Social Activity

Neville's eyes snapped open at five o'clock Monday morning, and he began his regular exercise routine. After throwing some raggedy clothes on, he ran through 50 each of sit-ups, push-ups, squats, and anything else that came to his mind. When he finished, he slung his pack over his shoulder and ran up the spiral staircase to the first-year boys' rooms. When he reached it, he ran straight back down, repeating this five times. Not being allowed to run in the corridors, he'd had to figure out an alternative to stay in shape.

You get tired out, you'll probably die.

I haven't forgotten, Rose.

The sixth lap was the hardest. Starting from the bottom of the stairs, his goal was to reach the top of the stairs and return to the bottom, all without touching the stairs themselves. Every time he failed, he'd return to the bottom if he was working his way up, or the top when working his way down. The overall goal was to accomplish it before the other boys woke up, securing himself the shower in their room. Otherwise, he was stuck waiting for an hour while Dean and Seamus took their sweet time with it.

Neville got to work. He jumped, then kicked off from the side. His eyes darted around the wall. He spotted a crevice. His left hand shot towards it. With a firm grip, he got traction from his shoes, then kicked off again. Again and again, he worked his way up to the top. After practicing it for a week, he'd finally made it to the top without slipping. That was always the hardest part.

Neville took a moment to rest on the top of the stairs, then started back down. Now, the trick was not leaping too hard. With gravity working for him, he needed a lot less energy. First-years, second-years, third-years… he passed his own room.

Almost got it.

"Whatcha doing?"

The Twins emerged from their room. Neville thought fast and spotted a window sill nearby. He darted over to it, taking up a perch.

"Staying in practice," he said. "Don't know what's coming next, but I'm going to be ready, whatever it is."

"Oh," Fred said. "We thought you were practicing getting up the girls' dorms without tripping the staircase."

"Easier to pay visits to your many adoring fans," George added.

"Or special visits to Rose."

Neville blushed, but quickly shook off his embarrassment.

"I'm not gonna… I don't… No!"

The Twins exchanged glances.

"Riiiight."

Neville glanced at his watch. Nearly six o'clock, which meant Harry would be waking up soon. Harry was closest thing to a morning person they had in their room. Neville woke up early, sure, but Harry was the only one who really seemed to enjoy being up early.

"Look, I'm on a schedule. Is there anything you need?"

"Actually, we need to find Rose," George said.

"She's helping us with… a problem we've got."

"Don't get her into trouble," Neville snapped.

Both boys gasped. Neville rolled his eyes.

"Us?"

"Our Dear Toad, how–"

Neville drew the Sword of Gryffindor.

"Go ahead," he said. "Keep wasting my time."

"I dare you," a new voice said.

Neville tensed himself for a fight. His instincts said the voice didn't belong there. He grabbed a dirt pellet from his belt and hurled it at the new voice.

Rose winked out of existence as the pellet flew through the place she'd once occupied. After it'd passed, she reappeared.

"Good instincts, Toad," she said.

"Sorry," he said quickly. "I didn't–"

"You did exactly what you're supposed to do when an intruder enters your home," Rose said. "Attempt to blind it while you take time to assess the situation." She beamed at him.

Neville blushed.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome!"

Rose turned to the Twins. They immediately stopped snickering.

"Boys, I believe there's something with which you need my help."

She started off down the staircase, leaving the Twins to run after her.

Neville watched them go, then lept to the other wall. Inside a minute, he was at the foot of the staircase. He took a minute to get back into the right mindset, then ran back up to his room. Neville grabbed his clothes, then bolted into the bathroom before anyone apart from Harry could stir.

In another part of Gryffindor Tower, Sally-Anne arose from her own bed. She couldn't get over the feeling of her room being empty. No Rose, no Hermione. Just her, Lavender, and Parvati. Of course, Rose was supposed to be sleeping there, but the house-elves no longer bothered to make her bed. With Tutela keeping Ravenclaw from bothering Luna too much, even Luna didn't sleep there anymore.

"Good morning, Parvati," Sally-Anne said as her other friend awoke. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah." Parvati brushed her hair out of her eyes. "You?"

"Alright."

Sally-Anne cleaned herself up. On her way out of the toilet, she found an unexpected guest waiting for her.

Intelligencer sat on her bed. He perked up when Sally-Anne came out. A quick glance at her roommates told her that they didn't know why he was there either.

"Need you for something," Intelligencer said in Rose's voice.

Sally-Anne glanced at her roommates.

"Now?"

"Now."

Sally-Anne smiled politely.

"What is it?"

"Can't say here."

Sally-Anne glanced at the clock.

"Curfew doesn't let up for another 15 minutes. I can't go anywhere until then."

Intelligencer paused. Sally-Anne waited patiently for Rose's reply. When another minute had passed without a response, Sally-Anne chose to move the conversation forward herself.

"Rose?"

"Busy with something else. If anyone asks, I was in my room this morning."

"Why would anyone ask?"

"No reason." Rose's quick response worried Sally-Anne even more.

"Are you getting into trouble?"

"Define 'trouble'."

By now, Lavender had claimed the shower for herself, and Parvati was pretending not to hear anything. Sally-Anne didn't blame her; there were days when she didn't want anything to do with Rose.

"Will you be finished with whatever it is by the time breakfast is over?"

"Just wrapping up now."

"Good. Then why don't we meet somewhere more private before breakfast?"

"Great. I'll leave Int with you until then."

Sally-Anne sat down beside Int. She grabbed her pack and pulled out her work for the day.

"Essay for Professor McGonagall, reading notes for Professor Moody." Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Parvati staring at her. "Yes, Parvati, would you like something?"

"Ever worry what you've got yourself into?"

"I've got a dress that lets me breathe underwater, which literally saved my life last year. I've felt much better about everything since taking elocution lessons, which I'm sure my ribbon helps with. Rose has her faults, but she's my friend. She's done much better with following the rules lately, and if not for her, I doubt Neville would've survived the first task."

"Your ribbon just improves Charisma checks," Intelligencer informed her. "The inherent bonus to Wisdom I gave you while you were sleeping a few months ago helps your lessons."

Sally-Anne took out her newly found frustration on her classwork. After cramming it into her pack, she glared at Intelligencer.

"Rose, why do you insist on enchanting people in their sleep?"

"Cos they squirm too much when they're awake. When they're sleeping, they're denied their Dex bonus to AC."

"Why'd you give me a bonus to Wisdom? Why not Hermione?"

"Cos you're the responsible one. Brain wouldn't be as much fun with an improved Wisdom score."

Sally-Anne didn't know how to respond to that.

Now I know what Hermione feels like.

"Waiting for you outside."

He flew off down the stairs. Sally-Anne gave a shrug to Parvati before walking (because a lady didn't run) after Intelligencer. She found Neville in the common room, along with some other students. Sally-Anne smiled politely as many of them (mostly boys) wished her a good morning.

"Hello, Neville."

"Morning, Sally-Anne."

He bounced on the balls of his feet. His eyes darted towards any small movement in the room.

"Afraid Rose is going to jump out and try to kill you?" Sally-Anne asked.

"Not today, no," Neville said with a smile. He glanced at Intelligencer. The Homunculus had taken up a perch on Sally-Anne's shoulder. "Good morning, Int."

"Salutations, Toad!"

"I've got to get going," Sally-Anne said. "Rose wanted to talk to me about something."

Neville smiled again. Sally-Anne turned and left the common room. Sure enough, Rose was waiting for her just outside.

Rose motioned for her to follow. The two girls walked a ways, then found an empty classroom.

"As our party's face girl, it's your responsibility to collect information from NPCs," Rose said.

Sally-Anne's smile didn't falter, despite her lack of understanding. Not for the first time that day, she longed for Hermione.

"Professor Dumbledore needs information on the champions, but I've got other work to do. So, I'm assigning you to the task."

"Why can't you do it yourself?"

"Because I've got other work to do. Pay attention!"

"Other work for which you needed an alibi?"

Rose beamed, but said nothing.

"What sort of information?"

"Their friends. Well, their four closest friends."

"What about Neville?"

Rose shook her head.

"I've already got Toad down. I need Cedric, Fleur, and Viktor. Think you can handle it?"

"Well–"

"Kethé. See you later, Princess!"

Sally-Anne stared at the small cloud of rose petals as they fluttered to the floor.

"I think she's actually trying to drive us all mad."

Dear Mum and Dad,

Everything's still going well. Everyone's a lot nicer now that the first task is over and they all realize that Neville wouldn't have put his name in the Goblet of Fire.

As it turns out, Rose is involved with the tournament. I'm sorry Dad, but Mum wins your wager. Anyway, she's asked me to find out what I can about the other three champions. I was hoping one of you would have some ideas on where I should start.

Love,

Sally-Anne

Dear Sally-Anne,

Don't worry. Your father and I have got loads of practice working people for information. The most important thing to remember is to never let them find out. If they do, don't let it lead back to you. Only go through people you can trust; paying people off only works until someone makes a better offer.

As I'm sure you know, people gossip all the time. Make sure to pay attention next time your roommate (Lavender?) goes on about who's dating whom. If people offer the information freely, take it. Also, don't be afraid to use your looks to your advantage, but be careful not to lead boys on too long. Some of them can get… never mind, you know.

Anyway, here's what I've found works for me.

Sally-Anne continued down the multipage letter – complete with labeled diagrams of facial expressions to practice – about how to work people for information. It worried Sally-Anne that her mum was prepared for the question. Either she'd had weeks to prepare, which would entail knowing the question beforehand, or she'd already been prepared, likely because it was part of her job.

Mum, what do you do that needs all this?

Most importantly, make sure you takes notes. Write down everything; any of it could be important later. For that, you'll want to learn shorthand. Even if you don't use it now (you will), it will serve you well in life later. It's a good skill to learn.

Love,

Mum

P.S. From Dad: Don't worry, she's scaring me too. Love you, Princess!

"What's all that?" Ginny asked.

Sally-Anne glanced down at the term paper in front of her.

"It's a long story."

Ginny laughed. "Looks like it."

Sally-Anne smiled politely at her, then slipped the letter in her bag to review later.

Her first free period that day was at noon when Ron went off to Muggle Studies. After Potions ended, she went to the library for somewhere peaceful she could read her mum's attachment on shorthand.

"What was all that?" Harry asked.

"Promise you won't tell?" Sally-Anne asked.

"Of course. You've kept my secrets."

Sally-Anne smiled and stopped herself from blushing.

"Rose asked me to get information on the champions. I guess she needs it for one of the tasks."

"Why can't she do it?"

"I don't know. I didn't get a chance to ask."

"That's Rose for you. She never makes sense."

"I know what you mean. All morning it was 'AC' this and 'Charisma mod' that. She told me that she enchanted me in my sleep a few months ago."

"I'll bet she didn't give you warning."

"None at all. At least it was just my Wisdom. That's kind of nice, actually. Me being wiser."

She smiled at Harry, hoping for a complement. Her quiet friend said nothing. She hid her embarrassment and continued.

"Anyway, I asked Mum and Dad for help, and Mum sent me… well, you saw it. I think she might've gone a little overboard. Probably just something else she picked up."

"Can I help?"

"Sorry?"

"Since Rose keeps making me more observant, I've gotten good at noticing things people do."

"You've always been good at that."

"But… I don't know, I guess I've gotten better. I can keep an eye on the champions, as best I can."

They stopped walking, and Harry closed his eyes.

"I think Fleur sits with different people every day. I don't think Krum talks much. Cedric's easy; he's usually with the Hufflepuffs, but I've never seen him with anyone else."

"Harry, that's amazing!"

Sally-Anne straightened herself up and regained her composure. She was thankful that Madame Walker hadn't caught her. Outbursts weren't ladylike.

"Thank you, Harry."

"What are friends for?"

For reminding me that we're still just friends.

Sally-Anne couldn't let her disappointment show on her face; she knew Harry would pick up on it. He always did.

"Of course, you can't tell anyone about this," Sally-Anne said.

"I won't."

They reached the library, and Harry bid her farewell.

Sally-Anne watched Harry walk off. The thought of them working on a job together… it filled her with hope. Maybe he'd finally notice her.

"I don't know if anyone's told you this, but I think you're in love with him."

Sally-Anne stifled a gasp.

Taltria snickered.

"I don't know how I put up with you all summer. You're worse than Rose."

"That's because I'm based on her sister Alice."

Sally-Anne caught herself before rolling her eyes.

"Don't waste your time on him," Taltria said. "There's better out there for you."

Sally-Anne glanced back down the corridor where Harry left. Her heart sank when she thought about Harry. If only he'd notice her.

"What if–"

"What if you meet the perfect guy, then Lord Scarface decides you're interesting? Mr. Perfect's gonna be pretty upset about it."

Taltria raised her eyebrows, prompting Sally-Anne to think about it.

"I don't know. I…"

"What would Alex say?"

"I don't know, but I know it'd make me feel better."

"Of course it would." Taltria smiled at her. "Come on. You've got a job to do."

Sally-Anne returned the smile.

"I suppose I have. Do you know when Rose wants the information?"

"She needs it for the second task, but it'd be helpful to have it by next week."

"Next week?!"

"Very ladylike. Well done."

Sally-Anne calmed herself down with a trick her dad had taught her. She emptied her mind, and returned to normal. He called it "reset". Some of his friends did it before going on stage.

"I think I can do that," Sally-Anne said. "I'll learn as I go."

"That's the spirit!"

Sally-Anne descended the stairs from her room the next morning. Talking to Lavender had been easier than she'd thought. She'd suffered for it, but it was worth it.

"What happened to you?" Harry asked when she reached the common room.

"This was the price of information from Lavender," Sally-Anne said, indicating her face. "It took forever to get anything useful out of that girl, but I prevailed. Cedric's two best friends are Anthony and Herbert."

"The Hufflepuff Beaters?" Harry asked.

"I suppose? Lavender says they hang out all the time in the common room. I don't know from whom, but I'll take what I can get." She smiled at Harry. "What about you? Did you find anything else yesterday?"

"No, nothing. Fleur and Krum are always around different people, and we only see them during meals. It's hard to tell who their friends are."

"Let's try Fleur next. I think the Beauxbatons students are nicer than Durmstrang."

"Sure."

Harry sounded as lost as she was. She couldn't blame him. Rose had sprung a surprise task on both of them, and they didn't have much time for it. How did Rose expect her to handle this?

They walked for another minute before Sally-Anne spoke again.

"You don't think I look that bad in all this, do you?"

"You look fine."

Sally-Anne brightened up. "Well, if Harry Potter thinks I look 'fine', then I'll survive."

As it turned out, Fleur was a much greater challenge than Cedric. Sally-Anne spoke with several Beauxbatons students, many of whom were quite nice, but none of whom knew much more than she did about Fleur. She also learned that people didn't ask as many questions as she'd thought they would when she randomly decided to sit with them.

Fleur spent plenty of time around other students, but there were few that Sally-Anne or Harry saw around her often. She treated most of them the same, which usually included a nice smile, but not much else. Sally-Anne knew that look; she used the same one when she wanted to be nice and for whomever it was to leave her alone.

She spent much of her weekend trying to get information on Fleur. Sunday morning, Sally-Anne caught a break. A girl she vaguely recognized sat across from her at the Gryffindor table.

"I 'ope you don't mind," she said. "I heard you talking to some of zhe other girls, and I didn't get a shance to say hello."

"Oh. I'm Sally-Anne Perks."

"Sophie Caron."

"It's nice to meet you, Sophie. How are you enjoying Hogwarts?"

"Eet feels so… old."

"I know. It feels like a church, with cobwebs everywhere." She looked at the girl again. "I thought Beauxbatons only brought students who were old enough to enter the Triwizard Tournament."

"Zhey did, but my older seester, Adele, came to join, so I visit. I wasn't surprised when Fleur was shosen instead of her."

"Do you know her?"

Sophie nodded. "I should think so. Adele's one of her only friends."

"Sure?"

"Very. People follow her because of her Veela blood. She says she can't help it. I asked her once. I don't see many people with her more than Adele or Michele."

Sally-Anne smiled and nodded to Harry and Ron. "Harry and Ron are two of my best friends. Rose, the girl with the dark red hair, is another one. I've also got this friend Hermione, but she's only allowed here for the tasks."

"What happened?"

"Lots of dreadful things happened the last few years, and then when Death Eaters attacked the Quidditch World Cup, her parents finally told her to stay home."

"I am sorry to hear zhat. Is she nice too?"

"Yeah, she is. In a different sort of way than I am, but she's nice. All my friends are, they're just… different." She smiled. "Just a bunch of misfits. What about you? What are your friends like?"

Sophie shook her head. "I don't have many friends. I am different too."

Sally-Anne nodded towards Luna at the Ravenclaw table. "Luna's been different ever since I met her. My friend Hermione almost always has her nose in a book. Neville's one of my friends too, and you saw him during the first task. And my friend Rose… she's not from around here." She nodded at Harry and Ron again. "Ron and Ginny are the most normal of us. That boy he's talking to. That's Harry Potter."

"My only friend is Gabrielle Delacour, and even she only spends time with me because her sister's friends with mine. Everyone just sees me as zhe creepy bug girl."

Sally-Anne grimaced at the thought of bugs.

"That's the look most people give me."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

"Everyone does."

Sally-Anne felt bad for Sophie. She looked dejected, like she believed no one wanted to be her friend. Like exactly the sort of person Sally-Anne was supposed to be helping.

"Have you met Neville and Luna?" Sally-Anne asked.

"No."

"Well, you're about to." Sally-Anne stood up. "Come with me. I think you'll get along marvelously with them."

Sally-Anne led Sophie over to the Ravenclaw table where Neville, Luna, Ginny, and Melody were talking.

"Hello, everyone," Sally-Anne said. "This is Sophie. Neville, I think she'd enjoy hearing about what you saw in the forest."

"I deny everything. Everyone knows it's out of bounds, and–"

"Thank you, Rose," Sally-Anne said flatly. "I know I heard you say something about spiders."

"Acromantulas," Neville said. "There's a nest of them. They've got control of the northeast section of the forest. Their territory nearly borders the centaurs."

"Zhere are acromantulas in your forest?!"

Most people Sally-Anne knew would've found that horrifying, but Sophie had the same look of excitement Rose would've had.

"Tons of them."

"Rose said she saw a bunch of spiders crawling out of Hogwarts two years ago," Ginny said. "I wish Ron could've seen it. He hates them!"

Sally-Anne sighed.

"You two are going to drive your poor mother mad."

"I love studying zhe bugs at Beauxbatons. I think I'm zhe only one zhat doesn't run away from cockroaches."

"Why would anyone run away from cockroaches?" Luna asked.

My job here is done, Sally-Anne thought.

She glanced at Viktor Krum. As always, he sat with a different group of people. According to her sources, he hardly spoke a word. It made it much harder to tell who his friends were.

Well, he's the last one I've got, and I've got all week to find out.

Friday morning found Sally-Anne in a slump. She'd failed to get anything on Krum. She could list off the top 10 people with whom Fleur associated most frequently thanks to her new friend Sophie. She knew Cedric's two closest friends, and she figured he must be friends with the students in his Arithmancy class, given what Hermione had told her. Sally-Anne also noted that he seemed awful close to Hermione.

That left Krum, about whom she knew little. He was the star of the Bulgarian National Quidditch Team, but apart from that, and whatever gossip she'd got, she knew nothing. No one knew who his friends were. It just seemed that everyone wanted to be his friend.

Sally-Anne sat down in Ancient Runes.

"Hey, Sally-Anne."

Sally-Anne turned and smiled at Max, Hannah, and Ellie. The Hufflepuff trio walked into Ancient Runes and took seats.

"Good morning, everyone."

"While we're here," Max said, "I wanted to apologize for the way we treated you last month."

"You don't have to do that."

"Yeah, we do," Hannah said. "After seeing everyone out there… that was awful."

Ellie's hands flew through sign language. Max jumped when he realized she was signing something. Ellie scowled then started over again.

"I was right, it was too dangerous?" Sally-Anne asked, hoping she'd translated Ellie correctly.

Ellie stopped. Her hands hung in the air, contorted in another expression.

"You know sign language?" Max asked.

"Daddy taught me," Sally-Anne said. "Just another trick my parents know."

"She's right," Max said. "We were all just… erm…"

"It's fine."

Ellie frowned at Hannah. She tapped the other girl on her shoulder, then tapped her own wrist.

"Yes, yes, I know. I'm not in this class." Hannah smiled at Max. "See you later, Max." She turned back to Sally-Anne. "Again, I'm–"

"I accept your apology."

Hannah walked out of the classroom.

"Why didn't any of you say anything before?" Sally-Anne asked. "We just had Herbology together."

Ellie scowled at her.

"I know why you didn't, Ellie."

"You're the nice one. With Ron around, no one gets a chance to say anything. And the way Rose is sometimes… she scares us a little."

"I know what you mean. I appreciate you talking to me, though."

"It's hard not to. Everyone knows you by now."

Sally-Anne frowned. She hadn't given herself away, had she?

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I could say the name 'Sally-Anne Perks' in almost any circle, and at least one person would know who I'm talking about."

"A lot of people know me from Hogwarts."

"It's not just Hogwarts. Most of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang know you, too."

Professor Babbling started class and cut their conversation short. Sally-Anne spent much of class thinking about it. Had she really made new friends?

She and Harry walked to Potions together.

"Something occurred to me today," Harry said. "We could've been using the map to check on them."

Sally-Anne hid her annoyance behind a smile.

"Hello, Sally-Anne."

"Hello, Norman. If you're still looking for something for Clarice, I hear there's a lovely jeweler in Hogsmeade."

"Merci!"

Sally-Anne turned back to Harry.

"Who was that?"

"One of the Beauxbatons students. His six month anniversary's coming up, and he wanted to get his girlfriend something to remember the tournament by."

Harry nodded, looking confused for no reason.

Looking past him, Sally-Anne spotted Brett and Jonathon getting up to no good.

"Careful, you two!" she called. "I don't want to have to tell your cousin you're getting into trouble."

Harry gave her another look.

"What?"

"How many people do you know now?"

"Plenty. Perhaps we can use the map to find Krum and just talk to him."

"Let's check after Potions."

Sally-Anne nodded. It felt good to know that their plan was falling into place.

"Hello, Sally-Anne!"

"Petar, good to see you feeling better!"

Once again, Harry looked to her for an explanation.

"Petar caught a cold yesterday. He and his friends needed help finding the Hospital Wing."

Harry started laughing as they entered the Dungeons.

"What's so funny?"

"You. You were saying this morning about how horrible you were at this. Now it's like you know everyone."

"I suppose I do." She smiled back at him. "Thank you, Harry. For all your help."

They sat through Potions with the others. Sally-Anne worked with Neville, since Rose was missing.

"You're looking well," she said.

"Thanks. Exercise and all that."

"Glad to hear it. And I'm glad you're feeling better about the tournament."

After class, Sally-Anne and Harry snuck into an unused classroom.

"Where is he?"

"I'm looking… there. He's hiding in the Library."

"Alone?"

"Completely out of the way."

"Perfect."

Sally-Anne trekked out of the Dungeons and up a floor to the library. Sure enough, she found Krum hiding away in a corner. He'd used a book in front of his face as a disguise, reminding Sally-Anne a bit of Hermione.

"There's a secret passage out of here if you're looking for a quick get away," Sally-Anne whispered.

Krum looked up at her from behind his camouflage.

"It's alright. I won't tell anyone you're here."

Krum narrowed his eyes.

"You are friend of Longbottom's, yes?"

"Sally-Anne Perks." She extended a hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

He took a firm hold of her hand.

"The pleasure is being mine."

Sally-Anne smiled and withdrew her hand.

"Do you mind if I join you?"

"Nothing would make me happier."

Sally-Anne's smile broadened momentarily.

Success.