The Golden Quartet: Year 4

CHAPTER 11

After watching Harry disappear behind behind the chamber door almost immediately the professor, Bagman, and Crouch rushed in after him and talking erupted throughout the hall.

“What the bloody hell was that?” Astrid asked, bewildered.

“Harry found a way to cheat into the tournament,” Ron said, an almost sour look on his face.

“On his own? Without telling us? Doubtful.” Astrid said.

“Did you put his name in?” Athena asked Astrid. “A whole 'oh, since I can't do it, then I'll just get Harry in and split the winnings with him' kind of deal?”

“Yeah,” Ron said, narrowed eyes fixed on Astrid. “Did you help him? Why not put my name in?”

“First of all,” Astrid's began, annoyed, “I didn't do it, second of all, you wouldn't have gotten picked even if I did put your name in it, Ron.” Astrid took a swig from her goblet with a smug look and Ron's face turned red.

“What's that supposed to mean?” Ron asked angrily.

Astrid put her goblet down and opened her mouth to retort but was cut off by Hermione, “oh, stop it! Both of you!”

Ron stood up from the table, “I'm going to bed.”

“Ron!” Hermione called after him, but he was already gone, disappeared with several other students who were heading back to their dorms. She quickly got up to go after him.

Astrid sighed and glared at her sister, “Now, look what you did, Athena.”

“What I did?”

“Next time, keep your conspiracy theories about me entering my best friend into a deadly tournament to yourself.” Astrid got up from the table, “and by the way,” she leaned over to her sister, “if I had done it, I'd be bragging.” With that, Astrid walked away.

~~~

Sunday morning, Astrid was waiting on the sofa in the Gryffindor common room for Harry to come down. After a few minutes of waiting, he emerged from the stairs leading to the boy's dorm.

“Morning, Harry!” Astrid got up and strode over to him.

“Astrid, about last night, I swear I didn't - “

“I know, Harry. No offense, but you're not smart enough to have done it yourself.” Astrid said with a wink.

“Thanks... wait -”

“Anyways,” Astrid slapped his shoulder, “Hermione went down to get some toast. Figured you'd not want to go to the Great Hall for breakfast right now.”

“Yeah, that's a good idea.”

“Oh, good, you're up,” Hermione walked over, holding a stack of toast. “Want to go for a walk?”

“Definitely.” Harry said gratefully.

They went out to the Black Lake and munched on some toast and Astrid and Hermione listened to Harry as he explained what they had said to him in the chamber the previous night. That he had to compete in the tournament no matter what, due to a magical contract, and the Astrid's uncle, Mad-Eye Moody, thought a powerful witch or wizard put in Harry's name with the purpose of killing him.

“Well, of course I knew you didn't enter it yourself,” Hermione said. “The look on your face when Dumbledore read out your name! But the question is, who did put it in? Because Moody's right, Harry... I don't think any student could have done it... they'd never be able to fool the goblet, or get over Dumbledore's-”

“Have you seen Ron?” Harry interrupted.

Hermione hesitated.

“Yeah, he went down to the Great Hall for breakfast before you woke up.” Astrid answered.

“Does he still think I entered myself?”

“Well, no, I don't think so... not really,” Hermione said awkwardly.

“What do you mean, 'not really'?” Harry asked.

“Oh, Harry, isn't it obvious?” Astrid said. “He's jealous!”

“Jealous?” Harry said skeptically. “Jealous of what? I look like a prat to the whole school!”

“Look,” Hermione began, “it's always you who gets all the attention, you know it is. I know it's not your fault,” she added quickly, watching Harry open his mouth furiously. “I know you don't ask for it... but – well – you know, Ron's got all those brothers to compete against at home, and you're his best friend, and you're really famous – he's always shunted to one side whenever people see you, and he puts up with it, and he never mentions it, but I suppose this is just one time too many...”

“Great,” Harry said bitterly. “Really great. Tell him from me I'll swap any time he wants. Tell him he's welcome to it... people gawping at my forehead everywhere I go...”

“Tell him yourself.” Hermione said shortly.

“Wait...” Astrid spoke. “What do you mean Harry gets all the attention? I'm pretty sure I get at least half of the attention.”

Hermione and Harry smiled lightly.

“Anyways, Harry, you know you've got to write to my father, don't you?” Astrid said and Hermione nodded in agreement.

“I brought some parchment and a quill-”

“Come off it. He came back to the country because my scar twinged. He'll probably come bursting right into the castle if I tell him someone's entered me in the Triwizard Tournament-”

“Well, either you can write to him, calmly explaining what's happened... or I can write to him and maybe just maybe exaggerate a few things here and there.” Astrid said with a sly smile.

“Okay, okay, I'll write to him.” Harry said and then tossed his last piece of toast into the lake. They stood and watched it floating there for a moment, before a large tentacle rose out of the water and scooped it beneath the surface.

“You know,” Astrid began, “some say the Giant Squid is actually the animagus form of Godric Gryffindor. That he chose to stay as it permanently.” Harry and Hermione turned to look at her. Astrid shrugged, “just a theory.”

They returned to the castle.

“Can I use Xander, Astrid?” Harry asked as they made their way up to the owlery. Xander was perched off to a corner with Aldara, Athena's hawke.

“'Course.” Astrid gave a nod.

Astrid and Hermione watched Harry write to Sirius, explaining about the tournament and Harry becoming one of the champions, and then watched as he sent it off with Xander.

“Well, these next few days ought to be interesting,” Astrid said with a beaming smile.

~~~

Interesting wasn't quite the word Harry would use to describe the next few days. The Slytherins, Ravenclaws, and especially, Hufflepuffs were giving Harry the cold shoulder.

“It wasn't really that difficult, Harry,” Hermione began. They had just left Charms class and Professor Flitwick had assigned Harry extra homework for failing to perform the class assignment correctly. “You just weren't concentrating properly-”

“Wonder why that was,” Harry said darkly as Cedric Diggory walked past, surrounded by a large group of simpering girls, all of whom looked at Harry as though he were a large Blast-Ended Skrewt. “And still got Double Potions with the Slytherins to look forward to...”

When the three of them arrived at Snape's dungeon after lunch, they found the Slytherins waiting outside, each and everyone of them wearing a large badge on the front of their robes. In luminous red letters that burnt brightly in the dimly lit underground passage, read:

Support CEDRIC DIGGORY -
The REAL Hogwarts Champion!

“Like them, Potter?” Malfoy said loudly. “And this isn't all they do – look!” He pressed his badge, and the message upon it changed to a new message that glowed green:

POTTER STINKS

The Slytherins howled with laughter.

“Potter... stinks... Really, Malfoy? Out of all the words, you chose stinks? I could have come up with something more insulting in a minute – but let me guess, that probably took you all night to come up with, didn't it?” Astrid said, looking very unimpressed.

Malfoy's face turned sour.

Ron was standing against the wall with Dean and Seamus, looking over, but not looking like he was about to jump in to defend Harry.

“Want one, Granger?” Malfoy asked, holding out a badge to her. “I've got loads. But don't touch my hand, now. I've just washed it. Don't want a Mudblood sliming it up.”

In a blur Astrid's right fist swung around and connected with Malfoy's left side of his jaw. He flew back and hit the floor but he quickly scrambled up and pulled out his wand, along with Harry.

“Densaugeo!” screamed Malfoy.

“Furnunculus!” yelled Harry.

Jets of light shot from both wands, hit each other midair, and ricocheted off at angles – Harry's hit Goyle in the face, and Malfoy's hit Hermione. Goyle bellowed and put his hands up to his nose, where great ugly boils were springing up – Hermione, whimpering in panic, was covering her mouth.

“Hermione!”

Ron hurried over to see what was wrong with her. He dragged Hermione's hands away from her face. It wasn't a pretty sight. Hermione's front teeth – already larger than average – were now growing at an alarming rate; she was looking more and more like a beaver at every passing second.

“And what is all this noise about?” said a soft, deadly voice.

Snape had arrives. The Slytherins clamored to give their explanations; Snape pointed at Malfoy, “Explain.”

“Astrid and Potter attacked me, sir-”

“We attacked each other at the same time!” Harry shouted.

“And he called Hermione a Mudblood!” Astrid bellowed.

“Look what he did to Goyle!” Malfoy pointed to Goyle.

Snape examined Goyle. “Hospital wing, Goyle,” Snape said calmly.

“Malfoy got Hermione!” Ron said. “Look!”

He forced Hermione to show Snape her teeth.

Snape looked coldly at Hermione, then said, “I see no difference.”

Hermione let out a whimper, her eyes filled with tears, and she turned on her heel and ran out of sight.

Immediately, Harry, Astrid, and Ron all began shouting at Snape.

“Let's see,” he said, in a silky voice. “Fifty points from Gryffindor and a detention each for you three.”

Astrid's fists were clenched tightly and she watched Snape walk into the classroom. She wanted to punch him like she had punched Malfoy. “I'm going to find Hermione. If Snape asks where I've gone, tell him I went to speak with McGonagall.” Astrid turned and marched off to find Hermione.

Astrid entered the Hospital Wing and saw Hermione sitting hunched over on one of the beds, crying while Madam Pomfrey patted her shoulder soothingly. “Don't worry, my dear! I'll get them back to normal in no time!” Madam Pomfrey turned and headed to the back of the ward, Astrid assumed to begin a potion to help Hermione's teeth go back to their old selves.

“You alright?” Astrid sat on the bed by Hermione.

Hermione looked up, startled, “Shouldn't you be in Potions?”

“Shouldn't Malfoy have gotten in trouble for what he did?” Astrid shrugged it off.

“He didn't?” Hermione's face looked crestfallen.

“No. Snape gave Ron, Harry, and I detention though, so that ought to be fun.” Astrid gave a forced smile.

“Well,” Hermione sniffed back some tears, “hopefully that will give them a chance to make up.”

“I'll put 'em under a the Imperius Curse if I have to,” Astrid smiled as Hermione gave a very disapproving look. “Or you know, just make them talk out their feelings...”

~~~

“Look at this,” Harry threw down a copy of the Daily Prophet in front of Astrid who was just finishing up breakfast.

She picked it up and read out loud:

“'Suppose I get my strength from my parents. I know they'd be very proud of me if they could see me now... Yes, sometimes at night I still cry about them. I'm not ashamed to admit it... I know nothing will hurt me during the tournament, because they're watching over me...'”

“Wow...” Astrid put down the article and looked at Harry. “Didn't know you still cried about them,
Harry.”

Harry looked flustered, “I don't-!”

“Kidding, Harry!” Astrid chuckled.

“Yeah, well, lets see if you can joke about the next part. Keep reading.”

Astrid picked up the article again and read it over, until something caught her attention.

“Harry has at last found love at Hogwarts. His close friend, Colin Creevey, says that Harry is rarely seen without the company of one Astrid Black, who is the daughter of the mass murderer of Sirius Black, who was also responsible for aiding in the murders of the Potters. Is it beautiful or tragic these two have found love? Hopefully, she does not take after her father and they find happiness in the many years to come.”

Astrid tore the paper in half. “That bitc-”

A screech from Xander cut off Astrid, as he flew down and dropped a letter in front of Harry.

Harry quickly tore it open, “It's from Sirius...” Astrid watched Harry's green eyes read the letter quickly.

“What does it say?” Hermione asked.

“He wants to meet at midnight in the Gryffindor tower.” Harry looked worried and confused. “How's he plan to meet me there?”

Astrid shrugged, “Guess we'll find out.”

“Oh, but Harry, you're also supposed to meet with Hagrid tonight!” Hermione reminded him.

“I'll meet quickly with Hagrid, then head up to talk with Sirius.” Harry said.

“Yeah, you go to meet with Hagrid, and I'll stay up in the Gryffindor tower in case he shows, alright?” Astrid suggested and Harry nodded.

~~~

Astrid felt a hand on her shoulder, gently shaking her awake, “huh? W-what? I'm awake, I'm awake.” Astrid looked up to see Harry towering over her with a small smile.

“You know you snore?” he said.

Astrid sat up on the sofa, frowning slightly and said, “do not...”

“Yeah, just lightly though.” Harry sat down next to Astrid in front of the small fire. “Any sign of him?”

“No... then again, I guess I don't make a very good look out.” Astrid said, rubbing her tired eyes.

“No, but you make a really good friend.” Harry said, looking at Astrid. “Its just... last year... when I found out about Sirius, I mean, the lie about Sirius... I didn't believe you... I turned my back on you because of what others were saying... and now, without hesitation you believe me and not what everyone's saying... just wanted to say sorry... and thank you.”

Astrid was quiet for a moment, looking into Harry's green eyes, then weakly began to speak, “Harry, I...” Astrid didn't know what she was trying to say, just that she was definitely trying to say something.

Someone cleared their throat and the two of them jumped slightly. “I don't mean to interrupt,” they turned to see Sirius's face in the fire.

“Dad!”

“Sirius!”

Sirius chuckled, “It's good to see you both. Now, I don't have much time, someone could hear and walk in at any moment. I need to know everything that's going on.”

Before Harry could stop himself he began spilling everything that had been happening to him in the past few days – about how hardly anyone believed he hadn't entered the tournament, 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,” Harry finished desperately.

Astrid let out an excited laugh, “dragons! Harry! What do dragons do?”

Harry shook his head, “Uh, breathe fire...”

Astrid nodded, “Yeah, yeah, besides that, what do they do more than that?”

Harry thought for a moment. “They... fly...”

“Exactly. And what are you best at?”

Harry gave a faint smile, “Flying.”

“Yes, and with the Firebolt he gave you, even you can out-fly a dragon.” Astrid said with such determination that Harry felt a bit of it enter him and he now felt a bit more confident about the first task.

Sirius gave a chuckle, “Brilliant, just like your mother.” Astrid smiled softly. “Now, Harry, there are things I've got to warn you about.”

“What?” Harry asked.

“Karkaroff,” Sirius said. “He was a Death Eater. You know what Death Eaters are, don't you?”

“Yes – he – what?”

“He was caught, he was in Azkaban with me, but he got released. I'd bet everything that's why Dumbledore wanted an Auror at Hogwarts this year – to keep an eye on him.”

Astrid snorted, “Ha, I get it. Keep an eye on him. I see what you did there.”

“... is that what your mother means when she says you take after my humor...” Sirius shook his head. “Your uncle, Moody, he's the one who caught Karkaroff. Put him into Azkaban in the first place.”

“Why did they release him?” Harry asked.

“He did a deal with the Ministry of Magic. He said he'd seen the error of his ways, and then he named names... he put a load of other people into Azkaban in his place... he's not very popular in there, I can tell you. And since he got out, from what I can tell, he's been teaching the Dark Arts to every students who passes through that school of his. So watch out for the Durmstrang champion as well.” Sirius said.

“Okay,” Harry said slowly. “But... are you saying Karkaroff put my name into the goblet? Because if he did, he's a really good actor. He seemed furious about it. He wanted to stop me from competing.”

“We know he's a good actor,” Sirius said, “because he convinced the Ministry of Magic to set him free, didn't he? Now, I've been keeping an eye on the Daily Prophet, Harry-”

“We're not in love!” Harry and Astrid said quickly.

Sirius smirked, “No, its not about that... its about something she wrote last month. About Moody. That he was attacked the night before he started at Hogwarts. Yes, it says it was a false alarm, but I don't think so. I think someone tried to stop him from getting to Hogwarts. I think someone knew their job would be a lot more difficult with him around. And no one's going to look into it too closely; Mad-Eye's heard intruders too often. But that doesn't mean he can't still spot the real thing. Moody was the best Auror the Ministry ever had.”

“So, what you're saying is... Karkaroff is trying to kill Harry?” Astrid concluded.

“But why?” Harry asked.

Sirius hesitated.

“I've been hearing some very strange things,” he said slowly. “The Death Eaters seem to be a bit more active than usual lately. They showed themselves at the Quidditch World Cup, didn't they? Someone set off the Dark Mark... and then – did you hear about that Ministry of Magic witch who's gone missing? Bertha Jorkins? She disappeared in Albania, and that's definitely where Voldemort was rumored to be last... and she would have known the Triwizard Tournament was coming up, wouldn't she?”

“Yeah, but she wouldn't have walked straight into Voldemort, would she?” Harry said.

“Listen, I knew Bertha. She was at Hogwarts when I was, a few years above your dad and me. And she was an idiot. Very nosy, but no brains, none at all. It's not a good combination, Harry. I'd say she's be very easy to lure into a trap.”

“So... Voldemort could have found out about the tournament?” Harry said. “You think Karkaroff is here on his orders?”

“I don't know,” Sirius said slowly. “Karkaroff doesn't strike me as the type who'd go back to Voldemort unless he knew Voldemort was powerful enough to protect him. But whoever put your name in that goblet did it for a reason, and I can't help thinking the tournament would be a very good way to attack you and make it look like an accident.”

“They'll have to go through me first.” Astrid said with a clenched jaw.

“There isn't much you can do, Astrid,” Sirius began. “He has to go through these tasks by himself. The best you can do is help him prepare for them, but beyond that, Harry will be on his own.”

Astrid thought for a moment, “Maybe not... last Christmas my mom gave me a potion she began working on after... after your parents died, Harry.”

“What kind of potion?” Harry asked.

“Its two vials. One for me, and one for the person of my choosing... we drink them... and then we're... connected.”

“What do you mean 'connected'?” Sirius asked curiously.

“She said if our feelings were strong enough, the person we were connected to could also feel our feelings, or if we concentrated hard enough, we could even see through each others minds.”

Sirius smiled, “Your mother and her creations... you know she used to have a notebook with the most deadliest spells I have ever- you know what, ignore that. Astrid, do you have these vials?”

Astrid nodded, “Yeah, in my trunk upstairs.”

Sirius turned to Harry, “I strongly suggest you do this Harry... your life is in more danger now than it has ever been. You need Astrid.”

Harry turned to Astrid, and looked into her heated smokey gray eyes. “Yeah.”

Astrid gasped, “Shh, I hear foots steps! Go!” Astrid shooed at her father. There was a loud pop and his face was gone.

Astrid and Harry stood up and turned to the stairs.

It was Ron. He was dressed in his maroon pajamas. Ron stopped dead facing Harry across the room.

“What are you two doing?” he asked.

Before Astrid could speak, Harry opened his mouth, “What's that got t do with you?” Harry snarled. “What are you doing down here at this time of night?”

“I just wondered where you - “ Ron stopped and then shrugged. “Nothing. I'm going back to bed.”

“Just though you'd come nosing around, did you?” Harry shouted.

“Sorry about that,” Ron said, his face reddening with anger. “Should've realized you didn't want to be disturbed. I'll let you get on with practicing for your next interview in peace.”

Harry seized one of the POTTER STINKS badges that were laying on the nearby table and chucked it at Ron. It hit him in the forehead and bounced off.

“There you go,” Harry said. “Something for you to wear on Tuesday. You might even have a scar now, if you're lucky... that's what you want, isn't it?”

Ron turned around and walked back up the stairs.

Harry could feel Astrid's gaze and turned to her, “What?”

“He said he was wondering where you were. He was worried about you Harry. You had your chance to make up, and you blew it.” Astrid shook her head in disappointment and walked over to the stairs that led to the girl's dorm. “I'm going to bed. I'll bring down the potions tomorrow morning.” With that, Astrid climbed up the stairs and went to bed.