Chapter 37 The Beginning

When he looked hold up, even a month later, rag found he had only scattered memories of the undermentioned few days. It was as though he had been through as well much to take in any more. The recollections he did pass were very painful. The worst, perhaps, was the meeting with the Diggorys that took come forward the pursuit morning.They did non blame him for what had happened on the contrary, both thanked him for returning Cedrics body to them. Mr. Diggory sobbed through most of the interview. Mrs. Diggorys grief put onmed to be beyond separate.He suffered very lesser then, she state, when devastate had told her how Cedric had died. And after alone, Amoshe died just when hed won the tournament. He must fool been happy.When they got to their feet, she looked strike down at chivvy and utter, You look after yourself, now.Harry seized the crystalise of gold on the bedside table.You take this, he muttered to her. It shouldve been Cedrics, he got there first, you take it -But she beared away from him.Oh no, its yours, dear, I couldntyou keep it.Harry returned to Gryffindor Tower the follo make itg evening. From what Hermione and Ron told him, Dumbledore had spoken to the school that morning at breakfast. He had merely requested that they leave Harry alone, that nobody use up him questions or badger him to tell the taradiddle of what had happened in the maze. Most people, he noticed, were skirting him in the corridors, avoiding his center of attentions. Some whispered behind their hands as he passed. He guessed that many of them had believed Rita Skeeters article almost how disturbed and possibly dangerous he was. Perhaps they were formulating their own theories some how Cedric had died. He found he didnt c be very much. He wishd it beat push through when he was with Ron and Hermione and they were talking about other things, or else letting him sit in silence while they played chess. He felt as though exclusively collar of them had reache d an understanding they didnt need to put into words that each was waiting for close to sign, some word, of what was tone ending on outside Hogwarts and that it was useless to forge about what might be coming until they knew anything for certain. The only time they touched upon the subject was when Ron told Harry about a meeting Mrs. Weasley had had with Dumbledore before going home.She went to ask him if you could come straight to us this summer, he verbalise. But he wants you to go back to the Dursleys, at least at first.Why? tell Harry.She verbalize Dumbledores got his reasons, say Ron, shaking his head darkly. I suppose weve got to trust him, behavent we?The only person apart from Ron and Hermione that Harry felt able to talk to was Hagrid. As there was no acheer a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, they had those lessons free. They used the one on Thursday afternoon to go down and visit Hagrid in his cabin. It was a b remedy and sunny day Fang bounded out of the open door as they approached, barking and wagging his tail madly.Whos that? c all(prenominal)ed Hagrid, coming to the door. HarryHe strode out to meet them, pulled Harry into a one-armed hug, ruffled his hair, and verbalise, Good ter follow out yeh, mate. Good ter see yeh.They proverb two bucket-size cups and saucers on the wooden table in front of the fireplace when they entered Hagrids cabin.Bin havin a cuppa with Olympe, Hagrid tell. Shes jus left.Who? said Ron curiously.Madame Maxime, o course said Hagrid.You two make up, have you? said Ron.Dunno what yehre talkin about, said Hagrid airily, fetching more cups from the dresser. When he had made tea and offered around a plate of doughy cookies, he leaned back in his chair and surv kerneld Harry closely through his beetling-black look.You all righ? he said grufflyYeah, said Harry.No, yehre not, said Hagrid. Course yehre not. But yeh will be.Harry said nothing.Knew he was goin ter come back, said Hagrid, and Harry, Ron, and H ermione looked up at him, shocked. Known it fer years. Harry. Knew he was out there, bidin his time. It had ter happen. Well, now it has, an well jus have ter look at on with it. Well fight. Migh be able ter s pourboire him before he gets a good hold. Thats Dumbledores plan, anyway. capacious man, Dumbledore. S long as weve got him, Im not too worried.Hagrid raised his bushy eyebrows at the disbelieving expressions on their side of meats.No good sittin worryin abou it, he said. Whats comin will come, an well meet it when it does. Dumbledore told me wha you did. Harry.Hagrids chest increase as he looked at Harry.Yeh did as much as yer father wouldve do, an I can give yeh no higher praise than that.Harry smiled back at him. It was the first time hed smiled in days. Whats Dumbledore asked you to do, Hagrid? he asked. He sent Professor McGonagall to ask you and Madame Maxime to meet him that night.Got a comminuted job fer me over the summer, said Hagrid. Secret, though. Im not sp posed ter talk abou it, no, not even ter you lot. Olympe Madame Maxime ter you might be comin with me. I signify she will. Think I got her persuaded.Is it to do with Voldemort?Hagrid flinched at the sound of the name.Migh be, he said evasively. presentlywhod similar ter come an visit the las skrewt with me? I was jokin jokin he added hastily, seeing the looks on their faces.It was with a heavy heart that Harry packed his trunk up in the dormitory on the night before his return to Privet poking. He was dreading the release Feast, which was usually a cause for celebration, when the winner of the Inter-House Championship would be announced. He had avoided world in the Great Hall when it was full ever since he had left the hospital wing, preferring to eat when it was nearly empty to avoid the st ars of his fellow students.When he, Ron, and Hermione entered the Hall, they saw at once that the usual decorations were missing. The Great Hall was normally decorated with the winning Houses colors for the Leaving Feast. Tonight, however, there were black drapes on the wall behind the teachers table. Harry knew instantly that they were there as a mark of respect to Cedric.The real Mad-Eye Moody was at the staff table now, his wooden leg and his magical eye back in place. He was extremely twitchy, jumping every time someone spoke to him. Harry couldnt blame him Moodys fear of attack was bound to have been increased by his ten-month imprisonment in his own trunk. Professor Karkaroffs chair was empty. Harry wondered, as he sat down with the other Gryffindors, where Karkaroff was now, and whether Voldemort had caught up with him.Madame Maxime was belt up there. She was sitting next to Hagrid. They were talking quietly together. Further along the table, sitting next to Professor McGonagall, was Snape. His eyes lingered on Harry for a moment as Harry looked at him. His expression was difficult to read. He looked as sour and unpleasant as ever. Harry continued to watch him, long after Snape had looked away.What was it that Snape had done on Dumbledores orders, the night that Voldemort had returned? And whywhywas Dumbledore so convinced that Snape was truly on their side? He had been their fleck, Dumbledore had said so in the Pensieve. Snape had turned spy against Voldemort, at great personal risk. Was that the job he had taken up again? Had he made contact with the Death Eaters, perhaps? Pretended that he had never real gone over to Dumbledore, that he had been, like Voldemort himself, biding his time?Harrys musings were ended by Professor Dumbledore, who stood up at the staff table. The Great Hall, which in any case had been less noisy than it usually was at the Leaving Feast, became very quiet.The end, said Dumbledore, looking around at them all, of another year.He paused, and his eyes fell upon the Hufflepuff table. Theirs had been the most subdued table before he had gotten to his feet, and theirs were still the saddest and palest faces in the Hall.There is much that I would like to say to you all tonight, said Dumbledore, but I must first acknowledge the loss of a very fine person, who should be sitting here, he gestured toward the Hufflepuffs, enjoying our feast with us. I would like you all, please, to stand, and raise your glasses, to Cedric Diggory.They did it, all of them the benches scraped as everyone in the Hall stood, and raised their goblets, and echoed, in one loud, low, rumbling voice, Cedric Diggory.Harry caught a glimpse of Cho through the crowd. There were tears pouring silently down her face. He looked down at the table as they all sat down again.Cedric was a person who exemplified many of the qualities that break up Hufflepuff house, Dumbledore continued. He was a good and loyal friend, a hard worker, he valued fair play. His death has affected you all, whether you knew him well or not. I gauge that you have the right, therefore, to know exactly how it came about.Harry raised his head and stared at Dumbledore.Cedric Diggory was murdered by overlord Voldemort.A panicked whisper swept the Great Hall. People were staring at Dumbledore in disbelief, in horror. He looked perfectly calm as he watched them mutter themselves into silence.The Ministry of Magic, Dumbledore continued, does not wish me to tell you this. It is executable that some of your parents will be horrified that I have done so either because they will not believe that Lord Voldemort has returned, or because they think I should not tell you so, young as you are. It is my belief, however, that the truth is generally preferable to lies, and that any attempt to pretend that Cedric died as the result of an accident, or some ramify of blunder of his own, is an insult to his memory.Stunned and frightened, every face in the Hall was turned toward Dumbledore nowor almost every face. Over at the Slytherin table. Harry saw Draco Malfoy muttering something to Crabbe and Goyle. Harry felt a hot, sick swoop of anger in his s tomach. He forced himself to look back at Dumbledore.There is somebody else who must be mentioned in connection with Cedrics death, Dumbledore went on. I am talking, of course, about Harry Potter.A kind of ripple traverse the Great Hall as a few heads turned in Harrys direction before flicking back to face Dumbledore.Harry Potter managed to escape Lord Voldemort, said Dumbledore. He risked his own life to return Cedrics body to Hogwarts. He showed, in every respect, the sort of bravery that few wizards have ever shown in facing Lord Voldemort, and for this, I honor him.Dumbledore turned gravely to Harry and raised his goblet once more. Nearly everyone in the Great Hall followed suit. They murmured his name, as they had murmured Cedrics, and drank to him. But through a gap in the standing figures. Harry saw that Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and many of the other Slytherins had remained defiantly in their seats, their goblets untouched. Dumbledore, who after all feature no magical eye, did not see them.When everyone had once again resumed their seats, Dumbledore continued, The Triwizard Tournaments aim was to further and promote magical understanding. In the dead of what has happened of Lord Voldemorts return such ties are more important than ever before.Dumbledore looked from Madame Maxime and Hagrid, to Fleur Delacour and her fellow Beauxbatons students, to Viktor Krum and the Durmstrangs at the Slytherin table. Krum, Harry saw, looked wary, almost frightened, as though he expected Dumbledore to say something harsh.Every invitee in this Hall, said Dumbledore, and his eyes lingered upon the Durmstrang students, will be welcomed back here at any time, should they wish to come. I say to you all, once again in the light of Lord Voldemorts return, we are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided. Lord Voldemorts gift for counterpane discord and enmity is very great. We can fight it only by showing an equally strong bond of friendship and trust. Di fferences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open.It is my belief- and never have I so hoped that I am mistaken that we are all facing dark and difficult times. Some of you in this Hall have already suffered directly at the hands of Lord Voldemort. Many of your families have been torn asunder. A week ago, a student was taken from our midst.Remember Cedric. Remember, if the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort. Remember Cedric Diggory.Harrys trunk was packed Hedwig was back in her cage on top of it. He, Ron, and Hermione were waiting in the crowded entrance hall with the rest of the fourth years for the carriages that would take them back to Hogsmeade station. It was another beautiful summers day. He supposed that Privet Drive would be hot and leafy, its flower bed s a riot of color, when he god there that evening. The thought gave him no pleasure at all.ArryHe looked around. Fleur Delacour was travel rapidlying up the pitfall steps into the castle. Beyond her, far across the grounds. Harry could see Hagrid helping Madame Maxime to back two of the giant horses into their harness. The Beauxbatons carriage was about to take off.We will see each uzzer again, I ope, said Fleur as she reached him, holding out her hand. I am oping to get a job ere, to improve my Eenglish.Its very good already, said Ron in a strangled sort of voice. Fleur smiled at him Hermione scowled.Good-bye, Arry, said Fleur, turning to go. It az been a pleasure meeting youHarrys spirits couldnt help but tog out slightly as he watched Fleur hurry back across the lawns to Madame Maxime, her silvery hair rippling in the sunlight.Wonder how the Durmstrang students are getting back, said Ron. D you solve they can steer that ship without Karkaroff?Karkaroff did not steer, said a gruff voice. He stayed in his cabin and let us do the vork.Krum had come to say good-bye to Hermione. Could I have a vord? he asked her.Ohyesall right, said Hermione, looking slightly flustered, and following Krum through the crowd and out of sight.Youd better hurry up Ron called loudly after her. The carriagesll be here in a minuteHe let Harry keep a watch for the carriages, however, and worn-out(a) the next few minutes craning his neck over the crowd to try and see what Krum and Hermione might be up to. They returned quite soon. Ron stared at Hermione, but her face was quite impassive.I liked Diggory, said Krum abruptly to Harry. He vos alvays polite to me. Alvays. Even though I vos from Durmstrang with Karkaroff, he added, scowling.Have you got a new passkey yet? said HarryKrum shrugged. He held out his hand as Fleur had done, shook Harrys hand, and then Rons. Ron looked as though he was suffering some sort of painful internal struggle. Krum had already started walking away w hen Ron burst out, Can I have your autograph?Hermione turned away, smiling at the horseless carriages that were now trundling toward them up the drive, as Krum, looking surprised but gratified, signed a fragment of parchment for Ron.The weather could not have been more different on the go back to Kings Cross than it had been on their way to Hogwarts the previous September. There wasnt a single cloud in the sky. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had managed to get a compartment to themselves. Pigwidgeon was once again surreptitious under Rons dress robes to stop him from hooting continually Hedwig was dozing, her head under her wing, and Crookshanks was curled up in a spare seat like a large, furry ginger cushion. Harry, Ron, and Hermione talked more fully and freely than they had all week as the train sped them southward. Harry felt as though Dumbledores diction at the Leaving Feast had unblocked him, somehow. It was less painful to discuss what had happened now. They broke off their conv ersation about what action Dumbledore might be taking, even now, to stop Voldemort only when the dejeuner trolley arrived.When Hermione returned from the trolley and put her gold back into her schoolbag, she dislodged a copy of the Daily Prophet that she had been carrying in there. Harry looked at it, unsure whether he really wanted to know what it might say, but Hermione, seeing him looking at it, said calmly, Theres nothing in there. You can look for yourself, but theres nothing at all. Ive been checking every day. Just a small piece the day after the third task saying you won the tournament. They didnt even mention Cedric. Nothing about any of it. If you ask me. Fudge is forcing them to keep quiet.Hell never keep Rita quiet, said Harry. Not on a story like this.Oh, Rita hasnt written anything at all since the third task, said Hermione in an oddly constrained voice. As a matter of fact, she added, her voice now trembling slightly, Rita Skeeter isnt going to be musical compositi on anything at all for a while. Not unless she wants me to spill the beans on her.What are you talking about? said Ron.I found out how she was listening in on private conversations when she wasnt supposed to be coming onto the grounds, said Hermione in a rush.Harry had the impression that Hermione had been dying to tell them this for days, but that she had restrained herself in light of everything else that had happened.How was she doing it? said Harry at once.How did you find out? said Ron, staring at her.Well, it was you, really, who gave me the idea. Harry, she said.Did I? said Harry, perplexed. How?Bugging, said Hermione happily.But you said they didnt work -Oh not electronic bugs, said Hermione. No, you seeRita Skeeter Hermiones voice trembled with quiet triumph is an unregistered Animagus. She can turn -Hermione pulled a small sealed glass jar out other bag.- into a beetle.Youre kidding, said Ron. You haventshes notOh yes she is, said Hermione happily, brandishing the jar at them.Inside were a few twigs and leaves and one large, fat beetle.Thats never youre kidding - Ron whispered, lifting the jar to his eyes.No, Im not, said Hermione, beaming. I caught her on the windowsill in the hospital wing. Look very closely, and youll notice the markings around her antennae are exactly like those foul glasses she wears.Harry looked and saw that she was quite right. He also remembered something.There was a beetle on the statue the night we heard Hagrid telling Madame Maxime about his stillExactly, said Hermione. And Viktor pulled a beetle out of my hair after wed had our conversation by the lake. And unless Im very much mistaken, Rita was perched on the windowsill of the Divination class the day your scar hurt. Shes been buzzing around for stories all year.When we saw Malfoy under that tree said Ron slowly.He was talking to her, in his hand, said Hermione. He knew, of course. Thats how shes been getting all those nice little interviews with the Slytherins. They wouldnt care that she was doing something illegal, as long as they were giving her horrible stuff about us and Hagrid.Hermione took the glass jar back from Ron and smiled at the beetle, which buzzed angrily against the glass.Ive told her Ill let her out when we get back to London, said Hermione. Ive put an Unbreakable Charm on the jar, you see, so she cant transform. And Ive told her shes to keep her quill to herself for a whole year. See if she cant break the habit of writing horrible lies about people.Smiling serenely, Hermione placed the beetle back inside her schoolbag.The door of the compartment slid open.Very clever. Granger, said Draco Malfoy.Crabbe and Goyle were standing behind him. all(prenominal) three of them looked more pleased with themselves, more arrogant and more menacing, than Harry had ever seen them.So, said Malfoy slowly, advancing slightly into the compartment and looking slowly around at them, a smirk quivering on his lips. You caught some pathetic reporter, and Potters Dumbledores favorite boy again. Big deal.His smirk widened. Crabbe and Goyle leered.Trying not to think about it, are we? said Malfoy softly, looking around at all three of them. Trying to pretend it hasnt happened?Get out, said Harry.He had not been this close to Malfoy since he had watched him muttering to Crabbe and Goyle during Dumbledores speech about Cedric. He could feel a kind of ringing in his ears. His hand gripped his wand under his robes.Youve picked the losing side, Potter I warned you I told you you ought to choose your partnership more carefully, remember? When we met on the train, first day at Hogwarts? I told you not to hang around with riffraff like this He jerked his head at Ron and Hermione. Too late now. Potter Theyll be the first to go, now the Dark Lords back Mudbloods and Muggle-lovers first Well second Diggory was the f-It was as though someone had detonate a box of fireworks within the compartment. Blinded by the blaze of the spells that ha d blasted from every direction, deafened by a series of bangs, Harry blinked and looked down at the floor.Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were all lying unconscious in the doorway. He, Ron, and Hermione were on their feet, all three of them having used a different hex. Nor were they the only ones to have done so.Thought wed see what those three were up to, said Fred matter-of-factly, stepping onto Goyle and into the compartment. He had his wand out, and so did George, who was careful to tread on Malfoy as he followed Fred inside.Interesting effect, said George, looking down at Crabbe. Who used the Furnunculus Curse?Me, said Harry.Odd, said George lightly. I used Jelly-Legs. Looks as though those two shouldnt be mixed. He seems to have sprouted little tentacles all over his face. Well, lets not leave them here, they dont add much to the decor.Ron, Harry, and George kicked, rolled, and pushed the unconscious Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle each of whom looked distinctly the worse for the jumble of jinxes with which they had been hit out into the corridor, then came back into the compartment and rolled the door shut.Exploding Snap, anyone? said Fred, pulling out a pack of cards.They were halfway through their fifth game when Harry decided to ask them.You going to tell us, then? he said to George. Who you were blackmailing?Oh, said George darkly. That.It doesnt matter, said Fred, shaking his head impatiently. It wasnt anything important. Not now, anyway.Weve given up, said George, shrugging.But Harry, Ron, and Hermione kept on asking, and finally, Fred said, All right, all right, if you really want to knowit was Ludo Bagman.Bagman? said Harry sharply. Are you saying he was involved in -Nah, said George gloomily. Nothing like that. Stupid git. He wouldnt have the brains.Well, what, then? said Ron.Fred hesitated, then said, You remember that bet we had with him at the Quidditch World Cup? About how Ireland would win, but Krum would get the stoolie?Yeah, said Harry and Ron sl owly.Well, the git paid us in leprechaun gold hed caught from the Irish mascots.So?So, said Fred impatiently, it vanished, didnt it? By next morning, it had goneBut it mustve been an accident, mustnt it? said Hermione.George laughed very bitterly.Yeah, thats what we thought, at first. We thought if we just wrote to him, and told him hed made a mistake, hed cough up. But nothing doing. Ignored our letter. We kept trying to talk to him about it at Hogwarts, but he was always making some excuse to get away from us.In the end, he turned pretty nasty, said Fred. Told us we were too young to gamble, and he wasnt giving us anything.So we asked for our money back, said George glowering.He didnt refuse gasped Hermione.Right in one, said Fred.But that was all your savings said Ron.Tell me about it, said George. Course, we found out what was going on in the end. Lee Jordans dad had had a bit of trouble getting money off Bagman as well. Turns out hes in big trouble with the goblins. Borrowed l oads of gold off them. A gang of them cornered him in the woods after the World Cup and took all the gold he had, and it still wasnt enough to cover all his debts. They followed him all the way to Hogwarts to keep an eye on him. Hes lost everything gambling. Hasnt got two Galleons to rub together. And you know how the idiot tried to pay the goblins back?How? said Harry.He put a bet on you, mate, said Fred. Put a big bet on you to win the tournament. Bet against the goblins.So thats why he kept trying to help me win said Harry. Well I did win, didnt I? So he can pay you your goldNope, said George, shaking his head. The goblins play as dirty as him. They say you drew with Diggory, and Bagman was betting youd win outright. So Bagman had to run for it. He did run for it right after the third task.George sighed deeply and started transaction out the cards again.The rest of the journey passed pleasantly enough Harry wished it could have gone on all summer, in fact, and that he would neve r arrive at Kings Crossbut as he had learned the hard way that year, time will not slow down when something unpleasant lies ahead, and all too soon, the Hogwarts Express was pulling in at platform nine and three-quarters. The usual confusion and noise filled the corridors as the students began to disembark. Ron and Hermione struggled out past Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, carrying their trunks. Harry, however, stayed put.Fred George wait a moment.The twins turned. Harry pulled open his trunk and drew out his Triwizard winnings. swallow it, he said, and he thrust the sack into Georges hands.What? said Fred, looking flabbergasted.Take it, Harry repeated firmly. I dont want it.Youre mental, said George, trying to push it back at Harry.No, Im not, said Harry. You take it, and get inventing. Its for the joke shop.He is mental, Fred said in an almost awed voice.Listen, said Harry firmly. If you dont take it, Im throwing it down the drain. I dont want it and I dont need it. But I could do w ith a few laughs. We could all do with a few laughs. Ive got a feeling were going to need them more than usual before long.Harry, said George weakly, weighing the money bag in his hands, theres got to be a thousand Galleons in here.Yeah, said Harry, grinning. Think how many Canary Creams that is.The twins stared at him.Just dont tell your mum where you got italthough she might not be so keen for you to join the Ministry anymore, come to think of it.Harry, Fred began, but Harry pulled out his wand.Look, he said flatly, take it, or Ill hex you. I know some good ones now. Just do me one favor, okay? Buy Ron some different dress robes and say theyre from you.He left the compartment before they could say another word, stepping over Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, who were still lying on the floor, covered in hex marks.Uncle Vernon was waiting beyond the barrier. Mrs. Weasley was close by him. She hugged Harry very tightly when she saw him and whispered in his ear, I think Dumbledore will let you come to us later in the summer. bear in touch, Harry.See you. Harry, said Ron, clapping him on the back.Bye, Harry said Hermione, and she did something she had never done before, and kissed him on the cheek.Harry thanks, George muttered, while Fred nodded fervently at his side.Harry winked at them, turned to Uncle Vernon, and followed him silently from the station. There was no point worrying yet, he told himself, as he got into the back of the Dursleys car.As Hagrid had said, what would come, would comeand he would have to meet it when it did.