During his next several Defense classes, Moody seemed to make a point of ignoring Harry. Harry would speak up in class, Moody ignored him. He'd mouth something off loudly enough for Moody to hear, Moody ignored him. He even tried staying after class to speak with him, but Moody bolted each time as fast as his stupid wooden leg let him go.
"It's fucking annoying," Harry slammed his hand on the table at dinner after another unsuccessful day of trying to speak with the man. "Now that I want to talk to him- he ignores me!"
"Here's what you do-" Fred leaned forward, his blue eyes were sparkling mischievously and he opened his mouth, with what was definitely going to be a prank, when Theo cut him off.
"No to whatever Weasley is about to suggest," he said with a roll of his eyes. "Be a Slytherin Harry. Be patient, cunning, subtle," he added with a pointed look at Fred.
"I was going to say blow up his room with fireworks," Fred shrugged. "But sure. I guess you could be boring about it too."
"No wait-" Susan leaned across the table towards Fred. "Tell me more about those fireworks."
Harry huffed as the two of them started discussing explosives.
"What house was Moody in?" Blaise asked.
"Gryffindor."
"Hufflepuff."
Hermione and Neville looked at each other.
"He was definitely a Gryffindor," Hermione said. "He was an auror right? So we know he was brave."
"I'm pretty sure he was in Hufflepuff," Neville disagreed. "Loyal and hard working, right? Not all Aurors are Gryffindors."
"Tonks was a Hufflepuff," Draco added helpfully.
"Why does any of that matter?" Harry asked, slamming his hand down again. "How does knowing his house from a hundred years ago help recruit the man?"
"It was not one hundred years ago," Luna giggled. "Alastor Moody is only seventy eight."
"Fifty one years ago then," Harry rolled his eyes. Wixen aged so weird.
"Sixty one," Hermione corrected him. "And I'm buying you a calculator for Christmas."
"I'll buy you a cobra then," Harry warned her. "And I'll tell it to sleep under your pillow and scare the hell out of you when you're least expecting it."
"Then we'll melt your sword," Theo said with a teasing grin.
"How does knowing Moody's house help recruit him?" Ron asked, interrupting Harry's next threat about attacking their secret trunk of illegal books.
"Don't be a Gryffindor," Draco huffed, ignoring Fred and Neville's indignant faces. "You have to approach people based on what they value."
"Do go on Little Snake," Fred grinned. "We want to hear more about your secret Slytherin recruiting tactics."
"Don't laugh at him," Susan told Fred. "They worked on you didn't they?"
"Oi! I'll have you know that I had to trick Harry into dating me," Fred said. "Worked my arse off too, didn't I?"
"Not really, no," Blaise smirked. "You just irritated him until he agreed to go out with you."
"Daaaaaaarlin, say it ain't so," Fred cried with his hand over his heart. "Do you hear how they cheapen our love?"
Harry kicked Fred under the table.
"Jesus Christ, shut up," he laughed. "Draco- ignore him. What were you saying?"
"I was saying, that if you wanted to recruit a Gryffindor you have to be all righteous about it. Convince them that your side is the right side to be on. A Slytherin is easy, just show them how powerful you are. Ravenclaws can't stand not knowing things-" Draco's grey eyes flicked towards Hermione for a moment and he smirked. "So with them just be all 'ooh I have a lot of secret knowledge but only gang members are allowed to know it.' Hufflepuffs are the hardest, you have to win their loyalty. But once you do, they're the perfect allies."
Susan puffed her chest out proudly.
"We are the superior house," she said pompously.
"Hardest to win though," Blaise pointed out. "Which is probably why you're the only Hufflepuff in the gang."
"Lue's the only Ravenclaw, and Nev's the only Gryffindor," Harry said. Hermione still refused to officially join because 'gangs are for hooligans'.
"What? I'm not in the gang?!" Fred made puppy dog eyes at Harry. "Why am I not a part of it?"
"The gang is different than being friends, or, er, more than friends I guess," Ron said, his face blushing. "It's allies Fred. You and Harry aren't allies."
"How do I be an ally then?" Fred asked, leaning back and locking his hands behind his head. He winked at Harry when he noticed him eyeing his exposed arms, which made Harry blush now as well.
"You have to swear to follow Harry's causes," Neville said.
"And you aren't allowed to ask him for favors," Susan added.
"And if you try and leave the gang or betray it then you die," Luna said serenely. "Harry calls it 'magic in, blood out'."
"You die if you leave the gang?" Hermione hissed. "Harry that's a joke, right?"
"Nope." Harry took a drink of his water and calmly watched as Hermione seethed for a moment. "Most gangs make you kill someone to join, so I suppose I'm already being plenty nice, yeah?"
"I'll kill someone," Susan said as casually as if they were talking about brewing a potion. "Give me a name."
"You're already in the gang," Harry smiled fondly at her. "But you can help me kill Dumbledore at some point if you want."
Susan took the opportunity to glare darkly up at the Head Table where Dumbledore was chatting away with McGonagall.
"Wait, wait, wait. All I have to do is agree to follow Harry's causes, not ask him for favors, and never betray the gang?" Fred asked. "Done."
"Do you even know what his causes are?" Blaise sighed. "You shouldn't join a gang just because you're dating the leader."
Fred shrugged and smiled at Harry.
"What're your causes then Darlin'? Besides taking over the world."
"Shows what you know," Draco scoffed before Harry could answer. "Harry's only trying to take over the United Kingdom."
"Why think small though?" Ron said, his eyes squinted thoughtfully. "If Harry could rule the whole world, why not do it?"
Harry and Susan glanced at each other and seemed to share a moment where they could read each other's minds.
"Nah," Harry waved his fork airily. "Too much work. Here's my causes-" he watched Fred carefully, waiting to see how he'd react to his current plans. "Figure out how Timmy's coming back. Then kill him. Then kill Dumbledore. Then become the Minister of Magic. Wands for all magical creatures that can carry them. And mandatory boarding schools starting in Primary Schools for muggleborns. Complete separation from muggles for them as early as possible. And... and I'm sure there'll be more later."
Fred looked calm and thoughtful during Harry's spiel, but Harry still half expected him to crack a joke or laugh at him.
"Why mandatory boarding schools for Muggleborns?" he asked, surprising Harry with his thoughtful tone.
"Because muggles either hate magic or they want to use it, yeah? It's disgusting and it's unfair," Harry spat. "Magic kids shouldn't have to live like that."
"Not all muggles," Hermione said coolly. "My parents certainly aren't like that."
"Not yet," Susan said, her tone matching Hermione's level of warmth. "Who knows what they'll ask when you come of age?"
"My parents love me," Hermione said. "They'd certainly never hate me or try and use me."
"You're lucky then," Harry told her flatly. "But wouldn't it have been better if you'd been around other kids your age when you first started showing signs of accidental magic? Then you wouldn't have been bullied by muggle kids, or felt like a freak. You would have known you were special right away."
"I was awfully behind on Wixen culture when I arrived," Hermione said slowly. "I think it could have been beneficial if I'd have known I was a witch when I was younger. But I don't think mandatory schools are necessary."
Harry ignored her last bit. Hermione might be one of the few lucky muggleborns whose family didn't want to use her for magic or hated her for it. Or they just hadn't shown their true colors yet.
Magic kids, kids who were strong and special, needed to be protected as early as possible.
"You make a lot of good points," Fred said. "I never thought about how hard it would be to live with muggles before Hogwarts. The secret would be safer if kids were moved sooner too, wouldn't it?"
"Exactly," Harry said. "I knew you'd get it."
He hadn't actually known that. He was worried Fred wouldn't get it at all. But people liked to hear that you believed in them, so Harry said it anyway.
"And why are we killing Dumbledore?" Fred asked.
"Because he's an idiot," Neville said, surprising Harry with his hard tone.
"Dumbledore is a bit personal," Harry admitted with a shrug. "But he is on my to do list, sooo it's a gang thing now."
"And what exactly does betraying the gang consist of?" Fred asked.
Harry was actually surprised. Nobody else had asked this many questions before joining the gang. In fact, most of them hardly asked any questions at all. Harry felt a small warmth in his chest that Fred was obviously so smart to ask the right questions before just trying to join.
"Anything that puts the gang at risk," Blaise said. "Draco almost got kicked out for calling Hermione the M-word back in first year."
"I was eleven," Draco hissed, his cheeks heating up at the reminder. "And Ron was almost kicked out for not trusting Harry in the chamber!"
"Hey- if Harry had to choose between killing a basilisk or saving an annoying first year, you'd question it too!" Ron defended himself. "And I've been perfectly loyal ever since."
"Pft," Fred scoffed and leaned forward, his elbows now on the table between him and Harry. "I want in."
"What about George?" Theo asked.
"Fred's his own person," Blaise said, watching Harry closely as he decided.
Harry chewed his lower lip while he stared at Fred. On the one hand, Fred was a genius. He was smart, and tricky, and all around brilliant. He was able to make friends easily and would be perfect for the gang.
But, on the other hand...
"Harry doesn't want to have to kill you if you betray the gang," Luna said easily. Once again proving that she's a better mind reader than Snape himself is. "He's worried you'll betray the gang and he'll have to hurt you."
Fred slowly reached out and laid his hand palm up in the middle of the table between them.
"Never," he said.
This was the part that Harry hated. He hated having to decide if he trusted someone or not. Everyone in the gang, Harry trusted. Each of them knew at least one secret about him, though none of them knew them all. They all knew the prophecy, and they all knew what Harry's plans were. And they'd all proved that they'd help Harry with his plans, no matter how dangerous or 'mad' the plans were. Harry didn't think any of them would betray him, so he didn't think he'd ever have to actually bring himself to hurt them.
He would if they forced his hand, but he didn't think it would get to that point.
But trusting Fred felt different. He'd been surprised when Fred stuck around after the opening duels, Fred hadn't even seemed scared of Harry at all after everything he said and did. But Harry figured Fred thought he was joking about killing Avery and Theo's dads.
Would Fred still want to be with Harry if he was in the gang and found out more about him? Hearing him say he was going to kill Dumbledore was one thing, what would he do if he knew Harry had killed people before? Would he leave?
"You don't have to decide now," Fred said, grinning more casually at Harry despite the lingering silence. "But just so you know- I want in."
Harry let out a relieved sigh at the easy out Fred gave him.
"I'll think about it," he offered quietly.
"If nothing else then I'd be excellent arm candy for the future minister," Fred winked, breaking the tension for the rest of the group who had been watching the interaction.
Fred was just so easy going. Which was wild that he wanted to be with Harry, because Harry was never easy going.
"Can we get back to recruiting the insane defense Professor or are you two going to kiss now?" Blaise drawled with a Snape like brow raised.
Fred leaned across the table towards Harry and puckered his lips up. Harry laughed and shoved his face away with his palm.
"Quit it stupid," he smiled. "Jesus Christ Fred."
"Fine," Fred poured. "But dibs on sleeping in your bed tonight."
"That fine," Luna said. "I invited Ginny to have a sleepover in my room tonight anyway."
"Ginny Weasley?" Susan asked sharply. "Luna! Why?"
Luna shrugged, ignoring the shocked looks of her friends.
"She's so lonely," she said easily. "Nobody ever talks to her."
Harry craned his head around Fred to peek at the Gryffindor table and felt a small pang when he realized Ginny was sitting alone at the end of the Gryffindor table. He could still remember how terribly lonely it had been when he was alone all the time with no more company than his own miserable thoughts.
'You're a monster. I hate you.'
"Maybe she shouldn't have been so fuckin rude, huh?" Harry said.
"Harry," Luna turned to him and gave him a very uncharacteristically serious look. "She's alone."
"She does look lonely," Fred said with a small frown. "I didn't notice before..."
"Well damn," Ron sighed, peeking at his sister as well. "What do we do?"
"You idiots don't do anything," Hermione said. "Lue can be friends with her if she wants."
Luna and Harry were in a silent stare off.
"Fine," Harry eventually huffed. "Be her friend. But don't be surprised if you try and be nice to her and she says she hates you."
"I won't be surprised, people say they hate me all the time," Luna said lightly.
"They better never," Susan growled. "You tell me who and I'll kill them."
By the end of dinner, when Harry was sneaking Fred down to his room, he realized their group had gotten off track and he still had no damn idea how to get Moody to his side.
"Just be yourself," Fred murmured that night. "He'll see that it's the right side to be on."
"You really think so?" Harry said softly.
"Harry," Fred tilted his face up towards him so Harry had to look in his steady blue eyes. "You're the most amazing person I've ever met. If Moody doesn't beg to be on your side, then fuck him."
Harry grinned up at him. Fred was the best.
"Fuck him," he agreed.
Except, Harry's very next class, Moody proved how great of an ally he would be.
"Today I'm going to be putting the Imperious Curse on each of you, this will demonstrate its power and to see whether you could resist its effects," Moody said.
"You're using an Unforgiveable on us?!" Millicent Bullstrode asked.
"Do you have a better way to learn how to resist it?" Moody growled. "Or would you rather have the first time you get it placed on you be by a Dark Wizard?"
Bulstrode shut up, but Harry wrote a quick note to Susan.
If he tries to make me do anything that isn't okay, will you hit him with fiendfyre?
Absolutely. You'll do the same, right?
Swear.
Their quick pact made, Harry was eager to watch their Professor put each of their classmates under the Imperious Curse.
Harry cracked up when Moody made Macmillan twirl a waltz in front of everyone. And Pansy clucking like a chicken was also hilarious. Harry felt a little bad when Ron hopped around the room singing a catchy Wixen song. Not a single one of them could fight off the curse, which was surprising because Harry knew for a fact that Snape was able to resist it almost instantly.
"Potter," Moody growled, "you next."
Susan nodded at Harry so he moved forward into the middle of the classroom, into the space that Moody had cleared of desks. Moody raised his wand, pointed it at Harry, and said, "Imperio!"
Harry felt the magic wash over him, but he didn't feel very magically enslaved so he just blinked at Moody, unimpressed.
"Jump on the desk," Moody murmured softly. "Jump on the desk."
"Why would I do that?" Harry asked, he stuck his hands in his pockets and looked blankly at him.
Moody, who hadn't hardly said three words directly to Harry since their first class, gaped at him now.
"Imperio!" Moody cried again.
Harry smirked at him and winked out at a giggling Susan.
"Look at this!" Moody yelled out at the class. "Potter beat it! They won't be able to control you, will they boy?"
"Don't call me boy," Harry said curtly.
Moody gave him a small frown and ushered him back to his seat.
"Bones, up next."
Harry passed Susan and touched the back of her hand reassuringly. If Moody tried to get her to do anything stupid- he'd stop him.
Susan smiled at Harry when he brushed their hands together, which actually reassured him that he hadn't done it wrong before when he patted Draco's shoulder. Clearly there was something wrong with Draco.
Moody made Susan jump on the desk, and she wasn't able to throw it off. Which was disappointing, but it seemed like maybe it was harder than Harry had made it look.
"How did you do that?" Susan hissed. "I felt so... so... floaty and free, but not free?"
"I barely felt it," Harry whispered. "Probably the Occlumency."
His theory was proven correct when Theo, Draco, Blaise, and Daphne Greengrass were all able to throw the curse off between one and five minutes. Draco threw it off the quickest, which made sense because, after Harry, he was the strongest Occlumens in their group.
"Professor, I'd like a word," Harry jumped up immediately after Moody finally dismissed their class.
Moody sat on the edge of his desk and seemed to basically growl as Harry approached him.
"I changed my mind about the dueling lessons, are you still offering them?" Harry asked brightly. "I didn't know you'd be able to use the Unforgiveables on us."
"You want me to curse you?" Moody asked, raising his thick brows in surprise.
"Yeah, I mean, probably not the AK cause I dunno for sure if I can block that twice. But if I can learn to block or dodge the Crucio, that'd be brill, wouldn't it?"
"You're positively mad Potter," Moody howled with laughter. "You can't block the Cruciatus Curse."
Harry scowled and tapped his foot in irritation.
"Not at all? What if I did this?"
Harry waved his hand and pulled up a shield with layers to prevent pain, bleeding, cuts, and bone breaking curses.
"Would this work?" he asked Moody from behind the shield. "I designed it myself."
"Potter... Potter where is your wand?" Moody looked surprised and so Harry raised his chin up proudly before he shrugged.
"Probably in my trunk. I don't carry it much, do I? Don't need it."
"You don't carry a wand?" Moody asked, his magic eye was swirling around like crazy. "Potter, they're going to have a hard time with you, aren't they?"
Harry saw his opening, for the first time in weeks, and took it immediately.
"Anyone who's on my side they'd have a hard time with too, sir," he said. "I take care of my people, don't I?"
"I bet you do, laddie," Moody said, his real eye was narrowed and thoughtful as he watched Harry closely. "I bet you do."
"I do," Harry said calmly. "It's not always chocolate or vanilla ya know, there's a third choice too. I think it's the better choice, but everyone decides for themselves, yeah?"
"What does the third choice offer?" Moody asked in a harsh whisper. "Besides a teenage boy with a scar on his forehead and a lucky past?"
"Freedom," Harry said earnestly. "The third side offers freedom. If that's something you might like, let me know. I think you're smart, you've tricked Dumbledore, haven't you? You know the laws. You'd be a good ally. But unlike the other two choices- I wouldn't force you to do anything."
Moody didn't say anything so Harry figured he'd better leave while he was ahead.
"Let me know if you want to duel sometime," he said. "You could tell Dumbledore that I'm in detention. The excuse would probably work for your other Master too," he smirked before quickly leaving the classroom.
The bait was set. All he could do now was wait and cross his fingers.
And he needed to get Fred a gift, he'd been right after all. Harry was himself and Moody seemed to be at least a little open to his offer. He'd just have to wait and see.
In the mean time, the whole school was abuzz with news of the upcoming arrivals of the two foreign schools. Which finally mean that Harry could put the Contessa's plan in action.
"Hot damn," Fred whistled when Harry came to breakfast the morning of the foreign schools arrival. "You look sharp Darlin', you're not dressing up for Krum are you?"
"No, the French kids," Harry said truthfully. He felt like a bit of a prat in the tight black trousers, fitted black shirt, and his dark green school robes on top- but Draco and Blaise both said he looked good this morning. But they wore similar outfits everyday, which was a far cry from Harry's preferred jeans and graphic t-shirts, so he wasn't sure if their opinions counted.
'Do I look charming though?' Harry had asked them.
'Ask Fred,' Theo said over the edge of his textbook.
"Hey- do I look charming?" Harry smiled as charmingly as he could at Fred and watched as the black part of his eyes grew in size.
"That's a yes," Susan laughed.
"Why are you trying to charm the French kids?" Fred asked after shaking his head lightly. "Because a bloke might get jealous over here."
"Why would you be jealous?" Harry asked curiously.
Ron and Neville started snickering, which made the back of Harry's neck heat up in embarrassment. He hated when he said something and people laughed.
"Because Fred thinks you're trying to find a new boyfriend or girlfriend," Luna said. "Which is silly."
"It's not silly," Fred grumbled, his face now blushing lightly. "Look at him!" he waved his hand in Harry's direction. "They're going to be chasing after him!"
Harry's neck was definitely practically on fire now.
"Quit it," he mumbled as he glared at Fred beneath his bangs. "It's not funny."
"I'm not joking!" Fred said. "Harry, Merlin, did you even look in a mirror? You look hot."
"That's enough," Susan said firmly as Harry hissed at Fred. "Harry, quit glaring and eat."
Harry hastily shoved enough food down that he could duck his head slightly and take his medicine. Then he snatched his bag off the floor and stormed out of the hall to the potions classroom. If Fred was going to be an arse, then he wasn't going to talk to him today. He already felt like a prat, Fred didn't have to rub it in.
Harry was twenty minutes early to potions, but since they were the first class of the day he knew the door would be unlocked. He just went ahead and went in and threw his bag on his usual table in the back corner.
"Is there a reason you are attempting to break my table with the sheer force of your glare?"
Harry jumped a bit in his seat and looked up front to see Snape watching him curiously.
"Er, sorry sir, I didn't see you there," Harry said honestly.
"Is there a purpose behind your early morning anger?" Snape asked again.
Harry shrugged.
"Do I look charming?" he asked, feeling like an idiot for asking Snape, but now he needed another opinion since Fred couldn't take anything seriously.
Snape eyed Harry from top to bottom once while Harry tried the charming smile the Contessa told him to use.
"You represent me and my house well," Snape said, a hint of pride in his voice. "I am pleased to see at least one of you took my warning to dress and behave today properly."
Harry preened slightly at that. That was practically high praise coming from the usually sarcastic Snape. Then he remembered what Fred said and scowled.
"Fred said the French students would be 'chasing after me'," he said flatly. "Then he called me hot."
"And that was cause for you to come storming in my classroom angrily?" Snape asked.
"I don't like being made fun of," Harry muttered. He would have been embarrassed to say something so childish out loud, except he knew Snape didn't like to be teased much either.
"Harry, why do you believe Frederick was teasing you?" Snape asked gently.
"Because its stupid," Harry said, crossing his arms across his chest. "People do not 'chase after me', and I'm not hot I'm- well... I'm sort of short and scrawny and I've got these fuckin scars and glasses, yeah? I was just trying to dress up cause the Contessa told me to."
"Your plans for world domination aside," Snape smirked at Harry's insulted huff. He was not trying to 'take over the world'. The United Kingdom needed plenty of work on its own. "You are neither short nor scrawny," Snape went on. "You are finally of average height and will likely always have a lithe build, as both your parents were thin people. And your father was living proof that some people found glasses attractive."
"Did you just compliment him?" Harry grinned.
"I did not," Snape said drily. "I certainly never found James Potter's glasses to be attractive. But I was apparently in the minority according to the many witches, and occasional wizard, who followed the man around like lovesick fools. Additionally, I believe that some people find scars to be 'interesting' and 'dangerous'."
Harry laughed outright at that. Snape complimenting him in such a dry tone was just too much.
"So... so you think Fred wasn't just being an arse?" he asked hesitantly.
"I believe Frederick Weasley typically redefines the word 'arse', but in this one specific instance? I do not. You have a famous name, a tragic backstory, you possess adequate looks, and you have an innate ability to draw others towards you. Undoubtedly, you will be the target of many fools' affections."
Harry let out a deep breath at that. Even if Snape was biased, Fred probably was too. So... maybe he had meant it.
"Thanks," Harry said.
"If you need reminded of your many irksome charms I suggest placing this memory in your pensieve because I will not be repeating myself," Snape said gruffly.
Harry gave Snape a half-hearted salute as he pulled his book out of his bag, much more cheerful now than he had been.
"Here," Draco muttered, handing Harry a folded parchment when he arrived. "Inform your Weasley that I am not an owl."
"Ta, Dray," Harry murmured, distracted as he unfolded the note.
Darlin, Roses are red.
Violets are blue.
You are very attractive,
And I already miss you.
-Fred
Ps: I wasn't making fun of you. I'm sorry if you thought that.
Ps again: Susan says she'll help me prank any French
student who tries to steal you away from me. Reckon that means I've finally gotten her approval? Ps again again: Hoot at Malfoy, it's hilarious.
Harry grinned and carefully pocketed the note.
"Hey Dray," he whispered as Snape started calling for attention. "Hooooot."
Draco snapped his quill right in half.
There was a pleasant feeling of anticipation in the air that day. Nobody was very attentive in lessons, being much more interested in the arrival that evening of the people from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang; even Divination was more bearable than usual, as it was half an hour shorter. Though, Trelawney still assigned them a months worth of dream interpretations. When the bell rang early, Harry and his friends ran to their dorms, deposited their bags and books as they had been instructed, and rushed back downstairs into the entrance hall.
"Boys! Over here!" Susan waved the Slytherin boys over to where she was waiting with Fred, George, Hermione, Luna, and Neville.
"You look great," Fred murmured quietly to Harry as he wrapped his arm around his waist and followed the rest of their friends out to the lawn.
"You too," Harry muttered truthfully, having no idea what to say to a compliment like that. If someone said 'Harry you're really strong' then he'd probably puff his chest out proudly. But looks were different from being strong. Harry wasn't like Tonks, he couldn't just change his looks if he wanted.
Fred shook his head at him with a small grin, probably guessing at Harry's doubts, but he didn't say anything as the whole school waited with silent anticipation for the arrival of the foreign students. Harry shivered a bit as dusk had already fallen and it was starting to get icy in the evenings.
"Where is your cloak?" Susan hissed beside him. Harry glanced at the other Slytherin boys, none of which grabbed their cloaks either, and shrugged.
"Forgot I guess," he said. Harry jerked his wrist shortly and Ron, Draco, Theo, and Blaise let out sighs of relief as Harry put warming charms on them all.
"Thanks mate," Ron said. Harry nodded at him and then listened in closely as the students surrounding them guessed at how the foreign schools would be arriving.
"5 galleons that Durmstrang flies," Ron whispered to Draco.
"5 galleons that Durmstrang isn't so ignorant that they would fly clear to Scotland in freezing temperatures," Draco laughed.
Harry shook his head as they shook hands on their bet. Ron and Draco could make a bet out of anything.
"Your brothers got a gambling problem," he said to Fred. Fred grinned down at him.
"It's a Weasley trait, we all love making ridiculous bets," he winked.
"Yeah but at least you won your last one," Blaise said, overhearing their conversation. "Harry told me about your win at the Cup. 1400 galleons on an impossible ending? There's gotta be some sort of good luck charm happening or something."
Harry looked at Fred curiously as his arm tensed around Harry's waist.
"What's that about?" he asked as Fred and George exchanged dark looks.
"Nothing," Fred murmured.
"Tell me," Harry said stoutly. "I want to know."
Then Dumbledore interrupted as he called out from the back row where he stood with the other teachers —
"Aha! Unless I am very much mistaken, the delegation from Beauxbatons approaches!"
"Where?" said many students eagerly, all looking in different directions.
"You'll tell me later," he told Fred sternly.
"Yes sir," Fred winked. "Suppose I can stay with you tonight?"
"Yeah, but tomorrow's just for the gang. Susan wants us to stick together on Halloween night since it's cursed."
Fred gave him an incredulous look at that, but a gigantic, powder-blue, horse-drawn carriage, the size of a large house, landed on the lawn in front of them, pulled through the air by a dozen winged horses, all palominos, and each the size of an elephant.
"Later," Fred murmured as the stairs to the carriage unfolded on their own.
A boy in pale blue robes jumped down from the carriage, bent forward, fumbled for a moment with something on the carriage floor, and unfolded a set of golden steps. He sprang back respectfully.
Then Harry saw what had to be the tallest women he'd ever seen before in busk life step out of the carriage. As she stepped into the light flooding from the entrance hall, she was revealed to have a handsome, olive-skinned face; large, black, liquid-looking eyes; and a rather beaky nose. Her hair was drawn back in a shining knob at the base of her neck. She was dressed from head to foot in black satin, and many magnificent opals gleamed at her throat and on her thick fingers.
Dumbledore started to clap; the students, following his lead, broke into applause too, many of them standing on tiptoe, the better to look at this woman.
The woman smiled graciously, Harry was sure her name was Madame Maxine, he'd met her once when she tried to convince him to attend her school. She walked through the parted students to Dumbledore, who kissed her hand politely.
"My dear Madame Maxime," he said. "Welcome to Hogwarts."
"Dumbly-dorr," said Madame Maxime in a deep voice. "I 'ope I find you well?"
"In excellent form, I thank you," said Dumbledore.
Susan turned and grinned at Harry when he said that, the look in her eyes clear.
Honestly. As much as Snape acts like Harry never thinks about it before he kills anyone, he must not know how much he has to hold Susan back. She literally had a list on the inside of her wardrobe of reasons she was going to kill Dumbledore.
"My pupils," said Madame Maxime, waving one of her enormous hands carelessly behind her.
About a dozen students, an even mixture of boys and girls, climbed out of the carriage and shivered in the cold air. Harry eyed their blue silk uniforms and found the perfect way to make his first impression.
"Warm them up," he instructed his magic. He waved his arm just a bit more than was necessary so that at least one of them would catch his, hopefully, charming gesture.
Which worked.
An older girl, whose pale skin tone and long silken blonde hair could pass her for Draco's older sister, caught Harry's actions and smiled at him as the warmth hit her.
'Thank you,' she mouthed.
Harry winked and nodded. He wasn't sure if winking was charming or not, but he liked it when Fred winked at him so he figured it was worth a shot.
He didn't notice that Ron, Neville, and Draco had all turned and were staring at him with their mouths open.
"What?" he hissed.
"Merlin," Fred sighed. "You don't even know your own strength."
Harry scoffed as the Beauxbatons students followed Madame Maxine in the castle to wait for Durmstrangs arrival. Of course he knew his own strength. He wasn't stupid. Everyone talked about how good he was at magic.
"The lake!" yelled Lee Jordan yelled abruptly, pointing down at it. "Look at the lake!"
From their position at the top of the lawns overlooking the grounds, they had a clear view of the smooth black surface of the water — except that the surface was suddenly not smooth at all. Some disturbance was taking place deep in the center; great bubbles were forming on the surface, waves were now washing over the muddy banks — and then, out in the very middle of the lake, a whirlpool appeared, as if a giant plug had just been pulled out of the lake's floor...
What seemed to be a long, black pole began to rise slowly out of the heart of the whirlpool...
"It's a boat!" Draco yelled at Ron, holding his hand out eagerly.
"Son of a bitch," Ron sighed as he dug out five golden coins from his pocket and smacked them in Draco's palm gracelessly.
Harry laughed at his friends, but kept his eyes on the now disembarking students. They too had roughly a dozen students, all more thickly built than the French students, and all shuffling behind their Headmaster, the former Death Eater turned snitch, Karkaroff.
"Dumbledore!" he called heartily as he walked up the slope. "How are you, my dear fellow, how are you?"
"Blooming, thank you, Professor Karkaroff," Dumbledore replied.
Karkaroff had short grey hair, a matching grey goatee, and was tall and thin, a stark contrast to his short and broad students. Harry stood on tiptoe to try and find Krum, who he'd wrote to at the end of summer when he realized why he'd offered to fly together this year.
"It is a pleasure to be here," Karkaroff said, his warm tone not matching his cold black eyes. "You don't mind if we come in quickly do you? Viktor here has a slight cold."
Harry rolled his eyes when the students all began chatting excitedly as Viktor Krum stepped forward beside Karkaroff.
Harry caught Viktors eye and nodded at him.
"Potter," Viktor said, stepping over to shake Harry's hand. "You have been vell?"
"Better now that the tournaments starting," Harry grinned. "Dumbledore cancelled quidditch, didn't he?"
"You cannot cancel quidditch!" Krum said, insulted and indignant. "You vill need to practice if you vish to be recruited."
"Good thing you're here then, eh?" Harry said.
"Yes," Krum said with a disgusted look towards Dumbledore. "Ve practice tomorrow."
"Brill," Harry beamed. "If you want to sit with us at the feast, you can. We're on the end of the green table closest to the door."
"Thank you, I vill see you inside."
Harry was busy talking to Krum and missed George's teasing whisper to his twin;
"Forget the French, the international seeker is your real competition Freddie."
When Harry and his friends made it back inside he grinned when he saw Krum hesitating next to their table.
"I can't believe you made friends with Viktor Krum," Ron muttered.
"Must be a seeker thing," Blaise shrugged, eyeing the Beauxbaton girls who were seated at the Ravenclaw table. "Graci," he sighed, "Harry I think we should have went to France when it was offered."
Harry rolled his eyes as Blaise winked and managed to flirt just by walking past the giggling group of girls. He noticed that the blonde girl from outside did not giggle at Blaise and instead rolled her own eyes as she unwound her scarf. Harry could admit the blonde girl was rather pretty, sort of like a mixture between Draco and Luna. She had big eyes like Luna, except hers were light blue instead of silver. Her skin tone and hair coloring were a dead on match for Draco's, but she had softer features when directly compared to Draco's pointier ones. She smiled politely when she caught Harry's eye and gave a pointed look to Blaise, who was now practically strutting across the room.
"Guess someone doesn't find Blaise charming," Harry laughed, tilting his head towards Fred. "Hey, what're you two on about?" He hadn't noticed until Fred's lack of a response but Fred and Susan had their heads tilted together and were whispering something fiercely back and forth.
"Nothing," Fred said, straightening back up and wrapping his arm around Harry. "Just some business Darlin."
Harry squinted at them, but ignored it as they approached their table.
"Krum, this is Fred, Susan, Luna, George, Ron, Draco, Blaise, Theo, Hermione, and Neville," Harry said, pointing at each student as he said their name. "C'mon, we can sit if you want."
"Thank you," Krum said, sitting across from Harry. Harry would have told him that was Fred's spot except Fred took Susan's spot right next to him and stretched his arm across Harry's shoulders slowly. Harry gave him a curious look, but before he could ask about the change in their usual seating arrangement, Dumbledore stood up and called for attention.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts and — most particularly — guests," said Dumbledore, beaming around at the foreign students. "I have great pleasure in welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable."
"Who're the extra chairs for?" Ron asked, drawing the groups attention to the Head Table where there was one extra chair on either side of Madame Maxine and Karkaroff, both of whom were seated beside Dumbledore.
"Dunno," Neville said, his forehead scrunched up as he looked up at the table. "Guess two more judges?"
"The tournament will be officially opened at the end of the feast," Dumbledore continued. "I now invite you all to eat, drink, and make yourselves at home!"
He sat down, and Harry saw Karkaroff lean forward at once and engage him in conversation. The plates in front of them filled with food as usual. The house-elves in the kitchen seemed to have pulled out all the stops; there was a greater variety of dishes in front of them than Harry had ever seen, including several that were definitely foreign.
Harry's friends chatted along happily, drawing Krum, who seemed to be a quiet sort like Neville, in to the conversation when they could. Harry kept a close eye on the overly full Hall, feeling slightly on edge with all the new students.
"You'll be entering for sure then?" Fred asked Krum.
"Yes," Krum nodded around a forkful of some weird foreign food he seemed to like. "I am hoping to win."
"Aren't we all," Harry agreed.
"You are seventeen?" Krum narrowed his eyes at Harry.
"He's fourteen," Fred said, with an odd emphasis on his age. "And he's going to try and sneak in."
"Vhy vould you do that?" Krum asked, sounding genuinely curious.
"Harry's mad, he can't help it," Luna said with a sweet smile for Harry.
"Thousands galleon prize money doesn't hurt either," George said.
"Because he's an idiot," Hermione hissed.
"Take that baaaack," Susan sang out softly. "Right now."
"It's fine," Harry waved his hand casually. "Mione will see who's an idiot when I'm the champion."
Krum watched them all banter with an amused look on his face.
"You all are very odd," he said. "It is different here."
"Harry's the oddest," Fred said fondly with a sappy kiss to Harry's head. "But he's the best."
Harry scowled at Fred without any real heat, and they changed the topic to quidditch during desserts. Ron, finally overcoming his uncharacteristic quietness, talked enthusiastically about his favorite team, the Chudley Cannons.
"Look who arrived," Fred muttered to George with a sharp look at the Head Table. Harry looked up and saw that the two empty seats had been filled by Ludo Bagman and Mister Crouch, the wizard who demanded Snape's arrest. Snape caught Harry's eye and rolled his own with a pointed glance towards Crouch.
Harry would feel much worse for him, except Snape was still refusing to help him sneak in to the tournament so he just smirked and shrugged.
Once the golden plates had been wiped clean, Dumbledore stood up again. A pleasant sort of tension seemed to fill the Hall now. Harry felt a slight thrill of excitement, finally he'd get to find out who he needed to impress to enter the tournament.
"The moment has come," said Dumbledore, smiling around at the sea of upturned faces. "The Triwizard Tournament is about to start. I would like to say a few words of explanation before we bring in the casket —"
"The what?" Harry muttered.
Fred shrugged.
"— just to clarify the procedure that we will be following this year. But first, let me introduce, for those who do not know them, Mr. Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, and Mr. Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports."
There were a lot of cheers for Bagman, who apparently used to be a popular Quidditch player, and hardly any at all for Crouch. Harry noticed that Fred and George exchanged another look and refused to clap for Bagman.
Dumbledore held his arms out for silence once the students were done with their polite clapping.
"The casket, if you please, Mr. Filch."
Filch, who had been lurking unnoticed in a far corner of the Hall, now approached Dumbledore carrying a great wooden chest encrusted with jewels. It looked extremely old.
"The instructions for the tasks the champions will face this year have already been examined by Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman," said Dumbledore as Filch placed the chest carefully on the table before him, "and they have made the necessary arrangements for each challenge. There will be three tasks, spaced throughout the school year, and they will test the champions in many different ways . . . their magical prowess — their daring — their powers of deduction — and, of course, their ability to cope with danger."
Harry and George exchanged a smile at the last bit. Harry wasn't afraid of any danger, and clearly neither was George.
Harry was relieved that Fred agreed to not enter though. There was really only one other person he needed to convince not to try and join. He eyed Ron carefully. Ron was a gambler. He liked to make money. He probably wasn't entering for the same reasons Harry was...
Mentally crossing his fingers that his instinct wasn't going to lead him wrong, it rarely did truthfully, Harry leaned towards Ron while Dumbledore pulled a giant golden goblet out of the casket.
"I'll give you 200 galleons if I win if you agree to not enter," he murmured quietly. He'd already told Fred he'd split the money with him, so if he gave Ron 200 then he'd still have 300 galleons. Which he wasn't too fussed about. Harry just wanted the chance to prove himself and show off a bit. He'd up his offer to the full 500 if that's what it took to make sure Ron's life wasn't in danger.
"Why?" Ron asked. Harry shrugged.
"Deal or no deal?" he asked.
Ron studied Harry carefully for a few moments before shrugging as well.
"Deal," he said.
Harry sat back in his seat, relieved. Now George was the only one of his friends that was going to enter, but they weren't too close so he wasn't as worried about him. He turned his attention back to Dumbledore as he was explaining how the students who wanted to enter just had to put their name in the Goblet, and the winners would be chosen during the feast tomorrow.
"Age up potion?" Fred murmured as Dumbledore explained an age line he was using.
"Fuck." Harry looked up at Fred and felt irritated now. "I'm allergic to potions," he hissed, ignoring Dumbledore's explanation of the magical contract the champions would enter.
"Think your cloak would work?" Susan asked.
"Guess I'll try." Harry grit his teeth in annoyance now. Trust his stupid damn illness to try and keep him from entering. If he hadn't spent so long in St Mungo's after taking the last potion, he'd say screw it and take one anyway.
Harry and his friends got up at Dumbledore's dismissal.
"See you tomorrow then?" Harry asked Krum. "Reckon you're sleeping in your ship? If not you can bunk with us."
"Ve are sleeping in our ship," Krum said. "But I vill be practicing in the morning. You could join me."
"Brill," Harry said eagerly. He'd been looking forward to a chance to see what an actual professional quidditch player thought of his flying ever since the first time Krum wrote to him. "I'll see you then."
Krum nodded at them all before he stuck his hands in his pockets and slouched off towards his waiting classmates and headmaster. The latter of whom gave Harry a sharp look. Harry just cocked his head to the side and smiled lazily at the man, he wasn't worried about a former Death Eater who was too scared to even stay in the United Kingdom after turning in his fellow scumbags.
"Meet up after you get done flying with Viktor bloody Krum to try and enter?" George asked Harry.
"Yeah, sounds good," Harry said. He wished his other friends goodnight and headed down to his dorm with Fred.
Harry waited until they were both changed and hidden behind a privacy charm to ask Fred about his weird behavior today.
"What's up with you today?" Harry asked, propping up on his side so he could see Fred better. "You said you'd tell me later about the Cup, and then you were glaring at Bagman, what's going on?"
"Bagman owes us money," Fred said bluntly. "He gave us Leprechaun gold for our win and now he's dodging our owls."
Harry blinked at him for a long moment while he processed that.
"Are you fucking kidding me?!"