Yule Ball

Accio @Glowing.Pink.Eyes , queen of all dramione fan-atics! 👑

Honestly, I think Harry and Ron were kind of jerks to Parvati and Padma during the Yule Ball. Okay, I get it that they didn't have any other choice and they just needed dates, but they Instead of just sulking and being jealous over other people who have their own dates and are having a perfectly good time, Ron and Harry could have tried to make the best of their night with Padma and Parvati, since they weren't going to get with Ginny and Hermione at the time anyway. Also, they may not have been having a good night, but that doesn't justify them completely ruining it for Parvati and Padma, too.

So I'm boooooooooored and nobody's awake on this wiki, what the heck... Timelines suck

So I'll make this rp, sign up some of my new ocs, then disappear for dinner lol-

*THIS IS A NORMAL HOGWARTS RP TAKEN PLACE AND TIME IN THE BOOK/MOVIE 'GOBLET OF FIRE .' YOU ARE ALLOWED TO CLAIM CANON / FANON CHARACTERS OF HP AND CAN SIGN UP AS OCS*

Setting

Harry's 4th Year at Hogwarts (Goblet of Fire)

The Yule Ball starts a month later after friends and love interests have met

Rules

PG-13

No killing def

Upvote means oc accepted

Don't ping me when I'm at school or sleeping pls

MY WORD IS LAW IF YOU DONT GET THAT BE GONE

Sign-up form

(* is optional to fill in)

(even if you claimed a canon character, you need to fill a basic form.)

Example:

(image)

Harry James Potter

14, Year 4.

Straight, going to the ball with (ship)

Full Name:

Nickname(s)*:

Age/Year:

G/P:

S/S/S:

House:

Persona*:

Appearance: (picture preferred)

Other/Backstory*:

Crossover*:

Canon/Fanon/OC?*:

Pings

@Uniatheintrovert @Cabbage Man Fan @Rayvena @MilquetoastGoat @GayFrog166 @Addie03 @MahkiFurr @Hatchet Lord @MikeyBoi69420

(sorry if you didnt want pings but I think of you as a friend)

(sorry if you didnt get pings, but pls join)

Setting: Beauxbaton and Durmstrang just arrived and kids are talking about the Yule Ball.

Pings(Sorry if I forget you): @AsherTheDevil @MoonlarkMysteryGirl @Uniatheintrovert @Hot.wizard.com @Mr. Smart 2.0 @Hatchet Lord @StormGullwhacker @BeautifulLolitaGirl

Start RPing, I will send out a message in two weeks starting the ball. When the ball is finished this RP is over(Sorry for late start)

So this is basically the Yule ball at Hogwarts. THIS should start next week and the first week of the RP will be like asking people and stuff and the second/third week will be actual ball stuff. And than this is over. This is my first time doing this so I don’t really know what I’m doing. Please make more than one OC if you feel like it.

You can be from three schools, Beaxbutton, Durmstrang, or Hogwarts. I guess if you really want to you can be a teacher.

Form

Name:

Age:

Gender/pronouns:

S/S/S:

House(If you are a teacher put that here):

School:

Personality:

Appearance:

Backstory(optional):

Other:

Disclaimer: Please keep this PG-13 as it is like a romance thing

So yeah have fun

Did you know that Krum was techniqually a Pedophile? In the wizarding world, you become a legal adult when you turn 17, which Krum was. During the Triwizard Tournament, Krum grew feelings for and even kissed Hermione, who was 14. And during Bill and Fleur's wedding, he showed interest in Ginny, who was 16.

Yeah, maybe Ron was right about Krum being too old.

Previous Chapters:

Chapter 1: https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003585181

Chapter 2: https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003585386

Chapter 3: https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003589099

Chapter 4: https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003589999

Chapter 5: https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003590737

Chapter 6: https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003592048

Chapter 7: https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003593450

Chapter 8: https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003594715

Chapter 9: https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003595876

Chapter 10: https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003596713

Chapter 11: https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003597502

Chapter 12: https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003598647

Chapter 13: https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003600597

Chapter 14: https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003602821

Chapter 15: https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003605031

Chapter 16: https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003605690

Chapter 17: https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003607525

Chapter 18: https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003607955

Chapter 19: https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003608845

Tags: @MeowTasticCat @Bellatrisblack @Diantha Angelina Black @CatsAndRoblox @Kakaonut @Potatopanda2121

(This is a chapter I have waited over two years to write, so I really hope you enjoy and feel free to leave your thoughts.)

Chapter Twenty: The Yule Ball

Despite the very heavy load of homework that the fourth years had been given for the holidays, Harry was in no mood to work when term ended, and spent the week leading up to Christmas enjoying himself as fully as possible along with everyone else. Slytherin Dungeon was hardly less crowded now than during term-time; it seemed to have shrunk slightly too, as its inhabitants were being so much rowdier than usual. Everyone was giddy about the upcoming ball.

Snow was falling thickly upon the castle and its grounds now. The pale blue Beauxbatons carriage looked like a large, chilly, frosted pumpkin next to the iced gingerbread house that was Hagrid’s cabin, while the Durmstrang ship’s portholes were glazed with ice, the rigging white with frost. The house-elves down in the kitchen were outdoing themselves on Christmas Eve with a series of rich, warming stews and savory puddings, and only Fleur Delacour seemed to be able to find anything to complain about.

‘It is too ’eavy, all zis ’Ogwarts food,’ they heard her saying grumpily as they left the Great Hall behind her one evening. ‘I will not fit into my dress robes!’

‘She could eat nothing but pudding and I bet she wouldn’t gain a pound,’ Tracey snapped as Fleur went out into the entrance hall. ‘She thinks everything is a tragedy, that one.’

'Tracey—if not Terence, who are you going to the ball with?' asked Theodore.

'Oh, um, Niall asked me, he is really sweet so I said yes,' she said with a smile. Niall Urquhart was a third year who was smart but a bit of a goofball. He was also very athletic, so Harry suspected the next time a spot opened on the Slytherin team Urquhart would be filling it. Tracey then changed the topic, 'So Harry, have you put anymore thought into the next task?'

'No, not really, I have had to focus on other things,' he answered.

'Well you should start trying to figure it out sooner than later,' said Theodore, 'because after the break school work is going to pile up again.'

'I'll try and work on it after the ball, ok?' He was starting to get annoyed by them trying to get him to work on the next task, he just wanted a distraction. And a distraction was exactly what he got, as before Harry and his group reached the stairs to the Dungeon they were cut off by Colin Creevey who looked more nervous and giddy than all the girls from the last month had been.

'Theodore, can I ask you something?' he said with a big smile on his face.

They all moved away from the stairs so they weren't blocking them. Colin then took a deep breath and spoke, 'Over the last year I have really gotten to know you Theodore, you are so smart, courageous, passionate, and you are so loyal to those you care about. I like you, like I like-like you, if you feel the same would you like to go to the Yule Ball with me?'

Theodore might have been red when he accidently asked Krum to the Yule Ball, but now he was from ear to ear as red as a ripe cherry. Theodore looked frozen for a moment, not sure what to do or say, but he finally managed to string some words together, 'Colin...I didn't know you felt that way. I'd love to go with you, I really would, but I already agreed to go with somebody else.'

The jitters were sucked right out of Colin who was now as still as when he had been petrified two years previous. 'Oh, um, right then. Never mind...'

'Colin...' Theodore said in a deeply sorry voice.

'No no, its alright. Forget I said anything. Er, Happy Christmas,' and with that he ran off.

'Oh Theo, are you ok?' asked Allison as she put her hand on his shoulder, but he shook it off.

'I'm going to bed, see you all in the morning.'

The rest of the evening the group spent in awkward silence.

Harry awoke very suddenly on Christmas Day. Wondering what had caused his abrupt return to consciousness, he opened his eyes, and saw something with very large, round, green eyes staring back at him in the darkness, so close they were almost nose to nose.

'Dobby!' Harry said, trying to muffle his yelp, scrambling away from the elf so fast he almost fell out of bed. 'Don’t do that.'

'Dobby is sorry, sir!' squeaked Dobby anxiously, jumping backward with his long fingers over his mouth. 'Dobby is only wanting to wish Harry Potter ‘Merry Christmas’ and bring him a present, sir! Harry Potter did say Dobby could come and see him sometimes, sir!'

'It’s okay,' said Harry, still breathing rather faster than usual, while his heart rate returned to normal. 'Just—let me know in advance so you don't scare me. We should head down to the common room, the last thing either of us want is to wake Draco up...'

Harry pulled back the curtains around his four-poster, took his glasses from his bedside table, and put them on. His yell had awoken Theodore, but thankfully no one else. He was peering through the gaps in his own hangings, heavy-eyed and tousle-haired.

'What's going on, Harry?' Theodore asked sleepily.

'It’s just Dobby, we're going to the common room,' Harry muttered. 'Go back to sleep.'

‘No, I’m getting up, I promised Canini all three of us would open presents together,’ he said, grabbing the pile of presents at the foot of his bed. Harry did the same, as well as grab something extra from his trunk.

Harry, Theodore, and Dobby made there way up to the library where an eager Canini was waiting in her nightgown.

‘Happy Christmas Canini,’ Harry then turned to Dobby. ‘Dobby, this is my younger sister Canini Howling, she was sorted into Hufflepuff last year.’

‘It is an honour Miss, to meet any family of Harry Potter,’ Dobby said while bowing.

Canini did a little curtsy, ‘It is nice to meet you too, Dobby. Harry has told me all about you.’

Now that they were all together they decided to get down to some present-opening too. Harry turned back to Dobby, who was now standing nervously next to Harry. There was a Christmas bauble tied to the loop on top of his tea cozy.

‘Can Dobby give Harry Potter his present?’ he squeaked tentatively.

‘’Course you can,’ said Harry. ‘I got something for you as well.’

He handed Dobby what he had grabbed from his trunk. A pair of fancy socks Remus had bought him to go with his dress robes, but the texture had been uncomfortable to Harry so he never intended to wear them. He had placed a couple Galleons in each sock.

‘Now you can buy that sweater you want.’

Dobby was utterly delighted.

‘Socks are Dobby’s favorite, favorite clothes, sir!’ he said, ripping off his odd ones and pulling on Remus’. ‘I has seven now, sir...But sir...’ he said, his eyes widening, having pulled both socks up to their highest extent, so that they reached to the bottom of his shorts, ‘they has made a mistake in the shop, Harry Potter, they is giving you two the same!’

‘I can help!’ said Canini, grinning brightly. ‘Aunty Andromeda sent me these fluffy warm ones to wear in the winter, but she forgot that she already bought me a pair two years ago. So you can have these and mix them with Harry’s.’

She tossed Dobby a pair of black fluffy socks. Dobby looked quite overwhelmed.

‘Miss is very kind!’ he squeaked, his eyes brimming with tears again, bowing deeply to Canini. ‘Dobby knew Miss must be a great witch, for she is Harry Potter’s sibling, but Dobby did not know that she was also as generous of spirit, as noble, as selfless—‘

‘Oh no,’ said Canini, turning a bit pink, ‘it is really nothing, they’re just socks.’

Dobby now handed Harry a small package, which turned out to be—socks.

‘Dobby is making them himself, sir!’ the elf said happily. ‘He is buying the wool out of his wages, sir!’

The left sock was bright silver and had a pattern of broomsticks upon it; the right sock was green with a pattern of Snitches. This caused Harry to choke up a little.

‘They’re...they’re really...well, thanks, Dobby,’ said Harry, and he pulled them on, causing Dobby’s eyes to leak with happiness again.

‘Dobby must go now, sir, we is already making Christmas dinner in the kitchens!’ said Dobby, before he could go all three of them handed him some of the treats they each had received, and then he hurried out of the library, waving good-bye to Canini and the others as he passed.

The three adoptive siblings then started opening presents. Besides the annual ten pound note from the Dursley’s, Harry had received a copy of Triwizard Tragedies from Terence; Sirius, a handy penknife with attachments to unlock any lock and undo any knot; Remus, a brand new notebook, as Harry was close to filling his old one; and Hagrid, some fur mittens and a tin of his Treacle fudges.

Theodore had received from Sirius a fancy formal cloak; Remus, some rare potion ingredients; Colin, a miniature music box that played famous singer Celestina Warbeck’s song You Charmed the Heart Right Out of Me, which made him turn a little red again.

Canini had gotten from Sirius a pack of enchanted coloured pencils, thirty different colours, thirty different charms; Remus got her a little pair of golden heart-shaped earrings, as well as a refresher of her Casition Potions; Nymphadora gifted her a fluffy blanket in the shape of a hooded poncho.

Finally, all of them had received tins of baked goods from both Remus and Andromeda, and some of their favourite treats from Nymphadora including Chocolate Frogs, Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans, Drooble’s Best Blowing Gum, and Fizzing Whizbees.

After Canini went to go find her friends, Harry and Theodore went and met up with Allison and Tracey in the common room, and they went up to breakfast together. They spent most of the morning in Slytherin Dungeon, where everyone was enjoying their presents, then returned to the Great Hall for a magnificent lunch, which included at least a hundred turkeys and Christmas puddings, and large piles of Cribbage’s Wizarding Crackers.

They went out onto the grounds in the afternoon; the snow was untouched except for the deep channels made by the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students on their way up to the castle. Harry and his friends enjoyed a giant snowball fight against the Weasley siblings. Then at around five o’clock the girls said they was going back to the castle to get ready for the ball.

‘There is still three hours to go, how long does it take you to get ready?’ asked Harry to the girls annoyance, but they got the last laugh as with a quick wave of Tracey’s wand Harry found himself nearly buried in snow.

There was no Christmas tea today, as the ball included a feast, so at seven o’clock, when it had become hard to aim properly, the others abandoned their snowball fight and trooped back to the common room.

Harry, and Theodore, as well as Zabini, Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle changed into their dress robes in their dormitory, Theodore slicked his hair back while Harry just tried not to have tufts poking out at weird angles. All of them besides Malfoy were looking at least a little self-conscious. Everyone as decent as they were going to get, the boys set off downstairs to the common room.

‘So Draco, who is your date tonight?’ asked Theodore.

‘Me and Daphne are attending as friends,’ he said while adjusting his collar.

The common room looked strange, full of people wearing different colors instead of the usual mass of black. Ella was waiting for Harry at the foot of the stairs. She looked very pretty indeed, in shiny robes of amethyst, her shoulder length black hair tied in an elaborate updo braid. She wore silver glitter around her eyes resembling fairy wings. Harry was relieved to see that she wasn’t giggling.

‘You—er—look really nice,’ he said awkwardly.

‘Thank you,’ she said coyly.

Harry looked around, ‘Where are Allison and Tracey?’

Terence, who was in black robes with golden trim, answered his question, ‘Allison went to the Hufflepuff common room to meet up with her date, and Tracey is still...woah-‘

Harry turned to see what had caught his eye. Tracey was now emerging from the girls staircase. At the beginning of the year Harry had seen the orange fabric but never the full dress, Tracey was wearing a silky two-piece dress with darker orange vine embroidery and fluffy yellow flowers sown onto the vines. Her hair was styled into beautiful short Bantu knots. On her wrists she wore several wooden bracelets that matched perfectly with her dresses theme.

Terence looked like he was about to speak, but than Niall came over to her in his blue robes and offered his arm to her, making her blush. Terence looked like he changed his mind and just said, ‘You look lovely tonight Tracey.’

‘Thank you Terence, you as well. See you boys up stairs.’

Millicent had arrived in a short black punk-like dress, as had Bridget in a longer mint green dress, so now all three boys and their dates were ready.

‘We should head up then, right?’ asked Theodore.

Okay,’ said Harry, wishing he could just stay in the common room.

Previous Chapters:

Chapter 1: https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003585181

Chapter 2: https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003585386

Chapter 3: https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003589099

Chapter 4: https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003589999

Chapter 5: https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003590737

Chapter 6: https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003592048

Chapter 7: https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003593450

Chapter 8: https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003594715

Chapter 9: https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003595876

Chapter 10: https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003596713

Chapter 11: https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003597502

Chapter 12: https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003598647

Chapter 13: https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003600597

Chapter 14: https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003602821

Chapter 15: https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003605031

Chapter 16: https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003605690

Chapter 17: https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003607525

Chapter 18: https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003607955

Tags: @MeowTasticCat @Bellatrisblack @Diantha Angelina Black @CatsAndRoblox @Kakaonut @Potatopanda2121

(Just letting you guys know that this chapter and the next are really important to me, I have been planning them for over two years, so let me know what you think.)

Chapter Nineteen: House-Elves and Dance Dates

As soon as they arrived in the Slytherin Dungeon, Theodore and Terence helped Harry clear his dormitory so that he could use his two-way mirror without interruption. Sirius and Remus must have had similar ideas because the moment Harry took the mirror out of its hiding spot he was looking into the faces of his guardians.

'You completed your first task Harry, congratulations!' they both chimed when they saw him.

'How did you do?' Sirius asked.

'Were you hurt at all?' Remus inquired.

Harry filled them in on how he had managed to get past his first task, which was a dragon, unscathed. How he had tied with the greatest Seeker of their time, in part thanks to Ludo's generous score, and in no thanks to Karkaroff oddly low one. He also explained happily how Allison was once again his friend. Sirius and Remus seemed quite happy to listen to Harry recount his victory.

'We are very proud of you Harry,' said Sirius with a big smile.

'James and Lily would have been so happy,' Remus proudly, 'And you used all your talents to there fullest which is just remarkable.'

They kept talking for a little while longer, but Harry soon expressed how he wished to go celebrate with his friends and they understood. Once back in the common room he sat with all his friends. Harry filled Allison in on everything that had happened in the last month including the many dark coincidences surrounding Karkaroff. It did not take much convincing for her to believe he was out to get Harry.

'I bet he was amongst the masked Death Eaters at the World Cup, maybe even the one who cast the Dark Mark,' she said confidently.

'Yes, well the jokes on him,' said Terence with a laugh. 'He put Harry's name in the goblet with hopes the dragon will kill him, but he might end up winning the cup!'

'Yes, the Dragon's where to test physical strength and reflexes, so the others should just involve cunning and strategy which Harry is already great at, so you might have this in the bag after all,' Allison said enthusiastically.

Harry knew that the two were only saying this to make up for not believing him at Hallowe'en, but he appreciated it all the same. Tracey, however, did not looked so convinced.

'Harry, you did really well this time but only because you spent nearly every free moment training and practicing. The next tasks might be more mental than physical, but they won't be any less challenging and dangerous. Don't let your guard down because of this victory.'

'Don't be so negative, I'll be fine. You almost sounded like Professor Trelawney there, predicting my doom.'

As they talked the common room was slowly transformed. There were mountains of cakes and flagons of pumpkin juice and butterbeer on every surface; the cheering kept rising in volume; Niall Urquhart brought in his smuggled sparklers and within the hour everyone was waving one; and Daphne Greengrass, who really enjoyed watching Quidditch, had pulled out some old Slytherin banners and modified them to show Harry flying around on his Firebolt.

Harry helped himself to food; he had almost forgotten what it was like to feel properly hungry, and sat back down with his friends. He couldn’t believe how happy he felt; he had Allison back by his side, he’d gotten through the first task, and he wouldn’t have to face the second one for three months.

‘Is this thing solid all the way through, because it is mighty heavy.’ said Millicent, picking up the golden egg, which Harry had left on a table, and weighing it in her hands.

‘It actually has something inside, some sort of clue. There’s a latch on it,’ said Harry.

‘Well,’ said Bridget Maloney, ‘open it then. Let’s see what’s inside.’

‘Oh, um, I’m actually supposed to figure out the clue on my own,’ said Harry, turning a little red.

‘I’m going to portend you didn’t just say that, Potter,’ said Draco. ‘Open it.’

‘Open it! Open it! Open it!’ the entire common room cried. The cries echoed off of the stone walls, only enhancing the chant.

Millicent passed Harry the egg, and Harry dug his fingernails into the groove that ran all the way around it and prised it open.

It was hollow and completely empty—but the moment Harry opened it, the most horrible noise, a loud and screechy wailing, filled the room. The nearest thing to it Harry had ever heard was the ghost orchestra at Nearly Headless Nick’s deathday party, who had all been playing the musical saw.

‘Close it! Close it now!’ Tracey begged, her hands over her ears along with nearly everyone in the room.

Harry slammed it shut as quickly as his hands would allow.

‘That sounds like a bloody banshee!’ Complained Draco.

‘Maybe that’s what the next task is, Harry. You got to fight a banshee?’ said Tracey.

‘I don’t know,’ said Harry, ‘I am in agreement that the next tasks will be more psychological than physical, so I don’t think the clue will be about who I fight. I do know that next time I open that thing it won’t be in a place with such an echo, that’s for sure.’

The partying continued for hours, and it was nearly one in the morning when Harry finally went up to the dormitory with Theodore. Before he pulled the curtains of his four-poster shut, Harry set his tiny model of the Hungarian Horntail on the table next to his bed, where it yawned, curled up, and closed its eyes. Really, Harry thought, as he pulled the hangings on his four-poster closed, Hagrid had a point...they were all right, really, dragons...

The start of December brought wind and sleet to Hogwarts. Drafty though the castle always was in winter, Harry was glad of its fires and thick walls every time he passed the Durmstrang ship on the lake, which was pitching in the high winds, its black sails billowing against the dark skies. He thought the Beauxbatons caravan was likely to be pretty chilly too. Hagrid, he noticed, was keeping Madame Maxime’s horses well provided with their preferred drink of single-malt whiskey; the fumes wafting from the trough in the corner of their paddock was enough to make the entire Care of Magical Creatures class light-headed. This was unhelpful, as they were still tending the horrible skrewts and needed their wits about them.

‘I’m not sure whether they hibernate or not,’ Hagrid told the shivering class in the windy pumpkin patch next lesson. ‘Thought we’d jus’ try an’ see if they fancied a kip...we’ll jus’ settle ’em down in these boxes...’

There were now only ten skrewts left; apparently their desire to kill one another had not been exercised out of them. Each of them was now approaching six feet in length. Their thick gray armor; their powerful, scuttling legs; their fire-blasting ends; their stings and their suckers, combined to make the skrewts the most repulsive things Harry had ever seen. The class looked dispiritedly at the enormous boxes Hagrid had brought out, all lined with pillows and fluffy blankets.

‘We’ll jus’ lead ’em in here,’ Hagrid said, ‘an’ put the lids on, and we’ll see what happens.’

But the skrewts, it transpired, did not hibernate, and did not appreciate being forced into pillow-lined boxes and nailed in. Hagrid was soon yelling, ‘Don’ panic, now, don’ panic!’ while the skrewts rampaged around the pumpkin patch, now strewn with the smouldering wreckage of the boxes.

Most of the class—Pansy, Blaise, and Malfoy in the lead—had fled into Hagrid’s cabin through the back door and barricaded themselves in; Harry, Theodore, Allison, and Tracey, however, were among those who remained outside trying to help Hagrid. Together they managed to restrain and tie up nine of the skrewts, though at the cost of numerous burns and cuts; finally, only one skrewt was left.

‘Don’ frighten him, now!’ Hagrid shouted as Tracey and Harry used their wands to shoot jets of fiery sparks at the skrewt, which was advancing menacingly on them, its sting arched, quivering, over its back. ‘Jus’ try an’ slip the rope ’round his sting, so he won’ hurt any o’ the others!’

‘Others? We’re quite worried about ourselves at the moment!’ Tracey shouted angrily as she and Harry backed into the wall of Hagrid’s cabin, still holding the skrewt off with their sparks.

‘Well, well, well...this does look like fun.’

Rita Skeeter was leaning on Hagrid’s garden fence, looking in at the mayhem. She was wearing a thick magenta cloak with a furry purple collar today, and her crocodile-skin handbag was over her arm.

Hagrid launched himself forward on top of the skrewt that was cornering Harry and Tracey and flattened it; a blast of fire shot out of its end, withering the pumpkin plants nearby.

‘Who’re you?’ Hagrid asked Rita Skeeter as he slipped a loop of rope around the skrewt’s sting and tightened it.

‘Rita Skeeter, Daily Prophet reporter,’ Rita replied, beaming at him. Her gold teeth glinted.

‘Thought Dumbledore said you weren’ allowed inside the school anymore,’ said Hagrid, frowning slightly as he got off the slightly squashed skrewt and started tugging it over to its fellows.

Rita acted as though she hadn’t heard what Hagrid had said.

‘What are these fascinating creatures called?’ she asked, beaming still more widely.

'Blast-Ended Skrewts,' grunted Hagrid.

'Really?' said Rita, apparently full of lively interest. 'I’ve never heard of them before...where do they come from?'

Harry noticed a dull red flush rising up out of Hagrid’s wild black beard, and his heart sank. Harry could see that Hagrid was going to get tongue-tied, cross-breeding of most magical creatures is illegal but Hagrid looked like he was going to forget to say they were a commission. Hermione Granger noticed Hagrid's distress and acted quickly, 'The ministry asked you to breed them, remember Hagrid. And they are quiet fascinating.'

'What? Oh yeah, they are very interesting,' said Harry as he caught on to what she was doing.

'Ah, you’re here, Harry!' said Rita Skeeter as she looked around. 'So you like Care of Magical Creatures, do you? One of your favorite lessons?'

'Yes,' said Harry stoutly. Hagrid beamed at him. The truth was the class was far from his favourite, however spending time with Hagrid and enjoying the outdoors outweighed the dangers of the class in his mind.

'Lovely,' said Rita. 'Really lovely. Been teaching long?' she added to Hagrid.

Harry noticed her eyes travel over Dean (who had a nasty cut across one cheek), Allison (who had a burn mark on her arm), Lavender (whose robes were badly singed), and then to the cabin windows, where most of the class stood, their noses pressed against the glass waiting to see if the coast was clear.

'This is o’ny me second year,' said Hagrid.

'Lovely...I don’t suppose you’d like to give an interview, would you? Share some of your experience of magical creatures? The Prophet does a zoological column every Wednesday, as I’m sure you know. We could feature these—er— Bang-Ended Scoots.'

'Blast-Ended Skrewts,' Hagrid said eagerly. 'Er—yeah, why not?'

Harry had a very bad feeling about this, but there was no way of communicating it to Hagrid without Rita Skeeter seeing, so he had to stand and watch in silence as Hagrid and Rita Skeeter made arrangements to meet in the Three Broomsticks for a good long interview later that week. Then the bell rang up at the castle, signaling the end of the lesson.

'Well, good-bye, Harry!' Rita Skeeter called merrily to him as he set off with his friends. 'Until Friday night, then, Hagrid!'

'She’ll twist every word he says,' Harry said under his breath.

'I just hope he wasn't lying about the Ministry, because she will find out if that's the case,' said Tracey desperately. They looked at one another—it was definitely a possibility.

'Hagrid has been accused of murder, even sent to Azkaban and Dumbledore didn't fire him,' Theodore said consolingly. 'I think the most that can happen if he's lying is he'll be forced to get rid of those abominations of a creature.'

Harry and the others laughed, and, feeling slightly more cheerful, went off to lunch.

Harry thoroughly enjoyed double Divination the following Friday; they were still doing star charts and predictions, but now that he and Allison were friends once more, he didn't feel like the misery Professor Trelawney kept predicting was accurate. Professor Trelawney, who had been so pleased with Harry, Tracey, and Theodore when they had been predicting their own horrific deaths, quickly became irritated as they sniggered through her explanation of the various ways in which Pluto could disrupt everyday life.

'I would think,' she said, in a mystical whisper that did not conceal her obvious annoyance, 'that some of us'—she stared very meaningfully at Harry—'might be a little less frivolous had they seen what I have seen during my crystal gazing last night. As I sat here, absorbed in my needlework, the urge to consult the orb overpowered me. I arose, I settled myself before it, and I gazed into its crystalline depths...and what do you think I saw gazing back at me?'

'An aging cow with ginormous eyes?' Theodore muttered under his breath.

Harry fought hard to keep his face straight.

'Death, my dears.'

Terry Boot and Sue Li both put their hands over their mouths, looking horrified.

'Yes,' said Professor Trelawney, nodding impressively, 'it comes, ever closer, it circles overhead like a vulture, ever lower...ever lower over the castle...'

She stared pointedly at Harry, who yawned very widely and obviously.

'It’d be a bit more impressive if she hadn’t done it about eighty times before,' Harry said as they finally regained the fresh air of the staircase beneath Professor Trelawney’s room. 'But if I’d dropped dead every time she’s told me I’m going to, I’d be a medical miracle.'

'I've heard of dying twice, but never a hundred times, you would be a record holder,' said Tracey, chortling, as they passed the Bloody Baron going in the opposite direction, his wide eyes staring sinisterly. 'I'm glad we didn't get homework, if Professor Babbling didn't assign any than we can hang out with Allison all afternoon, I could use a break.'

Tracey had ended up being right, and so all four of them hung out in the common room for hours, continuing to catch up and have some fun. When the common room was suspiciously empty Allison took a deep breath and let them in on something.

'My mom is sick, that's why I was just with my father at the World Cup, she was too weak to go. At first we just thought it was a mild case of Black Cat Flu as we have a couple magical black cats, but the treatments aren't working and it has been almost four month now.'

'That's horrible,' said Harry. 'What do the doctors think it is?'

'Well as I said we now know it's not Black Cat Flu, its not Dragon Pox, it isn't Mumblemumps either, nor Stinkitus. It shares some symptoms with Cerebrumous Spattergroit, but the treatment for that isn't working either. All the doctors can say is that it does not appear to be contagious, but she is slowly getting worse.'

Tracey took Allison's hand, 'I am so sorry Alli, I hope she gets better. Is there anything we can do?'

'Honestly it just feels good to get it off my chest. What I would like now is some food.'

'Supper!' Theodore said in alarm, 'look at the time, we'll be lucky if we even get dessert!'

Motivated by hunger, they all quickly got up and rushed up the stairs to the Entrance Hall, but just as they reached the top they watched as waves of students started exiting the Great Hall.

'Great, now we have to wait until breakfast to eat,' groaned Harry.

'Not necessarily,' said Allison, 'let's wait for Ella.'

Ella Wilkins was often seen munching on food in the evening, so many assumed she had a small stash of food somewhere. When she emerged from the Great Hall Tracey waved the third year over. 'Hey Ella, we missed supper, we were wondering if you had any snacks in your dormitory?'

'Oh, I don't, sorry. I just get my food from the kitchen.'

'Wait, you know where that is?' asked Harry.

'Yeah, stumbled across it last year. I'm sure the staff would be happy to fix you four something. I'll show you.'

And so they followed her down the hall. She turned left at a corner and hurried toward the door through which Cedric Diggory had gone the night the Goblet of Fire had regurgitated his and Harry’s names. Harry had never been through here before. He and his friends followed her down a flight of stone steps, but instead of ending up in a gloomy underground passage like the one that led to Slytherin dungeon, they found themselves in a broad stone corridor, brightly lit with torches, and decorated with cheerful paintings that were mainly of food. In front of a picture of a giant fruit bowl, Ella stretched out her forefinger, and tickled the huge green pear. It began to squirm, chuckling, and suddenly turned into a large green door handle.

'There,' she said happily, 'through there is the kitchen. See you guys in the common room.'

Harry seized it, pulled the door open, and they all walked inside.

He had one brief glimpse of an enormous, high-ceilinged room, large as the Great Hall above it, with mounds of glittering brass pots and pans heaped around the stone walls, and a great brick fire- place at the other end, when something small hurtled toward him from the middle of the room, squealing, 'Harry Potter, sir! Harry Potter!'

Next second all the wind had been knocked out of him as the squealing elf hit him hard in the midriff, hugging him so tightly he thought his ribs would break.

'D-Dobby?' Harry gasped.

'It is Dobby, sir, it is!' squealed the voice from somewhere around his navel. 'Dobby has been hoping and hoping to see Harry Potter, sir, and Harry Potter has come to see him, sir!'

Dobby let go and stepped back a few paces, beaming up at Harry, his enormous, green, tennis-ball-shaped eyes brimming with tears of happiness. He looked almost exactly as Harry remembered him; the pencil-shaped nose, the batlike ears, the long fingers and feet—all except the clothes, which were very different.

When Dobby had worked for the Malfoy family, he had always worn the same filthy old pillowcase. Now, however, he was wearing the strangest assortment of garments Harry had ever seen; he had done an even worse job of dressing himself than the wizards at the World Cup. He was wearing a tea cozy for a hat, on which he had pinned a number of bright badges; a tie patterned with horseshoes over a bare chest, a pair of what looked like children’s soccer shorts, and odd socks. One of these, Harry saw, was the black one Harry had removed from his own foot and tricked Mr Malfoy into giving Dobby, thereby setting Dobby free. The other was covered in pink and orange stripes.

'Dobby, what’re you doing here?' Harry said in amazement.

'Dobby has come to work at Hogwarts, sir!' Dobby squealed excitedly. 'Professor Dumbledore gave Dobby and Winky jobs, sir!'

'Winky?' said Harry. 'She’s here too?'

'Yes, sir, yes!' said Dobby, and he seized Harry’s hand and pulled him off into the kitchen between the four long wooden tables that stood there. Each of these tables, Harry noticed as he passed them, was positioned exactly beneath the four House tables above, in the Great Hall. At the moment, they were clear of food, dinner having finished, but he supposed that an hour ago they had been laden with dishes that were then sent up through the ceiling to their counterparts above.

At least a hundred little elves were standing around the kitchen, beaming, bowing, and curtsying as Dobby led Harry past them. They were all wearing the same uniform: a tea towel stamped with the Hogwarts crest, and tied, as Winky’s had been, like a toga.

Dobby stopped in front of the brick fireplace and pointed. 'Winky, sir!' he said.

Winky was sitting on a stool by the fire. Unlike Dobby, she had obviously not foraged for clothes. She was wearing a neat little skirt and blouse with a matching blue hat, which had holes in it for her large ears. However, while every one of Dobby’s strange collection of garments was so clean and well cared for that it looked brand-new, Winky was plainly not taking care of her clothes at all. There were soup stains all down her blouse and a burn in her skirt.

'Hello, Winky,' said Harry.

Winky’s lip quivered. Then she burst into tears, which spilled out of her great brown eyes and splashed down her front, just as they had done at the Quidditch World Cup.

'Is she ok?' said Tracey with concern. She, Allison, and Theodore had followed Harry and Dobby to the end of the kitchen. Tracey was the only one who hadn't met Winky yet. 'You don't need to cry Miss elf...'

But Winky cried harder than ever. Dobby, on the other hand, beamed up at Harry.

'Would Harry Potter like a cup of tea?' he squeaked loudly, over Winky’s sobs.

'Er—yes, thank you,' said Harry. 'Actually, none of us have eaten so would it be possible to have some sandwiches with the tea?'

Instantly, about six house-elves came trotting up behind him, bearing a large silver tray laden with a teapot, cups for Harry, Tracey, Allison, and Theodore, a milk jug, and a large plate of sandwiches including coronation chicken, and cream cheese smoked salmon.

'These look delicious, thanks,' Allison said, in an impressed voice. The elves all looked delighted; they bowed very low and retreated.

'How long have you been here, Dobby?' Harry asked as Dobby handed around the tea.

'Only a week, Harry Potter, sir!' said Dobby happily. 'Dobby came to see Professor Dumbledore, sir. You see, sir, it is very difficult for a house-elf who has been dismissed to get a new position, sir, very difficult indeed—'

At this, Winky howled even harder, her squashed-tomato of a nose dribbling all down her front, though she made no effort to stem the flow.

'I'm sorry to hear that, Dobby,' said Harry.

'No sorry needed Harry Potter. Dobby has traveled the country for two whole years, sir, trying to find work!' Dobby squeaked. 'But Dobby hasn’t found work, sir, because Dobby wants paying now!'

The house-elves all around the kitchen, who had been listening and watching with interest, all looked away at these words, as though Dobby had said something rude and embarrassing. Harry, however, said, 'Good for you, Dobby!'

'Thank you!' said Dobby, grinning toothily at her. 'But most wizards doesn’t want a house-elf who wants paying. ‘That’s not the point of a house-elf,’ they says, and they slammed the door in Dobby’s face! Dobby likes work, but he wants to wear clothes and he wants to be paid, Harry Potter...Dobby likes being free!'

The Hogwarts house-elves had now started edging away from Dobby, as though he were carrying something contagious. Winky, however, remained where she was, though there was a definite increase in the volume of her crying.

'And then, Harry Potter, Dobby goes to visit Winky, and finds out Winky has been freed too, sir!' said Dobby delightedly.

At this, Winky flung herself forward off her stool and lay face-down on the flagged stone floor, beating her tiny fists upon it and positively screaming with misery. The girls hastily dropped down to her knees beside her and tried to comfort her, but nothing they said made the slightest difference. Dobby continued with his story, shouting shrilly over Winky’s screeches.

'And then Dobby had the idea, Harry Potter, sir! ‘Why doesn’t Dobby and Winky find work together?’ Dobby says. ‘Where is there enough work for two house-elves?’ says Winky. And Dobby thinks, and it comes to him, sir! Hogwarts! So Dobby and Winky came to see Professor Dumbledore, sir, and Professor Dumbledore took us on!' Dobby beamed very brightly, and happy tears welled in his eyes again.

'And Professor Dumbledore says he will pay Dobby, sir, if Dobby wants paying! And so Dobby is a free elf, sir, and Dobby gets a Galleon a week and one day off a month!'

Harry thought this sounded odd, why would Dumbledore give Dobby so little. 'I mean no offence Dobby, but are you sure you aren't being cheated?'

'Professor Dumbledore offered Dobby ten Galleons a week, and weekends off,' said Dobby, suddenly giving a little shiver, as though the prospect of so much leisure and riches were frightening, 'but Dobby beat him down, sir...Dobby likes freedom, sir, but he isn’t wanting too much, sir, he likes work better.'

'And you make the same, Winky?' Allison asked kindly.

If she had thought this would cheer up Winky, she was wildly mistaken. Winky did stop crying, but when she sat up she was glaring at Allison through her massive brown eyes, her whole face sopping wet and suddenly furious.

'Winky is a disgraced elf, but Winky is not yet getting paid!' she squeaked. 'Winky is not sunk so low as that! Winky is properly ashamed of being freed!'

'Why should you be ashamed?' asked Theodore blankly. 'I saw how Mr Crouch treated you, he's the jerk, not you. He sent you alone to the top box when you were terrified of heights, or how he wouldn't believe you didn't cast the Dark Mark even though it won't make sense at all for you to cast it.'

But at these words, Winky clapped her hands over the holes in her hat, flattening her ears so that she couldn’t hear a word, and screeched, 'You is not insulting my master, sir! You is not insulting Mr Crouch! Mr Crouch is a good wizard, sir! Mr Crouch is right to sack bad Winky!'

'Winky is having trouble adjusting, Harry Potter,' squeaked Dobby confidentially. 'Winky forgets she is not bound to Mr Crouch anymore; she is allowed to speak her mind now, but she won’t do it.'

'Can’t house-elves speak their minds about their masters, then?' Harry asked. His family didn't own any house-elves so what he knew of them was only information from his friends or from Dobby.

'Oh no, sir, no,' said Dobby, looking suddenly serious. '’Tis part of the house-elf’s enslavement, sir. We keeps their secrets and our silence, sir. We upholds the family’s honor, and we never speaks ill of them—though Professor Dumbledore told Dobby he does not insist upon this. Professor Dumbledore said we is free to—to—'

Dobby looked suddenly nervous and beckoned Harry closer. Harry bent forward. Dobby whispered, 'He said we is free to call him a—a barmy old codger if we likes, sir!'

Dobby gave a frightened sort of giggle and Harry joined in.

'But Dobby is not wanting to, Harry Potter,' he said, talking normally again, and shaking his head so that his ears flapped. 'Dobby likes Professor Dumbledore very much, sir, and is proud to keep his secrets and our silence for him.'

'But you can say what you like about the Malfoys now?' Harry asked him, grinning.

A slightly fearful look came into Dobby’s immense eyes.

'Dobby—Dobby could,' he said doubtfully. He squared his small shoulders. 'Dobby could tell Harry Potter that his old masters were—were— bad Dark wizards!'

Dobby stood for a moment, quivering all over, horror-struck by his own daring—then he rushed over to the nearest table and began banging his head on it very hard, squealing, 'Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby!'

Quickly Harry seized Dobby by the back of his tie and pulled him away from the table. 'Whoa, I am sorry, you don't need to do anything you aren't comfortable with.'

'Thank you, Harry Potter, thank you,' said Dobby breathlessly, rubbing his head.

'You just need a bit of practice,' Harry said.

'Practice!' squealed Winky furiously. 'You is ought to be ashamed of yourself, Dobby, talking that way about your masters!'

'They isn’t my masters anymore, Winky!' said Dobby defiantly. 'Dobby doesn’t care what they think anymore!'

'Oh you is a bad elf, Dobby!' moaned Winky, tears leaking down her face once more. 'My poor Mr Crouch, what is he doing without Winky? He is needing me, he is needing my help! I is looking after the Crouches all my life, and my mother is doing it before me, and my grandmother is doing it before her...oh what is they saying if they knew Winky was freed? Oh the shame, the shame!' She buried her face in her skirt again and bawled.

Harry didn't like Mr Crouch all that much, but it was clear Winky needed some comfort. Tracey clearly had a similar idea when she spoke. 'We've seen him actually, Mr Crouch, he is doing alright.'

'You is seeing my master?' said Winky breathlessly, raising her tearstained face out of her skirt once more and goggling at Tracey. 'You is seeing him here at Hogwarts?'

'Twice actually, Harry saw him three times,' said Tracey, 'he is one of the unbiased judges for the Triwizard Tournament. Him and Mr Bagman.'

'Mr Bagman comes too?' squeaked Winky, and to Harry’s great surprise (and Theodore’s, Allison's, and Tracey’s too, by the looks on their faces), she looked angry again. 'Mr Bagman is a bad wizard! A very bad wizard! My master isn’t liking him, oh no, not at all!'

'Bagman—bad?' said Harry. He was suspicious of some of Bagman's actions, but more in the way he thought he was giving Harry special treatment, not anything dark.

'Oh yes,' Winky said, nodding her head furiously. 'My master is telling Winky some things! But Winky is not saying...Winky—Winky keeps her master’s secrets...'

She dissolved yet again in tears; they could hear her sobbing into her skirt, 'Poor master, poor master, no Winky to help him no more!'

They couldn’t get another sensible word out of Winky. They left her to her crying and finished their tea, while Dobby chatted happily about his life as a free elf and his plans for his wages.

'Dobby is going to buy a sweater next, Harry Potter!' he said happily, pointing at his bare chest.

'I am sure you can find some lovely sweaters at Gladrags in Hogsmeade,' suggested Harry.

The suggestion delighted Dobby.

As they prepared to take their leave, many of the surrounding elves pressed in upon them, offering snacks to take back upstairs, so Harry and his friends loaded their pockets with cream cakes and pies.

'Thanks a lot!' Harry said to the elves, who had all clustered around the door to say good night. 'See you, Dobby!'

'Harry Potter...can Dobby come and see you sometimes, sir?' Dobby asked tentatively.

' ’Course you can,' said Harry, and Dobby beamed.

'Your friend seemed really happy, Harry,' said Allison as they started making their way back.

'Yes, this new job suits him. I do still feel bad for Winky though.'

'She might get over it in time,' said Theodore, 'but she seemed to think of the Crouch's as her family and not her employers, so she might not.'

'I wonder what she knows about Bagman?' asked Tracey.

'Crouch probably just complains about him after a long day at work. He isn't the greatest at his job,' said Harry. Then he thought for a moment, 'Why do you ask, Tracey?'

'I was just thinking about how he was the only one happy and excited your name came out of Goblet, and the publicity of this tournament is really boosting his department. What if he put your name into the cup?'

So here’s a meme I made with IbisPaintX and PhotoGrid

Imao XD lol