Chapter 69: Harry Potter - part 7

The next day, when Harry and his friends woke up, Sirius told them that there were some people that tried to cause trouble during the night, but because it was just a couple of them, the Aurors were quick to put a stop to their antics and arrest them. After tidying everything up, Sirius dismantled the barrack and they left the camping grounds for home.

A week later, it was five and a half in the afternoon and Harry was chilling out with Hermione in her house again. Ron had skipped out on it again, and Harry suspected that the boy had arranged some kind of summer job. His friend had become a little more mature during their second year, and Harry suspected that it had something to do with his conversation with Professor Ravenclaw and his new wand. Sometimes a conversation is all it takes for a person to take his head out his bum about some stuff. Hermione's parents had gone to Hogwarts for their Parents and Teachers Association meeting, and that was six hours ago.

"Hermione, we are back."

Harry and Hermione heard Jane Granger's voice suddenly. It was coming from the house's basement. Hermione's parents had decided to use the pin inside the basement to avoid any suspicion from nosy neighbors.

"In the lounge room, mum."

Hermione yelled back. Soon, the adults entered the lounge room to see Harry and Hermione sitting on the ground of the lounge room with the air conditioner cranked to the max while doing some proposed exercises for their nom-magical lessons. The adults sat on the sofa, while the teens continued to do their exercises. Well, at least Hermione was trying to. It didn't take long for the curious girl to ask her parents how it was the meeting.

Jane Granger just looked at her husband and smiled. He then grudgeling took a five Pounds note from his pocket and gave it to his wife while mumbling something about a cheater.

"It went well, honey. And Hogwarts Castle really passes on a feeling of pure magic to the ones seeing it."

Jane Granger said to her daughter while smiling and pocketing the five Pounds note. Hermione was looking at her in shock.

"The meeting was in Hogwarts?"

Hermione asked, and her parents nodded their heads.

"But… But… The castle protections… You should not have been able to see it."

Hermione said again. Daniel Granger then chuckled at his daughter's reaction and taped the PTA pin that was still on his clothes.

"The pin that the Headmistress gave us can give us a 'pass' to that specific protection of the castle. It was explained to us by Lord Ravenclaw. Apparently, the pins were enchanted by him and his Lady, personally."

Daniel Granger said, while taking out a booklet from his inside pocket and opening it. Harry and Hermione could see the front cover of it, and read 'Hogwarts' PTA Guide 1994-1995' written on it.

"Dad, what is that book?"

The curious bookworm girl asked.

"It's the PTA guide, princess. It has all that your mother and I will need to know to do our duties to the PTA, together with dates for the next meetings and some other minor stuff, including the notice that the school will be mailing to our house a copy of 'The Hogwarts' Voice' everytime a new edition comes up."

Daniel Granger replied to Hermione. After that, what followed was a session of questions and answers done by the four in the lounge room, where the teens asked about the meeting and the adults asked the meaning or explanation of certain things that were said. At the final of the session, when everyone's curiosity was satisfied, Hermione asked her parents about their impressions of the other parents in the meeting. At that, Hermione's parents' faces frowned a little.

"Hmm.. Most of them were very excited to be participating in something that would guarantee their children the best education possible, even more after all the thieving that was done by the group that should have been responsible for that, while some took that as granted and came to participate in the PTA just to see how things were going to be done."

Daniel Granger said.

"And some of them were very unsatisfied when they knew that non-magical parents were participating and present at the castle too. The discontent group was in their great majority parents from students of house Slytherin. There were some of them that were 'alright' about it. It was needed by Lord Ravenclaw to order them to shut up or give back their pins for them to calm down and shut up. He then went on saying that was exactly the kind of behavior that caused so many wars and the extinction of so many families."

Jane Granger added. She then continued.

"A parent then went on about how wizards were superior to non-magicals, and Lord Ravenclaw asked him to name the greatest achievement of wizards in the last fifty years. The man said something about a potion that helped to control werewolves during their transformation. Lord Ravenclaw then asked if any non-magical wanted to give a try and name one great achievement of non-magical in the last fifty years. Your father then said that he couldn't decide between the World Wide Web and the moon landing in 1969. Those guys went ballistic claiming that it was impossible to travel to the moon, even more to non-magicals. Lord Ravenclaw then shut them up by confirming that the non-magicals, a crew of three to be more precise, landed on the moon and two of them had the opportunity to be the first humans to walk in the moon's soil. He even said that there were records of the entire thing happening that was available to anyone and the event was broadcasted to the entire world. That shut the bigot up. After that, Lord Ravenclaw continued the meeting without any more interruptions."

Jane Granger said, finishing her 'report'.

"That's normal, unfortunately, Mrs. Granger. Most wizards still think that the non-magicals are in the eighteen hundreds. It is getting better, but it will take some time."

Harry said to Hermione's mother. After that, the teens went back to their homework, while Daniel Granger continued to read the PTA guide and Jane Granger went to the kitchen to start the dinner preparations. A week later, Harry and his friends were boarding the Hogwarts Express again to start his fourth year of magical studies.

Entering the Great Hall, the first thing that Harry noticed was the absence of Lord Ravenclaw from the head of Ravenclaw's house table. The sorting and the welcoming feast went well, but it was the announcements made by the Headmistress after it that shocked the students.

"I hope that the feast was to everyone's liking as it was for me. Now, before I free everyone to their beds, I have some announcements. This year, Hogwarts will be housing a revamped version of the Triwizard tournament. For those that don't know, the Triwizard tournament is a friendly competition between three magic schools from Europe. They are the Durmstrang Institute, Beauxbatons Academy, and Hogwarts School. Before being canceled because of the right mortality rate of its participants, the Triwizard tournament consisted of three tasks that should be completed by three students, one of each school, that were chosen by an impartial judge."

Headmistress McGonagall said. She made a pause and continued before the students started to talk again.

"But, Lord Ravenclaw pointed out, and all the other Headmasters agreed with him in that, that the competition was too dangerous, even if better security measures were being taken to guarantee the students safety, and that the skills of a single student couldn't represent the entirety of a school. He then proposed to change the task for a series of events that could have many more participants. This way, the tournament would be even better. After much discussion, seven events were chosen. They are Dueling, Chess, Magical Quiz, Maze Running, Quidditch, Capture the Flag and King of the Hill."

Headmistress McGonagall said while listing the chosen events. The students, after hearing the list of events, had to agree that they sounded like a much more just competition than a single student representing all the other ones.

"Even with the Triwizard tournament, our school calendar will not suffer alterations. The Hogwarts Quidditch team will be chosen by Professors Horus and Hooch and they will be using the Autumn Cup to scout players. For the other events, keep an eye open for the notice boards. The Professors will post announcements on them for the events that will take place to choose Hogwarts representatives. On October 31st, Hogwarts will be receiving a delegation from each school that will spend the rest of the school year with us and in December, we will be hosting a Gala Party just before the start of the Winter break."

After that, the students were sent back for their Common Rooms for the night. During the next weeks, the only thing that was talked about was about the incoming tournament. Nobody noticed the change in relationship between Harry and Hermione. At least it was that way until the second weekend of the school year, when the first edition of the year for 'The Hogwarts' Voice' was published and released. It had a small section about new couples and breakups, and there, in the middle of the section in a prominent position, was the 'announcement' that Harry Potter was dating Hermione Granger.

"At least it is not the front page."

Harry said to Hermione when the girl showed the article to him. Soon, the entire school knew about it, and four days later, the entire British Isles knew it too because the Daily Prophet had made a piece about it too. Hermione was called to the Headmistress office on the next day. Later, she told Harry that it was to inform her that some boobtraped letters were sent to her and were intercepted by the school's wards. The letters were then forwarded to the Auror Department for further investigation. That notice made Harry fume. Some people were targeting Hermione because she was dating him. It was then that Harry decided to escalate the problem. He wrote a letter to his dogfather telling him about the boobtrapped letters that Hermione received and asked him, as his guardian, to reinforce the request for further investigation. And boy, did it escalate. Apparently there's an old law that sees the attack to the intended of an Heir to a family as an attack to the Heir himself. So, by sending boobtrapped letters to Hermione, to the eyes of the law, it was like they were sending them to Harry himself, and as Harry was the last living Potter, that was a big no-no. Don't need to say that the offending witches were very sorry about sending those letters now.

Halloween day came and the students were outside the castle waiting for the arrival of the other schools delegations. The first to arrive, in a big effing flying carriage pulled by big horse-like creatures with wings that, later in a Care of Magical Creatures class, Harry discovered were named Abraxans and were related to the Pegasi. From inside it, disembarked the biggest woman Harry had ever seen, even taller than Hagrid. She was followed by a big group of students that were wearing a light blue uniform, which by what he could observe, was not appropriate to the current Scottish weather. As the students of Beauxbatons started to shiver, Lord Ravenclaw, who was present today, waved his hand and they stopped shivering. After the higher ups of the school traded compliments with the delegation, they were invited to enter the castle to seek shelter from the cold wind.

After some more minutes of waiting, the students' attention was called to the Black Lake. The otherwise calm surface of it was bubbling, and the quantity of it increased by the second. Soon, a huge ship broke the surface of the Black Lake and dropped its anchor. The ship was the most depressing thing he had ever seen. Harry could swear that it would have sunk already if it was not for the magic applied to the ship. The thing was just like the ships that he had read about in ghost ship stories. From the ship, a long plank was extended and, using it, the Durmstrang Institute delegation disembarked. The delegation was headed by a man of normal height that had long gray hair and a long gray beard. The students behind him were wearing uniforms too, but, different from Beauxbatons Academy the Durmstrang Institute was even more to the north than Hogwarts, their uniform was full of pelts and fur, allowing them a good protection from the cold Scottish winds.

The higher ups from the schools again traded compliments and were invited to join them inside the Great Hall of the castle for a welcoming feast. Soon, the feast was going at it at full speed. The house-elves had outdone themselves and had prepared an assortment of different meals that were considered local cuisine at the schools.

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