January 10, 2005
Eventually winter holidays came to an end, and the students had to return to class. Although most huffed and groaned, not liking to have to get up early for class again, Hadrian was happy. He really did like learning this time around since he was able to access his full intelligence and power, and he didn't have the traitors making him miserable. Plus, it served as a distraction for the other students.
Over the past few weeks, Rita had been continuously publishing different articles, most of which involved him in some way. The part that surprised Remus, who was the only one in their family that even bothered to get that paper any more, was that none of them were attacking him, or even slandering him in the slightest.
One of the major articles, titled 'Bullied Beauty', was about what happened with Fleur during the ball. It went into the blatant bullying the girl was being subjected to while at Hogwarts. About how there were certain students going out of their way to insult her, claiming the only reason she had the things she did was because she was beautiful.
Hadrian was more than annoyed when the article directly quoted him about what he had told Fleur after he found her outside during the ball. It even included Rita's memory of the event. Hadrian was really annoyed that he hadn't thought to keep an eye out for the woman. He should have known that she would be spying.
The good thing was that it made people like him more. He had been receiving dozens of letters ever since complimenting him on being such a kind boy and good friend. But, it also made things more uncomfortable for him because now over half the female population of the school was looking at him with puppy love in their eyes. Some had even started to come to him with their problems, like he was supposed to make them better. Amongst those girls was of course, Ginny Weasley.
Another of the more important articles was titled 'Harassment at Hogwarts'. Rita hadn't just been spying on Hadrian, but his dad as well. She wrote about how James, who she called Sebastian was dealing with near constant harassment by Lily, who she referred to as Rose.
Well this didn't directly affect him, it did result in him getting plenty of looks and people were back to whispering behind his back. There was plenty of theories floating around about what Lily was doing. Many thought she just wanted to have some sort of connection to Hadrian given how closely she watched him during every charms class.
The other articles were smaller, and less dramatic, but they all made some sort of mention of him. It seemed that the Prophet was trying to get on his good side by not writing anything negative about him. He didn't think it would last all that long, but he did understand why they were doing it. After what they had done to his papa and Lucius the paper was under investigation for corruption, had already been fined for their involvement in the false imprisonment, and the editor and upper level staff were all being watched by the DMLE for any other criminal involvement.
Thankfully, with classes starting up again, he hoped that the other students would focus on class work a little more. He didn't hold out much hope that it would stop them from talking about him completely, but by this point any form of distraction, no matter how big or small, was preferable.
Study Nook
As the official classes came to an end, Hadrian made his way to the study nook to work on his self study. While he was exempt from the exams in his regular classes, he still had to take the ones for his self study courses. Since the only grade that mattered when it came to self study of the non core classes was the exam if he didn't do the exams he wouldn't be able to test for his OWLs.
Sure, he could take them at the ministry after, like he was planning for a few other subjects. But, if he took them at the school he would be able to do a majority of his tests at once, and without having to pay for them. It would also give him extra time to devote to the other courses that he was planning to test for at the ministry.
Hadrian was glad for his friendship with the other champions. Since they were all older, they were able to tutor him. Cedric, who had studied many of the same subjects as Harry in particular was able to give him pointers for his OWLs.
The magic of the OWLs stopped all students who had taken them from telling anyone else about what was on the test, but it didn't stop them from pointing others in the right direction.
Hadrian was just going over one of his magical law books when Fleur came in. Like Hadrian, she had had to deal with the fallout of the articles. She was furious that such a private moment had been broadcast to the world. Now she was dealing with people coming up to her and acting all supportive, the part that annoyed her the most was that many of the worst bullies were amongst them, trying to give themselves a better image. Like she was going to fall for that.
"So, Hadrian, when is it my turn?" Fleur asked with a slight smile.
"Your turn for what?" Hadrian put his book down to give her his full attention.
"Well, you have so far helped to set up both Viktor and Cedric, as well as many others if what I hear is true. So, when will you find me they guy of my dreams?"
Fleur and Roger had decided that they would just be friends. Which ended up being a good thing as Roger had ended up dancing with Marie during the ball and was really starting to like her.
Hadrian leaned back in his chair and thought. He knew that Fleur and Bill had been great together in the past, he figured they would do well together again, if they met. But, things were different this time. Fleur had first seen Bill when the Weasley's came to see him before the final task, but that wasn't going to happen this time. So, maybe he should orchestrate a meeting between the two.
"I think I just might know the perfect guy for you. But, he has already graduated. Hows this, I will invite him to lunch during the next Hogsmeade weekend and you can come too. It will give you a chance to get to know him without too much pressure."
"Seriously?" Fleur was surprised. "I was really just joking, I didn't think you would actually have a guy in mind for me."
"Well I do, and now it's too late to back out." Hadrian gave her a vicious grin.
Ministry of Magic - January 12, 2005
Regulus was confused as he made his way through the ministry on his way to the DMLE evidence room. It had just occurred to him this morning that there was something they had overlooked.
How could Voldemort be involved in what was happening with Hadrian. Severus had banished his spirit into the Mirror of Erised. So what was going on? He needed to check
It was easy for Regulus to get through the ministries halls. The robes of the Unspeakables tended to intimidate everyone so they quickly moved out of his way.
Slipping into the evidence room, Regulus looked up the location of the mirror and went off in search of it. He couldn't help but sigh in exasperation when he reached the spot where the mirror was supposed to be. It wasn't there.
He knew he should have had the mirror transferred to the department of mysteries as soon as it had been sent to the ministry. But he had known that Dumbledore was keeping an eye on the mirror and he hadn't wanted to draw the old mans eyes to him. Now he wished he hadn't waited.
There was no doubt in Regulus's mind that Dumbledore had arranged for the mirror to be removed from storage and had Voldemort's spirit released. It was something he should have expected the old man to do. He needed a villain so that he could play the hero.
Regulus made a quick stop in the DMLE office to let Amelia know that evidence had disappeared before he went back to his department. He hoped that Amelia would be able to figure out who Dumbledore used to steal the mirror. She wouldn't just fire them, she would charge them. One less Dumbledore follower in the ministry would be for the best.
Criss Cross - January 15, 2005
Bill Weasley made his way into one of the rooms on the upper floors. This room was intended for larger groups and was designed to look like the table had been placed in the middle of a rainforest near a small pond and waterfall.
Hearing some cooing, Bill looked down at the stroller he had brought with him.
There had apparently been some major emergency at JT and his fathers had all been called in. Apparently something had happened with the viewing orbs that they were planning on using for the upcoming quidditch season. Since he was already home, Bill had offered to take the twins for a few hours while his dads put out the fires at work.
None of his parents had been overly happy about being called in, but they had gone in just to keep the plan on track. All three of them would be getting royalties for their assistance in the project for the rest of their lives. They would all be able to retire and never have to work again off what they had made possible, but they weren't sure what they were going to do yet.
All three of them were struggling with what was going on. After what had happened last time, the older boys all understood the near obsessive level of devotion they had to the babies, but it was bordering on unhealthy. Arthur was considering that they might have to start seeing mind healers, so long as the healers took strict secrecy oaths.
This was actually the first time they were going to be spending any time away from the twins since they were born. It had been hard on them, but they knew it was for the best. Nicole and Leo were perfectly safe with Bill, and they needed to get the job done so they could return home.
Now, Bill was just waiting for his brothers and Hadrian. He didn't really understand why they had wanted to see him, but he wasn't about to pass up the chance to see them. Plus, it would allow Fred and George to spend a little time with the younger twins. He felt bad for them having to go back to school so soon after they were born.
Hadrian smiled as he led the others into the private room he had had arranged. Fred and George had gotten a letter earlier about Bill bringing Nicole and Leo so they both went directly to their baby siblings.
Fleur followed behind the three boys, wondering about Hadrians smile he had been giving her all morning. What made him think that he knew the perfect guy for her?
She kept wondering that until she felt warmth bloom in her chest. Looking up, she saw the tall man she had seen near the dragon enclosure. And, like last time, he was the focus of her attention. But this time, she knew why he seemed so important to her. That small little place in her heart, the portion of her that was veela, purred in contentment at his presence. If she had been a full veela, this man would have been her mate. As she was only part veela she could refuse him, but she wasn't sure she wanted to.
Hadrian quickly introduced Fleur and Bill to each other. Fleur wasn't just thrilled to know his name, finally, but she was happy to meet the two babies. She had always wanted a large family, and seeing just how he was with his siblings made her like him even more. He was smart, kind, handsome, powerful, and clearly devoted to his family. He was perfect.
When Bill had first seen pictures of Fleur in the paper after she had been chosen as champion, his first thought had been to congratulate his other self. Although, he did hope that he hadn't been so shallow as to only get together with a woman because of how she looked.
But now, sitting here actually talking with her, Bill was relieved to known he hadn't become shallow. She was perfect. When Nicole had started to fuss when they were just sitting down to eat and Fleurs first reaction had been to turn away from the food to soothe the girl, Bill felt himself starting to fall in love. When Hadrian started talking about her little sister Bill had seen just how much she loved her family. It would seem, that behind the girls beauty was a heart of pure gold, a heart Bill intended to have.
He was a little startled with just how quickly he was finding himself falling in love with her, he had only known her for less than an hour after all, but he decided to just go with it. His dad had always told him to trust his heart after all. And, love at first sight, resulting in long happy marriages, was fairly common in the Weasley side of his family.
Seeing the quickly developing relationship between the two, Hadrian, Fred, and George quickly excused themselves. Taking the younger twins, after both Bill and Fleur had covered them in protection charms, they went to wander the village. The charms would ensure that the babies stayed nice and warm, and, not a single germ would get within three feet of them.
At first, when they had left the restaurant, the babies had been in the stroller, but soon enough they had started to fuss. George had shrunk the stroller and stuck it in his pocket, while Fred carried Leo and Hadrian was playing with Nicole as they walked through the town.
Hadrian was having fun as he bounced Nicole and made the baby girl break down in peals of laughter. The little ones were just such happy babies. From what Hadrian remembered, his little sisters, although happy, had been far more dramatic and there had been much more tears whenever they felt they weren't getting the right amount of attention. His sisters had always been drama queens and demanded the attention of their family. Hadrian loved his sisters, but calm they were not.
They were walking through the village laughing together. All three of them were sure that soon enough Bill and Fleur would be getting engaged. It made all three of them happy remembering the looks on their faces as they stared at each other while they talked.
"Harry!" Came a voice that made the three all sigh.
"What do you want Ginny?" George asked as he turned to see his sister and brother, along with Hermione.
"We came to see Harry." Ron growled at his brothers.
"Is that your little cousin? He's so cute." Ginny gushed as she looked at the baby, hoping to form a connection with Harry over the baby.
Hadrian laughed at the girls blatant cluelessness. "No, this isn't Rigel. This is Nicole, you know, your little sister. Fred has Leo."
Ginny looked between the babies in shock. "Why do you have them?"
"Bill brought them for a visit. We decided to show them around town." Fred smiled.
"But they're babies. They aren't smart enough to realize whats happening." Hermione said in confusion. What did they think they were going to teach two babies.
"We know, but we wanted to spend time with them. You know, like family does." George rolled his eyes. What was wrong with these three that they didn't understand that it was just about spending time with the babies?
Ron just watched. He really didn't understand his brothers or Harry. Honestly, he didn't really feel anything for his younger siblings either way. He knew that Ginny really didn't like them, Nicole especially, but he just didn't care. They were just more annoyances that he ignored.
Looking around, he saw that others were watching, many girls in particular were paying attention, he wondered why. From those stupid potions and spells during his stupid mind healer sessions he knew that there had to be some reason, but he just couldn't figure it out. He still didn't understand peoples reactions to babies, maybe he should ask Healer Savoy about it.
"Why do you have them?" Hermione questioned. Although she admitted that the babies were cute, she didn't understand why three teenagers were going out of their way to carry babies around with them.
"Like Fred said, Bill brought them and we offered to take them for the afternoon. We wanted to spend time with them. You know, because they are family and we love them." George said like they were being stupid.
"Ohhh, look." Autumn pulled Viktor over to see the babies, Cedric and Lily, and Draco and Fey, following. "They are just so sweet."
"Hey Autumn, hey Viktor." Hadrian smiled as he turned so Autumn could get a clear view of Nicole.
'Who are they?" Autumn questioned as she looked at the babies.
"Well, isn't it obvious?" Fred said in mock surprise.
"Just look at how gorgeous they are and it will be clear." George added.
Hadrian couldn't help but laugh at his twins antics. "This is Nicole Weasley-Prewett, and Fred has her younger twin brother Leo."
"They are so sweet." Lily sighed as Nicole grabbed on to her finger and smiled at the girl while she babbled.
"They're just babies." Ginny said in confusion.
Everyone just gave her a look. "They're your little brother and sister." Autumn said, expecting the girl to understand the significance, but from the blank look it was clear it went over her head.
"They are rather sweet." Viktor said with a smile as Leo smiled at him. "Where are your dads?" He questioned. He had heard from the twins just how obsessed their dads were about the twins.
"Emergency at work." Fred said.
"They need to get everything set up before the new quidditch season starts." George added.
"Oh, yeah. I completely forgot. It's absolutely amazing that they're going to get the games recorded for people that can't make it to the games." Viktor grinned.
"Yeah, once they finalize these last few things they said they are done and can return all their focus to the twins." Fred smiled.
Ron was stunned. He hadn't thought that some one like Krum would be interested in what his dad was doing. Maybe this was his way in.
"Ahh, there you are." Came a voice before Ron could say anything. Everyone turned to see Arthur and his husbands making their way towards them.
"Hey dad." Both of the older twins said as one.
"Hello kids." Arthur smiled at his children and the others. "Bill sent a message that you two had the twins."
"Yeah, we left him to enjoy his date." Fred said, exaggerating the word date.
Arthur, Fabian, and Gideon laughed, along with George and Hadrian.
"Date, what date?" Ginny demanded. She didn't like not knowing who Bill was seeing, she didn't want him being stupid like Charlie was.
"Hadrian set him up with a friend of his." George smiled, knowing that the girl wouldn't cause problems for their elder brother knowing that.
Ginny just stared. Who had Harry set Bill up with? She needed to know. The only person she could think of was that stupid girl that claimed to be his cousin, Ginny didn't like her. She didn't want her anywhere near her family. But, it did give her more of a connection to Harry. If her brother was dating Harry's cousin than that might be useful to her.
"Let's have some fun looking around." Hadrian suggested as he handed Nicole off to Arthur. He could see the man was having a hard time not having at least one of his children in his arms.
Arthur, Fabian, and Gideon joined Fred, George, and their friends for the rest of the afternoon. Ron and Ginny stayed with them for a little while, trying to get closer to Hadrian and convince their dad to get them things, but when that wasn't working for them they became frustrated and stormed off with Hermione.
When it came time for dinner, the students made their way back to the school. Fred and George making sure to kiss their younger siblings goodbye before saying goodbye to their fathers.
Entrance Hall - January 29, 2005
Soon enough it was almost the end of January. The second task was coming closer and closer, much to Hadrian's annoyance. Just the idea of going into the lake in February made him shiver. He and the twins were already making plans to ensure that the judges all ended up in the lake. If they thought that it was fine for teenagers to be in the freezing water, then they deserved a dip.
Hadrian was sitting with the twins and their friends while they waited for lunch. Luna was just explaining what a blibbering humdinger was to everyone when the annoyances stormed into the entrance hall.
Everyone sighed secretly, knowing that they were going to get the joy of hearing whatever it was that had upset them this time. So far, ever since Hogsmeade, they had managed to avoid them.
"I can't believe this. How does that woman keep getting this information?" Hermione shouted as she shook the paper at her two friends.
Hadrian almost smirked. As he had expected Rita Skeeter had been writing new stories almost every day about the goings on at the school. Hadrian didn't really know what they were about, he still refused to read that paper, but he had heard plenty of other students talking about them. They all questioned the same thing, how was she getting the information? It was causing a great deal of suspicion amongst the students as to her sources.
The thing that really surprised Hadrian was that none of them showed him or his family in a negative light. If anything, they praised him and his family. Hadrian just figured that the paper was still trying to avoid angering his family any more, also, the public wouldn't tolerate them attacking him again.
Basically since the beginning of this year, Hadrian had seen the green beetle buzzing around. He had warned those that were close to him about her to help to protect them from her.
One of the things he had heard around the school was that she had managed to find out who it was that were the worst bullies of Fleur. That had included naming Hermione as one of them. The girl had been seething ever since.
Seeing Harry, Ginny grabbed the other two and pulled them towards the group. "Hi." She chirped.
"Can you believe this?" Hermione demanded as she shook the paper at them.
"Believe what?" Neville asked in confusion from where he sat with Luna resting against him.
"This!" Hermione thrust the paper under his nose.
Neville took the paper and read the story aloud to his friends who hadn't seen it. The story was questioning Dumbledores ability to manage the school properly. It brought up not only what had happened with the triwizard tournament, but it also went into the bullying issue as well as growing evidence of love potions being used at the school.
Over the past months almost every apothecary had reported that their supplies of love potions ingredients had been purchased separately. Since love potions were illegal, the ingredients couldn't be sold together. Any person wanting to brew them would order each ingredient from different apothecaries. It was normal that there would be orders for those ingredients, but this year the orders had more than doubled, all simply stating delivery to Hogwarts. And, since each of the individual ingredients could be used in a multitude of potions the only way to determine what was being brewed would be to have aurors interview every one who ordered them, and they couldn't legally do that without cause.
They knew that love potions were being brewed at the school because 5 students had already had to be treated for being given improperly brewed potions. If a love potion wasn't made properly it could become toxic very easily. And since love potions weren't something they were taught to brew the students really didn't fully know what they were doing.
"So, it's an article in the paper, why should any of us care?" Draco asked condescendingly.
"Because she is using quotes. Either she is making it up or students are betraying the school and telling her peoples private information. Last week she included information on students health, and now this!"
"Or, she's getting the information herself." Luna said in a soft voice. She didn't like Skeeter or Granger, she thought it would be funny to turn them on each other.
"She can't have. She hasn't been at the school since the first task." Ginny rolled her eyes at the girl. If she had heard that Rita was coming to the school she would have made sure that she was photographed with Harry.
"Well, she's been here obviously." Fred said, waving the paper they had brought with them.
"How?" Ron questioned in confusion.
"Simple, she's an animagus." Luna said happily. She already knew that this was going to set Granger off. She couldn't wait.
"No, she isn't." Hermione stated in her bossy tone.
"Yes she is." Hadrian responded.
"No, she isn't. I looked up all animagi for our transfiguration class. She isn't on the list. All animagi are required to register. Since she isn't on the list she can't be one."
"Because she never registered." Hadrian said simply to the girl.
"Then I'm going to report her." Hermione was smug. She hated that woman for writing such terrible things about her.
"What's that supposed to do?" Draco asked in confusion.
"It's the law that you have to register when you are an animagus." Hermione said like they were stupid, before becoming excited. "Maybe she'll end up in Azkaban."
"No, on both counts." Hadrian said in a bland voice, smiling internally when he saw how angry the other girl was getting. "The Animagi Registration Act never managed to pass fully, due to Family Magic laws, it is only a policy, not a law. A miss-information campaign is the only reason some register.
Most however, know that they aren't legally required to register. Although it is extremely hard to become an animagus, there are far more than people think."
"Family magic laws?" Ginny said in confusion, wanting to keep Harry talking.
"Most of the major families have their own private grimoires, filled with ancient magics. They guard these family secrets jealously. There is also the fact that some magics only work for certain bloodlines. Because of that, laws were made to protect family magics.
The animagus transformation was originally Switch family magic. About 200 years ago a member of the Switch family fell into debt due to a broken contract so he sold the animagus transformation process by ripping the pages from the grimoire. He was ultimately disowned for his betrayal of the family, the Switch family spent over 100 years trying to regain control of the process, but wasn't successful ultimately, but there are still those that pay royalties. Those that know about what happened willingly pay royalties to the family out of respect."
Hadrian explained. He was actually a little surprised that Hermione didn't know this. He had heard her often enough bragging about taking the law class for some reason, like she was the only one.
"What?" Hermione was outraged. "It's against the law, and how can we be denied the right to learn magic just because we aren't pure bloods?"
"Like Hadrian just said, it isn't against the law. It is policy. Legally there are no requirements to register as an animagus. If it were a law, she could be punished for being unregistered, but since it is only a policy, she won't get in to trouble." Draco said simply.
"And the magic? What right to they have to deny people the right to learn magic. It is our right." Hermione crossed her arms in her anger, stomping her foot.
"It's their spells." Neville said. "The spells and rituals in grimoires were created by members of the family. If you invented something, it would be yours. I think we all know that if you had created a spell and anyone else took it from you, you would throw the worlds biggest fit."
"We don't have anything like that." Ron argued.
"Really, how can you not? Both the Weasley and Prewett families have existed for hundreds of years. Surely they have grimoires." Hadrian said in confusion.
"Oh, they do." Fred smiled.
"But Ronniekins and Ginnykins have never been very interested in books or learning." George added.
"The rest of us were aloud to start reading the family grimoires when we were 10."
"But neither of them wanted to."
"Although we are forbidden from using any of the higher level spells until we are of age."
"They are too powerful."
"And once you start, you can't always stop."
"So we can only use the lower level stuff now."
"But it isn't right." Hermione huffed. "It isn't fair. The public deserves to know."
"It's also dangerous. The spells and rituals can be extremely dangerous if not done by family members." George said.
Hermione was furious, she wanted to learn, and they were standing in her way, again. "They aren't dangerous. That's just some excuse that you make up to keep it to your self. It isn't right."
"Yes, they are dangerous. The Longbottom grimoire has a spell to enchant certain dangerous plants to be more manageable. About 60 years ago some one managed to steal one of the plants that had been enchanted with the spell. The thing is, the enchantment is meant for those with an earth elemental leaning and was blood bound to the family.
That made it so any family member with that leaning could handle it easier, but anyone outside the family couldn't. It was sold to a tree nursery that started taking cuttings of it in the hopes that the saplings would be safe to handle. Over 30 people died before the plant and its saplings was located and returned.
Family magic can be great. But it can also be incredibly dangerous if you don't have the aptitude for it or aren't a member of the family." Neville said.
"Leaning?" Ron questioned.
"Wow." Most of the group said in shock. How could Ron have even grown up in their world and not know. Not to mention passed their magical theory classes. Sure, it wasn't specifically covered, but any wizard raised child knew about it.
"Every witch and wizard has a magical leaning. It's something that you are just naturally inclined towards." Draco said like they were stupid.
"The Longbottom's lean towards earth elemental magic, you would know it better as herbology."
"The Malfoy's lean towards enchanting."
"The Lovegood's excel at mind magics." Luna giggled. Technically having seer blood did effect the mind.
"The Potters are more inclined to transfiguration. While the Blacks are known for their dueling."
"And, darling little brother and sister, many members of the Weasley family have excelled in spell crafting." Fred smiled.
"While the Prewett's tend to be experts in warding." George finished.
"But, just because that is your family's leanings doesn't mean that will be yours." Hadrian carried on with the little impromptu lesson. "My Aunt Marlene's family had always excelled at runes, but her magic leans more towards the healing arts."
"So what does that mean for us?" Ginny questioned in confusion.
"Don't worry about it little sister. It clearly doesn't effect you." Fred said in exasperation.
"But we are a part of the family, so we get to know the family magic." Ginny announced proudly.
"And then you can teach me." Hermione and the younger girl grinned at each other.
"Not."
"Going."
"To."
"Happen." Fred and George said angrily.
"You can't stop us." Ron smirked at his brothers.
"We don't need to." Fred smirked back.
"After the whole incident with the Switch family, most families started applying protection to protect their Grimoires. I'm assuming that's what you're talking about." Draco said looking at the twins.
"Yes. Both the Weasley and Prewett grimoires have been covered in protections and curses." George agreed.
"To even be aloud to open the cover of both you would first have to make a binding agreement that you won't betray the secrets inside."
"If you were to try and tell anyone what you read the magic would stop you by taking your voice."
"But don't worry, you'll get it back after a few days." George's grin was vicious as he imagined those two being silent for days. It would be amazing.
"If you tried to show anyone not a blood member of the family, the book would go blank."
"But more than that, once again, the magic would punish you."
"It would strip you of your magic."
"Temporarily, since you're both still under age at least."
"But, can you imagine it. Going for days, if not weeks without being able to feel your magic?"
"You can't do that." Ginny shouted at the twins.
"We wouldn't be doing anything." George growled.
"That's the punishment for betraying the family."
"So long as you don't betray the family."
"Then you have nothing to worry about."
Fred and George grinned at their younger siblings before they, and the rest of their group, got up to head into the great hall for lunch as the doors opened.
As the others walked away, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all fumed.
Both Ron and Ginny didn't like what their brothers had just said. Sure, neither had wanted to learn the family magic when their dad had asked. But now they did. And, they wanted to share it with Hermione. Surely there was some way around those stupid protections.
Hermione was furious by all that she had just learned. Once again, she was being denied the chance to learn. This was something that was going to have to be changed. Maybe she should start drafting bills to change the laws now so that she could implement them once she was in charge.
Then there was Rita Skeeter. Hermione was sure that she was required to register. She was going to have to talk to the headmaster about bringing charges against the woman.
Turning, all three headed into get their lunch still thinking about what they were going to do about what they had just learned.
Ravenclaw Dorms - February 14, 2005
Hadrian woke up slowly on Valentines day. He smiled happily to himself as he thought about what the twins were going to wake up to. It had been extremely easy to get the elves to help him arrange for them to get his gifts. When they woke up they would find themselves surrounded with their favourite candies. The main present however, was wrapped in paper the same colour as his eyes tied with ribbons that matched the sapphire blue of their eyes.
Hadrian had had an extremely hard time trying to decide what to get them, but he had eventually settled on what he thought they might like, and also be useful. Each received a dragon hide wrist wand holster that they could link to their wands magic so that if lost or taken, their wands would appear back in it. And, there were also a few books each. Hadrian knew that Fred was thinking about trying to get a mastery in spell crafting while George wanted one in alchemy, so he arranged for them to get some of the rarer books on those subjects that he thought might help them.
He hoped that would let them know that he truly cared about them and what they wanted, not just what they could be to him. Hadrian wanted them to be themselves, and never feel like he wanted them to change for him, they were perfect just the way they were to him.
He grinned, his eyes still closed, as he thought about the day before. It had been a Hogsmeade weekend, and since this year Valentines day was on a Monday, Hadrian and the twins had had a private lunch together the day before. They had gone to one of the private rooms in Criss Cross. The room had looked like a private table for three overlooking the Seine in Paris.
For Hadrian, it had been perfect. Fred and George had made sure that there was all of his favourite foods. Even appeasing Nem by making sure there was plenty of food and treats for her. After spending most of the time just talking and eating, they had gone and walked around the village together. Fred had created a spell for them that would ensure no one recognized them so that Hadrian didn't have to worry about any of his stalkers finding them. It had been the first time Hadrian had felt free within the village.
Just as Hadrian was remembering how they had kissed him after walking him back to the tower that evening, he caught the smell of flowers. Opening his eyes, he saw that he hadn't been the only one to convince the elves to help him make this day special.
There were flowers and plants all over his bed. He didn't know much of the flower language, but he knew a little. He saw sunflowers that meant adoration, red and blue salvia that meant forever mine and thinking of you, red tulips and roses which were two different ways of showing love, violets for devotion, two groups of white clover that meant think of me, and the ivy that wrapped around the frame of his bed represented friendship. He was going to have to ask Neville to borrow his flower language book so he could fully understand their message, but he got the gist of it.
Sitting, wrapped in the flowers, were two boxes. Hadrian couldn't help but laugh when he saw that both Fred and George had apparently found the same wrapping paper as he had. With a smile, he slowly unwrapped the boxes, both wanting to rush and wanting to savour the excitement.
In the first box, from Fred, was a beautiful figurine. When Hadrian touched it he could feel Freds magic, letting him know that Fred had made this himself. The figurine was of three foxes. The two larger, red, ones looked just like Fred and George in their animal forms, and there was a smaller black fox that looked just like the form that he would gain once he managed his transformation. Right now, the three of them were all curled up together, but he could see little movements that told him the three were enchanted to move.
After finally managing to set Fred's gift aside, he opened George's. It was another self made gift. Georges speciality was potions and alchemy, so, like his brother, he had crafted something for Hadrian. His gift was a box filled with all sorts of different potions. Flipping through the little booklet included, Hadrian saw that there were a multitude of new prank potions that hadn't even reached the store shelves yet. There were also purging potions, just in case he was dosed with anything like love or compulsion potions. On the alchemy side of things were potions that would increase his healing, Hadrian was surprised as he looked over what George had created because it was only a few steps away from the elixir of life made by the philosophers stone, only Nicolas Flamel had ever successfully managed to create that. Then, there was also a potion that would make him impervious to all manner of curses or jinxes, basically anything below the strength of the unforgivables would bounce off him, but the part that truly touched him was the little note that said it would also work for Nem. Hadrian was always worried about Nem getting hurt, over the years she had actually been hit by a few curses, either because a student was jealous, angry at Hadrian, or were supporters of the dark and had just been trying to hurt Hadrian. A single drop of the potion in bath water and he and Nem would be protected for a full month.
With a sad sigh, Hadrian turned away from his gifts to open his beds curtains. He smiled slightly as the sunlight hit the fox figurines, and the two red foxes gave him a disgruntled look before they wrapped themselves tighter around the little black fox. Setting the figurines and the potions on his bedside table he started to get up to go get ready for class. He was going to use the shield potion tonight on both Nem and himself.
Theo just stared at all the flowers. He knew that Hadrian was seeing someone, though he didn't know who it was. When he had asked Hadrian about it, his roommate had just said that he preferred to keep it secret. Knowing just how hard it was for Hadrian to keep his life private he had easily agreed that he didn't need to know and that he wouldn't say anything.
ROR
After classes ended that day, Hadrian and the twins met in the ROR where they had a private dinner sent up to them by the elves. They knew that it was a little risky to not be in the great hall for the feast, but they just didn't want to go. They wanted to stay together.
Besides, it wasn't like they were the only ones that were skipping the feast. He knew that most of his friends had found their own places to have a private meal with their dates. Neville and Luna were in the greenhouse, Draco, Fey, Viktor, and Autumn were scattered around the lake on picnic blankets with warming charms, Cedric and Lily were up on the astronomy tower, and Fleur and Bill, both being of age, were at Criss Cross. There were also plenty of other students all around doing the same thing they were.
They all knew that it seemed a little silly, they did spend pretty much all of their free time together, but there was just something about their dates. It just seemed more intense saying that they were on a date rather than just hanging out.
Their evening passed joyfully, with a great deal of snuggling.
Great Hall
Ginny was ready to scream. She couldn't see Harry anywhere.
It just wasn't possible. Everyone knew that the only reason students skipped the Valentines day feast was if they were having a private date.
But that couldn't be why Harry wasn't there. There was no way he was on a date. Who would be so stupid as to think that they could steal her Harry?
Looking around, she noticed that Loony wasn't there. No, no, no, NO! Loony wasn't aloud to be near her Harry. She was going to make that girl suffer for this.
Harry was hers. And anyone who thought differently was going to suffer!
Hermione could see trouble coming. She had, of course, already noticed that Harry wasn't there, and neither was Loony. The look on Ginny's face spelled trouble for the other girl, not that Hermione really cared if she suffered.
The problem was that she knew Ginny wasn't thinking clearly. She would get caught. Then there would be real trouble. Depending on just how far she went, Ginny could get in serious trouble.
And, of course, Hermione would get in trouble too. The headmaster had already called her up to his office earlier this year and told her she was in charge of making sure Ron and Ginny passed their classes and didn't get into trouble.
She was going to have to find some way to distract Ginny. Plus, she was going to have to think of a way to get Harry to smarten up and start seeing Ginny. Then there was all the school work she had and the bills she was working on to force the stupid pure blood families to share the spells they had been keeping secret.
Ron was glaring at his food. Fleur wasn't there. She had to be out on a date with someone.
It just wasn't fair. Why couldn't he ever get what he wanted? He wanted her, and once again, he was being denied.
Head Table
Up at the head table James was sitting next to Severus. Unlike Sirius, Severus hadn't been able to get away from the school that evening since he had some last minute deputy-headmaster work to finish up so he had had to stay for dinner. James had talked to Kali, who had agreed to be looked after by the house elves so that James could go up to the school to be with Severus, even if it just was eating together in the great hall. He already knew that she wouldn't be alone for long since Remus and Sirius were going to most likely be making the same arrangements for Cas and Ari and the elves would probably end up bringing the girls into one house so they could corral them in one place.
After dinner Severus had about an hours more work to get through, but James was already making plans on how he would surprise him when he got home. But, for now, he settled for giving Sev all his attention, while also rubbing his thigh under the table with his free hand.
Severus, like his husband, couldn't wait until they got home.
At the lower head table, Lily fumed. She had been feeding Sebastian love potions for months now, and he still didn't pay attention to her.
The headmaster was getting frustrated with her and she knew it. She needed to make this work. She deserved to be Lady Peverell-Gryffindor. Sure, she wasn't thrilled about being a step-mother to his brat, but the headmaster had already promised he would deal with the girl when he dealt with Severus. It wasn't that she wanted the kid to die, honestly she didn't really care, but she needed to make sure that her child would be heir, so the kid had to go.
Then there was Harry. Over the years she still hadn't figured out how she felt about the boy. He represented the fact that James had chosen another over her. But, he was also biologically her son due to the blood adoption. She had never really been a very maternal person, but she still wanted him in her life. Besides, he was famous, so even if she later learned that she didn't want to be his mum, then it would still be worth it since he could bring her fame.
Headmasters Office - February 20, 2005
Albus was just going over a few last minute arrangements for the second task that was set to take place in 4 days when Alastor and Minerva both walked into his office arguing.
"What is going on now?" Albus sighed. He was really getting sick of these two coming to his office bickering like children.
"You have to get Alastor under control headmaster. He is forcing Ron, Hermione, and Ginny to spend hours in his office doing work." Minerva all but threw herself down into one of the chairs in front of his office.
"Alastor?" Albus looked to the other man.
"You want those three to pass don't you?" Alastor questioned. "I make them sit in front of me and do their work to ensure that they can pass. Ms. Granger fights me tooth and nail about doing the work that I assign. The only way I have been able to get her to do the assignments in a way that will allow her to get decent grades is by going over it as she works so that I can stop her from going off track.
Over the term I have repeatedly caught both Mr. and Ms. Weasley plagiarizing their assignments, or simply not doing them. I either keep an eye on them, or nothing gets done."
Albus sighed again. He had known that Alastor had been doing something with the three, but he hadn't figured he had had to go this far.
"Why haven't they said anything?" Minerva questioned, some of her anger bleeding away.
"Because I placed them under secrecy spells since it isn't technically aloud. They can't tell anyone that I have been working with them." Alastor smirked.
"Why would you do something like this Alastor? They are my students, you should have come to me." Minerva huffed.
"Would you have done anything?" Alastor shot back. "Face it Minerva, you've lost your edge. You act like those three are perfect, but they aren't. I've been doing what I can to get the lot of them to start behaving properly."
Minerva growled. "I haven't lost my edge, those three are the future of our movement. We need to help them, not hold them back."
"Exactly. Those three will be completely useless unless they start learning.
Granger wants to be minister of magic, but she won't be unless she gets her attitude under control. She has gone out of her way to make enemies of almost every powerful house by repeatedly fighting with their children. As I have already told her. There is no way she will ever be elected if she doesn't learn how to start making allies rather than enemies."
"And just who do you think she has made an enemy of?"
"Bones, Malfoy, Longbottom, Potter-Black, Zabini, Greengrass, Macmillan, MacDougal, do I need to say more? The students currently at this school are all heirs to the families and she has gone out of her way to anger them. Going so far as to physically attack all of them.
You and I both know that no minister has ever been elected without the support of at least ⅓ of the Wizengamot. Potter-Black alone will have the ability to stop her with just a word. But, she has repeatedly hit him in just the few weeks I had them sitting next to each other.
If we ever want that girl to become powerful in our world she needs to learn a little humility. How to play off peoples emotions. How to manipulate people into seeing her as being better than she is."
"She's smart enough to do that." Minerva snapped back, but Alastor could see the thoughtful look in her eyes.
"No, she clearly isn't. She knows what is expected from her on her assignments, but she doesn't seem to have the brains to follow the marking scheme. If she was as smart as you claim she is, she could use the marking scheme that she has to get perfect, or near perfect, scores on her assignments, as many students do, but she thinks she is smarter than the teachers and then goes on to argue when she refuses to follow instructions."
Minerva sighed. She had fought so hard to see the girl as what she wanted her to be. But, the girl just wasn't what they wanted. She had the potential, but right now she lacked the humility to learn. "Fine. And Mr. and Ms. Weasley?"
"Those two need to start doing their work. When I force them to sit down and do it, they manage at least average assignments. It's just having to force them to do the work. It takes them at least four times as long as it should, but if they are taught how to do the work on their own, then they should be able to do well.
Albus, I know that you want the boy to be an auror, but he is going to need to learn how to do the work. It is going to take years for him to work his way up the ranks, and I do mean work." Alastor looked from Minerva, who was finally accepting reality, to his old friend.
"I know." Albus sighed and shook his head, although he was happy Minerva was finally seeing sense. "They are seeing mind healers, but I think it is going to take more. Luckily, Arthur will be home with them the entire summer, and he seems to be more willing to take a firm hand with the children."
"What are you working on Albus?" Alastor asked to get them onto a different subject.
"Just putting the final touches on the second task." Albus said as he looked at his old friends.
"And what does Ms. Weasley have to do with that?" Minerva asked when she saw the young girls name on one of the papers spread on the desk.
"I was thinking of using her as the Potter boy's hostage." Albus said thoughtfully.
"I wouldn't if I were you." Alastor said.
Both Minerva and Alastor had been involved in making a few arrangements so they both already knew what the task was.
"Why not?" Albus questioned.
"You and I both know that the girl annoys the boy right now. Be honest, do you really think that he would save her?" Alastor questioned.
Albus and Minerva both just looked at each other. They both had already been forced to admit that Harry wasn't really following their plan when it came to Ginny, but neither was willing to give up on him yet.
"He is more likely to leave the girl down there just to spite you." Alastor reminded them.
"Then what would you recommend?" Albus questioned. He wouldn't put it past the boy to leave the girl at the bottom of the lake, and then he would have to deal with Molly.
"Use the Lovegood girl." Alastor said.
"We don't want to encourage any further development in that relationship." Minerva huffed. She didn't see what the boy saw in that girl, she was just so…odd.
Alastor smirked. "There is nothing but friendship between those two."
"And how do you know that Alastor?" Albus asked thoughtfully.
"I know that because the girl has recently begun seeing the Longbottom boy, at Potter's recommendation. Despite what many might think, Lovegood didn't spend the Valentines day feast with Potter, but with Longbottom in the tropical greenhouse." Alastor told them what he had seen.
"Then who was Potter with?" Minerva questioned. Like all the others she had seen that the boy had been missing that night.
"I have no idea." Alastor growled, he hated having to admit it. "I looked all over the school, but I didn't see him anywhere. Wherever he was, it wasn't in any of the usual places."
Albus was annoyed. He hated that the boy wasn't what he wanted him to be. Sebastian was to blame for that he knew. That man needed to stop meddling in his plans. Hopefully, Lily would get the man under control soon. Although, the woman had been a clear failure, but he had plans to get a love potion into the man.
Albus made a few adjustments to the second task before he dismissed the other two so he could have a peaceful evening.
Second Task - February 24, 2005
Hadrian sighed as he made his way down to the lake to do the second task. He really wasn't looking forward to it, that water was freezing.
Checking his bag again just to make sure, he saw that he had more than enough gillyweed that he had bought through owl order a few weeks earlier. He had made sure that he had enough for the others just in case they needed it.
The task had, of course, become that much harder the week earlier. Hadrian just wished that one day he might actually have a peaceful time in his life.
Remus had been going over the law that the ICW had passed that forced Hadrian to compete. He had wanted to see if their were any loopholes. He didn't find any loopholes, but what he did find made everything that much worse.
They all figured that since Dumbledore had had to rush the writing of the bill, that he just hadn't manage to correct any mistakes. At least, that was what they hoped, because even they didn't think Dumbledore could be so cruel. Although, they figured it was a mistake since they knew Dumbledore didn't want more negative press, and the mistake could destroy his reputation.
In one of the final paragraphs of the bill, it said that all champions were required to complete every task. Complete, not compete. It was the difference of a single letter, but it changed everything.
If any of them failed to complete each task then they would have their magic stripped. That made things even worse.
Hadrian knew that Fleur had been attacked by grindylows, and as a result had had to turn back. That meant she had failed to complete the task last time. If that happened again, then she would be stripped of her magic. He couldn't let that happen.
Then there was the third task. It was a maze. The only way to complete that task was to get to the centre of the maze and take the cup. That meant, if he wanted them all to keep their magic they would all have to take the cup together, but the cup was most likely going to be a portkey that would take them to a graveyard where Voldemort would be.
Hadrian sighed again. He was going to have to deal with it later. He had already talked with his family and they had all agreed that they would wait until after the tournament ended to publicly announce the compete vs complete issue. Dumbledore was already being torn apart repeatedly for what he had done to Hadrian. Now he was going to be attacked for, once again, using underage children in the tournament since Hadrian had already noticed that Luna, Lily, and Autumn were missing. He just really hoped that he wouldn't be so stupid as to use Gabrielle, she was just a kid.
They all already had plans to use the outcome of this task to its fullest regardless of what happened. He had decided he would tell the others about the whole complete thing when they were told about the maze.
As he reached the other champions, Hadrian once again checked his bag. He had brought a bag that had been enchanted to keep all water out, even when opened. He had stored everything he thought he might need.
Hadrian glanced to the side and he saw the twins on either side of the judges table. They were more than likely putting the last minute touches on their prank.
Sooner than he would have liked, the whistle blew and it was time to go into the water. Pulling a handful of the gillyweed out, Hadrian stuffed it in his mouth and started to chew as he started to wade out into the water. It was disgusting. When he felt his gills forming he dove under the water and started to swim.
Swimming out towards the centre of the lake he started to angle down. When the light started to fade as he went deeper he once again opened his bag. He pulled out a light crystal on a chain that he wrapped around his neck. It would ensure that he had a decent amount of light.
Pulling out his wand he cast a point me spell for Fleur. He wanted to monitor her progress so that he could stop her from returning to the surface.
Going further into the lake he spotted Fleur, but she was already fighting with the grindylows. When he saw one make a dangerously large cut in her leg, he couldn't stay out of it.
Darting forward, Hadrian started sending jinxes at them to force them away from her. But that just created a new problem. Fleur looked up to see who was helping her. With her distraction one of the grindylows attacked her face and popped her bubble head charm.
The bubble head charm worked by gathering the oxygen that was around the caster. But, since they were already so far underwater, the oxygen levels in the water were too low to form a proper bubble. Hadrian didn't think the charm would hold, and the more Fleur cast it the weaker she would become. She was already losing far to much blood, in his opinion, from the gash on her leg.
Swimming right up to her, Hadrian cast a strong shield spell that forced the grindylows away. Pulling out another hunk of gillyweed he stuffed it in her mouth as she was already starting to panic without air.
When Fleur gave him a confused look, since she didn't know what he had just shoved in her mouth, Hadrian tipped his head back. He showed her his gills. Seeing the flash of understanding in her eyes he knew that she understood. It took a few moments, but he started to see the gills forming on her neck as her eyes cleared from the effects of the oxygen deprivation.
Once she was able to breathe again, Fleur tried to move towards the surface, but Hadrian stopped her. Casting a spell that would temporarily bind her wound, Hadrian started to pull her down. They needed to get to the mervillage. A message that he delivered to her using an underwater chalk board that he had pulled from his bag. Fleur nodded, and they both slowly started to make their way in the direction Hadrians point me spell directed them.
Hadrian was pleased as they arrived at the mervillage. They seemed to be at the back of the village so they couldn't see the hostages. He didn't think he would be able to keep Fleur away from her sister, even with how weak her injury was making her.
The point me spell he had cast was to guide them to the merhealer. Arriving at one of what he assumed was homes, Hadrian knocked. A fierce looking merman came towards them.
"Foolish land walkers, your fellows are over there." The healer hissed as he motioned towards the front of the village.
Hadrian glanced in the direction and saw where the four girls were floating. He was slightly glad that Fleur couldn't understand and the blood loss was slowing her down enough that she didn't turn. Gabrielle was clearly visible.
"My friend is injured, can you help her?" Hadrian questioned.
"Why should I?" The merman demanded.
Hadrian grinned. He had figured it was better to be prepared. Reaching into his bag, he pulled out an orb with a large blue flower and enlarged it to its proper size, which was about the size of a medium sized table. The flower was known simply as a blue fire sea flower. From what he had discovered, these flowers were extremely powerful and valued amongst merpeople due to their medicinal properties. The thing was, those flowers only grew in tropical areas in salt water. Since this mervillage was in cold, fresh water, they could only get it on occasion. Hagrid had admitted to occasionally getting some of the dried petals and giving it to the lakes merpeople. But, it wouldn't last long since as soon as it was in the water it started to deteriorate.
The orb that the flower was being kept in was a geo dome that Hadrian had purchased along with the flower. It was designed to perfectly mimic the natural habitat of the flower and was guaranteed to operate for 4 decades. A person, or in this case merperson, could reach through the bubbled to care for, or take cuttings of, the flower without any disruption to its micro environment.
Seeing the stunned look on the merman's face, Hadrian smiled. "If you help my friend, this is yours."
The merman quickly agreed, taking both the flower and Fleur inside after Hadrian had used his chalk board to explain to her what was happening. He had requested that the healer send Fleur over towards the hostages when she was better, so he went over to them and settled down to wait.
While Hadrian sat, waiting for Fleur, he watched out for the others.
Cedric was the first to arrive. Seeing Hadrian, Cedric swam over with a questioning look.
Hadrian held up his chalk board that he had already written a message on. He explained that Fleur had been injured and that he was going to wait for her to make sure she made it back to the surface with her little sister.
Cedric offered to wait with him, using the second board Hadrian had brought with him. But Hadrian had refused, encouraging the other boy to take Lily up to the surface and to let the healers know what was going on just in case the merhealer couldn't fully fix her injury. It took a little convincing, but eventually Cedric took hold of his unconscious girlfriend and pulled her towards the surface.
It was only shortly after Cedric had left that Viktor arrived. Like Cedric, he wanted to wait, but Hadrian convinced him to go ahead. Just as he was convincing Viktor to go, Fleur made her way towards them, escorted by the merhealer.
She was moving slowly, and was still dangerously pale. There was a wrap of seaweed going up her injured leg, from her ankle to her knee.
The healer explained that he had been able to heal the physical injury, but she had lost a great deal of blood and there was nothing he could do about that since they were different species. She would need to keep the wrap on for the next few hours, and it would need to remain damp, preferably with water from the lake for the best response, but then she would be fine.
Thanking the merman again, Hadrian watched him leave. Turning to Fleur and Viktor he wrote down what he had been told. Viktor agreed to go on ahead to tell the healers while Hadrian would slowly help Fleur back to the surface. When Viktor offered to take their hostages, Hadrian refused. He wasn't sure if that would count as non completion, but he didn't want to take that risk. Instead, he just said that that would slow him down and they needed him to get to the surface before they did. He had some ropes that he planned on using like a leash so that his hands were free to help him move quicker.
After that Viktor had grabbed his girlfriend, Autumn, and took off towards the surface.
With Viktor gone, Hadrian and Fleur freed both of their hostages, he could clearly see the fury in the girls eyes. Hadrian knew that even in her weakened state, Fleur was going to have a word or two for whoever thought of using her little sister in this farce.
It took them close to half an hour to slowly make their way to the surface. Fleur was exhausted and clearly feeling weak, but they needed to keep going. Hadrian could feel the gillyweed starting to wear off. They needed to get to the surface soon or they were going to lose the ability to breathe. He had given Fleur a smaller piece than he had taken since they had already been a decent amount of time into the competition.
When they were just below the surface of the water, Hadrian started moving them towards the shore. He figured he had about another minute, and he knew that Luna and Gabrielle would wake up as soon as they were above the surface. It was probably better for them to stay unconscious until they were closer to shore to limit their fear, and their discomfort in the cold water.
When the pain finally came signaling the gillyweed wearing off Hadrian pushed his head above the surface of the water. They had come up near the centre of the lake, so they were still a decent ways away from the shore. One of the worst parts was that now that the gillyweed had worn off he was absolutely freezing. This water was like ice.
Only a few minutes later, when they were only about a dozen yards from the shore, Fleur's head popped above the surface of the water. Hadrian started to worry more about her as he could see her slowing down even more, her eyes were glazed, and her lips were going blue.
Finally, when they were close enough, Hadrian pulled the two younger girls above the surface of the water. Both, like him and Fleur, immediately started shaking from the cold. It was just so wrong to use girls as young and small as both Gabrielle and Luna like this.
Reaching the shore, both healers Forsythe and Savoy rushed to them. Even though Fleur was so clearly in the worst shape, she insisted that they take Gabrielle and Luna first, Hadrian was right there with her on that insistence. The girls needed the healers first.
While the healers were quickly moving the younger girls to the healers area, Hadrian wrapped one of Fleur's arms around his shoulder and started to help her out of the water. Fleur was limping slightly, but was in much better shape than Hadrian might have thought.
Before the healers had even come back out of the healing tent, Hadrian and Fleur made their way in.
Fleur was clearly suffering from blood loss, but thankfully Viktor had informed the healers of what was going on so they already had blood replenishing potions lined up for the girl. They also didn't want to mess with what the merhealer had done, since they didn't know if there would be any negative reactions, so they were going to leave the seaweed wrap on the injury.
Once both healers were assured that Fleur would survive they turned on him. Hadrian shrank back in fear as both healers advanced on him with potions. Turning to run, he froze. Both his dads as well as his uncles were blocking his escape, looking at him with both fear for his safety as well as a clear refusal to let him escape the smothering effect of the healers. Hadrian had no choice but to suffer the assault of two healers trying to help him. Sure, they only wanted to make sure he was ok, but it was still a little overwhelming.
As soon as the healers backed off, his family rushed forward to make sure that he was ok. This was going to be a long day. After letting his family fuss for a few minutes, Hadrian and Fleur had to go and get their scores.
When the judges finished giving them their points, which once again put Hadrian in a tie for first with Cedric, Hadrian gave the twins a barely noticeable nod. There was a loud crack, streamers and glitter started falling from the sky. With most of the students distracted, only a few noticed as the judges all disappeared from their seats, just to reappear a few feet above the surface of the middle of the lake.
All the judges dropped with a huge splash and screams. That caught everyones attention. When the shock wore off, everyone started to laugh. No one noticed that the judges wands were all sitting uselessly on the chairs they had previously occupied, meaning that they had to swim all the way back to shore.
The house elves had been less than pleased when they heard what was planned for their students.
When the judges finally made their way back, they were brought into the healing tent just as the others were being released. The champions, and their hostages, all got to hear as the judges complained about just how dangerous that prank had been, one of them could have died in that water.
That was just too much for Fleur. She gently pushed Gabrielle into the middle of the others so that she could be assured of the younger girls safety before she turned on the judges.
Fleur did not hold back as she told the judges off. They had used underage children in this task, and she had no doubt that they didn't get parental approval since her parents would never let them do something like that to her baby sister. If they thought that it was just fine to do that to children then it was just fine for them. She even said that they should be trapped in the lake for over an hour like they had done to the kids. She carried on scolding them for over 20 minutes.
During the entire lecture, Fleur did not try to keep her voice low at any point. The end result was that most of the students that had gathered around got to enjoy watching the headmasters of their school being scolded like children by an infuriated 17 year old girl.
The worst part for them was that Rita heard the entire thing and was already planning. She was going to have to get in touch with the girls families to see if Dumbledore had gotten parental permission to use their children that way. Just how would the public react to the great Albus Dumbledore effectively abusing children by forcing them into dangerous situations? Rita couldn't wait to find out.
Great Hall
That night Fleur made sure to put Gabrielle between her and Hadrian at the table. She wasn't going to take any risks with her little sister. A furious letter had already been sent to her parents telling them what had happened.
According to Gabrielle, she had been invited to surprise Fleur. When she had gotten there she had been pressured into allowing herself to be used as hostage by Dumbledore and Bagman. She had never even been told what was going to be done to her. After she had fearfully said ok, they had simply stunned her. Now that she was awake she was completely terrified by what had happened.
Fleur was going to make sure that anyone involved in using her sister like that was going to suffer. And she knew she wasn't alone.
All of the other girls had admitted to being pressured into agreeing. None of them knew if their guardians had been contacted, but they had their doubts.
Even though they had known what was coming, all of the champions were angry about what had happened. The older three had willingly entered this competition. They had chosen to take a risk. Their family and girlfriends had not. They knew the risks they had chosen to take, but they hadn't known that it would risk those they cared about.
Delacour Estate, France - February 29, 2005
Marius and Apolline Delacour were absolutely furious as they read the letter that Fleur had sent them. This meant war.
How dare those english fools treat their baby like that. Gabrielle was a sweet innocent little girl, not a pawn for them to endanger.
Over the past few months Marius had been using his connections on the ICW to damage Dumbledores reputation, but now he wanted him gone. He would not allow that monster to have any control over the international community.
Headmaster's Office - March 12, 2005
Albus arrived back at his office in an absolute fury. He was ready to kill. And he knew who he wanted to start with.
Marius Delacour.
That veela loving french bastard.
When Albus had left for a surprise ICW meeting this morning, he had actually been in a relatively good mood. The paper this morning hadn't had a single article slandering him for what happened during the second task. It was the first time since the task had occurred that that had happened. That waste of magic, Rita Skeeter, had been dragging his name through the mud for the past few weeks.
But, with the lack of any new articles, he had settled down and started to feel better. He had had a few words with Barnabas about getting that woman back in line. It had taken more than a few very thinly vailed threats, but he had finally gotten his point across about the cost of crossing him.
Arriving at the meeting, he had figured it would just be some simple little thing. It wasn't.
Marius Delacour had filed a formal motion to not only have him removed from his position as the Supreme Mugwump, but to have him completely removed from the ICW. And those fools had done it.
Officially, it would appear as if Albus had chosen to withdraw so that he could focus more on Hogwarts, but everyone that looked closely would know the truth. He had been fired.
The official story had only been constructed to avoid a scandal, and not even for the benefit of Albus. The ICW didn't want to be linked with his recent actions, in their words, so they had made up some stupid reason that would hopefully downplay his role.
This just wasn't possible. Albus had been stripped of his only formal position of power on the international stage. Plus he wasn't able to pass any bill in the Wizengamot like he had in the past. Even just his public image had lost power. Then, there was his loss of control in his own school.
He had lost so much power, and when he didn't think he could lose any more, he did.
That was it, Albus needed to focus.
Right now, all he could focus on was the school. Once he had regained the control of the school he would then start to make those fools regret ever thinking they could cross him and get away with it.
Yes, it was time for the rise of a dark lord to remind them all just how weak and easy to kill they were.