Butterfly Effect ; H. Potter

By teenageffools

600K 16.9K 13.9K

antheia lupin couldn't believe the burden she had on her shoulders simply because of an event years ago. she... More

BUTTERFLY EFFECT.
synopsis & cast.
author's note.
act one ; third year.
1. the leaky cauldron.
2. dementors on the train.
3. hippogriff flights.
4. boggarts.
5. flight of the fat lady.
6. grim in the stands.
7. truth or not.
8. the firebolt.
9. silver mares.
10. gryffindor versus ravenclaw.
11. snape's grudge.
12. the quidditch cup.
13. predictions and exams.
14. the shrieking shack.
15. the marauders.
16. voldemort's servant.
17. dementor's kiss.
18. the secret.
19. owl post.
act two ; fourth year.
20. the invitation.
21. the portkey.
22. the campsite.
23. quidditch world cup.
24. the mark in the sky.
25. frilly dress robes.
26. aboard the hogwarts express.
27. triwizard tournament.
28. the amazing bouncing ferret.
29. constant vigilance.
30. beauxbatons and durmstrang.
31. the goblet of fire.
32. the fourth champion.
33. to hell and back.
34. the horntail.
35. against dragons.
36. the house-elves.
37. dates and last resorts.
38. the yule ball.
39. silences and scoops.
40. the second task.
41. history of crouch.
42. mr. crouch's visit.
43. voldemort's infiltration.
44. the trials.
45. the final task.
46. flesh, blood, and bone.
47. voldemort's tale.
48. priori incantatem.
49. barty crouch jr.
50. parting of the ways.
act three ; fifth year.
52. unsent letters.
53. dear mr. potter.
54. reunions and flying.
55. the headquarters.
56. dumbledore's shrewd ideas.
57. the house of black.
58. ministry of magic.
59. mrs. figg's testament.
60. non-prefects.
61. luna and her quibbler.
62. the sorting hat's warning.
63. dolores umbridge.
64. bloody quills.
65. padfoot in the fire.
66. hermione's idea.
67. recruitments.
68. educational decrees.
69. dumbledore's army.
70. draco's torment.
71. in the mountains.
72. thestrals and mistletoes.
73. st mungo's.
74. the longbottoms.
75. occlumency.
76. madam puddifoot's.
77. seen and unforseen.
78. marietta's undoing.
79. snape's worst memory.
80. weasley twins' flight.
81. hagrid's half brother.
82. dreams and o.w.l.s.
83. through the fire.
84. fight and flight.
85. glowing prophecies.
86. sirius's last stand.
87. dumbledore's duel.
88. answers.
89. the beginning of the end.
act four ; sixth year.
90. presents for theia.
91. cissy and bella.
92. the transcendent.
93. horace slughorn.
94. snuffles the niffler.
95. draco's detour.
96. never-ending stares.
97. snape at last.
98. amortentia.
99. house of gaunt.
100. quidditch tryouts.
101. jinxes and curses.
102. revirida.
103. felix felicis.
104. mistletoes.
105. a frosty christmas.
106. murder of the riddles.
107. poisoned.
108. dobby and kreacher.
109. farewell dean thomas.
110. the unknowable room.
111. confessions.
112. the seven horcruxes.
113. better than firewhiskey.
114. a sky full of stars.
115. into the cave.
116. headmaster's demise.
117. the prince flees.
118. fawkes' lament.
119. what was awaiting.
act five ; seventh year.
120. flight of seven.
121. the lost soldier.
122. preparations.
123. only seventeen.
124. bill and fleur.
125. somewhere to hide.
126. regulus arcturus black.
127. lupin's visit.
128. magic is might.
129. muggle-borns wanted.
130. lily flower.
131. gryffindor's sword.
132. it's nice to have a friend.
133. irreparable damage.
134. dumbledore's legacy.
135. hermione's revenge.
136. xenophilius lovegood.
137. the three brothers.
138. the potterwatch.
139. malfoy manor.
140. here lies dobby.
141. teddy lupin.
142. the gringotts heist.
143. atop a dragon.
144. mystery of the mirror.
145. ravenclaw's diadem.
146. sacking of severus snape.
147. against a thousand soldiers.
148. the elder wand.
149. the prince's tale.
150. until the very end.
151. greeting death like a friend.
152. the fool tom riddle.
epilogue: forever and always.
acknowledgements & notes.

51. remembering.

2.7K 88 20
By teenageffools

Even a month later, Antheia had none but few memories from the days following. It was as though she could not take in any more after what she had been through.

She and Harry returned to Gryffindor Tower the following evening. From what Hermione and Ron told them, Dumbledore had spoken to the school that morning at breakfast. He had merely requested that they leave Harry and Antheia alone, that nobody asks them questions or badger them to tell the story of what had happened in the maze. Most people, Antheia noticed, were skirting her in the corridors, avoiding her eyes. Some whispered behind their hands as they passed. Perhaps they were formulating their own theories about how Cedric had died. She was annoyed by this, of course, but found she didn't mind much. She liked it best when she was with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and they were talking about other things, or else letting them sit in silence while they played chess. Antheia felt as though all four of them had reached an understanding they didn't need to put into words; that each was waiting for some sign, some word, of what was going on outside Hogwarts - and that it was useless to speculate about what might be coming until they knew anything for certain. The only time they touched upon the subject was when Ron told Harry about a meeting Mrs. Weasley had had with Dumbledore before going home.

"She went to ask him if you could come straight to us this summer," he said. "But he wants you to go back to the Dursleys, at least at first."

"Why?" said Harry.

"She said Dumbledore's got his reasons," said Ron, shaking his head darkly. "I suppose we've got to trust him, haven't we?"

The only person apart from Antheia, Ron, and Hermione that Harry felt able to talk to was Hagrid. As there was no longer a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, they had those lessons free. They used the one on Thursday afternoon to go down and visit him in his cabin. It was a bright and sunny day; Fang bounded out of the open door as they approached, barking and wagging his tail madly.

"Who's that?" called Hagrid, coming to the door. "Harry!"

He strode out to meet them, pulled Harry into a one-armed hug, ruffled his hair, and said, "Good ter see yeh, mate. Good ter see yeh."

They saw two bucket-sized cups and saucers on the wooden table in front of the fireplace when they entered Hagrid's cabin.

"Bin havin' a cuppa with Olympe," Hagrid said, "she's jus' left."

"Who?" said Ron, curiously.

"Madame Maxime, o' course!" said Hagrid.

"You two made it up, have you?" said Ron.

"Dunno what yeh're talkin' about," said Hagrid airily, fetching more cups from the dresser. When he had made tea, and offered round a plate of doughy biscuits, he leant back in his chair and surveyed Harry and Antheia closely through his beetle-black eyes.

"You two all righ'?" he said gruffly.

"Yeah," said Harry. Antheia hummed in agreement.

"No, yeh're not," said Hagrid. "'Course yeh're not. But yeh will be."

Harry said nothing.

"Knew he was goin' ter come back," said Hagrid, and Harry, Antheia, Ron, and Hermione looked up at him, shocked. "Known it fer years. Knew he was out there, bidin' his time. It had ter happen. Well, now it has, an' we'll jus' have ter get on with it. We'll fight. Migh' be able ter stop him before he gets a good hold. That's Dumbledore's plan, anyway. Great man, Dumbledore. S'long as we've got him, I'm not too worried."

Hagrid raised his bushy eyebrows at the disbelieving expressions on their faces.

"No good sittin' worryin' abou' it," he said. "What's comin' will come, an' we'll meet it when it does. Dumbledore told me wha' you did, Harry, Antheia."

Hagrid's chest swelled as he looked at them. "Yeh did as much as yer parents would've done, an' I can' give yeh no higher praise than that."

The corners of Antheia's mouth lifted into a small smile.

"What's Dumbledore asked you to do, Hagrid?" Harry asked. "He sent Professor McGonagall to ask you and Madame Maxime to meet him ... that night."

"Got a little job fer me over the summer," said Hagrid. "Secret, though. I'm not s'posed ter talk abou' it, not even ter you lot. Olympe - Madame Maxime ter you - might be comin' with me. I think she will. Think I got her persuaded."

"Is it to do with Voldemort?"

Hagrid flinched at the sound of the name.

"Migh' be," he said evasively. "Now ... who'd like ter come an' visit the las' Skrewt with me? I was jokin' - jokin'!" he added hastily, seeing the looks on their faces.

─ ・ 。゚☆: *.☽ .* :☆゚. ─

It was with a heavy heart that Antheia packed up her trunk in order to go to the annual Leaving Feast. The Leaving Feast was usually a cause for celebration, when the winner of the Inter-House Championship would be announced. She had avoided being in the Great Hall when it was full ever since she had left the hospital wing, preferring to eat when it was nearly empty, to avoid the stares of her fellow students.

When she, Harry, Ron, and Hermione entered the Hall, they saw at once that the usual decorations were missing. The Great Hall was normally decorated with the winning house's colours for the Leaving Feast. Tonight, however, there were black drapes on the wall behind the teachers' table. Antheia supposed they were there as a mark of respect for Cedric.

The real Mad-Eye Moody was at the staff table, his wooden leg and his magical eye back in place. He was extremely twitchy, jumping every time someone spoke to him. Antheia couldn't blame him; Moody's fear of attack was bound to have been increased by his ten-month imprisonment in his own trunk. Professor Karkaroff's chair was empty. She wondered where Karkaroff was now; whether Voldemort had caught up with him.

Madame Maxime was still there. She was sitting next to Hagrid. They were talking quietly together. Further along the table, sitting next to Professor McGonagall, was Snape. His eyes lingered on Harry for a moment as Harry looked at him. His expression was difficult to read. He looked as sour and unpleasant as ever. Harry continued to watch him, long after Snape had looked away.

What was it that Snape had done on Dumbledore's orders, the night that Voldemort had returned? And why ... why ... was Dumbledore so convinced that Snape was truly on their side? He had been their spy, Dumbledore had said so in the Pensieve. Snape had turned spy against Voldemort, "at great personal risk". Was that the job he had taken up again? Had he made contact with the Death Eaters, perhaps? Pretended that he had never really gone over to Dumbledore, that he had been, like Voldemort himself, biding his time?

Harry's musings were ended by Professor Dumbledore, who stood up at the staff table. The Great Hall, which in any case had been less noisy than it usually was at the Leaving Feast, became very quiet.

"The end," said Dumbledore, looking around at them all, "of another year."

He paused, and his eyes fell upon the Hufflepuff table. Theirs had been the most subdued table before he had got to his feet, and theirs were still the saddest and palest faces in the Hall.

"There is much that I would like to say to you all tonight," said Dumbledore, "but I must first acknowledge the loss of a very fine person, who should be sitting here" - he gestured towards the Hufflepuffs - "enjoying our Feast with us. I would like you all, please, to stand, and raise your glasses, to Cedric Diggory."

They did it, all of them; the benches scraped as everyone in the Hall stood, and raised their goblets, and echoed, in one loud, low, rumbling voice, "Cedric Diggory."

Harry caught a glimpse of Cho through the crowd. There were tears pouring silently down her face. He looked down at the table as they all sat down again.

"Cedric was a person who exemplified many of the qualities which distinguish Hufflepuff house," Dumbledore continued. "He was a good and loyal friend, a hard worker, he valued fair play. His death has affected you all, whether you knew him well or not. I think that you have the right, therefore, to know exactly how it came about."

Antheia raised her head and stared at Dumbledore.

"Cedric Diggory was murdered by Lord Voldemort."

A panicked whisper swept the Great Hall. People were staring at Dumbledore in disbelief, in horror. He looked perfectly calm as he watched them mutter themselves into silence.

"The Ministry of Magic," Dumbledore continued, "does not wish me to tell you this. It is possible that some of your parents will be horrified that I have done so - either because they will not believe that Lord Voldemort has returned, or because they think I should not tell you so, young as you are. It is my belief, however, that the truth is generally preferable to lies, and that any attempt to pretend that Cedric died as the result of an accident, or some sort of blunder of his own, is an insult to his memory."

Stunned and frightened, every face in the Hall was turned towards Dumbledore now ... or almost every face. Over at the Slytherin table, Harry saw Draco Malfoy muttering something to Crabbe and Goyle. Harry felt a hot, sick swoop of anger in his stomach. He forced himself to look back at Dumbledore.

"There is somebody else who must be mentioned in connection with Cedric's death," Dumbledore went on. "I am talking, of course, about Harry Potter and Antheia Lupin."

A kind of ripple crossed the Great Hall, as a few heads turned in their direction before flicking back to face Dumbledore.

"Harry Potter and Antheia Lupin managed to escape Lord Voldemort," said Dumbledore. "They risked their own lives to return Cedric's body to Hogwarts. Both of them showed, in every respect, the sort of bravery that few wizards have ever shown in facing Lord Voldemort, and for this, I honour them."

Dumbledore turned gravely to Harry and Antheia, and raised his goblet once more. Nearly everyone in the Great Hall followed suit. They murmured their names, as they had murmured Cedric's, and drank to him. But, through a gap in the standing figures, Harry saw that Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and many of the other Slytherins had remained defiantly in their seats, their goblets untouched. Dumbledore, who after all possessed no magical eye, did not see them.

When everyone had once again resumed their seats, Dumbledore continued, "The Triwizard Tournament's aim was to further and promote magical understanding. In the light of what has happened - of Lord Voldemort's return - such ties are more important than ever before."

Dumbledore looked from Madame Maxime and Hagrid, to Fleur Delacour and her fellow Beauxbatons students, to Viktor Krum and the Durmstrangs at the Slytherin table. Krum, Harry saw, looked wary, almost frightened, as though he expected Dumbledore to say something harsh.

"Every guest in this Hall," said Dumbledore, and his eyes lingered upon the Durmstrang students, "will be welcomed back here, at any time, should they wish to come. I say to you all, once again - in the light of Lord Voldemort's return, we are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided."

"Lord Voldemort's gift for spreading discord and enmity is very great. We can fight it only by showing an equally strong bond of friendship and trust. Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open."

"It is my belief - and never have I so hoped that I am mistaken - that we are all facing dark and difficult times. Some of you, in this Hall, have already suffered directly at the hands of Lord Voldemort. Many of your families have been torn asunder. A week ago, a student was taken from our midst."

"Remember Cedric. Remember, if the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right, and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort. Remember Cedric Diggory."

─ ・ 。゚☆: *.☽ .* :☆゚. ─

Antheia's trunk was packed; Aura was back in her cage on top of it. She, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were waiting in the crowded Entrance Hall with the rest of the fourth-years for the carriages that would take them back to Hogsmeade station. It was another beautiful summer's day. Antheia figured her house would be tweaked for Sirius and added security measures must have been added by her father.

"'Arry!"

Harry looked around. Fleur Delacour was hurrying up the stone steps into the castle. Beyond her, far across the grounds, Harry could see Hagrid helping Madame Maxime to back two of the giant horses into their harness. The Beauxbatons carriage was about to take off.

"We will see each uzzer again, I 'ope," said Fleur, as she reached him, holding out her hand. "I am 'oping to get a job 'ere, to improve my Eenglish."

"It's very good already," said Ron, in a strangled sort of voice. Fleur smiled at him; Hermione scowled.

"Goodbye, 'Arry," said Fleur, turning to go. "It 'az been a pleasure meeting you!"

"Wonder how the Durmstrang students are getting back?" said Ron. "D'you reckon they can steer that ship without Karkaroff?"

"Karkaroff did not steer," said a gruff voice. "He stayed in his cabin and let us do the vork." Krum had come to say goodbye to Hermione. "Could I have a vord?" he asked her.

"Oh ... yes ... all right," said Hermione, looking slightly flustered, and following Krum through the crowd and out of sight.

"You'd better hurry up!" Ron called loudly after her. "The carriages'll be here in a minute!"

He let Harry keep a watch for the carriages, however, and spent the next few minutes craning his neck over the crowd to try and see what Krum and Hermione might be up to.

"They'll be back soon, Ron," said Antheia. "Then you can ask him for his autograph."

Ron made a frustrated noise.

They returned quite soon. Ron stared at Hermione, but her face was impassive.

"I liked Diggory," said Krum abruptly, to Harry. "He vos alvays polite to me. Alvays. Even though I vos from Durmstrang - with Karkaroff," he added, scowling.

"Have you got a new Headmaster yet?" said Harry.

Krum shrugged. He held out his hand as Fleur had done, shook Harry's hand, Antheia's hand, and then Ron's.

Ron looked as though he was suffering some sort of painful internal struggle. Krum had already started walking away when Ron burst out, "Can I have your autograph?"

Hermione turned away, smiling at the horseless carriages which were now trundling towards them up the drive, as Krum, looking surprised, but gratified, signed a fragment of parchment for Ron.

─ ・ 。゚☆: *.☽ .* :☆゚. ─

The weather could not have been more different on the journey back to King's Cross than it had been on their way to Hogwarts the previous September. There wasn't a single cloud in the sky. Harry, Antheia, Ron, and Hermione had managed to get a compartment to themselves. Pigwidgeon was once again hidden under Ron's dress robes to stop him hooting continually; Hedwig was dozing, her head under her wing, Aura was peacefully watching the window, and Crookshanks was curled up in a spare seat like a large, furry ginger cushion. Harry, Antheia, Ron, and Hermione talked more fully and freely than they had done all week, as the train sped them southwards. Harry felt as though Dumbledore's speech at the Leaving Feast had unblocked him, somehow. It was less painful to discuss what had happened now. They broke off their conversation about what action Dumbledore might be taking even now to stop Voldemort, only when the lunch trolley arrived.

When Hermione returned from the trolley and put her money back into her schoolbag, she dislodged a copy of the Daily Prophet which she had been carrying in there.

Harry looked at it, unsure whether he really wanted to know what it might say, but Hermione, seeing him looking at it, said calmly, "There's nothing in there. You can look for yourself, but there's nothing at all. I've been checking every day. Just a small piece the day after the third task, saying you won the Tournament. They didn't even mention Cedric. Nothing about any of it. If you ask me, Fudge is forcing them to keep quiet."

"There's always Rita Skeeter's articles," grumbled Antheia.

"Oh, Rita hasn't written anything at all since the third task," said Hermione, in an oddly constrained voice. "As a matter of fact," she added, her voice now trembling slightly, "Rita Skeeter isn't going to be writing anything at all for a while. Not unless she wants me to spill the beans on her."

"What are you talking about?" said Ron.

"I found out how she was listening in on private conversations when she wasn't supposed to be coming into the grounds," said Hermione in a rush.

Harry had the impression that Hermione had been dying to tell them this for days, but that she had restrained herself in the light of everything else that had happened.

"What was she doing?" said Antheia, racking her mind.

"How was she doing it?" said Harry quickly.

"How did you find out?" said Ron, staring at her.

"Well, it was you, really, who gave me the idea, Harry," she said.

"Did I?" said Harry, perplexed. "How?"

"Bugging," said Hermione happily.

"But you said they didn't work -"

"Oh, not electronic bugs," said Hermione. "No, you see ... Rita Skeeter" - Hermione's voice trembled with quiet triumph - "is an unregistered Animagus. She can turn -"

Hermione pulled a small sealed glass jar out of her bag.

"- into a beetle."

"You're kidding," said Ron. "You haven't ... she's not ..."

"Oh, yes she is," said Hermione happily, brandishing the jar at them.

Inside were a few twigs and leaves, and one large, fat beetle.

"That's really her?" Antheia gasped. "You're not kidding?"

"No, I'm not," said Hermione, beaming. "I caught her on the window-sill in the hospital wing. Look very closely, and you'll notice the markings around her antennae are exactly like those foul glasses she wears."

Antheia looked, and saw that she was quite right.

Harry remembered something. "There was a beetle on the statue the night we heard Hagrid telling Madame Maxime about his mum!"

"Exactly," said Hermione. "And Viktor pulled a beetle out of my hair after we'd had our conversation by the lake. And unless I'm very much mistaken, Rita was perched on the window-sill of the Divination class the day your scar hurt. She's been buzzing around for stories all year."

"When we saw Malfoy under that tree ..." said Ron slowly.

"He was talking to her, in his hand," said Hermione. "He knew, of course. That's how she's been getting all those nice little interviews with the Slytherins. They wouldn't care that she was doing something illegal, as long as they were giving her horrible stuff about us and Hagrid."

Hermione took the glass jar back from Ron and smiled at the beetle, which buzzed angrily against the glass.

"I've told her I'll let her out when we get back to London," said Hermione. "I've put an Unbreakable Charm on the jar, you see, so she can't transform. And I've told her she's to keep her quill to herself for a whole year. See if she can't break the habit of writing horrible lies about people."

"That'll be hard for her, alright," laughed Antheia. "How did you get her into the jar?"

"I saw her on the grounds a few weeks ago and recognized her markings!" exclaimed Hermione. "Then it was easy to trap her."

Smiling serenely, Hermione placed the beetle back inside her schoolbag.

The door of the compartment slid open.

"Very clever, Granger," said Draco Malfoy.

Crabbe and Goyle were standing behind him. All three of them looked more pleased with themselves, more arrogant and more menacing, than Harry had ever seen them.

"So," said Malfoy slowly, advancing slightly into the compartment, and looking around at them, a smirk quivering on his lips. "You caught some pathetic reporter, and Potter's Dumbledore's favourite boy again. Big deal."

His smirk widened. Crabbe and Goyle leered.

"Trying not to think about it, are we?" said Malfoy softly, looking around at all four of them. "Trying to pretend it hasn't happened?"

"Get out," said Harry.

He had not been near Malfoy since he had watched him muttering to Crabbe and Goyle during Dumbledore's speech about Cedric. He could feel a kind of ringing in his ears. His hand gripped his wand under his robes.

"You've picked the losing side, Potter! I warned you! I told you you ought to choose your company more carefully, remember? When we met on the train, first day at Hogwarts? I told you not to hang around with riff-raff like this!" He jerked his head at Antheia, Ron, and Hermione. "Too late now, Potter! They'll be the first to go, now the Dark Lord's back! Mudbloods and Muggle-lovers first! Well - second - Diggory was the f-"

It was as though someone had exploded a box of fireworks within the compartment. Blinded by the blaze of the spells that had blasted from every direction, deafened by a series of bangs, Antheia blinked, and looked down at the floor.

Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were all lying unconscious in the doorway. She, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were on their feet, all four of them having used a different hex. Nor were they the only ones to have done so.

"Thought we'd see what those three were up to," said Fred matter-of-factly, stepping onto Goyle, and into the compartment. He had his wand out, and so did George, who was careful to tread on Malfoy as he followed Fred inside.

"Interesting effect," said George, looking down at Crabbe. "Who used the Furnunculus curse?"

"Me," said Harry.

"Odd," said George lightly. "I used Jelly-Legs. Looks as though those two shouldn't be mixed. He seems to have sprouted little tentacles all over his face. Well, let's not leave them here, they don't add much to the decor."

Ron, Harry, and George kicked, rolled, and pushed the unconscious Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle - each of whom looked distinctly the worse for the jumble of jinxes with which they had been hit - out into the corridor, then came back into the compartment and rolled the door shut.

"Exploding Snap, anyone?" said Fred, pulling out a pack of cards.

They were halfway through their fifth game when Harry decided to ask them.

"You going to tell us, then?" he said to George. "Who you were blackmailing?"

"Oh," said George darkly. "That."

"It doesn't matter," said Fred, shaking his head impatiently. "It wasn't anything important. Not now, anyway."

"We've given up," said George, shrugging.

"On who?" questioned Antheia. "If it was that important to you that you resorted to blackmailing, there must be something we could do to help."

Fred sighed, "All right, all right, if you really want to know ... it was Ludo Bagman."

"Bagman?" said Harry sharply. "Are you saying he was involved in -"

"Nah," said George gloomily. "Nothing like that. Stupid git. He wouldn't have the brains."

"Well, what, then?" said Ron.

Fred hesitated, then said, "You remember that bet we had with him, at the Quidditch World Cup? About how Ireland would win, but Krum would get the Snitch?"

"Yeah," said Harry and Ron slowly.

"Well, the git paid us in leprechaun gold he'd caught from the Irish mascots."

"So?"

"Leprechaun gold vanishes, Ron," said Antheia.

"Exactly," said Fred impatiently. "By next morning, it had gone!"

"But - it must've been an accident, mustn't it?" said Hermione.

George laughed very bitterly. "Yeah, that's what we thought, at first. We thought if we just wrote to him, and told him he'd made a mistake, he'd cough up. But nothing doing. Ignored our letter. We kept trying to talk to him about it at Hogwarts, but he was always making some excuse to get away from us."

"In the end, he turned pretty nasty," said Fred. "Told us we were too young to gamble, and he wasn't giving us anything."

"So we asked for our money back," said George, glowering.

"He didn't refuse!" gasped Hermione.

"Right in one," said Fred.

"But that was all your savings!" said Ron.

"Tell me about it," said George. "'Course, we found out what was going on in the end. Lee Jordan's dad had had a bit of trouble getting money off Bagman as well. Turns out he's in big trouble with the goblins. Borrowed loads of gold off them. A gang of them cornered him in the woods after the World Cup and took all the gold he had, and it still wasn't enough to cover all his debts. They followed him all the way to Hogwarts to keep an eye on him. He's lost everything gambling. Hasn't got two Galleons to rub together. And you know how the idiot tried to pay the goblins back?"

"How?" said Harry.

"He put a bet on you, mate," said Fred. "Put a big bet on you to win the Tournament. Bet against the goblins."

"So that's why he kept trying to help me win!" said Harry.

"But Harry won, didn't he?" said Antheia. "So he has the money to pay you back."

"Nope," said George, shaking his head. "The goblins play as dirty as him. They say Harry drew with Diggory, and Bagman was betting he'd win outright. So Bagman had to run for it. He made a run for it right after the third task."

George sighed deeply, and started dealing out the cards again.

The rest of the journey passed pleasantly enough; Harry wished it could have gone on all summer, in fact, and that he would never arrive at King's Cross ... but as he had learnt the hard way that year, time will not slow down when something unpleasant lies ahead, and all too soon the Hogwarts Express was slowing down at platform nine and three-quarters. The usual confusion and noise filled the corridors as the students began to disembark. Antheia, Ron, and Hermione struggled out past Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, carrying their trunks.

Harry, however, stayed put. "Fred - George - wait a moment."

The twins turned. Harry pulled open his trunk, and drew out his Triwizard winnings.

"Take it," he said, and he thrust the sack into George's hands.

"What?" said Fred, looking flabbergasted.

"Take it," Harry repeated firmly. "I don't want it."

"You're mental," said George, trying to push it back at Harry.

"No, I'm not," said Harry. "You take it, and get inventing. It's for the joke-shop."

"He is mental," Fred said, in an almost awed voice.

"Listen," said Harry firmly. "If you don't take it, I'm throwing it down the drain. I don't want it and I don't need it. But I could do with a few laughs. We could all do with a few laughs. I've got a feeling we're going to need them more than usual before long."

"Harry," said George weakly, weighing the money bag in his hands, "there's got to be a thousand Galleons in here."

"Yeah," said Harry, grinning. "Think how many Canary Creams that is."

The twins stared at him.

"Just don't tell your mum where you got it ... although she might not be so keen for you to join the Ministry any more, come to think of it ..."

"Harry," Fred began, but Harry pulled out his wand.

"Look," he said flatly, "take it, or I'll hex you. I know some good ones now. Just do me one favour, OK? Buy Ron some different dress robes, and say they're from you."

He left the compartment before they could say another word, stepping over Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, who were still lying on the floor, covered in hex marks.

Uncle Vernon was waiting beyond the barrier. Mrs. Weasley was close by him. She hugged Harry very tightly when she saw him, and whispered in his ear, "I think Dumbledore will let you come to us later in the summer. Keep in touch, Harry."

"See you, Harry," said Ron, clapping him on the back.

"Bye, Harry!" said Hermione, and she did something she had never done before, and kissed him on the cheek.

"Harry - thanks," George muttered, while Fred nodded fervently at his side. Harry winked at them.

"You have to write to me this summer," said Antheia, hugging him tightly. Harry could feel Uncle Vernon's glare on her.

Turning her away from Uncle Vernon, Harry said, "Of course. That's all I'll be doing."

"Be careful," said Antheia. "And let me know if the Dursleys give you trouble. I'll duel them; who cares if I get expelled."

Harry chuckled. "If you see Sirius, let him know I say hi."

"I will," said Antheia, finally letting go of Harry. She gave him a kiss on the cheek before turning away and saying, "See you soon, Harry!"

Harry turned to Uncle Vernon, and followed him silently from the station. There was no point worrying yet, he told himself, as he got into the back of the Dursleys' car. As Hagrid had said, what would come, would come ... and he would have to meet it when it did.

─ ・ 。゚☆: *.☽ .* :☆゚. ─

- end of fourth year -
- fourth year estimated word count: 173,207 -

a/n: Fifth year is going to have angst and a lot of fluff scenes! Thank you for all the support so far; I appreciate all of you:)

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