Prefects' Bathroom
Group: Ferret Fuzz
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Joined: 23-August 04
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Member No.: 266
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The Final Task
Harry was more grateful than usual when Charms class ended. After working on the Engorgement Charm all week, half of the class was still having trouble with what Hermione had deemed “a very simple spell”. Given the fact that Professor Flitwick had spent the last ten minutes of class shrinking unintended targets including Harry’s shoe, Neville’s toad, and Lavender Brown’s head, Harry felt inclined to disagree with Hermione’s assessment.
Deciding to take a shortcut to the Great Hall for lunch, Harry, Hermione, and Ron slipped past a tapestry and into one of the lesser-known corridors. Ron was just finishing a long-winded joke that ended with the punch-line, “Orange you glad I didn’t say marmalade again” when they heard angry voices coming from somewhere up ahead and out of sight.
Harry tiptoed silently down the corridor with Ron and Hermione at his heels. The three of them peeked around the corner and saw Bagman and Karkaroff in a heated discussion.
* “We had a deal, Igor,” Bagman yelled. “You can’t back out now.” *
“I’m not backing out as you say. It’s Victor. He does not want to cheat,” Karkaroff said disdainfully. “I told him what to do in the last task. He refused to listen to me and did the opposite out what I said out of spite. Do not blame me. He is stubborn”
“Honestly, Igor,” Bagman whined. “You need to do something. If the bets don’t go my way-”
Harry never got to find out what would happen if the bets did not go Bagman’s way, because at that very moment Mad-Eye Moody chose to make an appearance. Even with a clunky wooden leg, he had snuck up on the whole lot of them without anybody noticing. Harry couldn’t help but admire the old Auror’s stealth.
“Fancy a flutter, eh?” Moody said, shoving Harry, Ron, and Hermione back against the wall before pulling his wand on Bagman and Karkaroff. “I told Dumbledore you were cheating. Looks like I caught you red-handed this time.”
“What are you going to do?” Bagman asked, his eyes wide.
Moody’s gash of a mouth morphed into something that vaguely resembled a smile. “I’m going take out the trash, sonny.”
Moody raised his wand and conjured a rubbish bin and a huge burlap bag from thin air. Within seconds, he had bagged a struggling Bagman and magicked him into the bin.
“That’s better,” Moody growled. “Now it’s your turn, Karkaroff.”
But, having apparently snuck off when nobody was looking, Karkaroff was not around to take his turn.
“No matter,” Moody said, turning to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. “I’ll catch up with that slippery bit of scum later on.”
“What are you going to do to him?” Hermione asked.
“Whatever I feel like,” Moody replied, his magical eye spinning in its socket and falling on Hermione. “Got a problem with that, Granger?”
“Um…no,” she squeaked, looking everywhere but Moody’s face.
“Then off you go,” Moody said, his voice softening just slightly.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione didn’t need to be told twice. Speeding down the corridor, they headed to the Great Hall where they spent the entire noon meal gossiping about the Tournament and everything they had heard. They were still hashing things out when they reached the Gryffindor common room some time later.
“I still say we’ll never see Karkaroff again,” Ron said, pausing to give the Fat Lady the new password (belch powder). “That old nutter’s gonna kill him.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Ron,” Hermione argued as she crawled through the portrait hole. “Professor Moody is a retired Auror, he’s not a murderer.”
“Mad-Eye out to get you, Ron?” Fred asked cheerfully, looking up from the parchment that he and George had been poring over.
“Not me. Karkaroff,” Ron answered. “Moody caught him and Bagman talking about the third task.”
George raised his eyebrows and shot Fred a meaningful look. “Bagman has gotten himself in a spot with everyone, hasn’t he?”
“What do you mean?” Harry asked.
“Nothing,” Fred answered smoothly.
“That’s rubbish. You two know something. What gives?” Ron demanded.
“Better watch that big nose of yours, Ronniekins. It’s getting in other people’s business again,” George warned in a sing-song voice.
“Ron’s right. If you know something, you should tell us,” Hermione interjected tartly.
Fred smirked. “Why? You three bent on saving the day again?”
“Somebody has to,” Hermione said in the most dignified voice she could muster.
The twins laughed.
“Looks like we better tell them, Fred,” George said mockingly. “Wizardkind depends on it.”
“So, what do you know,” Harry interrupted, ending the banter before it could go any further.
“Not much, really” George admitted. “Just that goblins are going mad looking for Bagman. We had a run in with them just a minute ago out on the grounds.”
“Nasty lot,” Fred added. “They stopped us and demanded to know where they could find Bagman.”
George laughed. “It was funny, because we had just seen good ol’ Ludo leaving the castle. He was all red in the face and looking as grouchy as Mum on a bad day. Don’t know what his problem was. It did sound like he was mumbling something about Mad-Eye Moody though.”
“Course, we didn’t tell the goblins that we’d seen Bagman,” Fred said.
“Why not?” Hermione asked.
“Didn’t like their attitude. Plus, we figured Bagman might be grateful enough to return the favor someday,” Fred admitted.
Hermione opened her mouth, no doubt to begin a lengthy lecture, but George interrupted her.
“Don’t start, Hermione. We spilled our guts, so scat.”
“Unless you feel like sampling our new products,” Fred added, grinning wickedly. “We can’t seem to get our recipe for eye-popping éclairs quite right. A new pair of lookers may be just what we need to straighten things out.”
“C’mon, Hermione,” Ron said, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her away from the twins. “You need your eyes.”
Hermione frowned at the twins, but followed Ron to one of the tables where they spent the time before dinner playing Wizard’s Chess.
The hours went by rather quickly and soon it was time to head downstairs. When they reached the Entrance Hall, they were met with quite a scene. Karkaroff was standing in the center of a huge cluster of laughing students.
“What’s going on,” Harry asked Ginny, who was standing near the edge of the crowd.
“It’s Karkaroff,” Ginny giggled. “Someone must have jinxed him. Every time he opens his mouth and tries to talk, his goatee grows longer.”
Harry stood on his toes and craned his neck. He finally spotted Karkaroff in the center of the crowd. His silver goatee had grown so long that the tip of it now touched the floor. Amused, Harry watched it grow a bit more as Karkaroff tried to sputter a few more words.
“The git just can’t seem to keep his mouth shut,” Ginny said disbelievingly, still watching Karkaroff. “He’s humiliating himself in front of the entire school.”
Harry felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around to find Mad-Eye Moody leering at him.
“What you think of Karkaroff’s beard, Potter?” Moody asked.
“Nice,” Harry said. “Your handiwork?”
“Aye,” Moody replied. “Figured he’d keep his mouth shut if there were consequences. I see that’s going to require more of a miracle than a jinx though.”
“How long will it last?” Harry asked.
“He’s stuck that way until I decide to perform the counter-curse.” The gash in Moody’s face twisted into a smile once more. “So, in other words, it’s permanent.”
The crowd of students suddenly parted as someone else made their way into the Entrance Hall. It was Dumbledore. With the exception of a whisper hear and there, everyone was quiet, waiting to see what the headmaster would do. For a moment, he did nothing, and then he chuckled.
“That is a fine beard, Igor. One might say that it puts mine to shame,” Dumbledore said, gesturing to his own long white beard.
Karkaroff looked furious. He opened his mouth to retort and his ridiculously long goatee sprouted even more silver hair, which began to inch along the floor towards a throng of Hufflepuffs, all of whom backed away very quickly.
“I think silence may serve you better for now,” Dumbledore told Karkaroff. “And, if you are interested in a trim, perhaps a member of our staff could assist.”
Dumbledore looked up to where Harry stood and nodded at Moody, who mumbled something about the jig being up. Once Karkaroff had been led from the Entrance Hall, the crowd dispersed. There was nothing more to see.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione watched Moody stump off after Dumbledore before entering the Great Hall. They found seats at the Gryffindor table and filled their plates with ham pie, golden potatoes, and treacle tart. Soon the owls started to arrive, delivering the evening mail.
Harry looked to the staff table to see if Karkaroff, Moody, or Dumbledore had returned, but their seats remained empty. He did see Hagrid though, who waved cheerfully. Harry waved back, noticing that Hagrid had once again secured a seat next to Madam Maxine.
The Beauxbatons Headmistress was currently in the process of untying a large package from between the feet of two eagle owls. She kept looking at Hagrid while she did it, clearly assuming it was him who had sent it. Harry nudged Hermione and pointed out the scene.
“Look, Hagrid sent Madam Maxine a package,” Harry whispered.
Hermione frowned. “I don’t think Hagrid sent that, Harry. He looks just as curious to see what’s in that package as she does.”
Harry realized that Hermione was right. Hagrid’s eyes were narrowed and he was intently watching Madam Maxine. Had someone else fallen for the Beauxbatons Headmistress?
Apparently not. Madam Maxine screamed as a giant spider leapt at her from inside the unwrapped package, landing directly on the top of her head. Hysterical, she stood and began to run in circles screaming, “Get it off! Get it off!”
Hagrid reached out to help her, but Madam Maxine’s flailing arms knocked him to the floor.
“I can’t believe she’s scared of that spider,” Ron said. “Compared to her, he’s nothing but a speck of dust.”
Hermione snorted. “You’re one to talk.”
Harry watched as Hagrid hoisted himself to his feet, only to be knocked to the ground once more.
“Oh honestly,” Hermione said, getting to her feet and pulling out her wand. “Why does everyone always panic and forget that they know magic. Accio spider!”
The spider zoomed from Madam Maxine’s head into Hermione’s outstretched hand. Ron, who was sitting next to her, made a strange sound and bunched closer to Neville. Using a freezing charm, Hermione immobilized the spider and placed it on the Gryffindor table. It took a moment for Madam Maxine to realize that she had been rescued, but when she did, she promptly fell into Hagrid’s arms and began sobbing.
“Who would have sent something so horrible?” Harry wondered aloud.
*“A Quibbler reader no doubt,” Hermione replied peevishly. “Things like this have been happening ever since that ridiculous article appeared telling people to protest the Tournament by whatever means possible. Such rubbish.”*
More owls began to fly into the Great Hall and for a moment Harry wondered if Quibbler readers had sent them, but it turned out to be the evening delivery of The Daily Prophet. One of the owls swooped and landed in front of Hermione, who paid for the service with several Knuts and a small piece of ham from her plate.
“Let’s see what’s in the real news,” Hermione said, snapping the Prophet open and then laying it on the table immediately. “Oh my, look at that!”
Harry and Ron leaned over her shoulder to read.
Bagman Exposed
Once again, scandal has arisen at the Ministry of Magic, writes Special Correspondent Rita Skeeter. Ludovic "Ludo" Bagman, current Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports, has come under scrutiny for incidents that occurred in his days as a professional Quidditch player.
An unnamed source close to Bagman reveals that the once celebrated Beater for the Wimbourne Wasps used to throw games for personal monetary gain. “That Ludo was a no good cheater. He fixed games every chance he got. If it came down to it, he’d hit a member of his own team with a Bludger just to take them out,” says the source.
Bagman is currently supervising the Tri-Wizard Tournament being held at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. One must speculate that perhaps this appointment is out of order given Bagman’s questionable past. When contacted, Ministry officials refused to comment, leaving this reporter to wonder if a cover-up is in the works.
“They’re a bit behind on the times, aren’t they?” Ron asked sarcastically. *“We already knew that Bagman was a no good cheater.”*
“Yeah, but now everyone else knows too. That should keep Bagman in line for the third task,” Hermione said.
“Don’t be so sure,” Harry said, remembering Sirius’ words. “Desperate men do desperate things.”
“Oy,” Ron said, pointing towards the door. “There’s Fleur. She’s a bit late for dinner, isn’t she?”
Harry followed Ron’s finger and saw Fleur as she was walking past their table. She was with another student from Beauxbatons. Both girls were frowning towards members of the Ghost Choir, who were in the midst of enthusiastically belting out a Celestina Warbeck cover tune.
“Zes choir is simply ‘orrible,” Fleur said. “The dinner music at Beauxbatons is so much better.”
Harry saw Hermione suddenly straighten in her seat and wondered what she was doing, but then he saw that Viktor Krum was approaching their table. Ron didn’t look too happy about this and covered his displeasure by pretending that it wasn’t happening and shoving a handful of candied kumquats in his mouth.
“Hermy-own-ninny,” Krum said, ignoring Harry and Ron. “I haff not had a chance to speak vith you lately. I vas vondering if you might vant to take a valk vith me tonight?”
Before Hermione could respond, a gaggle of girls made an appearance behind Krum, all of them giggling and whispering. Much to Harry’s amazement and Hermione’s consternation, they continued to stand there openly staring at Krum.
Hermione’s face turned an alarming shade of red. “I suppose that depends on whether or not your fan club will be joining us.”
Krum looked embarrassed and mumbled a hurried no.
Hermione stared at him a moment and seemed to soften. “Actually, a walk sounds nice. I’ll meet you in the Entrance Hall in a few minutes?”
“Until then,” Krum said, smiling slightly before nodding a curt good-bye to Harry and Ron.
Ron snorted and Hermione rounded on him. “Do you have some sort of problem with Viktor?”
Harry could tell that Ron was dying to tell Hermione exactly what his problem was, but he had unfortunately stuffed too many candied kumquats in his mouth to muster a response. Rolling her eyes, Hermione got to her feet and stalked away from the table without a backward glance.
“You know,” Harry whispered, hoping to take Ron’s mind off of Hermione and Krum. “We should go to Hagrid’s and see Sirius. He’s probably going mad in that hut.”
“Alright,” Ron agreed, though somewhat reluctantly.
Ron continued to brood the entire trip to Hagrid’s. Harry managed to cheer him up slightly by pointing out an eagle owl that was soaring over Hagird’s hut and speculating about the type of package it may be carrying.
“Maybe one of those Quibbler nutters are sending something to Snape. I wouldn’t mind seeing him being attacked by spiders,” Harry joked.
“I think I’d rather see him covered in bubotuber pus myself,” Ron said, finally cracking a smile when Harry laughed.
Ludo Bagman, who leapt quite suddenly from behind a hedge and into their path, cut Harry’s laughter short. Pure instinct caused Harry to pull out his wand.
“Now, now. Just hoping to have a word,” Bagman said, quickly holding up his hands to show that he wasn’t armed. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you, Harry.”
This was news to Harry, who had noticed Bagman staring at him, but had certainly never anticipated an ambush.
“About what?” Harry asked, keeping his wand aloft.
“I was hoping we could talk in private,” Bagman said, glancing at Ron.
“I don’t think so,” Ron said, pulling out his wand as well.
“Whatever you want to say to me, you can say to him too,” Harry said.
Bagman looked uncomfortable at the thought, but plunged ahead anyway. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you about your Quidditch career. I hear you’re quite the Seeker. You were the youngest in a century, they say. I assume that you will of course continue the game after Hogwarts?”
When Harry didn’t respond, Bagman began to fidget. He had obviously been hoping for a more receptive Harry.
“See the thing is, I’ve been there. I could help train you, prepare you for matches, whatever it takes.”
“What’s in it for you?” Harry asked suspiciously.
“Nothing, nothing. Only the simple pleasure of helping a student pursue his dream. Well, that and a small monetary fee, of course. Nothing much. A deposit will do for now.” Bagman added quickly.
“Thanks for the offer, but I don’t think so,” Harry said.
“Come now, Harry,” Bagman said with a bit more desperation. “You’ve got the money. Parents left you plenty of gold from what I hear.”
“Who told you that?” Harry asked, feeling irritated that someone was gossiping about such things.
“Does it really matter? No, Harry, I don’t think it does. What’s important is that you follow your dream. I can help you with that,” Bagman said, almost pleading now. “What do you say, Harry?”
“I say no. Now please, move out of our way.”
*“You drive a tough bargain, Harry,” Bagman said, showing no signs of moving anywhere. “I didn’t think you’d be so savvy. Here’s the truth. I need the money and I need it now. The goblins are after me. I’ve got nowhere else to turn.”*
“You work for the Ministry of Magic,” Harry reasoned. “Can’t they help you?”
*Bagman laughed. “I tried sending an anonymous owl to the Ministry.* Thought maybe they could investigate the goblin enforcers, get them off my back. But that didn’t work. I tried making a quick Galleon by betting on the Tournament, and all I did was dig a deeper hole. See, Harry, that’s why I need you. If you slip me a bit of your gold, I can hold off those greedy goblins. Maybe make a fresh start.”
“Look, you seem like a nice guy,” Harry said. “I just don’t want to get involved.”
“Then you leave me no choice,” Bagman said, reaching for his wand.
Before Harry or Ron could respond, a big black dog bounded over the hedge. It was Padfoot. He charged straight at Bagman who turned and began to run towards the forest, Padfoot nipping at his heels the entire way.
“Ha! Look, Bagman was so scared he dropped his wand,” Ron said, pointing to a wand, which had been abandoned on the ground.
Harry said nothing. The incident had left him momentarily speechless. Sirius had been right about Bagman all along.
“You know,” Harry said. “We almost went a whole year without being attacked.”
“There’s always next year,” Ron said, though not very optimistically.
Sirius returned a moment later and led Harry and Ron back to Hagrid’s hut. Hagrid must have been out, because he was nowhere to be seen when they entered the house. Sirius shed his animagus form as soon as they were all inside.
“Good timing,” Harry said with a grin.
“I’ve been waiting for him to make a move. Lucky I was around when it happened. Dumbledore came by the other day and asked that I stay put in Hagrid’s house. Said he didn’t mind me staying, but didn’t want me drawing attention to myself. He’s just paranoid,” Sirius said, waving away the worried look that Harry and Ron exchanged. “I’m still coming to the third task tomorrow. Can’t miss that.”
The rest of the evening was spent in enjoyable conversation. Hagrid returned shortly after nightfall, almost catching Sirius in his human form. Luckily Ron had been peeking out the window at the time looking for some sign of Hermione and Krum and spotted Hagrid’s approach. Harry and Ron shared a cup of tea with him before returning to the castle and retiring for the night.
***
The excitement throughout the school was almost palpable on the morning of the third task. Most of the students were seated before the elaborate maze that had been erected on the Quidditch Pitch long before the task was set to start, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were no exception. They had arrived early and found seats down in the front row. Shortly afterwards, they were joined by Hagrid and Padfoot, a.k.a. Elmer.
Harry was looking forward to the champions’ arrival. A rumor had spread through the school this morning that Cedric, Fleur, and Krum would be entertaining the crowd with a short performance before the task started. Nobody was exactly sure what this would entail, so anticipations had been running wild. Personally, Harry was hoping for another demonstration of the Wronski Feint.
A booming voice suddenly got the attention of the crowd. It was Percy Weasley. He announced, quite pompously, that he would be commentating during the third task. Harry noticed that Percy did not mention Bagman’s absence or the reason behind it.
“Please join me in welcoming the school champions,” Percy announced. “Fleur Delacour, Cedric Diggory, and Viktor Krum.”
A deafening sound of applause rang through the crowd as the champions made their appearance. Each rode a racing broom that left a colored trail of sparks in the air as the dipped, dived, and zoomed. Fleur flew by on a Cleansweep, leaving bursts of blue and silver in her wake. Her sister Gabrielle walked on the ground beneath her, handing out white roses to students in the crowd. When Gabrielle reached Harry and handed him a flower, her pale face flushed pink and she bowed her head shyly.
Krum and Cedric were awing the crowd with dangerous stunts and tricks. It seemed that Krum was giving a slightly better performance on his Firebolt than Cedric was on the Nimbus that he was riding, but both were impressive never the less.
Like Fleur, Cedric and Krum had also solicited pre-match support from others. It seemed that the entire Hufflepuff House was handing out yellow badges that displayed the words “Support Cedric”, while the Durmstrang students were tossing miniature figures of Krum into the crowd. Harry saw Hermione discreetly pocket a Krum figure that she had caught.
When the display finally ended, the champions landed and discarded their brooms. After receiving last minute instructions from Dumbledore, Cedric, Fleur, and Krum each took a place at one of the maze entrances. All three of them looked nervous and even younger than usual.
“The order in which the Tri-Wizard Champions enter the maze is based on their current point position. *As the leader, Fleur Delacour will enter first. She will be followed five minutes later by Cedric Diggory and Viktor Krum, both of whom are tied for second place.* The first champion to reach the Tri-Wizard Cup will be declared the winner,” Percy called. “There will be many dangerous feats to overcome within the maze. Every time a champion encounters an obstacle, red sparks will be shot into the air. This is meant to help spectators track the progress of the champions. If the obstacle proves too great to overcome, the champion may forfeit by shooting green sparks from their wand. They will be rescued promptly.”
Fleur entered the maze and almost instantly, the crowd was treated to a shower of red sparks. From where he was sitting, Harry heard Fleur scream.
“Did you hear that?” Hermione hissed into Harry’s ear.
“What, Fleur’s scream? How could you not,” Harry replied.
“No,” Hermione said sharply. “I heard a man’s voice come from inside the maze. Harry, I think someone just cursed Fleur.”
Finally cottoning on, Harry said, “Do you think it was Bagman?”
“I don’t know,” Hermione said, biting her lip nervously. “What should we do?”
“What are you two going on about,” Ron asked.
“We think someone just cursed Fleur,” Hermione explained.
Harry felt someone nudge his leg and looked down to find Padfoot staring up at him. He had his head cocked to the side in a very dog-like way. Harry leaned over and told him everything in a whisper. Padfoot growled, leapt from the stands, and charged the maze.
“Elmer, no!” Hagrid yelled. “Come back!”
But Padfoot did not come back. He had disappeared within the leafy walls of the maze. Much of the crowd had seen the big black dog enter and a roar of conversation swept the crowd as a result.
“Oh dear,” Hagrid said. “Elmer shouldn’t ‘ave done that.”
Padfoot reappeared a moment later, dragging an unconscious man by the robes. It was Bagman. As soon as he was visible to the crowd, Padfoot let go of Bagman’s robes and ran back into the maze. He was back again a moment later, this time dragging an unconscious Fleur. Madam Maxine, Madam Pomfrey, and Dumbledore all rushed to Fleur’s side. She was revived soon afterwards. Harry saw her point at Bagman, as she told Madam Maxine and Dumbledore what happened.
“If I could have everyone’s attention please,” Dumbledore yelled to the chattering crowd. “The task will be delayed for a short time while I confer with the other judges. Please feel free to remain in the stands and talk amongst yourselves.”
Padfoot bounded back to Harry’s side and sat back down as if nothing had happened. Hagrid, however, did not intend to ignore such heroics. He scratched Padfoot behind the ears, and began talk of all the treats that would be had later on back at the hut.
Professor McGonagall, who was sitting next to Hagrid, was also impressed and won over by Padfoot. She leaned over to offer him a scratch behind the ears, and promptly fell out of her seat. Harry tried very hard not to laugh at the sight of the prim Professor McGonagall flat on her back with her legs in the air, her tartan hose exposed for the entire world to see. Hagrid soon had her reseated though and there was no real harm done. Not long afterwards, Dumbledore reappeared with the champions at his side.
“My humble apologies for the most unfortunate delay,” Dumbledore called to the crowd. “It has come to our attention that Miss Delacour was faced with an unplanned obstacle within the maze. Therefore, it has been decided that the third task will begin anew.”
Everyone cheered as the champions once again took their places at their respective maze entrances. Fleur entered first; Krum and Cedric followed five minutes later. Fleur seemed to be having better luck this time, but Cedric was not as lucky. Red sparks were being shot into the air from his side of the maze.
“That’ll be the spiders. Put ‘em there myself,” Hagrid confided to Harry. “Might slow Cedric down some, but don’ worry, they’re Aragog’s offspring. They won’ hurt ‘im.”
Harry silently hoped that Cedric was not scared of spiders. Apparently he wasn’t, because the red sparks ceased after a few moments. Soon, red sparks were flying from every part of the maze. It looked like Fleur had somehow gotten lost, as she was no longer moving towards the Tri-Wizard Cup, but Krum and Cedric were steadily making there way to victory. The sound coming from the Hufflepuff section of the crowd was almost deafening. Harry felt himself being caught up in the excitement and desperately hoped that Cedric would win for Hogwarts.
And win he did. Afterward, Krum and Fleur were both good sports, congratulating Cedric and shaking his hand. Karkaroff, however, stomped away without a backward glance.
The celebratory feast that occurred afterwards continued well into the night. Harry, Ron, and Hermione snuck out of the Great Hall to visit Sirius, who greeted them in human form. Hagrid was out, consoling Madam Maxine. This was probably a good thing, considering Sirius, or Elmer as Hagrid knew him, would be leaving Hogwarts tonight.
“Hagrid will be disappointed. I think he liked having a dog,” Harry said.
“I wish there was a way that I could repay Hagrid for his kindness,” Sirius said. “He’s a good man.”
“Get him a dragon. He’d like that,” Ron said with a laugh.
“Not a real dragon?” Sirius asked.
“Ooh, that gives me an idea,” Hermione squealed, pulling a piece of parchment from her ever-present bookbag.
“Is that your Transfiguration assignment?” Ron asked disbelievingly. “You planned on doing homework tonight?”
Hermione blushed, “Not exactly. I just wanted to polish it up a bit before I hand it in tomorrow. But, nevermind that. I wrote down a spell that permanently transfigures statues. We could use it on the Norwegian Ridgeback statue that Hagrid keeps on his mantel. Hagrid will love it!”
“That’s brilliant,” Harry said grabbing the statue and bringing it over to the table.
“There’s only one problem,” Hermione said. “I’ve never actually done the spell before.”
“Let’s try it together,” Sirius reasoned. “Two wands are better than one. Between the two of us, I bet we can do it. What’s the incantation?”
“Draconis,” Hermione replied.
“On three, then,” Sirius said.
Sirius and Hermione aimed their wands at the Norwegian Ridgeback and together they cast the Draconis charm. The statue sprang to life instantly, but thankfully did not grow any larger, or breathe fire. It did, however, bite Ron’s finger as soon as the opportunity arose. They all had a good laugh and even Ron joined in.
It was at that moment that Harry realized he had enjoyed this year more than any other in his life. It was a good feeling.
*******************************************************************
Continued From
Padfoot Perturbed (Round One)
Return to Hogwarts (Round Two)
LOOSE ENDS
* “We had a deal, Igor,” Bagman yelled. “You can’t back out now.” *-- Explains which champion Bagman has been rooting for. (2nd Task)
*“A Quibbler reader no doubt,” Hermione replied peevishly. “Things like this have been happening ever since that ridiculous article appeared telling readers to boycott the Tournament by whatever means possible. What rubbish.”* --Elaborates on the Quibbler article which exposed Bagman’s plot for world domination and encouraged readers to protest the tournament. (1st Task)
*“We already knew that Bagman was a no good cheater.”* --Ties up the loose end from the conversation in the forest that Harry, Ron, and Hermione started with Sirius in regards to Bagman (2nd Task)
*“You drive a tough bargain, Harry,” Bagman said, showing no signs of moving anywhere. “I didn’t think you’d be so savvy. Here’s the truth. I need the money and I need it now. The goblins are after me. I’ve got nowhere else to turn.”* --This line, along with the paragraphs surrounding it, explains why Bagman was staring at Harry and asking around about him. He wanted to embezzle…er, I mean borrow money from Harry’s vault (1st Task)
*Bagman laughed. “I tried sending an anonymous owl to the Ministry.* --Answers the question of who sent the anonymous owl to the Ministry, as reported in the Daily Prophet (1st Task)
*As the leader, Fleur Delacour of Beauxbatons will enter first. She will be followed five minutes later by Cedric Diggory of Hogwarts and Viktor Krum of Durmstrang, both of whom are tied for second place.* --Clarifies the place status of the three champions (2nd Task)
MISSION ICONS/REQUIREMENTS (In order)
Bagman is bagged
Goblins have a run-in with the Twins
Karkaroff is humiliated
Maxime encounters a Giant Problem
Rita Skeeter reveals a cheater
The Ghost Choir sings a Celestina Warbeck cover during dinner.
Krum's Fanclub makes an untimely appearance.
Ron can't answer because he's got his mouth full of candied kumquats.
An eagle owl soars over Hagrid's hut.
Padfoot bounds over the hedge
A wand is found lying on the ground
Gabrielle gives Harry a flower
A Firebolt and a Nimbus
Red sparks mean danger
Icons you've found:
A champion is cursed
McGonagall has an accident during the third task
Spiders in the maze slow down a champion
Transfiguration homework gives Hermione a clue
Teamwork solves a problem
AUTHOR NOTE
This segment was written from Harry's POV because Dumbledore made Padfoot stay in Hagrid's Hut. As much as I love Hagrid, his hut is not exactly a hub of activity. Plus Harry's POV served the story much better in this particular case.
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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
