Saturday, August 20, 2005
Chapter 8
The Festival of Ghouls
That night Harry couldn't sleep, yet again... Surely Draco couldn't be a Drakon! Could he? He had never bumped into Malfoy all this time when he was at Agathos' den...he had never seen Malfoy communicating with Agathos or the other House Dragons... but Harry knew better than to brush this feeling aside... deciding that it was time yet again for another visit to see Agathos, Harry grabbed his invisibility cloak and the Marauder's Map and hurried down to the dragon's den...
"Hello Harry... I was half expecting you'd come... I trust you've met my distant cousin, Horas, today? She did tell me you had to go up against her for the first task..." Agathos greeted Harry with his magnificent purple gaze as Harry took off his invisibility cloak... "oh.. yes... we, er... met... but Agathos... why did you tell Horas not to attack me? That's as good as cheating..." but before Harry could finish his sentence, Agathos Daimon cut him off in a stately manner... and Harry could sense the slight disappointment in Agathos' tone, inside of his head... "Harry... We, dragons, have our special set of codes... and we abide by these codes as if our life depended on it...it's part of our blood and we are magically bound by them... and one of the codes specifically states that we are not allowed to deceive others, be dishonest, or perform any form of fraud or deception to any magical creature.. and that includes wizards like you Harry... I simply told Horas of how an inquisitive young boy named Harry Potter... the one who had decieved the Dark Lord three times thus far has been one of my faithful companions in Hogwarts... you together with Professor Dumbledore and Hagrid... so to answer your question Harry... I have not cheated or shown any favouritism in any way... Professor Dumbledore had made me swear not to tell any of the contestants what they had to face in the first task...seeing that he knows of your frequent lil' trips down here to visit me ever so often Harry..." Agathos finished with a slight gleam in his eye... the moonlight made his leathery hide seem very beautiful.. this made Agathos look extremely elegant in a royal sort of way...Professor Dumbledore knew about Harry visiting Agathos? Well... it wasn't soo much of a surprise anyway, since Dumbledore himself visits Agathos every now and then... he figured Dumbledore would learn the truth someday... Harry regreted for ever suspecting Agathos and started off..."I'm so sorry Agathos... it's just that I thought I had it easy with Horas... I thought it was unfair that I could speak Drakonis when none of the other contestants can..." Agathos stood up, ruffled his wings behind his back.. and he slowly beckoned towards Harry... He stretched out his front claw... and in it, Harry saw a medallion... with a Dragon crest... "Harry... I want you to have this... This was passed down for generations in my family... it was a symbol of trust that my family held dear... you see Harry, if a dragon gives this medallion to a wizard, it means that the dragon trusts the wizard unconditionally... this medallion does hold some protective charms...which will provide the bearer protection against most forms of Dark Magic... and Harry... it would mean a lot if you would accept this token of my trust in you...Just know that you are protected by the ancient magic of the Dragons... and that I will always be here for you even in the most dire of times..." Agathos spoke...This was most unexpected for Harry... and he didn't know what to say... Harry accepted the medallion and thanked Agathos for bestowing upon him one of the most prized possessions of the Dragon race... but just before Harry turned to leave for his dorm, he turned around once again to Agathos... he had forgotten to ask him about Draco! Almost instinctively, as if Agathos had read Harry's mind... the Hogwarts Guardian's voice resonated from within Harry's head..."No Harry... the son of Lucius Malfoy has never been down here to see me or any of the House Dragons for that matter... but as to whether he is a Drakon or not... I can't say...that pompous Swedish Short Snout refused to talk to any of us dragons here at Hogwarts... She seemed to think that she was far more superior than any of us! It isn't much of a surprise actually... seeing that she is afterall the direct descendant of the Swedish Royal line of Dragons... so you see Harry... I cannot approach her to ask if that Malfoy boy really is a Drakon... I'm sorry..." Agathos said with a sort of finality in his tone..."Oh that's alright Agathos...it's no matter... I was just curious that's all..." Harry said as he bid farewell to the Hogwarts Guardian and sped off to his dormitory room.. feeling very elated that he had just recieved the symbol of the Dragon's trust...
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Harry awoke with a startled expression the next morning... as he inched his way down to the Gryffindor Common Room... he saw lots of goodies, presents and fanmails waiting for him near the fireplace... he realised he had missed breakfast as he looked down at his wrist-watch... "Goodmorning sleepy-head!" Ginny beamed... "Go on... open your fanmails.. everyone's really excited about how you managed to get past that Hungarian Horntail, Harry... It was really brilliant!" Ginny gushed a pale shade of red as she said this... her fiery red hair glistened in the morning rays of sunshine and she looked really beautiful with her hair let down ... Harry didn't know when he would finally get the courage to ask Ginny out... and before he could say anything to her... Ron and Hermione stepped into the Common Room.. with a huge grin on their faces... "Blimey Harry! I really hope you don't turn into another Lockhart with all this fanmail and goodies you've got! I don't reckon I would be able to handle another loon like him..." Ron laughed..."Oh knock it off Ron... Harry, Ginny... did you hear the news? Professor Mcgonagall's just been up here in the common room to put up the posters...the Festival of Ghouls will be starting on October 30th! that's just a week away.... and it's compulsory for you to attend the Halloween Ball this year Harry... all Tri-Wizard Champions have to attend the Ball...with their dance-partners..." Hermione started off excitedly...at that moment.. Lodina Black, Sirius' daughter, stepped into the Gryffindor Common Room as well... Lodina was stunningly beautiful and had this mysterious aura around her... as she strode through the length of the common room to where Harry and the others were talking animatedly... the other Gryffindor boys had all cocked their heads in her direction... oggling at her jet black hair and beautiful dark brown eyes... it was no wonder Lodina had been getting all the attention of the boys in Hogwarts... The Black charm never grew old afterall... "Hey Lodina!" Ginny waved at her... beckoning her to join in the discussion... "But it's only open for fourth-years and above... " Hermione finished rattling off about the Halloween Ball... "What's only open to fourth-years and above Hermione?" Lodina had a look of curiosity on her face, which reminded Harry so much of Sirius...."Oh... Hi Lodina.. it's the Halloween Ball... it says here on the poster that only fourth-years and above can attend the Ball.. though if third-years and below are invited to the ball by their seniors, they would be able to come... " Hermione managed a smile to both Ginny and Lodina... who looked at each other and started giggling... "What are you girls soo giggly about? Seriously! I don't see what's soo great about this Ball.. a bunch of namby-pamby, wish-wosh ... just to satisfy girl-ish fantasies... don't you think so Harry? I don't think I'll be going... a whole bunch of Bull if you ask me..." Ron stopped short... as he heard Lavender Brown's stifled giggles behind him, as she walked past the group... "Ron... i think i know someone who might be interested in going with you to the Ball, mate... I'll give you a clue.. she giggles everytime she sees you and she just walked right past you... " Harry grinned... and he saw Ron go pink around his ears as he said this... "That was two clues Harry... and I'm not interested in her.. she's not my type...i think I'm more into Ravenclaw girls..." Ron said timidly..."Oh please... not that Fleur Delacour woman again?! Sorry to burst your bubble Ron... but i heard her in the Great Hall today... at breakfast... Roger Davies just asked her out to the Ball..." Hermione rolled her eyes... muttering "BOYS!" under her breath...."I'm not interested in her Hermione... I already told you i was over her... " Ron said soo softly that only Harry could hear him... Harry knew that he had to ask Ginny out to the Ball... seeing that it was afterall compulsory for him to attend the Ball and with a Dance partner at that... he felt the pressing need to act soon... Harry had just finshed unwrapping his last present from one of his so-called 'fans' when he turned to the portrait hole... ready to head down to the Potions Dungeon... he had Potions with the Slytherins first thing that day... and if there was anything worse than Malfoy and his Slytherin Guard hurling insults at him... it was the thought of doing detentions with Professor Snape for being late for his class... with that... Harry rushed out of the portrait hole and entered the Potions dungeon, for a morning of hell...
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The Festival of Ghouls had started off on Thursday, October the 30th... classes ended half a day early so that students and staff could get ready for the Feast in the Hall...Harry plonked himself down on the Gryffindor bench in the Great Hall... next to Hermione and Ron... and just at that moment.. the House Ghosts started filling into the hall... all dressed in their finest clothes... the school toad-choir begun singing.... and euphoria was in the air... almost everyone had gotten a dance partner for the Ball except Harry and Ron... he had to ask Ginny soon...VERY soon... "Ron... who are ya gonna ask to the Ball, mate?" Harry asked drearily...the thought of telling Ron that he wanted to date his younger sister was weighing heavily on his mind... he wasn't sure if Ron would take it well at all... "Oh... I already asked someone... but she's going with somone else ... so now... i'm left with Lavender i guess..." Ron sighed... "Come on Ron! Cheer up... at least you have Lavender... I haven't asked anyone yet!" Harry exclaimed... "oh! You can ask Hermione! I mean she's a girl right? I'm sure she hasn't got a date just as yet..." Ron smiled over at Harry... "I heard that Ron... just because it took you and Harry a good whole three and a half years to realise I'm a girl, doesn't mean others haven't taken notice... and no Harry... I can't go with you to the Ball... I'm going with someone else... " Hermione snapped as she returned to her copy of Quidditch Weekly-The Puddlemere United Edition..."Hermione... Tell us who you're going with! And how come you're always with a copy of Puddlemere United's clippings wherever you go? Is something up? Since when did you turn into an ardent quidditch fan? You escaped that question the other time... there's no escape now.. so spill!" Ron asked excitedly...but Hermione was spared as Ron's attention was soon drawn to Neville across the table...Peeves dropped a huge bowl of pudding on Neville's head... all of the students in the Great Hall had now turned their attention towards Neville and roared with laughter.... Undisturbed by what was happening, Harry thought that he should just go ahead and ask Ginny out to the Ball now... seeing that everyone else was distracted, thanks to Peeves... "Er... Ginny? Would you like to go to the Ball with me?" Harry managed a rather soft proposal... fortunately Ginny had heard him... but she avoided Harry's gaze ... "I'm really sorry Harry... I'm going with Dean Thomas... he asked me earlier today at breakfast.... I'm so sorry Harry..." Ginny bit her lip as she told Harry this, still avoiding to meet his gaze... "Oh.. that's alright.. I was thinking maybe we could go together... but it's alright... have fun with..." Before Harry could finish... he was cut off by Hermione... "Did you see Professor Mcgonagall? She's in a righ' state... she's absolutely ticked off at Peeves... oh he's gonna get it this time..." Hermione rambled on... Harry tried to find Ginny ... but it was too late... she had walked off to sit beside Lodina and they were chatting with the other third years in Gryffindor... Harry decided that it was best to leave it as it is.. and decided to turn in early... he excused himself from the Feast and started to head back up to the Gryffindor Common Room... What was he thinking? Surely he did not expect Ginny to agree to go to the Ball with him? She was afterall one of the most popular girls in school... But she did have a crush on Harry when he was in his second year... Harry sighed, feeling more down than usual... just before he reached the Common Room... he caught a glimpse of Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown ...'Oh well... I might as well ask Parvati ... Mcgonagall will kill me if i don't have a dance partner for tomorrow!' Harry thought and he motioned towards Parvati... as if on impulse... Lavender moved away and yelled over to Parvati, "I'll see you in the dorm!" and she crawled through the Portrait hole... "Er...Would you like to go to the Ball with me tomorrow Parvati?" Harry asked ... Parvati giggled slightly and said yes... Thank God! He would finally have a dance partner.. though it wasn't Ginny... Harry was downcast that evening and he didn't really mind who he was going with since Ginny had already turned him down.. and with that... Harry climbed through the Portrait hole and headed straight to his room... thinking of how it could have been if only he had gone to breakfast earlier and asked Ginny to the Ball before Dean... Harry stared out the window ... and after awhile... he fell asleep in his bed...
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The night of the Halloween Ball had come at last... Harry put on his bottle-green dress robes Mrs Weasley had bought for him in summer, and was waiting for Parvati Patil down in the Gryffindor Common Room... Ron soon followed suit in his red dress robes which matched the colour of his hair.... "Why do girls take an eternity to get dressed!! It's preposterous i tell ya! " Ron bellowed... obviously tweaked by the fact that Lavender was taking ages to get ready... at long last.. at about 10 minutes to eight... Lavender and Parvati met them in the Common Room... Lavender was wearing pale pink whilst Parvati was wearing lush green... and both the 'couples' set out for the Great Hall...
Once at the entrance, Harry, Ron, Lavender and Parvati were greeted by the shrieking sounds of the Weird Sisters, a popular band in the Wizarding world... Harry and Ron led the ladies to a cosy corner and offered to get drinks while they waited for the staff and the guests from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons to arrive ... "Where's Hermione? I haven't seen her all day! I wonder who she's with... she's being rather secretive don't you reckon, Harry? First with the Quidditch craze and now with this mysterious bloke who asked her out to the Ball... " Ron started while filling up the third glass of fruit punch...Just then, Ron let out an "Oh!" as if something had suddenly dawned upon him..."what if it's Krum, Harry? That would explain why Hermione's been acting strange... I mean.. Krum was going to play for Puddlemere in the coming season! It makes sense Harry! Oh that Hermione! Why didn't she tell us it was Krum?" Ron started again when Harry cut him off... "Coz' it wasn't Krum, Ron... Look who just stepped into the Hall..." At that.. Ron spun around only to get a glimpse of Hermione... in a beautiful periwinkle blue dress... her hair tied up very elegantly... Hermione looked really pretty without all those extra books and heavy bags she would be otherwise lugging around... and she was accompanied by none other than... "Oliver Wood? Oliver Wood asked Hermione out? B-but... how can that be?" Ron stammered... "Actually Ron.. Now it makes perfect sense.. Wood signed on to the Puddlemere United Team just a few months ago... just when Hermione started taking interest in Quidditch... " Harry said as he filled the last glass of fruit punch..."We probably should be getting back to the girls.. they'd be wondering where we've gotten to..." Harry and Ron walked back to where Lavender and Parvati were sitting... in disbelief... Oliver Wood and Hermione? well that would certainly break a lot of girls' hearts... seeing that Oliver Wood was quite a heart throb... Harry glanced over at the Slytherins... who were joined shortly by the Durmstrang students... Harry looked over at Krum, who was eyeing Hermione intently... Strange... Harry thought... "Here are the drinks girls..." Ron said importantly as he placed the drinks down... Harry turned his gaze to Malfoy and Iman... Pansy Parkinson was fawning all over Draco as usual and Iman was without a girl... no surprises there... though Iman was looking at Pansy with lust ... Harry could see it in his eyes and the way he smiled...it was as if Iman was admiring Pansy from a distance... the mere thought of that made Harry shudder... "You alright Harry? You look like you're in a daze... oh look! The Staff has arrived... i think we should go up to the front stage then Harry.. the Champions are making they're way up there already..." Parvati suggested... "W-what?... oh right.. yea.. let's go... We'll be back soon Ron, Lavender..." Harry led Parvati to the front of the Hall... He stood next to Draco and Pansy.. he didn't particularly like this... standing anywhere within a 10 metre radius of Malfoy was enough to make Harry feel annoyed...Fleur and Roger Davies were on Harry's other side... and beside them stood Krum and Cho Chang, the Ravenclaw seeker... "Hello everyone! I'm glad soo many of you could make it to the Halloween Ball.. well.. I shan't keep you waiting.. so let the music start playing and let's let our hair down!" Professor Dumbledore spoke and the Weird Sisters started playing another mournful song..."Harry lets dance! I love this song!" Parvati said as she pulled Harry to the dancefloor...Just then Harry caught a glimpse of Ginny... she was with Dean Thomas... and they were talking excitedly with Lodina and Seamus Finnigan... Harry figured that Seamus had asked Lodina to the Ball... the four of them were sitting on the table next to Ron... and they were very deep in conversation... Ginny wore a red dress which brought out the colour of her beautiful red hair... she looked hot and sassy in her outfit and as Harry's mind wandered on how lovely Ginny had looked that night... he completely forgot to pay attention to his dancing... and accidentally stepped on Parvati's foot... "Ow!" Parvati squealed... "Oops.... I'm so sorry.. dancing isn't really my kind of thing..." Harry said as he tried to cover up his tracks... but unknown to him... Draco Malfoy was dancing behind them as well... Pansy thought that he had also been acting rather queer that evening... but decided not to bring that up... as it might ruin the chance she had finally gotten to be with Draco the entire evening... "Pansy Darling... Do you mind if we take a break... this music's not doing my talent in Salsa any justice..." Draco said as he whisked Pansy away to a seat near Ginny, Dean, Seamus and Lodina... Draco had his mind elsewhere as well... how could he have missed such a beauty in Hogwarts... how could he not have noticed her before? She was slender and looked ravishing in her beautiful black dress... Draco noticed that most of the boys in the Hall were also looking in her direction and drooling absent-mindedly over her beauty... what did she see in that Irish twit she was with anyway, when she could be better off with him? Besides... they would make a really good-looking couple too... But how can he shake off Pansy? If only he could get an opening... just one chance... to woo Lodina...
[Tonks was grooving to Usher's Caught Up | 
~ workaholic]
~Nymphadora~
Saturday, August 06, 2005
Chapter 7
The First Task
Harry could hardly believe what he had just heard... too many things had happened to him today... and all too fast as well... Lodina was Sirius' daughter? No wonder she looked oddly familiar... her features resembled Sirius' very closely... that posh, yet warm look... it was without a doubt that Lodina had inherited her father's charms as well... "Harry? You alright? You look as if you've just seen a ghost! Your scar isn't hurting again is it?" Sirius studied Harry's queer expression... "Oh.. it's nothing Sirius.. Yea...I've only just met Lodina.. She's Ginny's friend...Ginny introduced us.." Harry started... just before Ginny cut him off... "Lodina's your daughter Sirius? How come you've never told us until now?" Sirius could see the eagerness in Ginny's eyes... but thought it best not to reveal soo much to Harry and the others at such a juncture...seeing that the risk of being overheard was great..."Well... Lodina had been admitted into Hogwarts ... but i thought it best to transfer her out to another wizarding school in Scotland... but Dumbledore reassured me earlier this year... he said that Lodina's identity would be protected and that no one else would know about her family and origins... it's better that way anyway, seeing that I'm still a criminal in the Ministry's eyes..." At this, Harry saw that Sirius' face had fell... he had a downcast look.. a look which had reminded him so much of how he felt everytime he thought about his parents...a moment later.. Sirius shook it off, saying... "but look at me rambling on...The real purpose for my speaking to you, was to tell you that all of you will be spending Christmas with me! Don't worry Ron.. your brothers and your sister will be joining us too... I've already told Molly and Arthur... they've agreed to come down as well... " Sirius beamed... "So.. Harry.. how has the Tri-Wizard Tournament been getting along? It's really interesting... the tasks and all.. so who's the Hogwarts Champion then eh?" everyone turned to look at Harry... Harry could feel the pressure on him now... but just before he could speak... Hermione answered Sirius..."Sirius... Harry's been chosen to be the Hogwarts Champion... both him and Draco Malfoy..." Sirius was stunned... a look of astonishment swept across Sirius' face... "Is this true Harry? But how could it have been you? Dumbledore told me about the magical wards... someone had definitely hoodwinked the Goblet.. but Malfoy too? that's really strange.. Harry... promise me you'll be careful... i think i hear someone coming from your end... I'll let you know when we can next meet up...Bye!" and without any warning... Sirius head vanished with a 'pop'... Harry did hear footsteps coming up from behind him... it was Neville..."Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny... what are you lot doing up s-soo late?" Neville managed to say before his big yawn..."Nothing.. we were up for a late midnight snack.. we're heading back to bed now... Goodnight Neville!" Hermione turned on her heel and sped off to her dorm room... Ginny followed closely behind... Harry, Ron and Neville returned back to their own dorm room as well... but that night Harry couldn't sleep... two days in a row... if he kept this up... he'd have eyebags the size of Ireland! Harry lay awake.. staring out of his window... watching Agathos beating his wings and flying gracefully into the night... Agathos was making his usual checks round the grounds of Hogwarts...Maybe it was time to pay yet another visit to Agathos... too many things have been happening to him... Harry could use Agathos' company right now...
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"Back again so soon Harry? Why, it has hardly even been a month! What's bothering you, Harry?" Agathos' calming and soothing voice resonated in Harry's head... "Agathos.. I really don't know why all these stuff happens to me! I really didn't ask to be Tri-Wizard Champion.. and now Draco is another Hogwarts Champion too! I bet he and Iman had something to do with it...I saw them talking soo secretively that night.. but why me Agathos? and why was Draco soo happy that i was chosen? Or maybe he was happy coz he knew his name would be out of the goblet as well?" without realising it... Harry had started to let out all his thoughts all at once... "Harry, Harry... slow down... you need a breather my dear boy..."Agathos cut Harry off... his beautiful purple gaze had now settled onto Harry..."Sometimes you think too much Harry... but I can tell you this.. someone definitely has their eyes on you... and on that Malfoy boy as well... It was no coincidence that both of you got chosen..." Harry burst out with fury once more..."YES... I know that... both Draco and Iman... they planned this! They got past the barriers set up by Dumbledore... I know they must have..." Agathos cut him off once more..."Harry... Dumbledore's magical wards cannot be broken soo easily.. especially not by a fourth year and a sixth year... the Goblet cannot be hoodwinked soo easily Harry.. Dumbledore had personally come to see me if I could provide some ancient Dragon Magic to prevent anyone from breaking the charms he had placed on the Goblet... but I see now, that it is to no avail... You do know what this means don't you Harry? It takes a very powerful Dark Wizard to break through the charms both Dumbledore and me had placed on the Goblet..." It finally dawned upon Harry... "Voldermort? Do you think he was responsible for this Agathos?" Harry stuttered... "I can't say anything for sure at this moment Harry... but one thing is for sure...You have to watch your back... be vigilent and make sure you get past those tasks safely..." Agathos shifted in his seating position... so that Harry could see his magnificent leathery, black hide shimmering in the moonlight once more... Harry could see why Hagrid was soo fond of Dragons.. Scary first impressions aside, Harry had grown to appreciate Dragons for their unique beauty..."Ok... I'll try my best Agathos...but can I ask you one more question?" Harry had started again... this time he was calm... and not overwhelmed with fury... Agathos nodded his head... "Well... are there people like me then? you said Dumbeldore came to see you, didn't you? So the fact that i can communicate with you is not a bad thing, is it? everyone else can too right?" Harry saw a brief smile on Agathos' face... Agathos turned his head back to the stars as he started to answer..."Being able to speak Drakonis (Dragon tongue) is not common Harry.. in fact it's almost as rare as the ability to speak Parseltongue... you hardly see anymore Drakons these days...Drakons are wizards who speak Drakonis... but then again, you can hardly call it speaking Harry.. it's more like clearing your mind and communicating to us, Dragons with your thoughts... people confuse it with the ability to read into others' emotions and all.. Legilimens they call it... but Drakonis requires a different kind of effort... it is an in-born talent... and only wizards who are the descendants of those who had lived in a Kingdom called Drakonia possess this talent... Drakonia was a kingdom.. where Dragons and wizards lived together in peace... but all that changed in the early 8th century...but that...is a story for another time Harry... i reckon it's time for you to head back to your room... and i daresay.. you've had enough excitement for one day..." Agathos turned his head to face Harry once more... Sensing the finality in Agathos' tone...Harry agreed and gathered up his invisibility cloak and the Marauder's Map.. and he started darting off back to the Gryffindor Tower.. feeling much more relieved than he had been a few hours ago...
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Harry met Ron and Hermione in the Great Hall the next day. They were seated next to Ginny, Lodina, Fred, George and Lee Jordan (the twins' best friend). Lodina and Ginny were chattering away while Fred, George and Lee were discussing something which seemed rather serious... that was odd... Fred and Geroge were never serious... But Harry paid no attention to them... as his attention was quickly turned to Professor Mcgonagall... who had come down to the Gryffindor Bench to have a word with Harry..."Potter, could you follow me this way please... into the staffroom... I have to give out the instructions for the next task...all the other Champions are already there..." Professor Mcgonagall said as she turned to lead Harry into the staffroom.... There in the staffroom stood Viktor Krum, Fleur Delacour and Draco Malfoy... Draco wore a smug grin on his face as Harry had walked into the room.. "Now...the first task will be held next Monday... I know it seems soon... but the faster we get it over with... the longer you'd get to work out the clue to the second task... " At this Harry saw a gleam of satisfaction in Professor Mcgonagall's eyes... "I can't tell you what you would be facing in the first task just as yet... but only that you have to retrieve the golden egg... without breaking the other eggs... ok... that's a good enough clue for you champions to work with for now... Go on... go back to your classes.. I wouldn't want to take up too much of your curriculum time... " Viktor and Fleur were the first to leave the room... Malfoy and Harry left the room together... they had Potions afterall and were headed to the same class... "So, Potter... you don't reckon they'd be setting a huge fifty foot chicken on us do you? In your case... I really wouldn't be able to tell who would have to get away from whom ... seeing that you're as good as a chicken yourself!" Draco sniggered... but just before Harry could reply...both of them had stepped into the Potions Dungeon... and Harry was greeted by a familiar but rather unfriendly voice... "Ah.. Potter...Isn't it wonderful that you can finally join us?" Professor Snape was at it again... Harry groaned and sat next to Ron and Hermione.. who had saved him a seat earlier on... He filled them in on what Professor Mcgonagall had told all of the Champions as they frantically tried to finish making the Draught of Peace...
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The weekend had flew by soo fast and Harry had hardly even given a thought as to what the first task could have possibly been...the four Champions were summoned to the tent just beside the quidditch pitch... Just before Harry entered the tent... Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Lodina pulled him aside to wish him good luck... he thanked them and went into the tent... Professor Mcgonagall was standing there.. waiting for all the Champions to arrive... there was a black velvet bag in her hand... as the last champion, Fleur, entered the tent.. Mcgonagall began to speak.. "Ok.. listen up all of you... you will put your hands into this bag and take out a figurine... the figurine will be the thing you will be facing outside of these tents... and the number around the figurine will be your turn number... you are not allowed to peep outside the tent while another contestant is out there... the tent is enchanted of course.. so if you've attempted to cheat..it would come to our attention immediately and points will be deducted... there are five judges... Professor Karkaroff.. Madame Maxime.. Professor Dumbledore ... Mr Fudge, Minister of Magic... and last but not least... Mr Ludo Bagman, Head of Magical Sports in the Ministry... when i call out your name you will step out of the tent and you will try to get past your 'obstruction' and get the golden egg.. Now all of you... get a figurine from this bag..." Viktor went first... he got out a miniature Chinese Fireball... Great! We're dealing with Dragons...Harry wondered if his day could get any worse...he didn't know if he could communicate as well as he could with Agathos to other Dragons... He saw a number one around the neck of the Chinese Fireball figurine.. that meant that Krum was gonna be the first contestant... Fleur went next... she pulled out a Welsh Green...with a number 3 on it... and Draco followed after her.. pulling out a Swedish Short Snout... with the number 2 on it.. Harry noticed that Draco had a smile on his face.. Surely Malfoy wasn't expecting to go up against Dragons before... Was he? Harry went next... and to his dismay... he pulled out a Hungarian Horntail.. the figurine was huffing and puffing balls of smoke... slashing it's tail about...it had a number 4 on it... Wonderful.. Harry thought... he had to battle the worst kind of Dragon that lived on the face of this planet...reluctantly...Harry slouched back into one of the chairs in the tent... staring at the ground... wishing he could fastforward the day's events...
~-~
After the first three contestants had stepped out of the tent... Harry was left all by himself... alone with his thoughts.. he had absolutely no idea how he was gonna get past the Dragon! Harry could hear the cheers and screams coming from the Quidditch stands...as each of the contestant performed their task... At long last... it was finally Harry's turn...He heard Professor Mcgonagall's voice...and stepped out of the tent... "and now... we have... another Hogwarts Champion... Harry Potter!" The crowd cheered heartily as Harry stepped out of the tent and walked out to the Grand stand... He pulled out his wand as if out of instinct... as he stood face to face with the Hungarian Horntail... They picked nesting mothers!! so that explains the bit about the eggs.. Harry thought... The Hungarian Horntail was asleep... but started to stir as Harry approached... It's horny hide was enough to give anyone the creeps... Harry drew his wand out in front of him.. he had no idea what to do... the Hungarian Horntail was now fully awake... it's golden eyes fixed upon his... and almost instinctively... Harry thought... "Hi! I didn't mean to startle you.. you see... all I have to do is get that golden egg... the one amongst your other eggs... wait... can u actually understand what i'm saying?" for a moment... both of them.. the Hungarian Horntail and Harry stood their ground and did nothing.. and then... Harry heard a faint whisper in his head... "Yes.. I can hear you young one... you're Harry Potter aren't you? yes... I can see that scar on your forehead... you're just as how Agathos has described you to be ...well.. go on ahead then... get your golden egg.. I'm not really in a mood for a fight right now... these wizards... they've been disturbing my sleep for a few days now... it's awful lot of work being a nesting mother you know... oh well.. Good day to you!" The Hungarian Horntail spoke to Harry.. Harry could hardly believe it.. he had just spoken to a fully grown Hungarian Horntail... and what's more... this dragon seemed to know Agathos! Harry made a note to himself.. to consult Agathos Daimon about this later...and as if on impluse... Harry cried.. "Accio!" and the Golden Egg shot out from below the Horntail... Harry grabbed it in mid-air...and almost instantaneously, the crowd broke into tumultous applause...
Harry had been the fastest Champion to retrieve the Golden Egg! Harry turned around and saw his score awarded to him by all the five judges... Karkaroff had given him an eight.. while the rest of them had awarded him ten out of ten marks! Harry had received a total of 48 points... he joined the rest of the champions who were seated on a bench near the stands... Madam Pomfrey was tending to Krum's wounds... he seemed badly burnt... Fleur was wrapped in bandages as well.. and Draco...he simply had a plaster on his arm.. Harry eyed him suspiciously...his Slytherin Guard all around him...Just then.. Ron and Hermione appeared before him.. " Harry! That was bloody brilliant!" Ron exclaimed... "Yea! You were the best You scored the highest among all of the Champions... I would have never thought of a Sleeping Charm to put the dragon to sleep! Harry.. how did you think of it? Sleeping Charms require a whole lot of concentration and Harry.. you managed it.. and on a Hungarian Horntail at that... it went back to sleep after you cast that charm... it's amazing Harry!" Hermione squealed... Sleeping Charm? Harry thought... that's right... No one knew about him being a Drakon...Moreover, Harry had his wand out the whole time.. it was no wonder everyone thought he had performed a Sleeping Charm... especially since the Dragon was soo eager on going back to sleep... Not believing the luck he just had with the Hungarian Horntail, Harry beamed back at Ron and Hermione... and inquired how the rest of the Champions had did before him...Apparently, Viktor had tried to use a Conjunctivitis spell on the Chinese Fireball.. but the dragon had squashed most of the eggs before Viktor could get the golden egg... he also got badly hit by a ball of fire while the Chinese Fireball was struggling with the spell that hit it...he had received a total of 44 points for his effort nonetheless...Fleur tried using her Veela charms on the Welsh Green.. but it didn't work... then she tried to transfigure a rock into some sort of distraction.. but that didn't work either.. and as the Welsh Green started chasing after her.. she got hit by fire as well.. she managed to get the golden egg eventually after going through many hexes and spells to finally stun the dragon... and she had received a total 40 points... Draco had stood in front of his dragon for a long period of time...according to Hermione, Draco looked as if he had put the Dragon into a temporary trance... but alas, the Swedish Short-Snout had eventually broken out of Draco's trance... However, Draco had reacted very quickly... he had summoned the Golden Egg just in time...and escaped with only a scratch on his hand... coz the tail of the Short-Snout had slashed his hand just when he caught the Golden Egg...Malfoy recieved 46 points and was in the second place... he wasn't far behind Harry though .. Hermione and Ron had finished reciting what had happened to Harry... when Harry thought of something... Did Malfoy really put the Dragon into some sort of trance? or was he communicating with the Swedish Short-Snout like what Harry had done with the Hungarian Horntail? It would definitely seem as if Draco was putting the dragon into a trance, if his wand was out...especially to the judges and the people in the crowd, who were seated far off in the stands...Was Malfoy a Drakon too?
[Tonks was grooving to Disturbed's Voices | 
~ exhausted]
~Nymphadora~
Friday, August 05, 2005
Chapter 6
The Goblet of Fire
Having not recalled seeing Lodina in Hogwarts before, Harry wondered if she had been transfered recently from a different school... Lodina was as cheerful as Ginny... but somehow... he wasn't as attracted to her as much as he was to Ginny... Ginny's fiery red hair was glistening under the light of the chandeliers...he had wanted to express how he felt about her ever since his second year... but Ginny hardly spoke to him at that time... in fact, he never really had an opportunity to get her alone to tell her how he actually felt about her... well.. there was the one time when they were alone in the Chamber of Secrets... with Fawkes singing the song of the Pheonix beside them... but Harry thought that wasn't exactly the most romantic of moments to tell Ginny how he felt... seeing that she was unconscious and probably traumatised after the events with Tom Riddle... but if there was one person who could make Harry's day by simply smiling... it was definitely Ginny... The three girls, Hermione, Ginny and Lodina, were talking very animatedly ... discussing the likely prospects as to who could very well turn out to be the Hogwarts Champion... "Hear ye, hear ye... I gather that all of you have met our wonderful guests... and i trust you will welcome them with open arms... just a few more announcements before we start the Welcome Feast..." Dumbledore started off in a stately way... to his left... Madame Maxime and Professor Karkaroff were seated pompously...Professor Karkaroff was wearing a rather dark and grim look on his face.. whereas Madame Maxime had a regal air around her...Harry didn't like the look on Karkaroff's face... he looked as if he could give Snape a run for his money for having an expression as if someone had put a pair of Uncle Vernon's ol' tennis socks under his nose..."This year's Tri-Wizard Tournament will begin with the usual ritual where interested students would put their names into the Goblet of Fire... there will be an age restriction, of course... to ensure that students would be well-prepared when facing the tasks ahead of them... and all those who are in their sixth year or above can enter this competition... Let me remind you at this juncture that no sort of Ageing Potion would be able to get through the magical wards I have set around the Goblet... students will have until tomorrow afternoon to place their names into the Goblet... the results will be let known tmr evening during dinner... Good Luck to all of you planning to participate in this event.. and May the best student be chosen! now all of you... tuck in! " Dumbledore seated himself calmly and started talking to Madame Maxime and Professor Mcgonagall... "Seriously Ron... Why don't you go up to the Ravenclaw bench and have your lunch then? Instead of drooling all over our food...Anyway, it's not like it would do you any good... I'm sure Fleur wouldn't notice you.. seeing that half of the male population in Hogwarts have already thrown themselves all over her..." Hermione snorted irritatedly... Ron on the other hand was quite taken aback by what Hermione had said.... "Oh puh-leese Hermione... Fleur was soo 'yesterday'... I wasn't looking at her..." Harry noticed that Ron was blushing as he said this... "And you expect me to believe that Ron? You don't need to cover up you know...we understand perfectly..." Hermione had finished her sarcastic remark when Ginny and Lodina shook their heads in unison... "BOYS!" ... Ron decided to leave it as it is.. seeing that he would be on the losing end of the battle if he were to argue with Hermione...Harry flicked his head and turned to rest his gaze at the Slytherin Table.. only to see Draco and Iman whispering quietly and secretively... Viktor was absorbed in his pudding and the rest of the Durmstrang students made themselves at home with the Slytherin crowd... Pansy was flirting with another tall, dark Durmstrang student whilst Draco's back was turned... Was it customary for lovers to cheat on each other if they were in Slytherin? Harry wondered... but decided that Pansy was an exception.. surely even Draco would be severely ticked off if he found out his girlfriend was having an affair with someone else... but there was surely something fishy going on between Iman and Draco... Harry could see it in the way they were communicating with each other...but he decided to abandon thinking about Draco and Iman... maybe it was time he had followed Agathos' advice.. Agathos had always given him great advice afterall...Just then.. the House ghosts made their appearance in the Great Hall..."How's the headless hunt going St. Nick?" Lodina asked as she stretched forward to reach her chocolate pudding... "My application to join the Headless hunt has been denied once again...and to think they would have overlooked my slight problem of my head being loosely attached to my neck after all these years!" sighed Nearly Headless Nick... the Gryffindor bench roared with laughter... and the rest of the students as well as teachers enjoyed the feast immensely in the Great Hall... ~-~
"Who'd do ya think would be the Hogwarts Champion Harry?" Neville asked as they headed back to the Gryffindor tower, feeling stuffed after the Welcome feast... Harry hadn't given much thought into this actually... he had been very glad that only sixth years and above were allowed to participate.. seeing that he really didn't want any more pressure on his back... if fourth years were allowed to participate.. Harry was sure someone would have smuggled his name in.. people might have thought it would be a good joke... The Boy who Lived being named as Hogwarts Champion.. that thought made his stomach hurl... thinking about Voldermort always brought back bad memories ... memories of his father shouting and attempting to protect Harry and his mother from Voldermort... and his mother screaming in pain ... sacrificing herself to protect Harry from the evil clutches of Lord Voldermort... "Earth to Harry... did you hear me, mate? coz you look lost!" Neville asked, searching Harry's face for an answer..."What? oh yea.. no Neville.. i haven't got a clue..." 'Dryfis' Harry muttered as the Fat Lady's potrait swung open for them... "I think I'm gonna retire to bed now Neville.. see ya tmr in class!" Harry shook Neville off in the common room and headed straight to bed... that night, Harry lay awake... thinking ... Could Draco really be plotting to put his own name into the Goblet? It would be the sort of thing Draco would do... He did love attention...Nah... it couldn't be true.. As thick as Draco was, he wasn't as stupid to think he could overcome the wards set up by Dumbledore... not unless he had someone else to put his name in for him... someone who was of age... someone like ... Iman Eanderthal!
~-~
The next morning, Harry woke with a splitting headache... he had hardly gotten two hrs of sleep... he had stayed up all night thinking of what Iman and Draco could have been up to... so much so that now, Harry's head was in a mess! "Harry, you alright? You've been really off lately... wassup?" Ron said as he pulled over his sweater... "Oh, it's nothing... I was just thinking of writing to Sirius... telling him about the Tri-Wizard tournament and all.. " Harry lied about this... but on second thought.. he thought it best to write to Sirius.. it has been quite awhile since he had last written to him... he wondered if Buckbeak was alright and decided he should write to him later on.. after dinner...Ron and Harry made their way down for breakfast... and saw Hermione... up and about... reading a magazine on Quidditch... Hermione was the last person who would be interested in quidditch... she never really had an interest in the sport... Harry and Ron eyed her suspiciously... "So what's this about then? Getting a new hobby Hermione? Since when did you follow the Quidditch series? and.. wait a second..." Ron cocked his head to read the front cover of the magazine... "This is a Puddlemere United Edition! Hermione.. you never told me you like Puddlemere!" Ron shot her an incredulous look... "Never you mind Ron... oh... this is just in Harry... Hedwig just flew down to deliver your letter... "... Hermione dropped her voice so that no one else could overhear them... "It's from Snuffles..." Harry ripped the envelope apart and saw the note... written in Sirius' handwriting no doubt...
'Hi Harry!
How have you been? Meet me in the fireplace in the Gryffindor Common Room at midnight tonight.. make sure no one's around though... and you can bring Ron, Hermione and Ginny along too.. my best regards to them as well... Cheers!
Love,
Sirius'
Harry could hardly wait... It was as if Sirius had read his mind! He could hardly wait for midnight... now that he could finally speak to his godfather once again... The three of them scurried off to their Transfiguration lesson after having a hearty breakfast... talking excitedly about their meeting with Snuffles later on...
~-~
It was finally 6.30pm and all of the Hogwarts students as well as the staff and students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons had gathered in the Great Hall... finally.. the moment of truth... Harry could see the look of anxiety amongst all the students gathered in the Great Hall... "It is with great pleasure that I now commence the choosing of the Tri-Wizard Champions... the goblet would be the one choosing the names of the students it sees fit to compete in this tournament... so without further adue ... I shall read out the names of the first champion... " Everyone in the Great Hall had finally settled down and were at their edge of their seats.... Dumbledore reached his hand into the Goblet and pulled a parchment..."The Champion from Beauxbatons... Fleur Delacour!" There was an immediate roar of applause from the Ravenclaw table... Harry could hear Fleur saying to Roger Davies... "Oh... I always knew I would be chosen... even Madame Maxime had told me that she would be surprised if I didn't get chosen..." Roger Davies just nodded ... his eyes were transfixed upon hers... and he was too lost for words... at this.. Hermione simply rolled her eyes and cast a nasty look at Fleur's direction... Dumbledore put his hand near the rim of the Goblet once again... and caught another piece of parchment...just as it flew out of the Goblet... "The next Champion... from Durmstrang is... Viktor Krum!" Professor Karkaroff stood up and put his hands around Viktor's shoulders... "I always knew you had it in you my boy..." Viktor simply shrugged and slouched back into his seat... Dumbledore got ready to catch the next bit of parchment... Hogwarts students were now eagerly awaiting to hear the name of the Hogwarts Champion... "and last but certainly not the least... " just before Dumbledore announced the last name... he saw a flicker of amusement in his eyes... "the Hogwarts Champion is... Harry Potter!"... at this .... Harry's heart sank... how could it be? the crowd in the Great Hall broke into murmurs... all were wondering how Harry had passed the Age Limit Dumbledore had set around the Goblet of Fire.... "Harry! how did ya do it? Both George and I tried to put our names in it... but we couldn't get passed the wards... we tried taking a special dose of Ageing Potion..and it seemed that the mix of the Potion and one of the Magical Spells surrounding the goblet produced a funny hex on both of us... " Fred spoke in amusement..."yea... Fred and I... we both started to sprout magnificent beards... I reckon we could have given Dumbledore a run for his money.. don't you think, Fred?" George replied...Both the Weasley twins were joking about their beards... but Harry ignored this... how could this happen? who would have wanted Harry to compete soo badly? he looked around at the Slytherin table... and if he wasn't puzzled already... he was most certainly puzzled now...Malfoy looked happy! he wore a smug grin on his face and was talking really fast and quietly to Iman Eanderthal... what on earth is wrong with those two? They're happy I became Hogwarts Champion? Harry thought..Just then... Dumbledore's stately voice interrupted the chatterings of the restless crowd..."Hold on a second... it appears the Goblet seems to have chosen a fourth champion as well... and the fourth champion... is... Draco Malfoy!" Everyone now turned their heads towards the Slytherin table.. not only were there two Hogwarts Champions.. but they were both under-aged! "Will all the Champions please come up front... thank you..." Dumbledore finished... and the four champions marched up to the teachers's table... Professor Karkaroff and Madame Maxime were clearly agitated and annoyed at the outcome... but none of them expressed their anger.. for it could not be undone... the goblet would not re-ignite till the opening of the next tournament... Dumbledore spoke to the champions after a long awkward pause... "alright... there has definitely been an amusing turn of events here... but i want to know... did you two.. Harry and Draco... did you get seniors of yours to enter your names for the tournament? coz seeing that you boys don't have beards... I'm guessing you might have gotten outside help..." ... "No professor!" Both Harry and Draco said in unison...at this, Draco shot Harry a grim look..."Alright then... i trust you boys.. but this means we've got to be extra careful...Professor Mcgonagall will brief you further on the tournament rules later... i guess it's off to bed for you lot then.. go on... goodnight!" Dumbledore turned away and whisked off with the rest of the staff... Fleur followed Madame Maxime into the Beauxbatons Carriage and Viktor followed Professor Karkaroff into the Durmstrang Ship... leaving Both Draco and Harry standing there... facing each other... both of them didn't say a word... as unusual as it seemed... usually Draco would have had some snide remark to say to Harry.. but this time.. he simply walked away.. to join Iman and the rest of his Slytherin Guard... Harry had too much things on his mind... and decided that he should consult with Sirius later on... he rushed back into the common room and waited until no one was left in the common room... Hermione, Ron and Ginny came down from their dorms to meet him... Hermione was about to start off asking how Harry had managed to get his name into the Goblet when he cut her off.. "Not right now Hermione.. alright? I'll explain later..." .. Just then... a soft pop sound came from the fire place... it was Sirius' head! "Hi Harry!" he said... "How have you been? Ah.. i see the rest are here too...Great... I've come with good tidings... I'm getting engaged..." Harry couldn't believe what he had just heard... "Engaged? Oh! Sirius.. Th-That's Great news!!"... Harry managed a stifled reply... "Yea... thanks Harry... I'm getting engaged to Nymphadora... Nymphadora Tonks... a lovely lady... i reckon you would get to meet her shortly afterwards as well.. she'd love to talk to you..." There was a warm smile on Sirius' face... Harry remembered his sunken hollow face last year... when he had just escaped Azkaban... he was happy to see Sirius looking healthier and happier... "Oh... and i've been meaning to tell you Harry... Have you met my daughter? She's in Gryffindor too.. though a year younger than you are... she just transfered from a wizarding school in Scotland...Her name's Lodina... Lodina Verusia Black..." Harry's jaw dropped wide open...
[Tonks was grooving to Greenday's Holiday 
~ nostalgic]
~Nymphadora~
Narcissa glanced up from reading Witch Weekly as the house elf brought her tea. The grand teak grandfather clock in the room told her it was just past midnight. Narcissa had the unusual trait of being nocturnal and usually stayed up late.. not that it made a difference. Malfoy Manor looked the same, be it night or day. The study was heavily curtained with dark green velvet curtains that shielded most light coming through the windows. Lucius prefered to have as much false light around as possible. He was almost vampirish withh is white skin and dislike for sunlight, thought Narcissa with an air of carelessness. Or perhaps he just liked to show off his great chandeliers around the manor. Narcissa stared at the ceiling and pictured hanging Lucius upside down and letting spiders skid up his pants. "That would be fun, but nearly not as fun as imagining him hanging upside down in a scottish skirt", she smiled her sinful smile. She was in an unusually good mood... and why shouldn't she be? He had promised to come tonight and "stay for a longer time". But there was still a bit more time left and her frequent glances towards the fireplace behind her were starting to give her a pain in the neck.
~~**~~
An hour later, Narcissa found herself gazing into the ceiling, random thoughts swimming across her mind. She could feel Lupin's eyes on her as he turned sideways to look at her. He was lying beside her on the elegant divan next to her, his arms crossed behind his head, cushioning it. She turned to glance at him before moving closer to rest her head on his chest and felt his hand come upto stroke her hair. Lucius would never caress her the way Remus did. She hugged him with one arm. "How is Draco?", asked Remus. Narcissa sighed into his chest. Lupin knew what fate awaited Draco and he felt as helpless about it as Narcissa... especially since she had forbid him to try and interfere in Draco's life. "What is meant to happen, will happen", she had said. He knew he could never understand the pain that her eyes contained for her child, her only child. Although Lupin had no offspring, he and Sirius had sort of come to think of Harry as their own son. Given what Harry had gone through (and still going through), he could try to relate to Narcissa a little... but he guessed he would never know what it meant to have a pre-destined child.. with little hope otherwise. To raise a son being fully aware where his life would take him, what path he would be made to choose. Lupin thought back to the Hogwarts days. He had always liked Narcissa but never been able to tell her directly. It wasnt the fact that she was from Slytherin for it seemed the sorting hat had finally grown old and lost its mind to have made the mistake of putting her in Slytherin. Not an unusual mistake though... She definitely had the Slytherin characteristics.. the charm, the looks, the wit, sarcasm, smirk, brutal heart ripping techniques... but she, unlike other Slytherins, had in her nature to befriend students from other house (which had cost her some popularity in Slytherin) and quite pleasant to talk to. Lupin had the fortune of being in the same charms society as her. They both had found it ridiculous and quit but it had become the very reason for getting to know each other. He remembered admiring her from far when one day, he heard a voice next to him say out aloud, "I wouldn't ask you to pardon me for interrupting this honestly boring gathering, but if all that happens in this Charms groups is guys with weird haircuts trying 2 act macho and showing off silly year 2 charms and girls drooling over them, I would rather join the Herbology club and extract bubotuber pus." With that, Lupin turned to look (and get pleasantly surprised) to find a 15 year old Narcissa wink at him and walk off with all the elegance and attitude of a Slytherin. Lupin had stayed dreamy all evening and had to be hit on the head by the transfiguration book by Sirius and James several times during dinner to bring him back to earth... as he was often freezing midway while bringing his spoon to his mouth and gaping at air instead. Narcissa had winked at him??? She knew of his existence!!! A few weeks later he had found her coming upto him under the tree beside the lake after school hours as he sat there trying to finish an essay on counter curses. She had casually talked to him and said she knew he hated the club too... which he guessed, she infered from his detached behaviour durig the first two meetings that he had attended. It was only the next year that he had managed to have long conversations with her. She was dissed in Slytherin a lot for her association with a Gryffindor but she didn't seem to care much. He had wondered what it would be like to have her like him. Lupin's thoughts jumped to his 7th year... the best day of his life when he had spent the entire day with her in Hogsmeade, trying out Bertie Bott's every flavor bean (he had gotten one which made his teeth disappear for an hour and Narcissa had taken the liberty of covering him in a black cloak and introducing him as his old grandmother, fond of locking little children in broom cupboard for years, to every child that she met in the streets). Lupin smiled as he remembered how silly Narcissa could get when away from the Slytherins. As if she sensing his smile, Narcissa looked up from his chest and eyed him enquiringly. "Remember, the prank you played on those poor children back in 7th year?", he asked her. She smiled sheepishly, the past coming back to her. She had come to know about his being a werewolf in their 7th year.. it did shock her but didnt bother her much afterwards. She had a tough job ahead, to make it known to the Slytherin world that she would be joining a Gryffindor, but she was prepared for the consequences. Only if she knew that was the easiest if challenges facing her. After Hogwarts, Lupin suddenly had to flee the country following a policy made my Ministry of Magic regarding dangerous magical creatures. Lupin had disappeared into thin air overnight. He even had trouble keeping in touch with her and meanwhile, the Slytherin community closed in on her. She knew she would have to marry Lucius as both Black and Malfoy families were pure-blood maniacs and being the two wealthiest pureblood families around, they were extremely keen on this marriage... especially the Malfoys. As she thought back, she couldnt remember the days leading upto her wedding clearly. It was all a shocked blur. Lord Voldemort was getting powerful and people were beginning to lose trust among each other. It was hard to know where one was. When she didnt hear from Lupin for a long time, she had tried very hard to contact him... till one day when he was rumored to have been killed by Aurors mistaking him for a member of Voldertmort's army. She couldn't recall the evidence they had shown her of his death but knew that it had been convincing enough. Perhaps it was the ring he always wore but in her shock, she didnt register much (had she been counfounded?? she could not remember a lot from that period). A month later, she found herself to be Mrs Lucius Malfoy. She cursed her luck for a long time and it was years (and after the birth of Draco) that she knew the real reason for her marriage to Lucius. Things started to fall in place and she started to hate Lucius more and more. Lucius had cleverly told her that Lupin was supposed to have been mistakenly killed by an Auror as telling her that Lupin had been killed for joining Voldemort's army would have alerted her to suspect his lie. It was a lie. Lupin was alive... but barely so. And even the law against the dangerous creatures had something to do with Lucius's family trying to drive Lupin away. Narcissa had underestimated the Malfoys even in their cruelest deeds. As these thoughts and the events of the year following the revelation of truth came back to her, she didnt want to think about it anymore. She had been trapped and all roads of escape blocked by Lucius. But perhaps, Lucius had underestimated her too. She was a Black, through and through. Refusing to give in altogether, she had managed build her own defensive magic and deceive him in small ways over years ... ways that might bring his downfall one day.. indirectly. She wanted to forget it all... the years of shock, pain, betrayal, hurt. She gazed at Lupin to find him intently studying her face. " What?", she asked him gently. His face relaxed as if trying to distract her from the pain he had obviously seen in those eyes, "You look smashing when you try to figure things out while covered only in a silk bedsheet you know", he said. She grabbed a nearby pillow and hit his face while wondering who on earth would ever think Professor Lupin could actually talk dirty. Smiling, she buried her face in his shoulders hoping the moment would last forever.
{Narcissa was being listening to 'Yeh sard aahein teri' (Your chilled breath on me) |
~ Intoxicated}
This post is dedicated to Tonks for her deep understanding of the complexities of love and life.
~Narcissa~
Thursday, August 04, 2005
A whole month had whisked away and everyone had almost forgotten all about the Tri-Wizard tournament... "Did you see the notice Professor Mcgonagall had put up in the common room yesterday? The delegations from Durmstrang Insitute and Beauxbatons Academy will be arriving later today!"... Hermione exclaimed at breakfast... "Does that mean we get to skip double Potions today? I hear Snape is in a righ' state... he just gave Fred and George detentions for slipping some Nose-Bleeding Nougats into Ernie Mcmillan's croissant! Plus we get to miss making that whatsit-called-again?" Ron said as he turned to Hermione and gobbled down some toast... "It's the Draught of Peace Ron... Honestly! It's really important.. I'd rather we miss Transfiguration coz we're way ahead already... This Draught is really important for our OWLS and i hear it can get a lil' tricky..." Hermione muttered thoughtfully... "Correction Hermione... YOU are waaay ahead in Transfiguration... as for the rest of us... " Harry looked up at Ron... and gave him high five... "Cheers, Ron!" Harry said... he couldn't remember the last time he had been soo carefree... He was soo caught up about finding out what was in the packages ...that his mind always seemed to be elsewhere... and he seemed to be drifting away, amidst his thoughts during classes as well.. and Snape was especially picky on Harry... seeing that Harry had drifted off in thought in Potions class on numerous occasions... he most certainly did not want another encounter with Snape and was glad the representatives from the schools would be coming down to Hogwarts... Harry wondered how they'd be... Were their school castles as big as Hogwarts? Or even bigger? Harry couldn't wait till noon when the two delegations would make their grand entrance ... At that moment... Draco Malfoy, together with his 'Slytherin Guard' ( which included Iman Eanderthal, Crabbe and Goyle and of course... the slutty Pansy Parkinson... who had been throwing herself all over Malfoy since the first year!) intruded into his perfect, Draco-free breakfast...
"Oh lookie here... hmm...i see a red-headed weasel, a filthy lil mudblood and scarface boy sitting together.. how lovely! One happy family! I don't think the students from Durmstrang would wanna intrude into your lovely family... seeing that they'd wanna be with the House which is the most superior... if you wanna get tips on how people with class are like, Potter... You are most welcome to look over at the Slytherin Table... You'd need all the tips you can get..." Draco smirked... his gang of Slytherins roared with laughter as they passed the Gryffindor bench and settled onto the Slytherin table... "That slithering git of a Malfoy's gonna get it... just lemme at him Harry.. I'd beat him into pulp..." Ron blasted off, with Harry tugging at his shirt pulling him back into his seat... "Yea Ron...You'd beat him into pulp alright... but not before he turns you into a toad...Just leave it ... he's not worth it... " Harry replied, not meaning half of what he had actually said... Truth be told... Harry would love to let Ron have a go at him.. in fact, He'd join Ron as well.. a show-down would have made Harry's day...The three of them would have loved to see Draco snuff it while duelling... but now was not the time, as they saw Professor Mcgonagall approaching their table reproachfully... "I trust you lot will be on your best behaviour when the representatives come over this afternoon... i wouldn't want any Hogwarts student making a fool of themselves... especially not a student from Gryffindor... And Potter, try to keep your enemities with Draco low-profile... we don't want the other students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang thinking we tolerate such animosity within the walls of our instuution... well.. Good Day to you three... " Professor Mcgonagall said in an authoritative manner...Both Ron and Harry were wearing an incredulous look on their faces, as Professor Mcgonagall strode out of the Great Hall... "Oh lighten up u two... Professor Mcgonagall's right you know... we shouldn't pay too much attention to Malfoy and his childish antics..." Hermione said as a matter of fact... "I don't know how you manage to stay soo calm Hermione... that filthy piece of vermin just called you a Mudblood!! I'd have wanted to smack him in his head until his skull shatters or something... seriously Hermione... sometimes I really don't think you've got your priorities right..." Ron exclaimed... "Well.. there are better ways of getting your revenge than physical fights Ron... and being a wizard... you should know that by now..." There was a slight triumphant gleam in Hermione's eyes as she replied... "Hermione.. what are u really up to?" Harry asked.. somehow, he knew that Hermione was up to something... she had that 'look' again.. the same look she had on her face before she punched Malfoy in the face back when they were in the third year... "Oh.. you'll see soon enough.. in about 10 min, i reckon...don't worry ... it'll be really obvious... " Hermione replied gleefully... True enough... about ten minutes later... The Great Hall erupted with Pansy Parkinson's shrilly screams... "AAAHHH... Look at my face!! It's covered with hair!! I look like a ... a...AAAAHHHH!" Pansy screamed and fainted shortly after... Draco and Iman picked her up and brought her up to the Hospital Wing... as they stomped out of the hall... Draco turned sharply to Harry and said, "You'll pay for this Potter... you, that weasel-head and that filthy Mudblood as well..." Harry, Ron and Hermione could contain their laughter no more and began erupting into fits of giggles... "Oh Hermione... what did you do??" Harry laughed... "oh.. u know... i told the house-elves to put a lil bit of the polyjuice potion i took in our second year... remember? the one which turned me into Milicent Bulstrode's cat? well.. i had a little left over... so i made sure some of it was put into Pansy's drink.. that cow... she deserved what she got..." Hermione said proudly... "I take back what i said Hermione.. you do have your priorities right... " Ron exclaimed as the three of them left the Great Hall for their Herbology lesson with the Hufflepuffs...
~-~
Harry, Ron and Hermione still hadn't gotten over what happened during Breakfast... and before they knew it... it was noon! All the Hogwarts students as well as the teachers rushed out to the Entrance of the school to greet the guests... at precisely 12.15pm, the Durmstrang ship appeared from the great lake.. and the students filed out of the ship in a single line, headed off by Professor Karkaroff, headmaster of Durmstrang... He was followed by Viktor Krum, the Bulgarian seeker known for his spectacular Wronski Feint at the Quidditch World Cup... Ron couldn't believe his eyes... "Viktor Krum's from Durmstrang! I can't believe it Harry... oh I bet he'll be the chosen one from Durmstrang... " Ron was awestruck, his jaws hung wide open as he watched Professor Karkaroff and Viktor Krum enter the Great Hall... but to his dismay... the entire Durmstrang delegation had found their way to the Slytherin bench...Viktor Krum plonked down beside Draco Malfoy... Malfoy shot Ron a triumphant grin and carried on amusing Viktor with tales of the Malfoy tradition... Iman Eanderthal was close behind as usual...laughing at almost everything and anything Draco had to say..."That slithering git! I bet he paid the Durmstrang students to sit at the Slytherin table.. it's just the sort of despicable thing he would do to gain their acceptance... " spat Ron... but just before Harry could answer... The Beauxbatons carriage arrived.... the carriage was huge.. and was steered by beautiful black steeds. The first person to come out of the carriage was a lady... who was almost as tall as Hagrid! Dumbledore moved forward to greet her... "Ah... Madame Maxime.. it is pleasure seeing you again..." Dumbledore shook Madame Maxime's hand... "Dumbledore... it is always a pleasure!" said Madame Maxime... the headmistress of Beauxbatons Academy... the Beauxbatons students got out from the carriage one by one... and they were greeted by "ooos" and "aaaahs"... Harry soon found out the reason to that as well... right behind Madame Maxime stood a beautiful blond girl.. tall and slender...as she walked by the students of Hogwarts.. the guys, especially, started greeting her very eagerly.... throwing compliment after compliment at her... "She's part veela.. it's soo obvious... why can't you guys see that? It's the magic she possesses that makes her seem soo irresistable to you guys!"started Hermione... in an irritated manner... Most of the girls in the hall were irritated anyway, what with the part Veela stealing the attention of all the boys in the Great Hall... "My name is Fleur.. Fleur Delacour... " the part Veela said as Roger Davies, Captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, stepped forward... guiding her towards the Ravenclaw Bench... the rest of the Beauxbatons delegation joined Fleur at the Ravenclaw table as well...
Harry and the others followed the crowd into the Great Hall... all of them chattering rather excitedly about the arrival of the new students...Harry, Ron and Hermione took their places at the Gryffindor bench... next to Ginny and another girl... whom Harry did not recognise... she had jet black hair and was very pretty.. she looked very posh and sophisticated as well.. but not at all arrogant... her smile, Harry noticed, radiated warmth... she also had this exotic beauty ... However, she looked oddly familiar as well.. as if Harry had known her from long before... and as if Ginny had read Harry's mind... Ginny spoke "Hey guys... I'd like to introduce you to my good friend... also from Gryffindor... Harry, Hermione, Ron.. meet Lodina... she's in my year and very brilliant, i should add..." ... Lodina stood and shook hands with Hermione first... as Ron was obviously still engrossed with Fleur's charms he took no notice of Lodina... Harry shook her hand next... "Hi! I've heard lots about all of you from Ginny... I'm really pleased to be able to finally meet you guys..."
[Tonks was grooving to Nelly's Errtime | 
~ pissed]
~Nymphadora~
~ workaholic]
~ exhausted]
~ nostalgic]
~ pissed]