Nico, Voldemort's Older Brother (Being Rewritten)

Serena XV

  Selena giggled, "Oops," She shrugged. "Oh well."

  "Jus' thought she'd like ter see 'em," shrugged Hagrid, still gazing, enraptured, at the dragons.

  "Really romantic date, Hagrid," said Charlie, shaking his head.

  "Five . . ." said Hagrid, "so it's one fer each o' the champions, is it? What've they gotta do — fight 'em?"

  I grinned, "Easy for us."

  "Just get past them, I think," said Charlie. "We'll be on hand if it gets nasty, Extinguishing Spells at the ready. They wanted nesting mothers, I don't know why . . . but I tell you this, I don't envy the one who gets the Horntail. Vicious thing. Its back end's as dangerous as its front, look."

  Selena gasped, "Nesting mothers? That's highly dangerous! Dragons are very protective of their young. Are they idiots?"

  Charlie pointed toward the Horntail's tail, and I saw long, bronze-colored spikes protruding along it every few inches.

  Five of Charlie's fellow keepers staggered up to the Horntail at that moment, carrying a clutch of huge granite-gray eggs between them in a blanket. They placed them carefully at the Horntail's side. Hagrid let out a moan of longing.

  "I've got them counted, Hagrid," said Charlie sternly. Then he said, "How's Harry?"

  I placed my hand in front of my mouth to stifle a laugh. "He's got them counted? What does he think Hagrid's will do, steal one?"

  Selena nodded, "Actually yes. In my first year, Hagrid's had a dragon egg hidden in his cabin."

  I gasped, "But isn't that illegal?"

  Selena shrugged, "Yes, but he didn't get caught."

  "Fine," said Hagrid, drawing our attention to them. He was still gazing at the eggs.

  "Just hope he's still fine after he's faced this lot," said Charlie grimly, looking out over the dragons' enclosure. "I didn't dare tell Mum what he's got to do for the first task; she's already having kittens about him. . . ." Charlie imitated his mother's anxious voice. "'How could they let him enter that tournament, he's much too young! I thought they were all safe, I thought there was going to be an age limit!' She was in floods after that Daily Prophet article about him. 'He still cries about his parents! Oh bless him, I never knew!'"

  "Come on!" Selena hissed, "Harry's leaving! Let's follow and tell Nico of what we found out today." She motioned for me to follow her.

    We quickly traveled back the way we'd come.  "Let's go and get there before him." We shadow-traveled to the outside of the Gryffindor dorms. A few boring minutes later - it felt like a couple of hours (Thank you ADHD) - Harry came up. "Balderdash!" The painting opened, showing the Gryffindor common room.

  Harry pulled off the Invisibility Cloak and threw himself into an armchair in front of the fire. The room was in semidarkness; the flames were the only source of light. Nearby, on a table, the Support Cedric Diggory! badges the Creeveys had been trying to improve were glinting in the firelight. They now read POTTER REALLY STINKS. Harry looked back into the flames, and jumped.

  Selena gasped, "That's Sirius Black! He's a son of Trivia, Roman form of Hecate! He's been missing from camp for about twelve years!" She whisper-shouted.

  Sirius's head was sitting in the fire. His face breaking into the first smile he had worn for days, he scrambled out of his chair, crouched down by the hearth, and said, "Sirius — how're you doing?"

  "Never mind me, how are you?" said Sirius seriously.

   "I'm —" He sighed. Then he started blurting out about how no one believed he hadn't entered the tournament of his own free will, how Rita Skeeter had lied about him in the Daily Prophet, how he couldn't walk down a corridor without being sneered at — and about Ron, Ron not believing him, Ron's jealousy . . .
". . . and now Hagrid's just shown me what's coming in the first task, and it's dragons, Sirius, and I'm a goner," he finished desperately.