23

Chapter 23: Over the Coals

Thanks for all the reviews.

It was pointed out that I use some Americanisms, I am sorry to all the British readers if I offended. I am an American and they do slip by every now and then. I do my best not to use them. I even bought a book on British slang. I've since lost it, but I did buy it.

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After stopping at Remus' shop to make sure they were clean of spells, which they were, they went home. It was late, so the girlfriends decided to stay the night, and everyone went to bed. Except Lily, who didn't sleep.

She floated around the penthouse thinking about what they had uncovered at the Cup. She had been thinking about it all day, while the others were enjoying the game. She still didn't like putting the Weasleys in the spotlight like that, but if their Head of House was okay with it, then there was little she could say.

Everyone slept in the next morning, and the last one, Harry, got up around eleven in the morning. Since it was Sunday, they had a late brunch.

"So, what's the plan?" Harry asked as he dished himself up some fried mushrooms. He loved them the most of all the other dishes. "I say we do the most damage, and give it to Skeeter," he added, wanting to put his two knuts worth in.

If you wanted the most harm done to someone in the press, Skeeter was the woman for the job. She wouldn't even need to embellish as she was wont to do. The facts would be enough to bury the headmaster and Malfoy.

"We call Alex, and see if he can't contact the PR company, or do what you suggested and contact Skeeter. My vote is Skeeter too," Sirius said, drinking his coffee. Mandy raised her hand showing that that was her vote as well. She would have answered out loud, but she was eating.

"I like the idea of siccing Skeeter on him," Remus said, looking to Sally. She nodded, feeling very vindictive.

"I agree," she said, sipping her tea and giving Remus a fond look.

"I agree," Neville said, looking to the only one who hadn't voted yet, Lily.

"I hate that woman," Lily said, then she sighed. "There is no getting around it though. She is the best for the job. I'll call Alex and see what he can do," she said, moving away from the table to do just that. She would leave them to eat their brunch in peace. It still made a few of them uncomfortable for her to hang around while a meal was being consumed. They thought it was rude of them to eat in front of her.

"I hope we're doing the right thing," Harry said, having a pang of conscience about the dead girl's folly being brought to the public.

"We are," Sirius said, firm in his belief that Arthur wanted this to happen. "The Weasleys need this closure," he added.

"Okay," the teen said, and continued to eat his breakfast. He wasn't completely convinced, but if that was what they wanted, who was he to say anything different.

Lily came back when they were done and motioned them to follow her into the living room. "It's done," she said, placing her hands in her lap as she sat. "Alex said he can get to Skeeter discreetly. He has a person on payroll that does these types of jobs for him," she added, looking around the room at all the faces, which were all paying attention to her.

"So, our names won't be associated with the article?" Harry asked, wondering if he should put his name in it. It would have a lot more impact if he did.

"Not this time," she stated as if she knew what he was thinking. "We can't afford it right now. You aren't even supposed to know the Weasleys," she added, placing a hand on his arm.

"No, I get it," Harry said, patting her hand.

"I can't wait for the fallout," Neville said with a wicked smile. The rest of the group joined him. After the way the man acted last night, everyone was willing to see him taken down a peg or two.

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The next day the headlines screamed: Dumbledore's Deadly Coverup: Malfoy Accomplice

The article, which was of course done by Skeeter, was all they thought it would be. Dumbledore was raked over the coals so hard he will be feeling the burns for years to come. Malfoy didn't fare much better. The Weasleys were made out as the victims of the two powerful men, and the public was made to feel sorry for their loss and how they were used. The death of a pureblood girl was a blow that the old man may never recover from.

The fact that he tricked the Weasleys into giving a vow to cover up their daughter's death was a heavy blow as well. Though, it did make Arthur look simpleminded, until it was explained that Dumbledore said that he'd expose that it was Ginny that petrified the children if Arthur didn't go along with their plot. In his distress the poor man complied. He didn't want his dead daughter's reputation tarnished.

The death of Lockhart was also exposed, and it was a major hit to the headmaster because it was three deaths in as many years. And this one was while he was with the man. He was taken in for questioning. He got off because he could prove that the man died defending the school from a basilisk, which Dumbledore killed after Lockhart died. Lockhart was given an Order of Merlin, First Class, for his heroic deed.

The new professor that the headmaster had coming in was not well accepted by many of the parents either. Not as a teacher. It was Mad-eye Moody, and while many were glad he would be at the castle, most were wary about him teaching their children. It was a well-known fact that Moody was a paranoid old man, who had to be forced to retire from the Aurors.

The geas that was on the children was another major blow to Albus Dumbledore. Many parents were upset that magic was used to restrain their children from talking to them. They no longer trusted the man and were demanding his resignation. A good deal of those parents had family members on the Wizengamot or were connected to the Ministry. Like Amelia Bones, who was the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. She was very upset that her niece was so inhibited.

The articles didn't stop there. Every day for a week the story about how dangerous Hogwarts had become came out. Harry made sure to feed what he knew to the reporter, via Alex and his stoolie, bit by bit. Skeeter didn't know where the information was coming from, but she ate it up and put it to good use.

Then she started her own exposé on the ministry and their close ties with the likes of Malfoy and his dealings with the Minister. The bribes and such were soon public knowledge and Fudge was barely hanging on to his job. It was by his own bribes that he was still sitting in the minister's chair.

She didn't stop there; she went after the personal life of the headmaster and his staff. She went after their history and did some digging on Snape, Binns, and McGonagall. She only got dirt on Snape. Dumbledore and Snape were holding on to their jobs by sheer luck.

Albus had already been let go of both his government positions. He was to remain the headmaster under probation, and only for the next year. Then he was being asked to retire. Snape would leave when Albus did.

"Well, we got accomplished what we wanted," Harry said when he read that the headmaster had been booted from most of his positions.

"I don't understand why they're keeping him for another year at the school," Lily said as she paced the room. There was something going on next year that required the old man to be at the school. She didn't like that.

"There's some big thing going on there next year. It's been the talk of the ministry. I don't know what it is, only that there will be a lot of foreigners here," Sirius said, thinking about all the gossip he had heard. There were many speculations, but none of them were concrete. "All I know is that it has to do with Games and Sports."

"Did you hear that Bertha Jorkins went missing?" Remus asked, reading the news about the woman in the Daily Prophet.

"That made the Prophet?" Sirius asked, instead of answering. "She's always wandering off. I'm surprised she ever makes it to the office."

"She's not that bad," Remus said, having met the woman a time to two. She was a few years ahead of them in school, but they only knew each other in passing.

"Doesn't she work in Magical Games and Sports?" Sirius asked, trying to remember what department she was in. "I wonder if it's related to what's going on at Hogwarts."

"Why are you asking me? You're the one who works there," Remus pointed out.

"Right, I'm pretty sure she works with Bagman," Sirius concluded. "And he has something to do with what's going on at Hogwarts."

"That is troubling," Lily said, looking startled.

"Why do you say that?" Harry asked, looking up from his summer reading that he had put off until now.

"That man is a habitual gambler. He was in school and I'm sure that hasn't changed," she answered, and then pointed at his book.

He sighed and went back to his reading, though he still kept an ear on the conversation.

"That's right, I remember if you wanted to place a bet on anything while he was at Hogwarts, he was the man to see," Sirius said, clapping his hands in remembrance.

"He was also associated with the Death Eaters in the first war," Mandy reminded them. They might not have known that bit, what with Sirius being in jail, Lily being dormant, and Remus in the muggle world.

"Was he?" Lily asked, her eyebrows lifting in surprise.

"He was friends with Rookwood," Mandy explained, looking at her ghostly friend. "He swears he didn't know the man was a Death Eater, but he was charged for being associated with them," she finished with a shrug.

"So, he was found innocent?" Lily asked, wanting to make sure that she got the story right.

"Yup, even congratulated on turning the man in," her friend said with another shrug. It was all old news to her.

"Well, I still don't like him," Lily said, folding her arms. "I hope that whatever he's involved with at Hogwarts doesn't affect us," she added.

"Me too," Harry said under his breath.

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Summer came to a close, and the boys went back to school none the worse for wear. They were excited to return since they had finally found a way for Lily to stay at the penthouse. They used a blood crystal. All Harry had to do was make a magical crystal out of a pint of his blood and she could use it as an anchor. It was a hard process that they picked up from a Black book that Sirius got from the library in Grimmuald Place.

Mrs. Black had died a few years back and Sirius reluctantly went back there to clean the place out. He found quite a few dark objects that he had taken to Gringotts to have cleansed. Not all of them, he didn't spend that much time there. He was going to do that this year while the boys were in school. He had to order the crazy house elf to clean the place up and was hopeful that it was more habitable when he returned.

Harry and Neville had kept in touch with a few of the people they had met at the Quidditch World Cup. Two girls that they really liked, Susan Bones and Daphne Greengrass wrote to them via their aliases. They had figured out how to make the owls deliver to the fake names. It too was from the Black library.

Both the girls had told both the boys on the first day of school that Hogwarts might be in danger again. Dumbledore had announced that the Triwizard Tournament will be played out there. If that didn't spell out danger, they couldn't think of anything that would.

They had already had a warning from Sirius, but they had hoped it was just rumor. Since Sirius wasn't directly connected to the tournament, he wasn't privy to the whole story. However, it was impossible to keep it a secret in the ministry.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Harry said after reading Susan's letter to Gary. There was no stopping the cold feeling that was running over his body. It was much like when his mum gave him a hug, but nowhere near as nice.

"You and me both," Neville said, a shiver running down his spine. He was more worried for Harry than himself.

"Don't worry, you two will never set foot in Hogwarts," Sirius vowed. He would make sure of that. "The Goblet of Fire is being used to pick the champions. There is no way that it can pick your name," he added, hoping what he said was true.

"I hope you're right," Harry said, thinking of all the ways this could go wrong. He didn't know much about enchanted objects, but he knew that magic was mysterious and that it could be used to do anything if one put their minds to it.

"Even if your name does come up, you will not have to do anything," Sirius said, getting nods from the other adults in the room. "You can't be put under a contract unwillingly," he stated firmly. "We'll handle anything that comes up," he said, pointing to him, Remus, and Lily.

"Okay," Harry said, not as worried as he had been. He was still going to research the tournament anyway. Just in case he needed to defend himself against the press, or fans.

"Don't worry, baby, we'll handle it," Lily said, reassuringly. She ran her hand down his cheek.

"Thanks, Mum," Harry said with a smile.

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They got the news the day after Halloween. Susan and Daphne, both sent Gary and Stewart letters telling him that Harry Potter's name came out of the Goblet of Fire. It was not unexpected, and unwelcomed. Lily was already on the phone with Alex. It didn't take him long to be at the penthouse.

"What can we do?" she asked the moment the man stepped into out of the lift. For all her bravado the time before this happened, she was very concerned about what would happen to her baby.

"First off, Harry is not to respond in any way. He is not to go to Hogwarts for any reason. That might be seen as him accepting the contract," the lawyer said, pulling some paperwork out of his ever-present briefcase. "Don't communicate with the judges or Dumbledore no matter what they say to you or about you," he directed at Harry. "Even if they send you a letter. You are to give it to me. I've already instructed the Public Relations people to forward all ministry and Hogwarts mail to me," he added, giving everyone a reassuring smile.

"Not a problem," Harry said, taking the papers he was handed. He read them over and it was a statement that swore that he had no knowledge of how his name was entered in the tournament. He was signing it in blood via a blood quill. It was legally binding, and Sirius would be signing it as his guardian.

"Secondly, Sirius, you and Lily will be coming with me to Hogwarts to straighten this out with the ministry and the judges there. We will make it perfectly clear that Harry will not be participating in these games," Alex said, handing the signed papers to Sirius for his signature. "Also, I want to make sure that they are given a chance to withdraw Harry from the race. If they don't, we may have grounds to sue if he is hurt in any way."

Sirius read them over and signed them. "I have no issue with that. I have a few words I want to say to the old man anyway," he said, passing them back to Alex. He then grabbed the blood crystal for Lily so that she didn't have to do that weird two places at once thing with Harry.

Alex shoved the papers back into his briefcase and they all got up, ready to storm the castle. Harry and Neville just watched them go. They had stayed home that day after they read the letters from the girls. They knew that there was going to be some trouble and wanted to be there in case they were needed.

"I almost wish we could go with them," Neville said, going to the kitchen and pulling out his schoolbooks. Just because they weren't at school didn't mean they could slack on their studies.

"Me too," Harry said, wistfully. He sometimes wished he could ride around in his mum's head. Or even do the two places at once thing, but that never worked well. She needed to concentrate. She couldn't do that well if her focus was split.

"Oh, well, what did you get for problem five? I didn't understand the formula," Neville asked, putting pen to paper, and trying to figure out his algebra problem. They were both in advanced math.

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Hogwarts was a hive of activity when they arrived. The students were just coming from their first class and going to their second one. Sirius, Lily, and Alex stood at the entrance waiting for the flow of students to go by.

"Where do you think Albus is?" Sirius asked, looking at Lily who was standing behind him, out of the students' sight.

"In his office, but we'll need to speak to the ministry personnel too," Alex answered, readying himself to meet with the judges. "The other judges would be beneficial too," he added.

"I'm sure Albus already knows we're here," Lily said, knowing that man didn't miss anything that went on it the castle. "He never misses a trick," she said with a bit of a sneer.

"I guess we'll just wait then," Sirius said, leaning against the wall and folding his arms and legs into a comfortable position.

Alex stood relaxed and Lily was still standing back in the shadows. They just waited until someone came to see why they were there. It didn't take long when Snape, of all people, came up to them.

"The headmaster will see you in his office," the dour man said, sneering at Black with great dislike. Sirius just smiled back at him, there was laughter on his face.

"We need to see more than just the headmaster," Alex said, his voice was pleasant in contrast to Snape's.

"The headmaster will see you in his office," Snape repeated, like it was a mantra.

"And Mr. Preston said we need to see everyone involve with this mess," Lily said, coming from the shadows. "We'll be in the Great Hall. Tell Albus to gather all the judges, and the ministry people," she said, then wandered into the Great Hall without looking back. She hated the fact that her feet made no noise. It made stomping away much less effective.

"As the lady said, we need to see everyone," Alex said, picking up his briefcase and following Lily.

Sirius just sniffed and walked towards the Great Hall.

Snape looked longingly at the doors of the Great Hall and then went to tell the headmaster what they said. He was not in the mood to play messenger for everyone. Lily had just shunned him again.

They waited at the Gryffindor table for the others to show, talking about mundane things. It took around fifteen minutes for others to come and join the group. First Crouch and Bagman came in and sat at the other end of the table. Then Maxime and Karkaroff joined them. Finally, Albus came and sat in the middle of everyone.

"Where is Harry Potter?" Crouch asked, his voice quivering with some type of emotion. He needed the boy to be here so they could finally get everything started.

"Not coming," Alex said, pulling out the affidavit that Harry had signed that morning. He copied it and gave everyone one. "As you can see Harry Potter did not enter your contest, therefore he does not need to compete." He pointed to the signatures of both Harry and Sirius.

"This is outrageous," Crouch said, tearing the copy up like it would make it false. "His name came out of the Goblet of Fire. He must compete," he shouted.

"It is legally binding. As his lawyer I can attest to that," Alex said with a smirk, holding up the original. "Someone entered my client's name into the Goblet of Fire under nefarious circumstances. He will not step foot in this school, nor will he compete in this competition," he stated again, since it seemed like they weren't listening.

"I won't let him anyway," Sirius said, glaring at Crouch. "You won't be throwing my godson to the wolves like you did me," he snarled. There was no love lost between these two men.

"He must compete," Bagman said, looking helpless. "His name came out of the Goblet," he added like that said it all.

"But he didn't put his name in. So, whoever did should have to take his place," Lily said, sharply. She was sure that was how the Goblet worked. Even if it didn't work that way there was no way Harry would compete. He would lose his magic before she let him lose his life for the entertainment of others.

"Are you saying there's no way that Mr. Potter can be removed from the competition?" Alex asked, looking at Crouch and Bagman.

"The Goblet chose him," Crouch stated, looking to the side. "It knows what it is doing," he added.

"Barty knows the rules better than me," Ludo said with a shrug.

"Even though he is underage?" Alex tried to reason.

"That makes it even more exciting," Bagman said, leaning forward in his seat. "That and he's the Boy-Who-Lived," he added, greed in his beady eyes.

"I will ask this one more time, is there a way for Mr. Potter to be withdrawn from this competition?" Alex asked, more firmly this time.

"His name came out of the Goblet," Crouch said for the fourth time.

"It is very exciting," Ludo said, not answering the question.

"I want to make it perfectly clear, Mr. Bagman, Mr. Crouch," Lily said, tapping her ghostly finger on the table, "Harry will not be here to compete." She didn't like the looks of the government people. They were up to something.

"He'll lose his magic," Bagman stated in horror. Whether it was from that or something else, or both, no one was sure.

"So, he's been living like a muggle all his life. I'm sure it will not be a great loss to him," Sirius said, even if it was a horrifying aspect to him.

"As a muggle?" Maxime asked, like it was a sin to live that way.

"He was raised that way," Lily confirmed. "I am a muggleborn," she said, reminding everyone there with a bite in her tone.

"Ah, yes, I had forgotten," the French woman said, demurely.

"Back to why Harry is not here," Dumbledore said, looking at the trio of adults representing Harry.

"Harry will never set foot in this school," Sirius said, glaring at the old man. "You've made it loud and clear that you are interested in making him some type of weapon against a dead dark lord. That is not going to happen. My godson will remain where he is and nothing you do or say is going to change that," he finished, slamming his hands down on the table and standing.

"Sirius is correct," Lily said, standing to be seen. "Harry will never come here. Even if the Dark Lord were to return, Harry will not come here."

"What is all this talk about dark lords?" Crouch asked, waving them back to topic. "We need Potter here for the tournament. He must be here," he stated firmly. "The ministry will look bad if he does not compete."

"You would risk the life of a fourteen-year-old boy just to save face?" Lily asked, liking the man even less. "That is not going to happen. Come, Sirius, Alex, we've made our point. Just because they don't like it is not our fault," she said, turning and gliding out of the Great Hall.

"I can assure you, if Harry does lose his magic because of this tournament, I will be suing the ministry and Hogwarts," Sirius said, following Lily.

"And he'd win too," Alex said, standing. "You had your chance to do the right thing. You failed. Good day, gentlemen, Madam," he said, gathering up his briefcase and following the other two.