on his face. "She's the lead Seeker for Ravenclaw."
Jeremy looked down at his notes, to make sure they were getting all of the cute things he was hearing, before returning his attention back to Cedric. "You Cedric... of course… put your name in the Goblet of Fire. Any specific reason why you wanted to take part in such a dangerous Tournament?"
Cedric thought about it and then nodded with a more serious expression on his face. "Beyond the fact that I'm competitive, there is one other reason and it's important to me. It's not often mentioned by a Hufflepuff, but our house is often marginalized by the other houses. Our prominent character trait appears to be a mixture of diligence and loyalty. For that reason many people in other houses claim Hufflepuff is a house for leftovers, who are devoid of the character traits they value so highly. I vehemently disagree with those people. If one was only defined by one characteristic, than Gryffindors would be brave, disloyal, lazy, unambitious and dumb, while Ravenclaws would be smart, cowardly, lazy, unambitious and disloyal. I know for a fact that such is not the case and I'm surprised that so many people buy into that notion so easily. Scholastically my house does well and yet the myth persists that we're what's left behind during the sorting. I aim to prove that Hufflepuffs have just as much to offer as any other house, in a high skill level tournament."
"Hear, hear," called out Adam from the far side of the table. "Hufflepuff class of 1967," he clarified, when everyone looked at him in confusion.
Jeremy grinned at his oldest friend and colleague, before turning back to Cedric. "What do you think of the happenings in the tournament so far?"
"I'm very concerned about what I've seen so far," Cedric began in a thoughtful tone of voice. "First of all, Harry Potter did in fact complete a magically binding oath stating that he didn't enter himself into the tournament. I don't think that fact can even be contested considering his oath was witnessed by several hundred students, eight professors, three Headmasters and two government officials. I also don't think anyone truly believes that Albus Dumbledore put an underage wizard's name into the Goblet of Fire. While Harry is indeed a talented Wizard, Hogwarts's reputation can only suffer from forcing an underage student to compete in a series of dangerous tasks against his will. Bearing all that in mind, I think the main priority right now should be completing a full Auror led investigation, in order to find out the real circumstances behind Harry's involvement. I'm quite frankly stunned that this investigation hasn't started yet, considering the fact that forcing another person into a magically binding contract against their will is a crime punishable by a long stint in Azkaban. Whoever put Harry's name into that Goblet is forcing him to take part in dangerous situations on the pain of losing his magic, thus they should be arrested and convicted for it under the full weight of wizarding law. Unfortunately, this is a fact that's being glossed over for the sake of convenience, as the Headmasters throw around such paltry words as unfair, fair, cheating and cheater. Well, fine. The tournament conveners have added an extra Champion per school. Personally, I don't mind the additional competitors because I enjoy competition. What I don't like is this ongoing theme of distrust. The whole reason for the Triwizard Tournament in the first place, is to foster friendly relationships between the three schools and the various magical communities that attend them. Keeping that overarching goal in mind, all of this finger pointing, and name calling, can only be considered massively counterproductive."
Sitting off to the side, Harry and Fleur both beamed at Cedric, as he basically read their minds. Harry was already planning to say ditto, and skip that question, when it was eventually his turn.
Jeremy's eyebrows had crawled into his hairline, as Cedric delivered a frank and honest statement, with the aplomb of a born statesmen. "That was a very eloquent and thought provoking answer Cedric, and I'm impressed. In fact, I'll likely quote you in our article." Next, he swiveled and looked at Fleur. "Now, Lady Delacour. If I promise to get your name right, will you allow me to interview you?"
Fleur smiled at the journalist's joke as well as the good intentions couched inside of it. "Eet would be a very good start, Jeremy."
Jeremy smiled in return, and tried to ignore the heat that he felt growing at the back of his neck and his cheeks. "Well then how about, like with Cedric, we start at the beginning?"
"I can do zat," Fleur replied, while furrowing her brow in deep thought (wow Harry was charmed by that furrow). Fleur sent Harry a smile and relaxed into her story. "I was born in..."
For obvious reasons, Harry knew Fleur pretty well. Nonetheless, he listened carefully, just in case there was something obscure he'd never heard. Fleur was grace personified, as she explained her childhood, and answered follow up questions. You could see how charmed the interviewers were, and it wasn't from her allure. While cocooning his wife in a supportive aura, Harry scanned the rest of the building with his shroud, noting that the family reunion had started in the other room. About fifteen people were gathered on the other side of a nearby door, where they were milling around and talking to each other. Harry did briefly wonder about the fact that there were only men in their reunion, but his focus soon returned to the interview and Fleur.
..."and zat ees 'ow ze prospective champions were chosen to come to 'Ogwarts. We could not bring everyone. Ze carriage's magic only as so much to give.
Judging by his enthusiastic smile, Jeremy clearly thought it was cool that the Beauxbatton students were forced to compete with each other merely for the right to put their names in the Goblet. "Did you struggle to be one of your school's representatives?"
"I 'ad to take part een ze preliminaries only for ze first few days," Fleur calmly replied. "I was 'andily defeating all of my opponents, and was selected to seet out ze remainder of ze time."
"Wow. It sounds like you're very good," remarked Jeremy.
"I am, but I've recently learned zat ze world ees a very big place, which 'as 'elped me remain 'umble," Fleur replied while smiling in Harry's direction.
"Sounds like there is a story there," Jeremy pointed out, while smiling brightly.
"Eet as a lot to do wiz an event zat appened over ze summer, when I was first getting to know 'Arry." Fleur began while conveying a message to her mate through the bond. She desired to both humanize and legitimize their relationship in the eyes of the general public. To do so, she wanted to speak of his battle against the Black Band, and how she, the helpless damsel, fell in love with him, the white knight, at some point in the process.
Despite his misgivings, Harry conceded that Fleur's plan had merit, so he gave her an empathic squeeze of assent.
"Will you explain what this event was," Jeremy asked Fleur while leaning his elbows atop the table. "I'll understand if it's too personal to share."
At this point, Jeremy looked like his poor little heart would break if Fleur withheld the details.
"Eet is not too personal a story, except eet was a contributing factor to my falling een love wiz 'Arry." Fleur allowed her eyes to track over to Harry at this point, staring at his face with unconcealed adoration in her eyes.
"That sounds very sweet," remarked Jeremy. "Sooo… What happened?"
"I met 'Arry een ze midst of 'iim going through a razzer dramatic growth spurt," Fleur began, with a grin. "At first I saw a leetle boy and I dismissed 'iim as such. Over time, I couldn't feegure out my extreme fascination wiz zat same leetle boy, and because of zat we only very slowly became closer as friends. I am extremely difficult to get to know, and I 'aave started trying to eemprove on zat character defect... But I digress... Despite ze fact zat I was eenitially unimpressed wiz 'Arry, and extremely arrogant een doing so, 'Arry was slowly cracking my tough exterior, and we were becoming friends. Zen one day een an eencredible act of bravery, 'Arry saved me and the rest of my family."
Jeremy looked as if he'd just struck gold, and was leaning even further forward, with both elbows on the table. "Can I ask for more details regarding that incident?"
"Eet ees not a well kept secret, because eet's een ze midst of becoming big news een France, but..." Fleur looked at Harry, who just shrugged impassively before turning her gaze back to Jeremy, and steepling her fingers atop the table. "I suppose zere ees some explaining I need to complete, before I begin ze story eetself. You understand zat zere are many Veela hoo live een France?"
"Yes I do," Jeremy immediately replied. "France has more progressive laws regarding humans with mixed magical heritage, than we do in England, and therefore they get to enjoy your company."
Fleur nodded at Jeremy's well-spoken opinion, before she continued her story. "Oui, yes, you 'aave iit ze nail on ze 'ead, but zere are still people even een France zat will target Veela for ze very worst variety of reasons. Zese slavers try to abduct young, unmarried Veela, hoo are ze easier targets. I am part Veela. Zat ees a fact and for zat reason, a band of mercenaries attacked my 'ome zis summer. Zey eenfiltrated my 'ome een force, and were patrolling ze 'alls wiz my whole family magically restrained een ze study. My leetle seester and I were about to be abducted by zis group, and I shudder to zink what our fate would've been. But zen… all of ze sudden… 'Arry Potter arrived at our 'ome to visit, noticed zat some-zing was amiss, and saved us all."
"That's big news Fleur! In fact, I'm surprised I'm only finding out about these events now, several months later." Jeremy looked back and forth between Harry and Fleur, and his face was the very picture of genuine shock.
"Ze French Ministry put an order out to keep 'Arry's name out of ze papers. Zey deed so for 'iim because 'ee was doing so much for zem by making a testimony een zeir courts. Eet was ze biggest bust of a slaving mercenary group een almost a decade, and 'Arry 'ad single andedly brought eet eento being. 'Arry deed not want ze publicity or to end up een ze papers. 'Ee distrusts newspapers and quite frankly, from what I've seen so far, ee 'as good reason to feel zat way. 'Arry ees extending great faith zat you two are a sign of change."
"We at the prophet greatly appreciate this second chance, Lady Delacour, Lord Potter..." It appeared Jeremy was finally understanding just how big a chance he was being given in this interview, and just how reclusive Harry Potter really was. He wiped the collecting sweat off his brow, before he turned his attention back to Fleur. "How did Harry save your family?"
After just a moment of thought, Fleur decided to keep the story true but ambiguous. She smiled at Jeremy, as she started making some game show prize reveal gestures towards her mate. "My 'Arry ees very clever and... careful. 'Ee Disillusioned 'iimself, sound concealment spelled 'iis feet and scent washed 'iis body, and zen roamed ze alls like a ghost. 'Ee was never even seen as 'ee rendered unconscious seven out of ze eight attackers. 'Arry ees non-violent whenever 'ee gets ze chance..." Fleur smiled gently at 'Arry before her face sobered and she looked back at Jeremy. "Unfortunately, 'Arry was forced to kill ze last mercenary, because ze man was determined to attack my family... 'Arry was forced by circumstance to do what was necessary... My 'Arry ees very brave."
"That sounds like a gross oversimplification, but that's fine." Jeremy was scrutinizing his own notes and it looked like he was nowhere near done with this line of investigation. Finally, when he looked prepared to do his own sleuthing, he returned his attention back to Fleur. "I can certainly see how you would be impressed with Harry after an event like that. Are you worried that problems will arise between you two now that you're courting a fellow competitor?"
Fleur grinned and then shrugged. "I am not concerned een ze slightest. 'Arry would be very cross with me, eef I deed not try my very best to win ze tournament. 'Ee also knows zat I will react likewise with 'iim eef 'ee slacks off. 'Arry wants me to excel because 'ee loves me. I want 'iim to excel for ze same exact reason. Even eef zat weren't ze case 'owever, ze magically binding contract zat all of ze Champions are a party to, demands zat we try our best een all of ze tasks. Barring extenuating circumstances, such as an eemmediate threat to one of our lives, neizer 'Arry nor I can do any less zan our very best for love of ze ozzer. At least not wizout ze contract punishing us. Zat keeps zings razzer simple and straightforward, no?"
Jeremy was nodding along with a satisfied smile on his face by the time Fleur finished explaining. "Very practical, very romantic, I like it. And how do you feel about…..?"
As Fleur and Jeremy continued talking, Harry idly took in the magic that was happening all around him. Madam Rosmerta was a beehive of magical activity, and it impressed Harry just how much magic went into running a restaurant/bar, even during off hours on rainy days. She was a blur of dicing, blending, sweetening, curing, heating, preserving and mood lightening charms, even as she smiled and talked to the patrons sitting at the bar.
As Harry took in the establishment, he noticed something odd with his outstretched shroud. The fifteen men in the adjoining room were beginning to crowd near the door to the bar's main dining area. They were quickly gathering, in a pyramid formation facing the door, and they were flaring their auras by accident as their adrenaline skyrocketed. As more information was fed back into his body, Harry's eyes widened and his wand slid into his hand. It felt as if this group of men were preparing to rush the room in order to commit great violence, and Harry's hair was sticking up, because of their cold, brutally efficient auras.
After swiveling his body in front of his wife, Harry locked eyes with her, pointed a finger at the door to the other room, dragged a thumb across his throat, and then rapidly funneled everything he'd discovered into her through the bond. Immediately after it was done, Harry saw Fleur sharply inhale in response, and she nodded her understanding. Fleur immediately pulled out her wand, and pointed it at the door.
Next, Harry turned towards Cedric and speared the boy with his eyes. "Wand out and aimed towards the door, Cedric," Harry quietly barked out, in a no nonsense tone of voice.
Cedric looked surprised for just a split second, but then he immediately complied, pointing his wand at the door, with Fleur.
Jeremy looked both curious and frightened when he leaned in, and began whispering in an urgent sounding voice. "What's going on? I don't see anything wrong."
"We're all about to be ambushed," Harry quietly replied as he, Fleur and Cedric silently rose from their seats. Harry pointed at the door, while giving both Jeremy and Adam a meaningful look. "There are fifteen men in that room that mean us harm. "Get your wands out, and stay low. I suggest you be as far away as you can possibly be when this actually goes down."
Jeremy and Adam both looked completely petrified, but they immediately followed Harry's orders.
Harry turned towards Cedric, and put a hand on the boy's left shoulder, before speaking very quickly and quietly. "I need you to cast silent stunners, Incarcerouses and bone breakers if you know how to do so. I need both silence and stopping power from you, but I don't want any of us to go to Azkaban. We need fifteen men down but not dead. I assume you can Disillusion?"
Cedric immediately nodded, looking pumped enough that he might just punch the men when they finally broke into the room.
Harry squeezed the boy's shoulder a little tighter because he needed him to stick to a plan. "Become invisible, flank the door opposite Fleur, and take them out while their attention is trained on me."
Cedric looked like he might argue.
"I have extremely strong shields Cedric, and it'll take a whole Hell of a lot of curses for them to break through to me. During that time, I need you devastating them from behind." Harry was staring at Cedric with an all-business face, to let him know that he wasn't joking around.
Cedric stared back at Harry for one or two seconds longer, before nodding his head in understanding.
Harry gestured for Fleur to go to the far side of the door, and she complied right away. As soon as she was flanking the door, she disappeared.
Harry gestured to the other side, and Cedric moved as well, disappearing with exactly the same timing.
After setting himself up in the middle of the bar in between the door and the rest of the pub's customers, Harry Transfigured himself a two feet thick and four foot high rock wall that spanned the width of the room from street-side-wall to bar, hemming in his soon to arrive attackers… He somehow made this effort of Transfiguration happen soundlessly, even though his wall broke right through the wooden floorboards as it rose up out of the ground.
Madam Rosmerta tried to yell at Harry, but she was hit by a silencing spell from Fleur, before she could utter a single syllable.
Looking over at Rosmerta, Harry expressively pantomimed ducking for cover, while gesturing for her to get low behind her bar. He couldn't say anything out loud, but he tried to convey extreme danger with his facial expression.
Rosy's eyes suddenly widened, and then she sank quickly and quietly to the floor behind the bar. Harry pointed his wand back at the door, and they all began to wait.
...
...
...
...
BOOM!
The door to the back room was suddenly blown into a hundred pieces that flew into the room, and the fifteen man hit squad began pouring out, with their wands and attention trained towards Harry's newly unoccupied table.
Harry, Cedric and Fleur immediately started sending in rapid stunners, in order to capitalize on as much of the mens' surprise as possible.
About one quarter of the attacking men went down before they even started casting offensive spells back in Harry's direction. He was the large and obvious target for them, both because they had no idea about Fleur and Cedric yet, and because Harry was making a lot of noise by intoning his spells aloud.
Now that the hit-squad was attacking him in return, Harry erected a large Protego shield in front of himself, before anchoring it to the enemy-side of his Transfigured wall. Then he focused all of his magic on maintaining his defenses, both because he was acting as the distraction right now, and there were dozens of panicking customers huddling behind his back.
And then the spells arrived at Harry's wall…
All at once, a couple dozen enormously powerful spells slammed into Harry's shield, discharging all manner of released energy and bizarre inertia into his shield until the golden barrier bent and flexed inwards above his Transfigured wall. As a result, Harry was shoved away from his barrier as if the enemy attack would physically bowl him over, causing his feet to slide across the wooden floor of the bar. Gritting his teeth in response, Harry launched himself forward again and pressed his body back against the wall so that he could continue holding onto both the line and his shield. At exactly the same time, Harry forced himself to cast several stunning spells at his attackers through small holes that he briefly opened in his shield, mostly so that they'd think that it was him that was whittling down their numbers, but also to slow down the mercs that were trying to flank left behind the bar.
And since Fleur's mind was linked tightly with Harry's at the moment, she knew exactly what her husband was up to, and she took out the mercs trying to move behind the bar while they were busy Protego shielding his attacks.
All of the remaining mercenaries were still completely focused on Harry, which meant that everything was going according to plan, and Harry simply had to tough it out… An ambition that was much more magically taxing and difficult than anything Harry had ever done up til now (on purpose), because these mercs were all professionals… The hit-squad was casting an unbroken hailstorm of blasting, gouging, bone breaking, peeling, melting, blood boiling, blinding and cutting curses, as if they were going out of style. An unending attack that grew even more intense when one of the closer mercenaries decided to cast a huge Incendio Maxima, sending a screaming wave of Conjured fire to splash against Harry's shield.
Even as Harry weathered the intense heat that billowing against his shield, his magical shroud picked up on the fact that three killing curses were flying in his direction concealed within the fire, so he Conjured a trio of metal disks directly in their path.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Three almost perfectly synchronized detonations erupted from within the boiling ribbon of fire, sending metal debris flying outwards in every direction. Killing curses always explode when they hit items that don't contain a soul, which makes them an effective form of attack even when they miss their intended target. On the bright side, since killing curses are immensely energy costly and inordinately difficult to cast (focusing your entire mind on violent hatred while doing anything else at all is extremely difficult) only the most gifted dark wizards used these curses with any regularity.
The three killing curses that just flew towards Harry through the concealment of the fire were most likely this hit-squad's so-called 'signature move,' a well practiced attack that they relied on in a pinch…
Shoving his anxiety over the close call behind his Occlumency barriers, Harry refocused his attention on the events happening around him and his friends, who were still tearing apart the hit-squad from behind. Fleur especially was dropping the men like flies, with bone breakers to their knees, followed closely by blisteringly fast little stunners.
One after another, the mercs dropped to the floor, wailing in agony over their newly shattered kneecaps, and their remaining numbers fell into a state of confusion. There were only four men left standing by the time the mercenaries finally caught on that they were being attacked from behind. Then they performed a Homenum Revelio spell, causing Cedric and Fleur to become visible, for the very first time.
Whirling around, the mercenaries stopped paying any attention to Harry for the first time since their attack began, allowing him to unleash all hell on them from behind. Harry immediately dropped his shield and hit the men with four bone breakers in less than a second, snapping their legs like twigs. Even as they were falling, Harry was already casting both stunners and mass amounts of Incarcerouses into their bodies, as well as the men that were already on the floor.
In the seconds that followed, Fleur and Cedric joined Harry casting Incarcerous nets around the mercenaries until they were trussed up into an unsightly blob of limbs… Then, just for completion's sake, Harry, Fleur and Cedric also cast over thirty stunning spells each, rendering all of the moaning hitwizards into a magically induced coma.
Between one second and the next, the room became extremely quiet, except for the scared breathing of people that were huddling under their respective tables, and the scattered sound of clattering rubble.
With a sigh, Harry turned back towards the pile of mercenaries, and set his face in stone. "Accio Hitwizard's wands!" Every wand inside of the mound of bodies wiggled free and then collected at his feet in a pile. Harry wiped his forehead of some sweat, before scanning both his friend and his wife. They were fine, and were standing there in the doorway vibrating with adrenaline. With an intensely relieved smile, Harry walked over to Fleur and hugged her tightly while sending her some intense love through the bond. After a few moments, he turned and patted Cedric on the back.
"You were awesome Cedric," Harry pointed out, his words both casual and sincere.
"You 'aave a bloody nose again 'Arry," Fleur interrupted, clearly upset with him.
"I sensed a few incoming killing curses with my aura shroud just now, but they managed to do damage to my magic in the process," Harry quietly explained, as he grabbed up a napkin. "My magic seems to think I'll be fine though, so I'm not all that worried..." With that much said, Harry began wiping his nose with the napkin in order to get rid of the evidence... "I'm really okay this time, Fleur," Harry assured yet again, when his wife started hovering and gripping at his arm..
Needless to say, Harry really wanted to change the subject. "Just who do you think these guys are?"
"Some of zem are wearing Black Band insignia," Fleur spat out, with a pissed off look on her face.
Jeremy walked up just as Fleur said those words, and he blanched in surprise at the implications. "The same mercenary group as this summer?"
"Yes," replied Harry, with the same frustrated look as his wife. "We had no idea they even existed in England."
"Reginald Harkenen broke free of law enforcement 'ere een England." In her frustration, Fleur shoved her wand into her pocket and balled her hands into fists. "'Ee ees zeir leader, and eet looks like 'ee as a vendetta against you."
Jeremy seemed to miss the point that Fleur was concerned, because he looked completely ecstatic at everything that had just happened. "You guys were completely heroic," he exclaimed, as Adam nodded emphatically from behind him. "You planned and coordinated so fast, and you're all so strong," he gushed. "Even with a Pensieve, I would never be able to figure out how you just did what you did! If you three are the Champions for the tournament this year, then what can possibly stop you!?"
A few moments later, when Jeremy finally calmed down a little, he drew in several very deep breaths and then he gestured to the table next to the pile of unconscious men. "Well, how about we continue the interview, while we wait for the Aurors to arrive?"
Harry looked at Fleur and Cedric, for their opinion. Then, when they shrugged in response, he gestured for everyone to wait just a moment.
Harry had an apology to make.
Walking up to the bar counter where Madam Rosmerta was standing shell shocked, Harry shrugged helplessly. "My apologies Rosy. These men were here for me, so I'll pay for all of the damages."
Madam Rosmerta was still completely stunned by the deadly magical display that she just saw, but she nodded gratefully at Harry's words. While surveying the damages, the first thing she saw was rubble littering an area of floor that had a nice new massive hole in it. After that however, she looked around and noticed that Harry's group had managed to keep the damages contained to a very limited area. She shuddered at what could have happened had they not been so very sharp and competent. Finally she turned back to Harry and nodded, smiling for the first time since the attack. "Okay Harry. I appreciate that, and I know you didn't want this to happen."
Before Rosmerta walked away, she winked in Cedric's direction.
Both Fleur and Harry began laughing loudly, at Cedric's intense blush, and calm was finally restored.
The next morning, bright and early, Harry bounced down towards his obstacle course with a large and satisfied smile upon his face. He wasn't an Animagus yet, but he knew that he'd become one very soon. He'd encountered an animal last night in his Mindscape, and it was awesome.
After arriving at his usual start off point, Harry waited for his wife to join him. He could feel her approaching this time, causing his smile to broaden with every passing second. He was also pleased to sense that there were far fewer ladies hidden in the trees today, which meant that their massive PDA assault from the day before had clearly borne some fruit.
With just moments to spare, Harry angled himself away from Fleur and then performed an exaggerated stretch down to his toes just like she did the day before... A beautiful series of giggles was his reward, and he smiled as a hand trailed along his right ass cheek.
"You are very brave, mon amour, we know this, but I did not think you were suicidal," Fleur purred out with a smile in her voice. "Do not bait the bear… or it will eat you."
After straightening to his full height and turning around, Harry smiled suggestively at his mate. "With a woman like you in my life, I must continue the stretches. One must be limber to have a Fleur Delacour."
All innuendo aside, the hug that Harry and Fleur shared was quite a bit more heartfelt and affectionate.
"My oh my… Just what is it that has you in such an extraordinary mood… There is something that you are avoiding thinking about on purpose." Fleur was getting very good at feeling the direction of Harry's thoughts, and right now it felt like he was turning away from something...
If you've ever tried to not think about something on purpose, then you'll understand what happened next. Harry tried desperately to not think about his inner animal, and it immediately became center stage within his thoughts. Oh sure, he could've secured the information within his Occlusion barriers, but since he'd intended to tell Fleur after teasing her for a bit, he didn't bother to go to the effort.
Fleur gasped at the image that she'd just seen in Harry's mind, and then a massive smile bloomed upon her face. "You cannot be serious, 'Arry.
Harry just kept smiling.
"No way," Fleur whispered, in a blown away little voice. "Ooooooh 'Arrie... I will enjoy petting you..."
"You can pet me now if you want," Harry suggested as he sat down atop a conveniently sized boulder. "There are still some left-over lightning bolts in these trees. About half as many as there were yesterday, but they are still out there."
"That is emotional blackmail, 'Arry," Fleur protested with a look of mock affront. "You are playing on my possessive instincts to get more of my attention." All of the sudden, Fleur turned around, sat down on Harry's lap, and then leaned forward to tighten up her shoelaces.' "I'm not that kind of easy woman, 'Arry... You should know better..."
"A thousand apologies," Harry breathed out, poleaxed into obedience by his wife's very mischievous sexuality. "I was dumb for even trying."
While initially they'd only been trying to tease each other, it was quickly becoming obvious that they were both just a little too good at it. At this point, Harry's hand was running up Fleur's thighs and Fleur's allure was running rampant throughout the entire clearing.
"We should try to get through our normal morning routine," Harry whispered with a breathy quality to his voice. "Neville will miss me otherwise."
Harry may have used the word 'we' just now, but it was pretty obvious to both of them that it was 'himself' that he was trying to motivate.
"Either way, I suggest you get control of your erection, 'Arry," Fleur whispered directly into Harry's ear. "We are trying to make all these women give up on you… not show them why they shouldn't."
Harry started grinning at Fleur's dry sense of humor, until he noticed that she was being completely serious… and his smile grew even wider..
While it took the two of them quite a while to get their heads in the game, Harry and Fleur did eventually manage to start running. Harry wouldn't have thought it was possible, but he found that Aethir was even better at holding him back than she'd been the day before. The wind sprite was on him like glue, and that's exactly what it felt like. By the time they finished running the course, Harry was soaked again, and he'd just barely kept Fleur within sight.
"Coming... up to... the RoR?" Harry asked the question in a very disheveled series of gasps.
"No, it's not my place... This time is for you and Neville, to touch base with each other. I do not wish to interfere in that." Fleur smiled mischievously and leaned in close to Harry's ear. "I will instead go gossip with Selene about you."
Harry blushed heavily, until he had a thought, and he smiled just as mischievously as Fleur had. "That's a two way street, love... Neville's still waiting to hear how my first time with you went..."
"I suggest you tell him what you think he will understand," Fleur replied, nonchalantly. "He does want to know for the right reasons after all, and as cynical as I can be, even I can see that."
"Yeah, Neville's a real blessing. He's most certainly not perving on you." After completing a cleaning charm upon his and Fleur's clothing, Harry pulled his wife into a quick but enthusiastic hug. "I'll see you at breakfast," he chirped out between kisses. Then he was running off and becoming invisible.
Two hours later, Harry and Neville walked down to breakfast, where they met up with everyone as they entered the hall.
"Good
Morning
Harry.
How
Was
The
Interview," the twins finished together.
Fred continued with, "should we look forward to today's newspaper?"
Harry smiled even as he shrugged in a noncommittal kind of way. "I liked the journalists that Mrs. Tonks chose. They appeared to have some integrity, so I think the news article will be okay."
Cedric walked up at the tail end of those words, which caused him to shake his head at Harry's shameless non-answer. "Harry's being evasive, as per usual," he interjected with a smile. "We didn't get back until late, because we were being questioned by Aurors, both during and after the interview."
At first, Harry gave Cedric a betrayed look, but then he just smiled in defeat. "You need to practice being mysterious Cedric. Their surprised expressions are always worth it." Turning back towards the twins, Harry threw up his hands in an expansive, I just can't help myself fashion. "Yes, the newspaper article might be a little bit dramatic. I will tell you no more until it arrives."
"Oh Harry, we do appreciate," Fred began.
You keeping things interesting," George finished.
Harry smiled and shook his head at the twins, while sitting down next to Neville. Hermione generally sat next to Selene and across from Harry these days. The twins and the Gryff girls usually sat to their right.
Abruptly, Harry shivered, causing both Hermione and Selene to look towards the Entry Hall doors and Fleur. They were both extremely sharp, and had put together the connection between the two events earlier in the week. Harry always shivered a bit just before Fleur entered the Great Hall, and it always made them laugh.
All of the sudden, Harry felt a cool hand running along his shoulders and neck as Fleur sat down on his left hand side, he released his shroud around her body, and they began communing in the bond.
Everyone else at the table was trying to make light conversation, but for the most part they were all just waiting for the Daily Prophet to arrive. For that reason, it was a relief to everyone when they heard the flapping of many, many wings, proclaiming the arrival of the mail. Less than thirty seconds later, when a newspaper was sitting in front of Hermione, she pulled out several pieces of parchment, and didn't bother waiting to be asked. She started using a copy spell to duplicate her newspaper about six or seven times, and then she dispersed the copies to the people at her sides.
Needless to say, everyone at the table could've kissed Hermione in that moment. Selene actually did hug the stuffing out of her… but she does that all the time.
Harry picked up his copy of the newspaper and began to read.
.
TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS FIGHT FOR EACH OTHER
This paper was shamed recently, when it allowed itself to take information from a less than credible source, a recently fired writer by the name of Rita Skeeter. Thankfully we were given another chance, with which we sought to rectify matters.
Yesterday afternoon, we arranged an interview with a few of the most misrepresented Champions in Rita Skeeter's so-called article. There are a lot of words that we could use to describe Cedric Diggory, Fleur Delacour and Harry Potter, but suffice it to say we were impressed. They met with us, and we had three different interviews, collecting Biographical information that you can read on the latter pages.
During these interviews, we were extremely surprised to find out that Harry, Fleur and Cedric are all very close friends predating the tournament. We at this paper expected to find ourselves interviewing three people being merely civil with each other, but nothing could have been further from the truth. Harry Potter and Fleur Delacour are family friends, courting, and summered together, while he and Cedric Diggory are close friends and Quidditch teammates (Bio of Quidditch team according to Harry on page 9).
When we asked all three Champions what they thought of the Tournament thus far, we were saving Harry Potter's opinion for last, as we assumed it was going to be the most controversial answer of the three. By the time we were done asking Fleur and Cedric their opinions, it no longer felt necessary to even ask Harry what he thought.
Cedric Diggory, who was interviewed first, (Bio for Cedric on page 5) was especially poignant in his response to this question. The following is a direct quote in answer to the question, "what do you think about the tournament thus far?
"I'm very concerned about what I've seen so far. First of all, Harry Potter did in fact complete a magically binding oath stating that he didn't enter himself into the tournament….
Harry skipped reading the bulk of Cedric's quote, as he already knew exactly what he said. Instead, he picked up the article where the quote drops off…
We at the Prophet don't think that the current state of the Tournament can be summed up any better than in Cedric Diggory's words. While both our government and the school administrators involved prefer to muckrake for potential advantage, Cedric wants them to see the situation for what it truly is. This is no prank or publicity stunt at all. This is an assault on a fourteen year old boy and a serious crime that is being swept under the rug.
Next, we talked to Fleur Delacour, who to this paper's shame, was accused of being part dark creature. Fleur Delacour was kind enough to talk to us, even after the disrespect that this paper showed to her magical heritage. She is in fact part Veela, who are treated with far more respect in France, compared to the antiquated and bigoted laws currently besmirching Magical Britain in the eyes of the global magical community. Truly, Fleur Delacour is a strong and moral witch who is a credit to both her heritage and her school (Bio for Fleur Delacour on page 6).
Amidst Fleur's life story and how she became a delegate, she had a very interesting story about how she got to know our very own Harry Potter. Fleur and Harry met this summer, while he was visiting her family and they were apparently in the process of becoming friends, when the worst kind of event happened. Fleur's family was attacked by a group called the Black Band. The Black Band is a group of mercenary/slavers, who, until just recently, were prominent in France. The group target Veela, primarily to sell as slaves, and from what we've investigated, it's a fate worse than death. Imagine Fleur's relief when Harry Potter arrived on the scene, caught on that something was amiss, stunner spelled nine attackers unconscious, and then blasting cursed the last.
At first, we, the writers, didn't know what to think of Fleur's story because it was so very dramatic and fantastical, but then as it turns out, we would get to experience very similar events first-hand.
Almost immediately after Fleur finished telling us her story, fifteen Black Band hitwizards suddenly invaded the three Broomsticks, where we were holding the interview, with the intention of assassinating Lord Potter…
Now, under normal circumstances, this group of hired killers would've slaughtered anyone in their way, and then removed all of the witnesses, including these modest writers. That is why, we at the Prophet are extremely grateful that we had the company that we did at the time. How Lord Potter realized the attack was imminent is a mystery, but he sensed that something was up just moments before it happened, he coordinated with his fellow Champions, and he calmly faced the attack.
Harry felt his face flushing red as he read Adam and Jeremy's accounting of the attack. It read like an action fantasy novel from the Muggle world… and yet, for the most part, it was accurate. The following things were highlighted.
-Fleur and Cedric's excellent positioning just within the door
-Fleur and Cedric's use of Disillusionment and silent spell casting
-The fact that Harry set himself up as bait while protecting those people behind him
-The fact that hundreds of spells were cast at his shield and wall, although they didn't notice the killing curses that were concealed inside the fire
-The fact that Harry was repeatedly pushed back by the force of the spells against his shield, and had to muscle his way back towards the wall
-The fact that his nose started bleeding + speculation that he was suffering advanced magical exhaustion
-How heroic Harry's actions were, weathering all of the spells so that his friends could take out the threat
-The speed, strength and skill of all three Champions, and how they likely reacted better than an Auror squad would in a similar situation.
-Much, much more….
Finally, Jeremy and Adam's rendition of the attack came to an end, and the article itself picked back up.
It is the opinion of the Prophet that this tournament will be extremely high level, considering the competency of the Champions that we've met and interviewed. We also strongly suggest that the Triwizard Tournament conveners get their act together, and figure out who put Harry Potter's name in the Goblet of Fire. We can safely say with all the evidence presented and his personality, that Lord Potter didn't put his name in that fiery cup.
Harry potter's interview was somewhat busy and brief. It was interrupted when Aurors arrived on the scene to pick up the attackers and take all of our statements. In the end, we, the journalists, were just grateful to be alive to get the interview at all, and that Lord Potter was somehow still awake to communicate with us. We got the impression that Lord Potter was grateful for the interview being brief and not because he was tired. Harry was quick to agree with Cedric's opinion regarding the tournament. He was also quick to claim that his main priority up until his surprise elevation to Champion, had been the Quidditch tournament, and furthering his seeker career. He persistently, and in our opinion shamelessly, plugged his teammates over and over, until we eventually caved to his unstated desires. We have created a biopic for the Hogwarts Quidditch team on page nine so that he would finally answer our questions, without bringing them up. We didn't have as much time with Lord Potter as we would've liked. It began to get late, he is still a fourteen year old and he still obeys the school's curfew despite his ascension to Lord. We did manage to pick up some tidbits about his personality and life despite how brief the interview was.
First of all, we were extremely surprised to find out that we were the very first interview Harry Potter had ever given, to any variety of publication company. We were surprised by this news, because literature about the infamous Boy-Who-Lived can be found in any corner store. Harry laughed when we mentioned that, before explaining that he was muggle raised in complete ignorance of the magical world, and that he was extremely alarmed to find out that he was a household name when he first entered Diagon Alley. Just try to imagine Harry's surprise when he first entered the magical world, and found out that he is perhaps the most notable name in our entire society. Harry laughed as he explained that a very large number of enterprising writers had decided to create fiction featuring the Boy-Who-Lived, but any truth found in those writings is purely of the accidental variety. Then he sobered for a second and delivered to us a statement about his fame that should end up in his real biography, if he ever allows such a thing to be written. The following quote by Lord Potter has been recorded verbatim.
"The name the wizarding world likes to call me, The-Boy-Who-Lived, is technically accurate and at the same time completely misleading. I did, in fact, survive the night the dark lord (Harry used the man's real title) attacked my home, and a killing curse was, in fact, cast towards my forehead. While those two events are true, people like to attribute some special character or power to me, because of them. The truth is I was just a one and a half year old baby at the time. I was completely helpless to defend myself, or even recognize that I was in danger in the first place. My parents were the ones who made the impossible happen that night. My mother finalized a protective ritual over my body just as she died sheltering me from harm. This ritual was powered by the sacrifices my parents willingly made to keep me safe. It was my mother's genius and my parent's willingness to die for me that brought down the Dark Lord (Harry used his real name again here). I am alive because my parents died, but so are scores of other children all across Magical Britain. I am in good company with these other children, who's parents willingly gave up everything to keep them alive."
We, the writers, were completely blown away when Lord Potter oh so casually debunked his own creation myth, but only because of the ramifications of his words. The wizarding world has long thought of Lily and James Potter as mere victims involved in the demise of the Dark Lord, but as it turns out, their deaths were far more heroic than we, the wizarding world, have been attributing to them. There was no miracle that night and Harry isn't some kind of magical messiah. Like all great events that happen, the Dark Lord's downfall came to pass because of great and terrible sacrifice. Harry desires that the name The-Boy-Who-Lived be put to bed, and that people start celebrating his parents, like we should have been doing all along.
Almost as an afterthought, we asked Lord Potter about his opinions regarding Magical Britain's magical and dark creature control laws. We almost regretted doing so... The expression of mixed disgust and contempt that immediately crossed Harry's face painted a pretty bleak picture regarding his opinion. The following quote by Lord Potter has been recorded verbatim.
"The woman that I'm courting, the woman that I fully intend to marry, is a quarter Veela… If Magical Britain's laws consider my future marriage as anything but legal and lawful, then that - is - going - to - change…"
A bold statement from a bold man, but then, with his newfound status as a Noble and Most Ancient Lord, Harry Potter's words do carry weight within the chambers of the Magical Council.
The Daily Prophet will be tracking events with the Tournament and will stay in touch with our Champions as time goes by.
Written by Adam Reagan and Jeremy Wright
.
The photo that was taken for the article was of Cedric (Left), Fleur (Middle), and Harry (right) with the three of them standing close together, and chummy over a mass pile of unconscious goons.
While Adam Reagan did express an interest in having Harry stand in the middle for the photo, Harry ended up deciding that he didn't like the image that formation would portray, and Adam didn't argue. The people in the wizarding photo were clearly a close knit group, without any visible leader/subordinates amongst them. The Harry in the photo had an arm wrapped behind Fleur's waist, but it looked as if he was trying his very best to keep the contact appropriate. The Fleur and Harry in the photo, were having trouble keeping their eyes off of each other. The Cedric in the photo, looked like he found their attempt at discretion extremely amusing.
"Holy Hell," Neville loudly called out as he finished reading the article. "Did it really go down like that?"
"No, because my plugging of the team wasn't shameless," Harry complained while attempting to successfully pout.
Everyone just laughed at Harry, because they knew he was missing the point on purpose.
Fleur looked pleased as she looked at the article. "Eet ees rather accurate, and zey were polite about my ancestry, which I am grateful for. We did slaughter zose goons though, so per-'aps zey are too afraid to be ozzerwise." Fleur grinned wolfishly at everyone, before catching herself and smoothing out her features.
Cedric smiled at Fleur's words, before he grinned at the paper in his hands. "It was my very first Harry Potter style adventure, so I'm glad it went well. I'm not a glory hound, but we do seem to be rather well received by the press."
Harry just smiled because he was hopeful it would stay that way. He knew just how fickle the media and wizarding people in general had been in the past, and was secretly worried that the tide would turn.
As the rest of the Great Hall's occupants read, and passed around their newspapers, the volume of conversations dropped and the inevitable staring began. Harry surreptitiously glanced at Francine Petit, who looked as if she'd smelled something extremely foul. Harry projected the look on Francine's face to Fleur, as she was steadfastly ignoring the woman's existence. At first Fleur almost spat out her orange juice, but after she regained her equilibrium, she smiled at him in appreciation.
"Harry… Will you show me how you Transfigured a wall without making any noise?" Cedric was leaning on an arm, and looking at Harry from his place down the table. "It looked really useful."
"Ummm yeah. It was just a bubble of silence spell, placed on the floor where the wall burst out." Unbeknownst to Harry he was looking up and left, completing a very noticeable 'I am digging through my memories' look. He was trying to remember the order of spells he performed, and doing so was always hard for him after the fact.
"Even if that's all you did, You'd need to be putting a lot of power into the silence spell, even as You're focusing on Transfiguring something," Cedric mused to himself for several seconds. Then, after freezing in place for just a single second, his face rapidly swiveled back toward Harry's. "You didn't even think about the different steps required, while you were doing it, did you," Cedric asked in a hushed but exasperated tone of voice. "You look like you're struggling to even remember…"
"It was all happening very fast," Harry replied with a noticeably evasive look on his face. "I sometimes don't remember under those circumstances. I've always relied on Mione to tell me what I did."
"It's all true... I'm his brain now and he's just given up trying," Hermione groaned out, resignation in her voice.
While everyone at the table laughed, it wasn't long before they were all rereading the news article.
POP
"Dobby!" Gabrielle happily squealed, as she once again scooped up the house elf into a tight (strangling) hug.
"Good morning my Lady," Dobby squeaked out, through his newly blocked airway. "I brought you a letter from Harry, a letter from Fleur, and a gift bought in Hogsmeade from the both of them."
Gabrielle picked up the letters and a large box full of assorted Honeyduke's chocolates as if they were the answer to her every prayer. "Oh thank heavens! I miss them so much and I'm so booored she exclaimed loudly. I have several dozen charcoal drawings for you to take back to 'Arry in return."
After peeking in through Gabby's bedroom door to investigate the ruckus, Appoline smiled warmly at the rather dashing house elf and then moved further into the room. "Good morning, Dobby. What's the good word?"
Without a word Dobby pulled out two vials again and Appoline groaned. "Not again," she beleaguered dramatically, while looking up at the ceiling."
"They are both safe, unharmed and together," Dobby assured Appoline, in a smooth, calming voice. "This memory will make you nervous, so I will tell you that in advance. They are aware that you have subscribed to the Daily Prophet and that it will arrive via intercontinental owl later today. They didn't want you to become worried..."
"I appreciate that, Dobby." Appoline called out, even as she hurried off to get her husband. Her baby, her Fleur, was in the papers!?
Soon after, Appoline, Adrien and a Pensieve, were sitting in the middle of the living room.
"Three things," Adrien declared, while looking at his wife.
"Four," Appoline replied, while grinning in response.
Without further adieu, both Adrien and Appoline dove into the Pensieve and were in there for a very long time. When they finally did re-emerge, Adrien looked like he was ready to tear his own sofa apart. "That monster Reginald is targeting our family," he seethed out loud.
Appoline smiled at Adrien until he finally broke down and asked, "what is there to smile about?"
"You just called 'Arry family," Appoline mercilessly pointed out.
Adrien didn't say a single word in response, but he did give his wife a look that very clearly conveyed the words "must you hurt me like this?"
Appoline just smiled sweetly at her husband in return.
"Fine... Moving on now," declared Adrien, looking resigned. "We need to do something about this cretin Reginald Harkenen."
"It looks to me like 'Arry and Fleur just cost the man another fifteen of his followers... Do you think we can do better?" At this point, Appoline was giving her husband a very meaningful look. "By the way, did you see how good their teamwork was? Their bond is stronger than any I have ever even heard of before."
"Okay, okay, I get it," Adrien groaned out in open ended defeat. "If I finally get to go five whole minutes without hearing that boy's name, I will embrace him as a son the next time I see him."
For the rest of the afternoon, Appoline's expression looked somehow both genuinely apologetic and massively self-satisfied.
As Dolores Umbridge stared at the Daily Prophet article sitting on her desk, a massive sneer appeared on her face. She did not like Potter's opinion regarding those filthy mixed breeds. The boy was clearly nothing but a muggle raised upstart, who didn't know how filthy intermingling with these creatures really was. That was made readily apparent by his disgusting preoccupation with the Veela creature.
Suffice it to say, Umbridge would not allow Potter to continue his campaign of tolerance towards all the abominations of the world. What's next? Letting the Centaurs walk around Diagon Alley? The boy was directly opposing her campaign, to increase the rules regarding magical creatures in Magical Britain!
By far the worst part for Dolores was that Potter already had a seat on the Wizards' Council, which meant he could severely hamper her ambitions.
As Dolores stared at the newspaper further, a sickly sweet smile slowly grew across her face, because a plan was beginning to form in her mind. Potter had just become the poster boy for tolerance in the magical community, because of his statement in this paper. If Potter were to be killed by a magical creature during one of the tournament tasks, then her arguments would only become that much stronger as a result.
While turning towards the docket of magical creatures she had penned up to be used in the tournament, Dolores began to think that Harry Potter would find his opposition in the tournament was of several magnitudes more dangerous than expected.
Yes. That would do it…
Harry Potter was going to help her regulate the masses of filthy half breeds and creatures of the world. It was going to happen posthumously of course, but she'd make sure to thank him anyway.
Dolores Umbridge was nothing if not a stickler for manners.
To Be Continued
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