Prefects' Bathroom
Group: Ferret Fuzz
Posts: 970
Joined: 23-August 04
From: Earth
Member No.: 266
|
Return to Hogwarts
Sirius ran through the forest, nimbly leaping over the tree branches and other debris that occasionally blocked his path. He had been running for some time now and knew that his destination could not be much further. If memory served, and he was sure that it did, a stand of yew trees should be just around the next bend.
In his youth, he had spent a great deal of time beneath the cover of those trees, talking to Lupin, joking with James. But tonight, the yew would serve a more important purpose. Tonight, they would provide a place to meet with Harry.
When the path finally bended and he rounded the corner, Sirius saw the familiar stand of yew trees, but there was no sign of his godson. With a quick glance at the moon, he determined that he was a bit early. It was not quite midnight, which meant that Harry was probably still making his way through the wood.
As he waited, Sirius wondered if Harry’s friends, Ron and Hermione, would show up as well. A small part of him, a selfish part of him, wished that they would not. He hoped to spend some time alone with Harry, something he had not really had an opportunity to do.
The thought of being with Harry was the only thing right now that made Sirius truly happy. Sometimes, talking to his godson was almost like having James back. Even after all of these years, Sirius missed his old friend more than he cared to admit.
The thought made him realize that he would actually prefer to see Ron and Hermione with Harry tonight. Nothing was more important than friendship. Harry was lucky to have such true friends, just as he, Sirius, had been lucky to have James.
A loud and sudden crash disrupted his thoughts and shattered the uneasy quiet of the forest. The noise was followed by a cry of pain and hushed voices. Sirius looked for the cause of the disturbance, but saw nothing, which could only mean one thing.
Sure enough, moments later, Harry, Ron, and Hermione emerged from underneath an invisibility cloak, all of them looking disheveled and extremely relieved to see him. After making sure that nobody else was with them, Sirius transformed, discarding his canine disguise.
“You weren’t followed?” he asked quickly.
“No,” Harry replied. “We made sure.”
“It was lucky that we found you. We’ve never been in this part of the forest before,” Hermione said.
“Then you’re missing out. I spent a lot of time here in my school days. This is the best part of the forest, barely any creatures. You can’t beat the privacy,” Sirius added, when he saw their expressions.
“You liked coming here?” Ron asked incredulously.
Sirius laughed. “Where do you think I learned to become an Animagus, the Gryffindor common room? No, the first time James, Peter, and I transformed, it was right here under this stand of trees.”
“My dad came here too?” Harry asked.
The excitement in Harry’s voice tugged at Sirius’ heart. The kid seemed to light up at any mention of James and Lily. It was understandable, of course, just difficult to watch.
Sirius pointed out a faded carving on one of the yew trees. “See for yourself.”
Harry walked to the tree and lightly ran his fingers over the carving that read:
James + Lily
Forevermore
“Not why were here though is it,” Sirius said gruffly.
“No, but thanks for showing me,” Harry said.
Sirius didn’t know what to say, so he didn’t say anything. Instead, he put his hand on Harry’s shoulder. Harry smiled at him.
“Well, then,” Sirius said. “Let’s get down to business. What’s going on with the Tournament and Bagman.
“The second task is tomorrow morning,” Harry said. “We found out that Karkaroff has been trying to cheat. He tried slipping information to Krum about the task and they got into a huge row. Krum called Karkaroff dishonorable and said that he didn’t want any more help.”
“Viktor is so noble,” Hermione sighed.
Ron snorted and mumbled something Sirius couldn’t make out.
“How did you learn this?” Sirius asked.
“The room that you told me about,” Harry explained. “It was brilliant. You were right, nobody had found the Marauders’ hiding place. It was filled with loads of useful things. We ended up using a staring eye. Hermione bewitched it to follow Karkaroff. We wrapped it in a bit of my invisibility cloak and he never even noticed it. Each night after he retired to his ship, we waited until we thought he was asleep and then used a summoning charm to get the eye back.”
“I’m guessing you then figured out a way to see what the eye saw?” Sirius said, pleased with their resourcefulness.
“It was Hermione,” Ron said. “She figured out a spell that would make the eye show us everything that it had seen that day. We skipped over the boring parts.”
“Very clever,” Sirius said, nodding at Hermione. “What about Bagman?”
“You won’t believe this,” Harry started, but before he could finish a booming voice called out.
“Who’s there?”
Hermione gasped. “That sounds like Hagrid. What should we do?”
Instantly, Sirius transformed into the big black dog. Not more than a second later, Hagrid happened upon them, brandishing a crossbow.
“What’re yeh three doin’ out here in the middle of the night?” Hagrid bellowed when he saw Harry, Hermione, and Ron. “Yeh know students aren’t allowed in the Forbidden Forest. It’s…well, it’s forbidden!”
“Sorry, Hagrid,” Harry said quickly. “We were, uh…”
“We were taking care of this stray dog we found,” Ron said, patting Sirius on the head. “He was um…”
“Wandering around and we thought he looked hungry,” Harry finished somewhat lamely.
“Stray dog,” Hagrid said, looking down and noticing Sirius for the first time.
Sirius did his best to look like a pathetic, hungry stray. It wasn’t hard, considering he had been hiding in a cave for months on end. A lean diet of Hogsmeade scraps had done little to put meat on his bones.
“Poor feller,” Hagrid said, bending over to scratch Sirius behind the ears. “He needs a warm meal and a fluffy bed. Yeh shoulda brought him to my house straight away. What are yeh thinkin’ stashin’ him out here.”
Sirius realized that Hagrid could be his ticket into Hogwarts. From what Harry had told him, Hagrid loved all creatures. Nobody would think anything of him getting a new pet. And, getting into Hogwarts was the only sure way he could protect Harry during the second task. Sirius barked at Hagrid and wagged his tail.
“Yeh want ter come stay with me, do yeh?” Hagrid asked Sirius enthusiastically, continuing to rub him behind the ears.
“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea, Hagrid,” Hermione said.
“Sure it is,” Hagrid said, clearly keen on taking in a creature in need. “I’ll set up a real cozy spot fer him right next ter my fireplace. Yeh can come visit him anytime yeh want. Yeh can’t jus’ leave him here.”
Sirius wagged his tail and barked again.
“See,” Hagrid said. “It’s what he wants.”
Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked nervously at one another, but didn’t argue the subject any further. At Hagrid’s insistence, they followed him out of the forest and back to his cabin.
“Yeh three better get back up to the castle,” Hagrid said. “Yeh can come back tomorrow mornin’ before the second task. In the meantime I’ll take care o’…What did you say his name was?”
“We never really gave him a name,” Harry said hesitantly.
“What?” Hagrid asked, sounding shocked. “That ain’t right. He needs a name. Every creature needs a name. How ‘bout Elmer? I always wanted a dog named Elmer.”
“Elmer?” Ron chortled.
“What? You don’t like that name?” Hagrid asked.
“Actually,” Ron said, continuing to laugh as he walked towards the castle with Harry and Hermione. “It’s brilliant, Hagrid. He looks just like an Elmer.”
Sirius watched Harry and his friends go and then followed Hagrid into the house to begin a new adventure as a dog named Elmer.
***
The next morning Sirius awoke to a piece of toast that was being waved under his nose by a smiling Hagrid.
“How ‘bout a spot ‘o breakfast, Elmer,” he said cheerfully. “Harry, Ron, and Hermione should be here any minute. You’ll probably be excited ter see ‘em, so you should eat now.”
Sirius took the toast and wagged his tail in thanks. It had been a long time since his belly had been this full. It was a good feeling. He had also had a good night’s sleep, lounging on the large purple pouf that Hagrid had laid down in front of the fireplace.
A moment later, Harry, Ron, and Hermione arrived, bringing a cold burst of air with them. Sirius greeted them all with a bark.
“Hagrid, Professor McGonagall is looking for you. She said that you’re supposed to be down by the lake.”
“I guess I forgot,” Hagrid said. “It’s been so excitin’ with Elmer here. I better get down there. I’ll see yeh three in a minute or two.”
As soon as he was gone, Sirius transformed. Harry hurried to lock the door and Hermione drew the curtains closed.
“Morning, Elmer,” Harry said, looking at Sirius and smirking.
“Don’t start,” Sirius said, unable to keep from smiling. “It worked didn’t it? I’m at Hogwarts.”
“You shouldn’t be here though,” Hermione said nervously. “You could get caught.”
Sirius looked at Harry and Ron. “Does she always worry this much?”
“Yeah,” Ron replied. “But, we like her anyway.”
Sirius laughed. “Merlin help me, I like her too.”
“Are you coming with us to the lake?” Harry asked.
“Planned on it,” Sirius replied. “I take it the second task takes place in the lake.”
“From what Karkaroff said, the champions don’t have to go in the lake,” Harry said.
“They shouldn’t have to. Remember the clue,” Hermione added.
“Ah yes, the clue the champions had to get from the tree in the first task,” Sirius said.
Hermione recited from memory:
“After one and before three
Should you ever be
Moored without a gourd
You must find a pickle
But please do be fickle
For a nomen you must carve
Else the beast will not starve
But do not pick just any
For only one triumphs many”
“Else the beast will not starve,” Sirius repeated slowly. “I don’t understand. What is the beast.”
“I think it’s a Kappa,” Hermione replied.
“A Kappa is a water demon isn’t it?” Sirius asked.
“Yes. They’re very aggressive and they feast on human blood. The only way that you can persuade a Kappa not to attack is by throwing it a cucumber with your name carved in it, or by tricking it into bowing. They have a hollow in the top of their head that carries water. If they spill the water, they lose their power,” Hermione explained, sounding very much like a textbook.
“That could be dangerous for participants if the Kappa gets into the crowd,” Sirius said thoughtfully. “Dangerous for the champions too if they haven’t figured out that clue.”
“Let’s get down there,” Ron said. “I want to get a good seat.”
“Fine, but when the task is over,” Sirius said. “We need to finish talking about Bagman. I want to know what he’s up to.”
That said, Sirius transformed once more into the big black dog and followed Harry and his friends down to the lake. Immediately after arriving, they spotted Hagrid, who was waving at them from a spot in the spectator seats that had been set up at the water’s edge.
“Yeh brought Elmer!” Hagrid exclaimed, his face lit up with happiness.
Sirius took a seat next to Hagrid, knowing that the sheer mass of the man would give him some cover from the crowd. The view of the lake was good and Harry was right beside him. Sirius was confident that he would be in a position to protect Harry and his friends if necessary.
The task got under way soon after. The champions came out of a tent one at a time to take their turns. Sirius was surprised to see how young all of them looked. Appearances were no indication of talent though, because all three somehow managed the task.
Fleur went first and promptly tossed a cucumber to the Kappa that rushed towards her. The Kappa bowed to investigate the object and spilled all of the water within its hollowed head.
Cedric went next, and though he didn’t bring a cucumber with him, he eventually tricked the Kappa into bowing by laying at its feet. The moment the beast leaned over to bite him, water spilled out of its head.
Krum also managed, but had far less luck. He had obviously misinterpreted the riddle, because he brought a garden pepper to the task. Unfortunately, the Kappa didn’t appear to be affected by peppers. It took a bite out of Krum’s leg and then rushed the crowd. There was a brief moment of panic before Krum had the good sense to use a tripping jinx on the beast. The Kappa lost his water just as he reached a row of Hufflepuffs.
During the entire task, Sirius kept a close eye not only on the Kappa, but also on Ludo Bagman, who was acting as commentator. From his reaction, Sirius was able to judge exactly which champion Bagman was rooting for.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Mission:
Chose ANY of the submissions from the first task and continue its storyline!
The second task involves the lake, though not necessarily as JKR wrote it. What is the task? What are the hazards? What magic is used to overcome them? From the point of view of the character in your choice from the first task submissions, solve all these dilemmas. Keep in mind it is February.
Include your choice of three of the following:
two Knuts
toast
Phoenix song
pepper
Venomous Tentacula
Mrs. Norris
something purple
No minimum or maximum word limit!
--------------------
|
Tri-Ferret Tournament - The Second Task, Submissions
Department_of_Mysteries Tri-Ferret Tournament - The Second Task Nov 11 2005, 09:40 AM
Nov 11 2005, 09:40 AM
