The Weighing of the Wands
Chapter 8: The Weighing of the Wands
For Aurelia, the next few days seemed to fly past and at the same time creep by at a snails’ pace. What made the days go by fast were her conversations with Wyatt as they got to know each other as friends and her morning runs and swim laps that had resumed a few days after the Selections; yet what made the days seem to creep by was the constant tension about the Tournament and the fact that she was entered without her consent – though the upside was that everyone believed her, and aside from a few mocking comments here and there to keep the rivalries going, there wasn’t the same hostility there had been in her Second Year during those months when a large part of the school had suspected her of attacking her fellow students and friends.
Another thing that seemed to make the days go by slowly was the constant worry from those taking Divination with Professor Trelawny – particularly the Gryffindors – as she had taken to predicting the girl’s death several times in each lesson with each year group, terrifying them and causing the girl in question to spend several minutes calming everyone down. There was also the fact that Aurelia’s emotions were affecting her ability to concentrate during class, causing her to over-charge her spells.
One such occurrence was in Charms class with Uncle Filius two weeks after the Selections, when they had been learning the Summoning Charm. She had managed to summon the items to her, though they kept smacking her in the face. At first, it had been amusing to everyone, even her (after she had taken off her shades and moved from Summoning the board eraser and lunascopes to the cushions and parchments that were lying around) until after the fiftieth attempt resulted in her getting smacked in the face. After that attempt, Wyatt, who had been sitting beside her and using his Remote Orbing ability to complete the assignment, had taken to orbing the objects away from her face before they could hit her, much to her appreciation.
Finally, Uncle Filius called to her in his high squeaky voice, “Aurelia, you have been able to cast a perfect Summoning charm since you were 10, and had been summoning things to you from across the castle with accidental magic since you were a baby, what is the matter now?”
“I don’t know, Uncle Filius.” Aurelia said, her shoulders slumping as everyone adamantly tried to not listen, which they were completely failing at. “I just can’t seem to concentrate to get the spell to stop when I want it to.”
“Well, that is what you will need to practice for your homework, at least until you manage to cast it without hitting yourself in the face.” He said to her before turning to the class, “Very good everyone. Class dismissed. Mr. Longbottom, you will need to practice the charm as well. Though I would suggest to both you and Aurelia to practice with cushions, just to be on the safe side.”
His comment earned a few laughs as the class left the classroom, headed towards the Great Hall for lunch.
Lunch was a rowdy affair as it always was, though several Fourth Years -particularly Neville- could be seen with Potions textbooks out as they reviewed their recipes for the potions they would be covering in class. Wyatt was among those few.
“What are you reading?” Ron asked the blond white-lighter, swallowing a bite of food and taking another.
“Potions textbook.” Wyatt replied, not looking away from his book. “The recipe for today’s class.”
“What for? It’s going to be your first lesson.” Ron replied with a frown. This would be first class he would be attending since the previous Potions lessons over the past two weeks he had been attending his Magic School lessons.
Ron turned to Aurelia and asked in a whisper, “You don’t think Snape is going to be his usual charming self, do you?”
“I don’t believe so. He knows we’re already under enough stress as it is and that it is their first class with him. He might just be strict like he usually is, but then again, we are dealing with incredibly dangerous ingredients and can have disastrous consequences if not handled properly.”
“Anyway, Wyatt completely sucks at making potions.” Melinda piped up from where she was sitting with Ginny and several other Third Years. “He also sucks at cooking. Basically, anything that involves mixing ingredients, in any way, leads to spectacular results. And not the ones you want.”
“I’m not that bad.” Wyatt defended himself feebly, though he knew Melinda was right.
“You nearly blew up the kitchen.” Chris called from the Hufflepuff table where he was sitting with some of the Fourth-Year badgers and his own Magic School friends. “The only thing that prevented it was you putting a shield around the stove.”
“At least I never gave anyone food poisoning like when you tried to cook.” Wyatt retorted, turning in his seat so that he could look at his brother as Melinda watched with a smirk on her face and several students looked back and forth between the two brothers as if it were a tennis match.
“That was one time!” Chris exclaimed.
“So was me nearly blowing up the kitchen!”
“That’s because Mom never let you go back into the kitchen or near the potions.” Chris pointed out.
Melinda, watching the two with a wide smirk, yelled up to the Staff table, “Mom, Chris and Wyatt are arguing again.”
The two boys whirled around to face her, and seeing the smug grin on her face, groaned as Piper yelled down at the boys, not moving from her chair or looking at them, “Boys, cut out the arguing!”
“Mel started it!” the two brothers yelled back.
“I don’t care, I’m ending it!” Piper yelled before returning to her plate and the conversation with Emmaline Snape nee Vance, Severus’ wife.
At the matching sulking pouts on the two boys faces, the students all roared with laughter as Ginny turned to the brunette girl with awe in her eyes.
“Please teach me how to do that.” The red-head pleaded with the brunette.
“Please don’t teach her how to do that.” Fred, George and Ron pleaded with the brunette.
Melinda looked between the three pleading red-head boys and the pleading red-head girl before smiling.
“All you have to do is…” with that, Melinda proceeded to explain to Ginny, in detail, exactly how to get the reaction she had got as well as cautioning the red-head that it may take a trial-and-error period.
During the course of the explanation, Fred, George and Ron’s expressions got progressively more horrified until they were all but pleading with Melinda to stop her explanation and silently promising to never get on their already terrifying sister’s bad side.
“And here I thought her Bat-Bogey Hex was something to be feared.” Ron said, looking decidedly ashen-faced, as the twins voiced their agreement, looking the same.
As the students laughed at the poor brothers’ misfortune, up at the staff table Emmaline said to Piper, “You do know your daughter did that on purpose, yeah?”
“Oh, yeah. I know.” Piper replied with a smile.
“And it seems she is teaching young Miss. Weasley how to do the same.” Albus commented, taking a sip of his pumpkin juice. “And the Weasley boys don’t seem very happy with the idea.”
“Can you blame them?” Sirius asked, “That young girl managed to reveal something her brothers did from the same task - or at least similar tasks, caused them to begin arguing and then get yelled at by their mother. In front of not only their own schoolmates, but three other schools as well.”
“She would make an excellent Slytherin.” Severus commented as he watched the students, particularly Aurelia to make sure she was drinking her potion.
“Even I will admit to that.” Minerva said with the look of someone who had forcibly swallowed something bitter.
Her expression earned several chuckles as the students and staff cleaned their plates and stood up, making their way to their classrooms for their afternoon classes.
When the large group of Fourth Years arrived in the dungeon, the classroom door was still closed meaning their professor hadn’t arrived yet. They waited for Severus, talking with each other while Neville and Wyatt continued reading their notes. They didn’t have to wait long before Severus arrived, his black teacher’s robes billowing around his ankles as he walked. The students parted for him and he opened the door with a wave of his wand, allowing the students to enter.
As they went to their seats, Ron and Aurelia pairing up while Hermione paired up with Neville and Chris paired up with Wyatt, Severus called out, “Halliwell, since you are both new to my class, and may find this method of potion-making different to what you’ve learned, you will be switching partners.” The boys in question looked at the professor before looking at each other and shrugging, grabbing their bags and standing up. “Wyatt Halliwell, you will be paired with Miss. Potter-Black and Chris Halliwell, you will be paired with Draco.” Seeing that Ron and Aurelia had already been partnered as well as Draco and Theodore Nott, Severus added, “Weasley, Nott, the two of you will be paired up.”
Ron groaned quietly as he moved to sit with the Slytherin as Draco moved to sit with Chris and Wyatt moved to sit with Aurelia. Despite the friendships, or at least minimized animosity, between the Gryffindors and the Slytherins, Ron was still a Weasley and was often looked down upon for being poor, especially by the wealthy pure-bloods of Slytherin House, regardless of his own pure-blood status.
“Antidotes!” Severus said when they had settled down several seconds later, looking around at them all, his black eyes glittering. “You should all have prepared your recipes now. I want you to brew them carefully, and then, we will be selecting someone on whom to test one….”
A knock on the dungeon door interrupted the lecture, making all of them turn to look at the door as Severus opened it with a wave of his wand.
It was Colin Creevey; he gulped slightly when he saw the dangerous glare on the Potions Master’s face, who had a stern rule about not interrupting his class while it was in session, before his customary grin returned to his face.
“Yes, Mr. Creevey?” Severus asked curtly, looking down at the hyper-active blond.
“Please, sir, I’m supposed to take Aurelia and Wyatt Halliwell upstairs.”
Severus stared down his nose at Colin, whose smile faded from his eager face.
“Potter-Black and Halliwell have another hour of Potions to complete,” said Snape coldly. “They will come upstairs when this class is finished.”
Colin went pink.
“Sir — sir, Mr. Bagman wants them,” he said nervously. “All the Champions have got to go, I think they want to take photographs…”
When Colin mentioned photographs, Aurelia groaned loudly and silently pleaded with every deity she could think of for Uncle Severus to not allow her to leave the class. Several students were able to hide their laughter at the Star’s reaction, knowing full well that she hated being photographed when she wasn’t in concert or on the ice. She tolerated Colin’s fascination because he was her friend and was honestly like an over-active younger brother.
“Very well, very well,” Severus snapped, silently vowing to speak with Albus about the disruptions to his class. “Potter-Black, Halliwell, leave your things here, I want you both back down here later to test your antidote.”
“Please, sir — they’ve got to take their things with them,” squeaked Colin. “All the Champions —”
“Very well!” said Snape. “Potter-Black, Halliwell — take your bags and go. Be sure to return here this evening to complete the assignment and test the antidote or it will result in a fail.”
The two Champions nodded as they turned off the flame beneath their cauldrons, cleared their table and swung their bags over their shoulders before leaving the classroom.
“What do they want the photos for? Do you know?” Wyatt asked once they left the dungeons.
“The Daily Prophet, I think!”
“Great, just great. Just what I need from this mess, more publicity.” Aurelia groaned irritated. “Just once, just once, I’d like for these people to see me as more than just the Girl-Who-Lived. Is that too much to ask for? I mean, I am an internationally acclaimed singer, model, dancer and figure-skater. But does anyone in the Wizarding World see that? No. They just see me as the poor little orphan girl.” She was rapidly building up towards a rant as Colin put his arm around the older girl’s shoulder, a few inches taller than her since hitting his first growth spurt over the summer.
Wyatt just stayed quiet as they walked. When they reached the right door, Colin let go of Aurelia.
“Good luck! See you at dinner!” he called over his shoulder as he walked back to his own class.
“If we survive Uncle Sev’s lesson!” Aurelia called back as Wyatt knocked on the door and they entered, closing the door behind them.
They were in a fairly small classroom; most of the desks had been pushed away to the back of the room, leaving a large space in the middle; three of them, however, had been placed end-to-end in front of the blackboard and covered with a long length of velvet. Six chairs had been set behind the velvet-covered desks, and Ludo Bagman was sitting in one of them, talking to Rita Skeeter, who was wearing magenta robes. Her hair was set in elaborate and curiously rigid curls that contrasted oddly with her heavy-jawed face. She wore jeweled spectacles. The thick fingers clutching her crocodile-skin handbag ended in two-inch nails, painted crimson.
Viktor Krum was standing moodily in a corner as usual and not talking to anybody. Cedric and Fleur were in conversation. Fleur felt a good deal happier than Aurelia had sensed so far; she kept throwing back her head so that her long silvery hair caught the light. A paunchy man, holding a large black camera that was smoking slightly, was watching Fleur out of the corner of his eye. Bagman suddenly spotted Aurelia and Wyatt, got up quickly, and bounded forward.
“Ah, here they are! Champions number Four and Five! In you come, Aurelia, Wyatt, in you come . . . nothing to worry about, it’s just the Wand Weighing Ceremony, the rest of the judges will be here in a moment —”
“Right. They have to check that our wands are fully functional, no problems, as they’re our most important tools in the tasks ahead.” Aurelia said, explaining her understanding.
“Precisely,” Bagman said cheerfully, slightly surprised that Aurelia knew that. “The expert’s upstairs now with Dumbledore. And then there’s going to be a little photo shoot. This is Rita Skeeter,” he added, gesturing toward the reporter for Wyatt’s sake. “She’s doing a small piece on the tournament for the Daily Prophet…”
“Maybe not that small, Ludo,” Skeeter said, her eyes on the Star and the King. “I wonder if I could have a little word with Aurelia before we start?” she said to Bagman, but still gazing fixedly on the two new arrivals, especially the Star. “The youngest Champion, you know . . . to add a bit of color?”
“Certainly!” Bagman cried. “That is — if Aurelia has no objection?” he turned to the girl, a wide grin on his face.
Cedric, who had wrapped up his conversation with the French student and made his way over when he saw the pair, opened his mouth to speak.
“Unfortunately, I do have objections, Mr. Bagman.” Aurelia said with a gentle smile before Cedric could say anything. “As Ms. Skeeter is already aware, any and all interviews are to be conducted through my publicist and with consent from at least two of my parental guardians. I highly doubt that stipulation has changed with this Tournament.” She turned to the reporter and said with complete sincerity, “I am sorry, Ms. Skeeter.”
Before the reporter could say anything in response, Albus entered, followed by the rest of the judges, Piper, Sirius and Remus.
“Dumbledore!” Skeeter exclaimed with every appearance of delight – though Wyatt noticed that she has clutching her crocodile-skin handbag tightly with her clawed fingers. “How are you?” she held out a hand to the older wizard. “I hope you saw my piece over the summer about the International Confederation of Wizards’ Conference?”
“Enchantingly nasty,” said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling as the other five judges entered the room and took their seats. “I particularly enjoyed your description of me as an obsolete dingbat.”
Rita Skeeter didn’t look remotely abashed.
“I was just making the point that some of your ideas are a little old-fashioned, Dumbledore, and that many wizards in the street —”
“I will be delighted to hear the reasoning behind the rudeness, Rita,” said Dumbledore, with a courteous bow and a smile, “but I’m afraid we will have to discuss the matter later. The Weighing of the Wands is about to start, and it cannot take place if you are hounding one of our Champions for an exclusive, which I am certain she has already reminded you of the agreement made with the Daily Prophet.”
Once again, the reporter with the venomous quill didn’t look at all abashed, though Aurelia and Wyatt used the opportunity to get away. Aurelia sat between Wyatt and Cedric on the chairs provided, Fleur and Krum on one end each. Five of the six judges were seated at the velvet-covered table while Piper, Sirius and Remus sat slightly to the side. Skeeter settled in a corner, a parchment spread on her knee with her Quick-Quotes Quill placed on it.
“May I introduce Mr. Ollivander?” said Dumbledore, taking his place at the judges’ table and talking to the Champions. “He will be checking your wands to ensure that they are in good condition before the tournament.”
The man in question, an old wizard with large, pale eyes, was standing quietly by the window.
“Mademoiselle Delacour, could we have you first, please?” said Mr. Ollivander, stepping into the empty space in the middle of the room.
Fleur swept over to Mr. Ollivander and handed him her wand. Her wand was revealed to be 9 ½”, inflexible, made of rosewood and containing a strand of hair from a Veela – her grandmother. Mr. Ollivander conjured a bouquet of flowers from her wand, putting them aside before handing the wand back to its owner and calling Cedric up next.
While examining the Hufflepuff’s wand, the old wizard was much more enthusiastic as it was one of his own creations. It was 12 ¼”, made of ash, pleasantly springy with a single tail hair from a male unicorn.
“You treat it regularly?” Mr. Ollivander asked, still examining the wand.
“Polished it last night,” said Cedric, grinning.
Mr. Ollivander sent a stream of silver smoke rings across the room from the tip of Cedric’s wand, pronounced himself satisfied, and then said, “Mr. Krum, if you please.”
The Bulgarian Champion handed his wand over, a dark scowl on his face as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his robes.
Krum’s wand was a Gregorivitch creation, made of hornbeam with a dragon heartstring core, rigid and 10 ¼”. For the final test, the wand-maker let off a sound similar to a gun blast as a number of small, twittering birds flew out of the end and around the room before flying out through the open window into the watery sunlight, though one stayed behind and landed on Aurelia’s shoulder, making no indication of moving.
Aurelia smiled at the small bird as Sirius, Remus and Albus shook their heads fondly, not at all surprised.
“Good,” Mr. Ollivander said, handing Krum back his wand. “Which leaves . . . Miss. Potter-Black.”
Aurelia got to her feet walked past Krum to Mr. Ollivander as she flicked her wrist and her wand slid into her hand from its arm-holster, the softly twittering bird still on her shoulder. She handed her gleaming wand to the elderly wizard.
“Aaaah, yes,” said Mr. Ollivander, his pale eyes suddenly gleaming. “Yes, yes, yes. How well I remember.”
Aurelia could remember too. She could remember it as though it had happened yesterday....
Four summers ago, on her eleventh birthday, she had entered Mr. Ollivander’s shop with Sirius and Remus to purchase her own wand. Mr. Ollivander had taken her measurements and then started handing her wands to try. Aurelia had waved what felt like every wand in the shop, until at last she had found the one that suited her — this one, which was made of holly, 11” long, and contained a single feather from the tail of a phoenix. Mr. Ollivander had been very surprised that Aurelia had been so compatible with this wand. “Curious,” he had said, “curious,” and not until Sirius asked what was curious had Mr. Ollivander explained that the phoenix feather in Aurelia’s wand had come from the same bird that had supplied the core of Lord Voldemort’s.
The only other people who were aware of this information apart from herself, Sirius and Remus were Albus, Minerva, Severus, Ted and Andy Tonks and their daughter, Tonks. She was quite certain that Mr. Ollivander wasn’t going to announce it to the room, and she had a funny feeling that Rita Skeeter’s Quick-Quotes Quill might actually explode with excitement in the unlikely event that he did.
Mr. Ollivander spent much longer examining Aurelia’s wand than anyone else’s. Eventually, however, he made a fountain of wine shoot out of it, and handed it back to Aurelia, announcing that it was still in perfect condition. He also handed Aurelia the flowers he had conjured from Fleur’s wand, earning him a radiant smile from the beautiful girl as she curtsied elegantly to him before returning to her seat.
“Thank you, Mr. Ollivander.” Albus said to the old wand-maker, who nodded and sat in a chair by the window. He turned to the Champions as he asked, “Any questions?”
“I have one.” Aurelia said, the twittering bird moving from her shoulder to her lap to examine the bouquet.
“Yes, Stella?”
“I know our wands are our best tools in these Tasks, but can we use other means of magic to help us? As in, if we have additional powers or abilities that may help, can we use them? Or aside from Wyatt, are the rest of us only supposed to use our wands?”
“What are you talking about girl?” Karkaroff sneered, earning him several glares from the Halliwell’s, Sirius and Cedric. Remus was able to hold back his glare though he did have a distinctly cold look in his eyes.
“Basically, if, for example, I have to fly for whatever reason, can I use my wings?” she elaborated.
“Wings?” Karkaroff repeated incredulously, looking at her as if she was wasting their precious time. “What wings?”
“These wings.” Aurelia replied sweetly, completely unaware of the tone the Durmstrang Headmaster was using, as she stood up, walked a few steps forward and let her wings unfurl behind her. Her bouquet and new avian friend with Wyatt.
“Mon Dieu.” Fleur breathed in surprise, echoed by Madame Maxime.
Krum’s eyes widened as he took in the sight and Karkaroff nearly fell off his chair. Bagman looked excited at the amazing sight while Leo and Piper had wide eyes, though there was a hint of amusement as they took in the reaction of the man that had all but dismissed the girl.
“Yes, Miss. Potter-Black. You may use your wings, along with any other abilities you have, the same way Mr. Halliwell will be.” Mr. Crouch said with a stern, yet blank, expression. “The same goes for the remaining three Champions.”
“Thank you.” Cedric said politely.
The thanks was echoed by the other four Champions. Aurelia retracted her wings and sat back down, the bird back on her shoulder as she took the bouquet back from Wyatt.
“Well, if there are no more questions,” Albus said as he stood up, pausing for a moment to see if anyone had any more questions before continuing, “You may go back to your lessons now - or perhaps it would be quicker just to go down to dinner, as they are about to end -”
Happy that they were finally done, and they were permitted to leave Aurelia stood up, the other Champions following suite,
When the black camera jumped up and cleared his throat.
“Photos, Dumbledore, photos!” cried Bagman excitedly. “All the judges and champions, what do you think, Rita?”
“Er — yes, let’s do those first,” said Rita Skeeter, whose eyes were upon Aurelia and Wyatt again. “And then perhaps some individual shots. Though if Miss. Potter-Black could remove her shades that would be good.”
Aurelia groaned quietly as she gave her bouquet and shades to Sirius before letting herself get dragged to the center of the room to be posed for the photos. They did groups shots with the Champions and their Headmasters/ Headmistress – because Madame Maxime cast everyone into shadow regardless of where she stood and the photographer couldn’t stand back far enough to encompass her entire frame, it was decided that the Headmasters/ Headmistress would sit with their Champions standing behind them (it had taken some maneuvering, but they were finally able to get the shots needed); then there were shots with the previous group and the rest of the judges; then with Piper, Sirius and Remus included; then Mr. Ollivander after Aurelia successfully wheedled him into agreeing (all she had to do was ask and look at him with her large unseeing emerald orbs and he agreed, not that she was aware that had been all that it took). Finally, they took shots of only the Champions – singles of the Champions; the two female Champions on their own; the three male Champions on their own; Aurelia with each of the Champions (The photographer seemed keenest to get Fleur to be the one with the greatest prominence, but Skeeter kept on Aurelia being the one with the central focus); and finally, all of the Champions together – Aurelia and Fleur were seated on chairs, with their ankles crossed and hands folded gently in their laps as they angled towards each other while the three males were standing in a semi-circle behind them, Krum behind Fleur Cedric in the middle and Wyatt behind Aurelia.
Finally, after what felt like an Age to each of the Champions (even Krum and Aurelia, the two who were the most accustomed to the photographs), they were allowed to leave. Aurelia wasted no time, she took her bag and bouquet before grabbing Wyatt’s hands and all but running out of the classroom with Cedric holding Fleur and Krum’s hands and following close behind.The rest of the room’s occupants followed, albeit at a considerably more sedate pace.
The Champions didn’t stop until they were three corridors away.
“I’m starting to see why you hate the fame.” Wyatt said, only slightly winded from the run.
“Actually, this isn’t the worst of it.” Aurelia admitted, leaning against the wall. Like Wyatt, she wasn’t all that winded; in fact, none of them were panting from the run.
“Yeah, you should’ve seen how they were when she officially became a student.” Cedric said. “And her reaction to it.”
“Vat happened?” Krum asked, looking between the two Hogwarts Champions curiously. Fleur and Wyatt were looking between the two with similar expressions.
“Well, to start with, Platform 9 ¾ was so crowded with people and reporters wanting to see her that the train ended up leaving an hour late. Actually, it was on both sides of the Platform, Muggle and Magical alike because of her fame in both worlds.” Cedric started as they began walking towards the Great Hall for dinner, though at a more leisure pace.
“Then, on the train, Ron and I were constantly hounded by students wanting to see me. I got so annoyed that I kind of-accidentally-on-purpose sealed all the cabin doors shut.” Aurelia continued sheepishly.
“You deedn’t!” Fleur exclaimed with wide eyes.
“She/ I did.” Cedric and Aurelia said in unison.
For a single heartbeat, they stared at one another, before bursting out with laughter. The peals echoed through the corridors, reaching the small group of judges and media representatives that were a few corridors behind them.
“It seems that the Champions are getting along well.” Piper commented, walking beside her husband, her arm looped through his.
Karkaroff sniffed in disdain at the comment as he walked beside Albus.
“Come now, Igor. This Tournament is all about International Magical Cooperation.” Bagman said cheerfully,
Madam Maxime was quiet, though she could hear Fleur’s laughter echo through the peals that reached them. She gave a small smile as she thought about hearing the girl’s laughter for the first time in far too long. Fleur had always been apart from her peers due to her Veela blood. The other girls were often jealous of something Fleur had no control of, and the impressive woman had a feeling that Aurelia would be able to help her star pupil shine in her own right.
“I think it’s a good thing for them to get to know one another as peers, rather than as competitors.” Remus said in his ever calm and practical manner. “After all, like Wyatt had told Aurelia, just because they’re competing with one another, there’s no reason they can’t be friends.”
“So true.” Sirius said happily, throwing an arm over the werewolf’s shoulder as they walked. “And knowing Aurelia, she probably already found something in common with Miss. Delacour and Mr. Krum, just like she has something in common with Wyatt.”
“And what does Potter-Black have in common with Halliwell?” Karkaroff asked, his voice dripping with disdain.
His tone had Piper bristling with anger, held back only by Leo’s arm. Her hands twitched as she itched to blow the man up.
“You’re kidding me, right?” Sirius asked, staring at him in disbelief.
“Wyatt is the King of all Magic, Aurelia is a Star, as well as the Girl-Who-Lived and an internationally acclaimed singer and figure skater, among others.” Remus explained, effectively keeping Sirius from insulting the man, no matter how much he deserved it. “They both carry heavy burdens on their shoulders.”
Karkaroff sniffed and fell silent. By that point, they had reached the five Champions, who were slowly picking themselves off the ground as their laughter slowed to chuckles.
“Grandpa!” Aurelia cried out happily as she took Wyatt’s outstretched hand and pulled herself up.
“What had all of you laughing?” Albus asked, his blue eyes twinkling behind his half-moon spectacles as he smiled at the five students.
“We were recounting the train fiasco in Aurelia’s first year.” Cedric replied, a wide smile on his face as Fleur took his outstretched hand and pulled herself up.
“Oh I remember that.” Sirius said with a smile. “Though I still can’t believe you actually managed to seal all the cabins shut.”
“It was an accident!” Aurelia exclaimed as the now large group began walking towards the Great Hall.
“Accidently-on-purpose.” Sirius and Remus corrected in unison.
Aurelia stuck her tongue out at them in response as the group laughed, except for Karkaroff and Crouch. The photographer was rapidly taking photos of the Champions, taking advantage of the moment to seize some good images of the group without their apparent awareness to the camera – he had no idea that they were well aware that he was taking photos.
“Hey, Dad, can I go swimming?” Aurelia asked a few minutes later.
“You went this morning.” Sirius replied, looking at her as she turned around to face him, walking backwards.
“That was training. I’m asking to go swimming for fun.”
“Swimming for fun this late at night? I don’t think so.” Sirius replied. “We’ll see tomorrow. If the weather is good, you can swim the Lake, otherwise you can swim in the Room.”
“And if someone can be with you, regardless of where you’re going to be. You are not going anywhere alone.” Remus added sternly.
“Okay.” Aurelia chirped.
She wasn’t surprised by the order to not go anywhere alone, if anything, she was slightly surprised that was all it was. She suspected that it not only had Grandpa’s hand, but his whole arm involved, with the decision.
As they walk, Aurelia and Wyatt played with the bird that was flying ahead of them. Wyatt created small orbs of light using his photokinesis and made them float at different heights for the bird to chase as Aurelia withdrew her birth-father’s Golden Snitch and let it fly around for the bird to chase.
“Grandpa, where’s Fawkes?” she asked after a few minutes.
“He’s in my office.” Albus replied. “Why?”
“I was wondering if he would like to play with Electra.” She replied, Electra being the name she had given the bird.
Before Albus could reply, there was a flash of fire in front of them as Fawkes appeared, chirping happily as he immediately joined the smaller bird in its game.
“It would seem that he would love to play.” Albus said, holding back his laughter.
Sirius, Remus, and the five Champions did not have the same control as they burst out laughing. Piper, Leo, and Bagman joined in the laughter while the rest either gave small smiles or looks of disdain (Karkaroff). The laughter died as they reached the Great Hall and separated, the students going to the different House Tables while the rest went up to the Staff Table, the visitors going to be staying for dinner before leaving.
For Wyatt and Aurelia at the Gryffindor table, dinner was a quick affair as they had to return to the dungeons to complete their Potions assignment as they had been reminded by Severus as soon as they sat down.
However, before they left for the dungeons, they were able to enjoy their meal with Ron, Hermione and Chris, the rest having already finished their meal and left the Hall before they arrived.
“Hey, were you able to find any leads in the library that day?” Wyatt asked after he had swallowed a mouthful of potatoes. At her questioning look, he elaborated, “That day after the Selections when you ran out of the Hall?”
“Oh. No, they didn’t pan out.” Hermione replied with a slight pout at the knowledge that her beloved books didn’t have anything that could help her best friend survive the Tournament.
“Hey, it’s okay, Mione.” Aurelia said gently. “We were told today that we could use whatever powers and abilities we have at our disposal, not only our wands. So, maybe it’ll be enough for me to survive.”
“Maybe.” Hermione said, her shoulders slumped slightly. “It doesn’t make me feel any more comfortable with this.”
“Well, you’re not the only one who feels that way.” Aurelia told her. “Uncle Remus and Dad just informed me that I am not allowed to go anywhere on my own.”
“I’m surprised that was all it was.” Ron admitted around a mouthful of food. Hermione grimaced and reached over to close his mouth so they didn’t see the chewed food. He gave them an apologetic look as he swallowed the bite and continued, “Normally they would be following you and escorting you everywhere, like Second Year and last year,”
“I know.” Aurelia admitted as she and Wyatt cleared their plates. “I suspect it not only had Grandpa’s hand, but his entire arm involved in the reduced protectiveness. Aunt Minnie’s too.”
“If they’re anything like my parents, I have no doubt.” Wyatt said as he and Aurelia stood up. “We have to get to the dungeons. We’ve got to complete our Potions assignment.”
With a final wave, the two Champions turned friends headed out of the Hall and made their way into the dungeons to finish their Potions assignment, talking softly to one another.