January passed without very much going on as far as Harry's school life was concerned: classwork, homework, prepare for the tournament, rinse and repeat. The closest thing to drama in Harry's school life was that Ron and Lavender had an argument and split up. Apparently Ron had a lack of listening skills and didn't remember most of what she talked to him about.
Harry had some sympathy for his mate, as he had overheard a few conversations between him and Lavender, and if Harry was brutally honest a lot of what she said was just uninteresting gossip. Honestly, who would care enough about two sixth year prefects giving each other 'the look' enough to not only remember that someone said it happened but to care about a possible new relationship?
Hermione had a bit more sympathy for Lavender. According to her, as she and Ron were dating it was Ron's responsibility to take an interest in what interested Lavender. Harry didn't disagree in principle, but had debated with Hermione that it was also on Lavender to try and curate which of her interests she was discussing with each person. "For example 'Mione, you love Arithmancy and I love that you enjoy it. However both you and I know I'm not a fan. So as I didn't get into the class, you don't talk to me for hours about numbers and spell formulas. Instead you tell me about other things that interest you, such as what's happening in the latest novel you're reading or the latest bit of Magical lore you have found; something we both find interesting. I do the same for you, I don't talk your ear off about Quidditch, because I know unless myself or Ron are the ones on the broom you're not particularly interested."
Hermione conceded the point. "Fair enough. A couple does need some interests in common, but you don't have to gel on everything. I suppose the problem with Ron and Lavender is that Lavender is interested in fashion, boys and gossip, whereas Ron is pretty focused on food and Quidditch. Their relationship was doomed from the start."
"Exactly. Unlike ours, because we were already friends for years. We know that we have more than that." Harry leaned in and kissed her, then gently pushed her backwards, pinning her to the sofa they were sharing. "Speaking of our relationship, there is a Hogsmeade visit next month around Valentine's Day. Would you like to go together?"
Hermione's response was to pull him down on top of her and kiss him before asserting, "of course I want to go on a Valentine's date with you."
"Oy you two. Keep it clean in the common room." One of the older students called at them. "The rest of us still need to sit on those chairs tomorrow." A few others around the common room chuckled at the now blushing couple.
-ϟϟϟ-
Harry spent a week of his free time looking into the charities that Ron had told him about and decided where he was going to send the gold he got from the dragon. He decided to split it, with half going to the Magical Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Magical Creatures, and the other half would go to the Blood Curse Research Foundation. The donation to the M.S.P.C.M.C. came with a request from both Harry and Hermione that they look into also helping abused house elves.
Harry had taken a trip to Gringotts that weekend with his grandfather. A few quick forms, a presentation of his vault key, and a signature with a blood quill later, Harry's vaults were a few thousand galleons less and he was sure that the gold was going to be doing some good now. Harry also took the opportunity to take the dragonhide to a magical leather worker and describe just what he wanted made from it. He was back in the castle in under two hours.
Harry hadn't told any reporter or sent any letters to the papers about his donation, so he was surprised two days later to find that he was once more front page news. "The boy who gave to charity" may not have been the Prophet's best headline ever, but it got the message over. It went on to explain that Harry had donated the proceeds from killing the dragon to the two charities, and as he read on he learned how the press had found out about the donations. There was an open letter to him from each charity in the paper.
The M.S.P.C.M.C. 's letter was first.
Dear Mr Potter Thank you for your donation of 8734 galleons. That is an incredible amount of gold for a charity such as ours. That the gold came from the sale of a dragon that herself needed saving from the cruelty of the organisers of the Triwizard Tournament feels particularly just; in our opinion we at the M.S.P.C.M.C. hold no blame for the competitors who had no real say in the tasks and had to complete it in very dangerous circumstances. That being said, we would like to take the opportunity to condemn the organisers who thought mentally torturing a mother protecting their young for entertainment was in any way morally acceptable. We thank Mr Potter for his donation and promise to use it to protect all the magical creatures we can from the abuse of uncaring wizards.
The M.S.P.C.M.C.
The letter was a bit confrontational, but Harry couldn't disagree with anything that they had said and the message that they would try and protect all magical creatures left him and Hermione hopeful that they were including house elves.
The letter from the Blood Curse Research Foundation came next.
Dear Mr Potter We at the Blood Curse Research Foundation would like to thank you for your very generous donation. Blood Curses are all too common in our world and are a source of unbelievable heartbreak for many. Even those of us lucky enough to be free of such tragedy ourselves often know someone who isn't so lucky. The Blood Curse Research Foundation has existed for over two hundred and fifty years, and in that time we have successfully found cures and counter curses for over fifty blood curses. Yet despite the progress we have made, there is still a lot more that needs to be done. Research work like this is expensive and requires highly skilled people working together, so we are taking this opportunity to ask the public if they too can put their hands in their pockets and help. Even as little as a galleon will put us a little closer to saving a family from generational heartbreak.
Sincerely
Blood Curse Research Foundation
The second letter was more of what Harry would have expected, and he didn't blame them at all for using the opportunity his fame had presented to raise money for their cause. He may have an issue with individuals ushering him for personal gain, but a real charity that was using the gold to do good he had to respect.
The response from the school was varied. Some people like Malfoy wouldn't say anything good about Harry unless they were being forced at wand point, and to those people Harry was just buying good publicity. It made sense that they would think that; after all, that's exactly what their families donate to charity for. Then, when they were accused of being evil genocidal Death Eaters, everyone would say, "Look at all the good they do, they can't be evil."
A lot of people thought he was crazy for giving away so much gold, and Harry could see where they were coming from. He had given away the equivalent of almost a hundred thousand pounds. That was enough money to keep five or six families for an entire year, longer if they were frugal. Not that their opinion bothered Harry. He knew he had enough that he had no need of the gold from the dragon, and he was happier knowing that instead of just sitting in his vault the gold was doing something to make the world a better place.
The majority of people seemed impressed with Harry for what he had done. Harry was even surprised to have a few students come up and thank him for donating to one of the charities. Those thanks often came with a personal story as to why they personally supported the charity. One of the people who came to thank him was a total surprise. Harry and Hermione were walking along one of the school's many corridors a few days later when they were approached by a Slytherin in their year. Daphne Greengrass had never been friendly to Harry or any of his friends, but this time she immediately pulled a very surprised Harry into a hug and it was only her constabulary repeating. "Thank you thank you thank you," that clued Hermione in as to why one of the most attractive girls in the school was hugging her boyfriend and kept her from hexing the girl into next week.
Instead all Hermione had to do was say, "I'd like my boyfriend back now please," in a jovial tone, and the blond girl blushed and released Harry.
Once she had composed herself, Greengrass told them exactly why she was so happy with Harry. "Thank you for your donation to the Blood Curse Research Foundation. Thanks to you they were able to accept three more families into their program. The Greengrasses, we…we suffer from a blood Malediction. I got lucky that it skipped me but my little sister…I hate seeing her suffer. And there is a high probability that any kids I have will also suffer from this curse. We have been applying to have our curse looked at for years, but places were limited and we were never selected. With the money you donated they were able to add more research slots and we have finally gotten lucky."
Greengrass was getting more and more emotional as she spoke, and once she was finished talking Hermione pulled her into a hug sandwiched between herself and Harry. It took her a while to compose herself; it was obvious she had been carrying this for a while and this was the pressure being released.
Once everyone was calm again and they were talking, Harry had a question. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I heard your family had a pretty big trading company. How come you didn't donate enough gold yourself?"
Greengrass gave a small slightly annoyed huff before she answered. "Yes, Greengrass Trading is one of the largest trade companies in magical Britain, but with that size comes responsibility. Before the family can take out any profit, first we need to buy new stock, pay wages, pay import taxes, income taxes, and trade taxes. Out of the profits, we need to pay for the families' living expenses, and most of what's left go directly to Potions Masters to brew the potions my sister needs to relieve her symptoms. There isn't enough left to make any significant donations like that," she explained. "Thanks to this curse, my family is the very definition of asset rich but cash poor."
Harry understood now and felt like an ass for asking. The three of them talked for a while, and after apologising to Hermione for what she was about to do, a smiling Greengrass kissed Harry on the cheek before thanking him once more and leaving the couple to get on with enjoying their free time.
-ϟϟϟ-
Valentine's was approaching, and this year it was on a Tuesday so the Hogsmeade weekend this year was a few days before the holiday. Harry and Hermione almost cancelled their date plans to hang with Ron for a regular Hogsmeade weekend, given that he and Lavender had so recently broken up, but their red haired friend wasn't having any of it. It was only then that he revealed that he, Dean, Seamus, and Neville were all going to hang out for what they were jokingly calling Singles' Awareness Day.
So, after breakfast, Harry and Hermione made their way to the carriages that were taking the students to the village. Being the Valentine's trip, most of the older students were paired off. Harry and Hermione joined the stream of Hogwarts students walking hand in hand through the village, but for the most part their destinations were a little different. Most girls were drawing their boyfriends towards Madam Puddlifoot's Tea Shop, but Hermione was drawing Harry towards Tomes and Scrolls. Judging by the look on some of the faces of the guys being dragged to the tea shop, Harry thought he might be getting the better end of the deal.
They spent an hour going over books. Harry insisted that he was paying, and that for every academic book she chose she also had to select a novel. He loved how studious his Hermione was, but also knew that if she wasn't careful she would lose herself in her studies, and as he had learned last year all work and no play lead to a stressed out and irritable Hermione. When he was paying for the books, Harry looked at the stack and, picturing himself carrying the stack for the rest of the day, asked the clerk to cast both shrinking and featherlight charms on them. This luckily turned what would have been a heavy stack of books into something he could put in his pocket and forget about.
After Tomes and Scrolls, it was to the Honeydukes, which was in full Valentine's mode. Almost everything they sold could now be bought in the shape of a heart and in reds, pinks and pastel purples. They even had some limited edition Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Love Hearts. Harry did buy Hermione a nice box of Valentine's chocolates, but for the most part the two of them were more interested in restocking their dwindling supply of snacks from the regular stock. It would be about six weeks until the next Hogsmeade trip, so almost every Hogwarts student bought what looked like a ridiculous amount of sweets. Six large bars of chocolate may look like a lot, but a bar of chocolate split up over a week was a lot more reasonable.
Harry also bagged himself half a pound of jelly slugs. The slugs were just gummy sweets in the shape of slugs, not very different from gummy worms that were available in the mundane world. Lastly, he grabbed a large bag of mixed hot and fresh candied nuts for him and Hermione to snack on as they walked around the village, as candied nuts were always best when hot and fresh.
Hermione also got herself a few bars of chocolate, as well as a box of sugar quills and two bags of teeth flossing string mints. Being a date Harry tried to pay for all the sweets, but Hermione had other ideas. "Harry, it's sweet that you want to pay for everything, but I want to do nice things for you as well. Besides I am not the type to be happy as a kept woman. So hand me your stack of sweets and I will buy your sweets." Hermione's smile had Harry happily accepting as he handed her his pile of sugar.
Hermione was happy that Harry didn't argue with her about paying for the sweets. They would never truly be equals as far as gold was concerned, not with the piles of gold her boyfriend had. But just because she couldn't match his frankly insane amount of gold didn't mean she couldn't contribute. Buying Harry a pile of sweets may not match up to the stack of books Harry had gotten her, but it was something and the principle let her hold on to her pride.
The two of them wandered around the shops arm in arm, slowly munching their way through the bag of nuts. They visited a lot of the staples for Hogwarts students like Scrivenshafts and Zonko's, but apart from buying a few extra bottles of ink neither store had much to interest them. They also checked out some of the shops that were less likely to receive a visit from the average Hogwarts student.
The Magic Neap was a grocery shop that Harry pulled Hermione into, as they had a display of flowers for Valentine's day. While Harry bought her a single red rose, Hermione looked around the shop to see what passed for groceries to the wizarding world. It was like a cross between a greengrocer, a butcher, and a bakery. The only part of the store that didn't look like fresh organic produce was the drinks section. One thing that did surprise her was just how cheap the food was here. One magical knut was worth about the same as a mundane penny, yet a six pounds of potatoes that only cost a Sickle didn't even convert to 30 pence; she would expect that to cost about one-fifty in a mundane shop. Maybe magic just made growing food easier?
Harry quickly returned with the rose and gave it to her, and in response she gave him a quick but searing kiss and let him lead her out of the shop. They visited a few more shops, and just as Hermione was getting hungry enough to suggest going to the Three Broomsticks for lunch, Harry revealed that the two of them once more had reservations at the nice restaurant again.
-ϟϟϟ-
It was the night before the second task, and Harry was getting nervous. Hermione, Ron, and Grandfather Charlus had teamed up together to distract Harry. The four of them were lounging around in Professor Potter's sitting room drinking butterbeer and going over Harry's checklist for the task.
"Okay Harry, so you have the wetsuit my parents were able to get for you that we modified with warming Runes. What else do you have?" Hermione asked.
"I have the knife Sirius got me and the diving goggles. I have the Hawkeye Potion that you taught me to make after grandfather showed you, it will make me able to see better in the lake for a few hours. I have the emergency Gillyweed potion as well in case my Bubble-Head Charm gets popped. I also need to check the Marauders' Map just before the start of the task. It covers a large part of the lake, and if they have an official down there watching the checkpoint in the merpeople village then it could tell me exactly where I need to go." Harry ran through his checklist. "The wetsuit is next to my bed, the knife and the two potions are in the pocket. First thing as I'm getting dressed tomorrow I will put on the wetsuit under my robes. and the map is in my trunk, I will give that to Hermione first thing tomorrow as well. Is there anything I'm missing?"
"Your flappers mate," said Ron
"Flippers." Corrected Hermione causing Ron to huff.
"I have decided not to use them," Harry admitted. "As much as they would help if nothing goes wrong, if my Bubble-Head is popped there is no way for me to reapply it. Can't exactly say much with a mouthful of lake water. So when I'm taking the Gillyweed potion, I wouldn't have a lot of time, and that potion makes your feet transfigure into flippers. I might not have the time to take them off before taking the potion, so I figured it's better not to take them. What do you think?" He asked them.
"Why not just use the Gillyweed potion from the start?" asked Ron.
"Because I can't cast any spells while unable to speak, and I don't know about you but talking underwater is not something regular people can do," Harry grinned as he gave his best mate a bit of friendly banter.
"At least I'm not some skinny git who doesn't know how to use a comb," Ron shot back grinning, and the two boys chuckled, causing Hermione to mutter something that sounded suspiciously like the word "boys."
Just then, there was a knock at Charlus's door. Being the closest, Ron jumped up and opened it, revealing Professor McGonagall standing in the doorway. "Ah Mr. Weasley, I was hoping to find Miss Granger, or if she is not here perhaps you or Professor Potter would know where she is. I have already checked the common room and the library."
"I'm here professor," Hermione called out.
Ron stepped aside and the Transfiguration professor strode in, giving a respectful nod to Charlus. "Miss Granger, the headmaster has asked to see you immediately."
Suddenly a bunch of pieces fell into place in Harry's head, and just as Hermione was standing up to go with their head of house he shouted. "Oh fuck no! Hermione, sit down!" Hermione was surprised at Harry's sudden outburst, but trusting he had his reasons she did as he said. Harry meanwhile turned to their Head of House and said, "No fucking way is the headmaster putting Hermione at the bottom of that goddamned lake."
"Mr Potter, five points from Gryffindor for your disrespectful tone. Now tell me what you are talking about." Professor McGonagall was angry now.
Charlus, who was only a split second behind Harry realising why the headmaster would want to see Hermione tonight, also realised that professor McGonagall didn't know what she was involved in. "Mr. Potter, ten points to Gryffindor for having the courage to stand up to authority to do what's right." Charlus said while watching Minerva. As he hoped, he could see her lips thinning, a telltale sign she was getting angrier.
"What de ya think ye dooing?" She demanded, the Scots brogue sliding back into her accent.
Charlus had to keep from smiling as he looked at her. If he could play this right, he could wind up her temper and set her loose after Dumbledore like a Nibbler after something shiny. "Me? You're the one who is trying to put a girl in your care at the bottom of a lake for a blood sport. And I also happen to know that due to her being under age her parents haven't given consent for her to be involved. How do I know? Because they would have been in touch with me to ask if it was safe, and I would have told them no it isn't safe. If they had given it anyway, as her magical guardian I would have revoked it. That means you are currently technically aiding in a kidnapping."
As Charlus spoke Minerva's eyes went wide with realisation of what Dumbledore had planned, and it was clear that she wasn't happy. "If you'll excuse me, I need to go and have a word with Albus," she said before she turned around and stormed out of the room.
Charlus was satisfied at the thought of what the angry Scotswoman was going to do to Albus, but he felt a twinge of regret as well. In general he liked Minerva, and that wasn't exactly the right way to treat a friend no matter what she had unknowingly been involved in. "I'm going to go as well. You three stay here. If I am not back in an hour it means I have volunteered to be put at the bottom of the lake instead. The contest Harry is in may need a hostage, and it's better that it's an old man like me rather than a ch… rather than a minor." He had almost called them children, and he knew how much that could hurt a teenager despite how young they were compared to him.
Charlus got up and followed after pr McGonagall. None of the three teens failed to notice that he wasn't exactly in a hurry to catch up with her, so Dumbledore was in for at least a few minutes of being on the wrong end of an extremely upset Professor McGonagall.
"They were going to me at the bottom of the lake," Hermione said, her voice sounding unnaturally calm.
"Can you picture Harry doing anything but his absolute best to finish the task if you were the one down there?" Ron asked rhetorically.
Harry, however, could see that what Hermione needed right now was a hug, so he walked over to her and (in a feat of strength he definitely couldn't have done before the summer) slipped one arm under her legs and the other behind her back and lifted her right out of the chair. She let out a start of surprise at being manhandled, but didn't do anything to stop him. Still carrying her, he sat in the now empty chair and put Hermione down in his lap, where he then wrapped his arms around her. "No one is putting you at the bottom of that lake. I promise."
Hermione didn't start crying or anything like that, but she pressed herself into Harry, needing the comfort her boyfriend offered. Especially as one question kept bouncing around her head. They haven't asked her parents, they hadn't asked Charlus, so would they have even bothered asking me?
-ϟϟϟ-
Charlus could hear shouting and crashing as he walked up the stairs to the headmaster's office. He couldn't keep from grinning as he heard phrases like "you dim witted old fool!" and "what the hell were you thinking?" echoing down the spiral stairs. He had just gotten to the top and heard the sound of something smash that he hoped had been expensive when he knocked.
The two inside the room were too preoccupied with each other and nobody answered, so Charlus knocked again. After his third time knocking, he opened the door and just walked in. The headmaster was seated at his deck as normal, trying to calm Minerva down as she ranted at him half in English and half in Scots Gaelic and used her wand to launch the occasional tea cup at the headmaster. Unfortunately, Albus had a shield spell around him and the cups just shattered uselessly against it, leaving the headmaster completely fine except for needing to cast a few repairing charms later.
"Ah Charlus, do me a favour. Pop the old fool's shield for me, will you? Then I can get him with the next one and teach him to trick me into taking part in a kidnapping." The Scots brogue was more pronounced in her voice than he had ever heard it before, and considering some of the things James and Sirius had done as boys that was saying something.
"As tempting of an idea that actually is, I need to ask the headmaster a question before I let you give him a concussion and leave him unable to answer," Charlus said.
Desperate for any form of distraction he could get, Albus clung to Charlus's question like it was a lifeline. "Yes Charlus, please, what answers can I offer you?"
"What happens to Harry if you don't have a hostage for him to rescue tomorrow?"
"It would be considered a breach of contract by the Goblet. It's unclear whether Harry or one of the organisers would suffer the penalty, but someone would lose their magic," Dumbledore admitted. Charlus even had the impression he was trying to keep from sounding smug.
"Well as Miss Granger's magical guardian, I hereby declare that she is not permitted to take part in this or any other part of the Triwizard Tournament." Charlus said, standing there proud as he spoke. He could see Albus nodding and agreeing right up until he said "not permitted", then his face fell.
"Charlus I'm sure you can see that this is not an option, I give my word that the girl will be safe." Dumbledore tried to persuade Charlus to change his mind.
Charlus just laughed. "Take your word? If you told me the sky is blue I'd feel the need to check. You say Hogwarts is the safest place in the country, but you bring dangerous artefacts being hunted by dark wizards here and you hire professors who try to Obliviate students. You said Snape would start acting professionally, yet he never did. You said Harry going to the Dursleys was for his protection, but he needed protection from them. The very fact that you have now given your word that it's safe has me more convinced than ever that keeping her out of that lake is the right choice."
"Then it will have to be Mr. Weasley. I'm sure he has the courage to-" Dumbledore started but Charlus cut him off.
"No!" He thundered loud enough that someone in the Slytherin dorms might have heard him. "You aren't putting Ron down there either."
"Then who would you suggest for Harry? He has no siblings and no other really close friends that fit the requirements of the tournament," Dumbledore was sounding annoyed now.
"Why do all of your plans involve putting children at the bottom of a lake in February, you senile old twit? If you need to put someone down there, make it an adult. Heck if it means keeping Miss Granger safe, then I'm duty bound to volunteer myself. So no more of this bullshit about sending children down there. It's bad enough you let Harry get dragged into this mess, now you want more children involved. How the fuck are you in charge of a school?"
"Very well. Charlus, you will be Mr Potter's hostage. You will need to drink this potion, and you will fall into an enchanted sleep until your head breaks the surface of the water at the end of the task." Dumbledore looked defeated and emotionally wrung out as he spoke.
Charlus took the offered potion and cast as many detection charms as he could to ensure that was exactly what the potion would do. Satisfied, he sat in a chair and prepared to down the goblet, but before he did so he turned to Minerva and said, "Do me a favour and make sure the kids know what's going on, and tell Harry I wish him luck. Also keep an eye on Dumbledore, I don't trust him as far as a firstie with no wand could throw him."