Horseless Carriage
Group: Fantastic Ferret
Posts: 576
Joined: 21-August 04
From: Somewhere they call Malta
Member No.: 262
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Where Ends Meet
Since it was such a beautiful day, the trio decided to go down through the grounds and enjoy a bit of sunshine as they prepared for the next day’s final exam. They sought the shade of the large tree under which they often sat. Hermione quickly started reviewing on her own as it was apparent that the other two weren’t really up to studying. History of Magic was such a bore anyway!
Ron looked in the direction of where the Quidditch Pitch had once been. Now it was covered with growth and surrounded by hedges surpassing even Hagrid’s height.
“Looks like a maze doesn’t it?” Ron said craning his neck to see better. Access to the pitch had been closed for all students since April.
“That’s probably why they said there wouldn’t be any Quidditch this year,” Harry said.
As he scanned the area quickly, Ron spotted something lying on the ground which caught his attention.
“Is that a-” he began but before he could continue, Harry had summoned the object. Ron quickly took it from his hand only to find, to his dismay, that it was a licorice wand. He examined it slightly and sniffed it as if to see if it was edible. Hermione took her eyes off her notes only to shoot Ron a rather disgusted look.
Just then a loud bark came from behind them and a big black dog bounded over a small hedge. It ran over to Harry and wagged its tail at him, its eyes sparkling. Sirius had probably escaped from Hagrid’s over-loving grips just in time.
Simultaneously, a scream came from behind them. Gabrielle Delacour, who had been passing by, trying to catch up with a group of Beauxbatons students, had turned ash pale and she was pointing, terrified. None of the other French students seemed to have noticed her state of terror, and many Hogwarts students who were enjoying a spot of sunshine were looking at her questioningly.
Hermione, the good soul that she was, got up and went over to comfort the girl as Ron and Harry started petting the dog and ruffling his fur to make her realise that Snuffles was completely harmless. Ron, not knowing what else to do, threw the licorice wand a small distance and the dog went over to catch it like any canine would do. Sirius proceeded by making his way slowly towards Gabrielle, who was still shaking and sobbing uncontrollably. Ron and Harry soon followed.
“He’s quite harmless, see?” Hermione cooed, as Sirius played the lovable pet and turned over on his back. The two boys rolled their eyes at this.
Slowly the girl seemed to relax as Hermione continued comforting her. Sirius kept ridiculing himself, sometimes by chasing his own tail, and at others trying to catch a butterfly passing by. Gabrielle eventually giggled once or twice. This seemed to be the cue Snuffles had been waiting for because he walked closer to her and stroked her hand with the top of his head. She in return tickled the dog under his chin. He seemed to like that.
“Ma pauvre Gabrielle!” came a cry as they saw Fleur rushing to her sister’s side. “J’étais très inquieté quand je ne t’ai pas vu!”
“Regarde!” the young girl said excitedly as she caressed the black dog. She must have been feeling quite proud of herself.
Her sister looked at her fondly and spoke sweetly in French again. Although Ron hadn’t understood a single word she was saying, he realized that when she had refused to go to the Yule Ball with him, it had been due to his approach. He had gone up to her all of a sudden and in his rush she hadn’t understood a single word he had said. He had startled her.
Fleur gave, what appeared to be her first thankful look towards them. This made Ron swoon. Just before she left, Gabrielle knelt back down and gave the licorice wand to Snuffles to eat. She then got up and bringing out her own wand said, “Orchideous!”
Three flowers appeared and she gave one to each of them. As she gave Harry the last flower she said, “Merci!” and left quickly with her sister.
As soon as they were out of sight Harry turned to Sirius. “What was that all about?”
But Sirius seemed to be having some trouble of his own. He was brandishing his teeth at them, rubbing his paws on his muzzle. He kept making odd noises as if he couldn’t breathe properly, too. He thrashed about as if he had gone mad all of a sudden.
In an act of confusion Harry pounced on him and held him down. “Padfoot what’s wrong?”
“Speaking to animals, Potter? You never fail to surprise me,” said a sleek and sarcastic voice from behind them. With a flurry of black robes, Snape was glowering at all four of them. His eyes spotted the dog which, with its teeth apparently stuck together, was making every attempt it could to appear menacing and to show its hatred towards him.
“And breaking the rules again I see,” said the foul Potions Master. “Clearly it isn’t enough for you to know that dogs aren’t allowed in the grounds.”
“It’s Hagrid’s!” Harry said quickly. He held his onto Sirius for fear that he might actually attack Snape. “Calm down, Elmer,” he whispered into the dog’s ears.
“Perhaps I should remind Hagrid then that it is unwise to leave a potentially dangerous creature in the care of meddling students,” Snape said looking directly in the dog’s eyes. Suspicion was clearly brewing in his mind.
“We were just taking it back to him,” Hermione interjected at once, getting up.
Ron followed suit and started leading the dog back towards Hagrid’s hut. They could feel Snape’s eyes still on them as they led Sirius back down the path. Once they were out of earshot Ron exclaimed, “The slime ball! Why doesn’t he mind his own business for once? He should go wash that greasy hair of his! I bet Fred and George would love to play with his shampoo. They’ve been experimenting with some stuff lately,” he mused.
“Honestly Ron, I thought he’d see through the animagus form,” Hermione said worriedly.
Sirius seemed to have calmed down by now, though he was still showing his teeth as if someone had petrified his mouth in that position.
As they arrived near Hagrid’s hut they spotted an eagle owl soaring over the roof.
“Elmer!” the groundkeeper greeted them or rather the dog, as he looked up from the pumpkin patch. Sirius turned his head to give Harry a pleading look, although the huge grin on his face made this very difficult to understand. In frustration the dog darted off into the forest and rubbed his mouth on a branch trying to unstick his teeth.
Hermione was looking thoughtfully at Snuffles and kept looking pensive, even when Ron asked, “Hagrid what is that?” He was inclining his head towards the eagle owl which had taken to circling round the tip of the hut’s roof.
Hagrid puffed his chest slightly and said, “That Ron is a very rare type o’ owl. Ye brother Charlie had promised te send me one from his lot. They’re dead useful. Help me tend te lost creatures in the forest. Yup. They can see far ye see?”
Hermione who had remained silent, walked over to Sirius who was still trying to fight his jaws apart. She took out her wand and muttered something under her breath. Hagrid spotted her and yelled, “What are ye doin’ te him?”
But the spell seemed to have done its magic. The dog was licking Hermione’s face tenderly and barking happily.
“I think it was that licorice wand he ate,” Hermione explained. “It must have been hexed or something.”
As the large eagle owl cawed, a bell was heard ringing from the castle.
“Lunch! I’m starving!” said Ron as Hermione gave him a very irritated look.
“For your information Ron, house elves work all day to feed your appetite! The least you could do is thank them!”
“Not now, Hermione,” Ron said, starting to make his way back to the castle. She would probably pester him all the time while he ate, about laws to protect elves’ rights and how they were cruelly treated. Hermione was hot on his pursuit, clearly not too happy with his dry response.
Harry said a hurried goodbye to Hagrid and Elmer, and followed Ron and Hermione to the castle.
~***~
Their last exam had finally passed and Harry and Ron were walking down a hallway going back in the direction toward their Common Room. Hermione had stayed behind to recheck her paper.
Suddenly a voice called out from behind them, “Make way! Coming through!”
As the two boys turn to look behind them they saw the twins rushing by on a Nimbus 2001. It halted by their side.
“Where’d you get that broom?” Ron asked astonished.
“We borrowed it,” said Fred promptly.
“From Malfoy,” continued George.
“Well he didn’t really want to part with it."
“I guess he probably fancied a run after us, to celebrate the end of the exams.”
“Never knew he was so hot-headed,” Fred said.
“Yeah, or with such hot-feet,” George snickered. He patted a small red bag tied to his waist. “We’ve been working on these for ages,” he said as he took out a handkerchief and with it a small red bolt from his bag. “This little brother, is a Firebolt.”
With that he threw it for Ron to catch. As it landed in his open hands he let out a scream and let it fall to the floor, while jumping up and down blowing at the palms of his hands. They had turned the same scarlet of the Gryffindor banner. A blond Ravenclaw gave him curious looks as she passed by.
“’Course that’s not all it does. Look,” said Fred, taking out two bolts from his own bag with a handkerchief. He threw them up in the air and as they hit each other they formed a nebula from which red shooting stars started flaring. Ron could feel the heat it emanated as it passed near his legs, in pursuit of a Slytherin who was coming down the corridor.
“Best be off little brother!” said the two of them in unison and instead they sped off down the corridor.
They had just disappeared from sight when Harry and Ron heard a crash. Running to see what had happened, the two boys saw Crouch groaning on the floor and the twins petrified in mid-air on Malfoy’s broom. Snape rushed up behind them, holding his wand aloft and helped Crouch get up. The latter had been knocked off his feet as the twins passed by.
“Please excuse their delinquent behaviour, Minister,” Snape was saying. “I dare say as from the day those two passed through Hogwarts’ doors they have been causing havoc. If it were up to me they’d have been expelled long ago, but I’m afraid such power is not in my hands.”
“Yes, thank you Snape,” said Crouch, brushing dust from his robes. “I hope these students will get some form of punishment, as they certainly deserve something.”
“But of course, Minister. I will see to that immediately.” Just then, Snape caught sight of Harry and Ron standing not too far away.
“Caught red-handed, Weasley?” Snape said spotting the colour of Ron’s hands.
“We were just passing through this corridor. Not illegal is it?” Harry said, as both of them hurriedly continued on their way with one last look at the twins’ grinning faces as they sat on the Nimbus.
“They’re both mental!” Ron cried once they were back in Gryffindor Tower. “It really is a wonder how they always get through with just detentions.”
“Did you see how Snape was playing along with Crouch?” Harry grumbled.
Neither of them were really listening to what the other was saying. At that moment the portrait hole swung open and Fred and George entered the common room, both laughing and each with an arm around the other’s shoulder.
~***~
That evening the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament was to take place. After their meal in the Great Hall, all of the students went down to wait in the stands for the task to commence.
Hermione joined the boys not too long afterwards, blushing profusely and with an expression midway between a smile and a worried look. She didn’t reply when Ron asked her where she had been.
She was still seeing Krum! She only liked him because he was an international Quidditch player! He was probably just trying to get help from her for the task! Ron felt like turning on Hermione and telling her Krum’s real intentions, but he wasn’t given a chance as at that moment Bagman’s voice could be heard above the crowd.
“Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to this final task of the Triwizard Tournament! It has been an exciting adventure for our three champions and tonight we shall see which one of them will earn eternal glory for his or her school. As you see before you, they will have to face this maze in the centre of which is the Triwizard Cup. The first one who touches the cup will win the Tournament!”
“But let me remind me how they stand. Miss Delacour of Beauxbatons Academy is in first place, followed by Mr. Diggory of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry-” he had to stop at this as shouts and screams erupted from the Hogwarts students in the stands.
“Excitement is running high tonight!” he cried enthusiastically when the whooping had subsided. “And the champion currently in last place, though certainly not least, is Mr. Krum of Durmstrang Institute. Now the champions will be journeying into the maze according to their placing. Therefore Miss Delacour will go in first, then Mr. Diggory and finally Mr. Krum. And here come our three champions!”
They emerged from a tent behind Bagman, looking very pale in the lights reflecting on them.
The Heads of School took each of their respective students to one side for a couple of minutes and when a whistle blew, Fleur ran into the maze. Soon the whistle blew again, and, again. All three champions were inside the maze.
From their high place in the stands the trio could see the top of the champions’ heads as they moved around the maze. Bagman explained to the audience how their representatives would have to face numerous magical creatures and spells as a final test. Cedric seemed to be faring along quite well, hexing anything which came in his way and once nearly hitting Fleur by mistake as well. Krum seemed to be having a bit of a more difficult time.
He had encountered one of Hagrid’s Blast-Ended Skrewts, although this one was much larger than the ones the students had tended to in Care of Magical Creatures. He managed to dodge the skrewt’s first blast, and Ron couldn’t help not snicker slightly when the tip of Krum’s robes caught fire. Ron could feel Hermione holding her breath by his side. Then suddenly Krum muttered some kind of spell which sent the skrewt flying to the left. Due to its gigantic proportions and to the force of the spell, the skrewt passed right through the hedge and landed outside of the maze on McGonagall, who happened to be patrolling that area at that moment. Krum meanwhile had continued on his way and the hole in the hedge had magically recovered filing in with new growth.
“Quite an unfortunate accident,” Bagman commented as the skrewt was petrified. McGonagall was immediately helped by other members of the staff and taken to be tended to by Madam Pomfrey.
“I’m sure she’ll recover in a jiffy. But wait! Are those red sparks I see?”
The audience was now looking back at the maze. Fleur had cast red sparks into the air.
“It seems Miss Delacour is in a spot of trouble. Ah, and I see that Madame Maxime has volunteered to go to her rescue,” he said as the Headmistress entered the maze. “Of course, the champions were informed beforehand that if in danger, or should they wish to give up, they can shoot red sparks up. But what is going on?”
At that moment a jet of light had shone where Fleur was waiting, and she had fallen to the ground. Murmurs spread through the crowd. Some said she had been attacked unawares, other suggested that she had probably fainted.
Just then Madame Maxime reached her student’s side and picking up her limp form shouted, “She has been cursed! Ma chère Fleur!” She was looking positively furious. Someone had definitely done all they could not to let her champion win.
“Hum, well we definitely should see into this,” Bagman said, more to please Madame Maxime than for want of actually doing it. “Cheating is of course illegal in this Tournament.”
Ron snorted at this. If there was anyone cheating in this Tournament, Bagman was the first of the lot. *Cheating wasn’t the only thing he was attempting in this competition either. Sirius had flipped when they told him the reason behind Bagman’s sudden interest in Harry. He had promised the Golbins they could use Harry as a spokesman to fight for their rights.*
“I’m sure it is simply a misunderstanding and that she was caught unawares by-” the Commentator stopped short again.
A voice by his side was heard saying, “Oy! Youz the one who stole me pot o’ gold!”
As exciting as the events of the task were, many eyes turned to where Bagman was sitting. A leprechaun had climbed onto the table in front of him, and with its bowler hat askew, was waving its finger at Bagman’s face. “Ye’ll pay you!” it was heard squeaking. “Nobody touches me gold!” With that the leprechaun twirled its hand and threw gold dust in Bagman’s eyes. The Judge, blinded for a second, wasn’t given enough time to realise what was going on as the creature used Bagman’s own yellow robes to tie him up in a bag with a knot at the top. The leprechaun gave the bag a kick, which made Bagman howl in pain, and with that, it carried him away.
Though lacking a commentator, the air soon filled up with the buzzing of the students whispering to each other. Madame Maxime and Fleur were still making their way out of the maze when a humungous man appeared out of nowhere and he stood, arms at his sides, staring down at the Headmistress. People screamed and some were already leaving the stands, although the teachers tried all they could to restore order. He was definitely taller than anyone in the vicinity though he seemed to resemble the French woman a lot. He just stood there without saying anything, although it seemed as if the two of them were having a silent conversation.
Ron realised that his left arm was numb. He looked down and saw a pair of hands clinging desperately to it; Hermione was watching the scene with frozen eyes as she kept digging her fingernails into his flesh. Ron looked back down at the maze, with a slight smile on his face.
Just when it seemed like the quiet exchange between the two would take forever, Madame Maxime took out her wand and shouted, “Riddikulus!” The giant man turned into a small ferret and without any further ado the woman rushed out of the maze. She rushed Fleur to the hospital tent.
“Who do you reckon that was? Blimey! A giant!” said Ron, still feeling astonished and not just because of the huge man’s appearance.
“It was her boggart!” Hermione replied promptly. She now had both her hands clasped on her lap.
“Do you think it could have been, her father?” Harry asked.
“Must be,” Hermione nodded.
“Guess who went and told Hagrid she had big bones?” Ron said. He and Harry had overheard a rather private conversation between the grounds keeper and Beauxbatons’ Headmistress. Madame Maxime had kept insisting that she had no giant blood in her.
The hubbub started once more around them; the Third Task was still going on. Krum and Cedric were in a tight race against each other now. The Hogwarts champion seemed to be faring on far better than he had done in the previous tasks.
Suddenly a voice called up to him, “Psst! Ron! Ron!”
That voice was unmistakable. It was George’s.
“Choodle fan!” it called. That did it! He had had enough of them making fun of the Chudley Cannons.
“What?” Ron yelled, although this caused many to turn on him and tell him to be quiet.
The voices called again. Frustrated, Ron told Harry he’d be back soon and descended onto the crisp grass where the twins were waiting for him with huge grins on their faces.
“What the bloody hell do you want?”
“Bloody indeed! Come along little brother. We need to start showing you what the real world’s made of. We can’t have you prancing around like Percy,” Fred said.
Without another word, they led him away from the stands and the maze and over to the oak tree under which he had sat that very morning with Ron and Hermione. A small lantern was hanging from a branch and under it were a group of goblins. Some of them had bruises and gashes on their faces and arms, while another was sporting a bloody nose.
“What happened?” Ron asked.
“Bagman,” George said simply.
“He got away from that leprechaun. Managed to send bowtruckles after it. But then he met up with this lot, and well…you know Bagman.”
“There’s two sides to a galleon,” George mused.
“Where be Bagman, sly dingbat!” cursed one of the Goblins who seemed to be the leader.
Fred put his arm slightly round the Goblin’s shoulder, as if in a business-like fashion, and started muttering something which seemed to please the other greatly. Ron edged closer to try and listen in when a loud screaming sound shook the area, and fireworks shot up in the sky.
“The Task!” Ron said to nobody in particular. Either Krum or Cedric had won. He ran back to the stands leaving the twins and the Goblins behind him.
Harry, who hadn't seen where Ron had gone, was coming to look for him. “We won! Cedric got the cup! We won, Ron!”
The first though to come to Ron’s mind was, ‘Take that Krum!’, but it was quickly interrupted by the figure of Moody passing by with Karkaroff. He seemed to be holding the Headmaster by the hem of his robes and as he got closer they heard him say, “I warned you Karkaroff! There’s to be no cheating while I’m around! And hexing a champion! How low could you go?”
“What are you talking about?” Karkaroff was trying to retain the little bit of dignity left to his status.
“Alastor,” said a different voice from behind them. It was Dumbledore.
“We have a cheater Professor!” Moody said promptly.
“I will not stand for this!” Karkaroff roared, shaking.
“Iz zis true?” Madame Maxime said as she too arrived on the spot.
“Really! Just because Hogwarts has won Dumbledore, you cannot expect to go further to call this a night. I have not cheated!” He stamped his foot.
“We’ll see about that!” Moody said once more, grabbing Karkaroff’s wand. He muttered, “Priori Incantato!” A small form came out of the tip, and a jet of red light seemed to issue forth and hex a small ghost.
“I, I can explain,” Karkaroff stuttered as the others all turned on him. He had turned very pale. Madame Maxime was looking positively furious and dangerous.
“Alas,” said Dumbledore. “It seems that this Tournament might still be nothing more than a strife between our schools, as it has been for many years past.”
“Come on Ron,” Harry said finally. “I’m sure the others are already starting to head back to the castle for the feast.”
~***~
It was truly a triumph. With Hogwarts Triwizard Champion, Karkaroff unmasked, and Bagman gone, it was a night to truly remember.
While they enjoyed a magnificent feast that night, the Hogwarts Ghost Choir was singing in the background. It seemed that since the last time they had sung, they had taken a liking to Celestina Warbeck’s music because as they ended one of her songs, they promptly started another. Fleur had taken to criticizing some of the surroundings again, and she kept saying how horrible the music being sung actually was.
‘Well it isn’t that enjoyable,’ Ron agreed.
In the end, Peeves, who felt pretty jovial, swooped down upon the choir and caused disarray among them. He kept popping into the Great Hall now and then to check that they didn’t come back.
Gryffindor Table also had an unexpected visitor. When Viktor Krum sidled next to Hermione, Ron nearly choked on his shepherd’s pie. The Durmstrang student started whispering in her ear, and she was blushing deep red, and trying to look as if he wasn’t telling her anything important. Then he stopped, and was about to return next to the other Dursmtrang students, when suddenly a voice called, “Hey! Can I have your autograph?” It was when Krum turned to look directly at him, that Ron realised he had spoken. “Well, er, I mean, yeah,” Ron muttered foolishly.
But rather than walking away, Krum turned and smiled at him. “Vot is your-” he began but was interrupted for the umpteenth time that school year, by the horrid sound of giggling. Krum’s fanclub had returned for their last visit. Giggling they asked Krum to sign an autographs for them with lipstick. Ron sulked back down in his seat and stuffed candied kumquats in his mouth. Peeves seemed to be annoyed at the girls as well, because before Krum could say another word, the poltergeist had come rushing towards the girls who dispersed immediately. He played with their hair and cackled in their ears.
Slightly dumb-founded, Krum turned back to Ron.
“Vot is your name?” he asked him politely.
Ron looked up at Krum and tried to swallow the whole load in his mouth. But the sticky mixture wouldn’t go down, and he found he couldn’t speak either. Both his jaws were stuck together!
Hermione was looking at him, seeming thoroughly disgusted.
When he tried to open his mouth, all he managed to do was grimace. He could feel many others looking on him, especially Hermione whose expression had turned from annoyance, to a slight dawn of comprehension. Krum had been called away from their table.
He closed his mouth, because at least, it wouldn’t attract as much attention. Hermione meanwhile, had dived her hand into her pocket and produced a piece of parchment. As she pore over what turned out to be her Transfiguration homework, her smile kept broadening until she looked back at Ron with a look of satisfaction.
“I think I’ve figured it out! Ron hold still,” she said as her face edged closer to his. He felt as if time was mysteriously slowing down now, as her face came ever nearer. He could even see some small freckles on her face. Then she whispered, “Finite Incantatem.”
At first he didn’t realise what she had said. He thought it was something she only wanted his ears to hear. When reality sadly dawned on him, he realised that he had regained the use of his mouth.
“Thanks,” he muttered.
“That would explain what happened to Sirius the other day,” she said triumphantly. “Fred and George must have put a spell on these. My bet is that they transfigured them with some sort of sticky mixture. Kind of like dentists use.”
“Them?!” he shouted in frustration. They had made him look like an idiot in front of everyone, Krum, and Hermione.
“Weren’t they the ones who brought those kumquats to the table?”
At that moment Bartemius Crouch got up, and announced, “Now it is time for the awarding of the Cup. It is with great pleasure that we declare Hogwarts, Triwizard Champion!”
Shouting and clapping commenced as Cedric was called forth and he slowly made his way up to the group of Ministers. Ever since he had been attacked by spiders in the maze, his actions had been slowed down by the spiders’ poison. Madam Pomfrey had been unable to remove all the venom, and he was still moving slowly and painfully.
“Where’s Harry?” Ron asked suddenly, as Cedric was helped lift the cup for all to see. In all the excitement, Ron and Hermione had failed to realise their friend had slipped out of the hall.
~***~
While the three schools were enjoying the grand feast, Harry had snuck down to Hagrid’s hut since its inhabitant was up at the castle. As he took out a bag laden with food from under his invisibility cloak, Sirius changed into his human form. Since it was stiflingly hot in the hut, they decided to go outside and ventured into the forest, right in the spot where they had met that night before the Second Task. There they sat down, and as Sirius devoured all the food that Harry had brought for him, they shared that moment together, alone; happy that for that moment, everything was perfect.
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Continuation of 'Return to Hogwarts'.
Loose ends:
- Bagman’s interest in Harry
1. A wand is found lying on the ground
2. Padfoot bounds over the hedge
3. Gabrielle gives Harry a flower
4. An eagle owl soars over Hagrid's hut.
5. A Firebolt and a Nimbus
6. Mr. Crouch gets knocked off his feet as they rush by
7. McGonagall has an accident during the third task
8. Red sparks mean danger
9. A champion is cursed
10. Bagman is bagged
11. Maxime encounters a Giant Problem
12. Goblins have a run-in with the Twins
13. Karkaroff is humiliated
14. The Ghost Choir sings a Celestina Warbeck cover during dinner.
15. Krum's Fanclub makes an untimely appearance.
16. Ron can't answer because he's got his mouth full of candied kumquats.
17. Transfiguration homework gives Hermione a clue
18. Spiders in the maze slow down a champion
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Tri-Ferret Tournament -The Third Task, Submissions
Department_of_Mysteries Tri-Ferret Tournament -The Third Task Nov 21 2005, 12:34 AM
Nov 21 2005, 12:34 AM
