7 Chapter 7: Fleckerl

Another dance lesson ended, and Harry found himself sitting in the office that he was becoming rather familiar with. Lacroix was conjuring the normal chalices and filling them with water so Harry took the opportunity to ask the first question.

"As you haven't mentioned it, I'm guessing Hannah Fairway is not the date you have selected for me?"

Lacroix place the chalice in front of him and observed at him for a moment. She seemed pleased with the question if Harry was reading her body language correctly.

"No, she is too young. She is rather mature for eleven, but still just eleven."

"Does she attend Hogwarts?" He didn't recall seeing her at the start of this year. He certainly could have missed her especially if she was put into another house.

"No, like her mother, at this age, and her older sister, she spends too much of her time training in ballet to consider attending a boarding school. They complete their education at home and with tutors. Her mother was a rather good dancer and had a good long career. Both of her daughters have chosen to try for the same path. Anna is well on her way to be a professional and Hannah is quite talented herself."

"The sisters are named Anna and Hannah?"

Lacroix gave a small chuckle. "Yes, it's actually much worse than similar-sounding sibling names. Without the age gap they could very well be twins, and their mother's name, of course, is Susanna."

"Susanna, Anna and Hannah?" He parroted incredulously. "No way!"

He snuck a look to see if she was trying to pull one over on him.

It didn't look like it but he still wanted to clarify. "Really?" he asked.

Lacroix laughed more pronounced now and shook her head. Harry couldn't believe a family would do such a ridiculous thing. Harry joined her with a laugh of his own. Once settled she continued.

"For your date, I was originally thinking of Anna Fairway. She's quite talented and has a good part in our next production. It would do well for her family, and help her confidence. A nice evening with a charming young celebrity and a chance to spend time at Hogwarts, the schooling opportunity she gave up to pursue ballet." The Madame mused aloud, almost whimsically.

"Originally?" Harry questioned back.

"Yes, originally. It may well end up that way still. Anna is a lovely young lady and is your age. She'd be a lovely and enchanting date for the evening."

This was his date, he really wanted to know who he was going with. He was going to push for more information.

"May I inquire into what is causing you to deviate from your plan?"

She looked at him debating on whether to answer his question or not. He always felt she was evaluating him, teaching him and slowly but surely warming up to him more and more.

"You are" was her simple even-keeled response.

Harry didn't respond, he waited to see if she would elaborate. He was getting better at non-verbal cues in conversation.

"I expected you to be different, a typical celebrity, a pureblood heir. You don't have an ego and you don't expect to be waited on hand and foot. Then, I expected more push back from you, especially with the use of my dance tutorial charms. I don't normally use them so long, nothing beyond an hour. Yet, you didn't complain about the soreness in your muscles as you practised for four straight hours day after day. Some minor grumbling but no temper tantrums, no yelling, just dedication and hard work. I can see you have the drive to be great, your passion just isn't dancing."

Harry continued to wait. The charms were brutal on his muscles; they forced him to be in a position and into a posture his body wasn't used to. He'd thought it was because he was having rushed dance lessons. With only a month to get into form, she was cramming in more than normal. Could she have done less?

"I pushed you and tried to make you uncomfortable, to give up, to concede. Instead, you persevered, you buckled down, and learned as quickly as you could! With your progress, when the night of the ball comes you won't just be a good dancer for your age. You will be a great dancer, period."

"There is much to consider in the match I'm pontificating. There are social and political ramifications to consider. Pairing you with Anna is rather straightforward. None of my patrons can be upset that I did not pair you with anyone from their family, or closely tied to it. None will begrudge the match. There will be pressure when our connection is made public, for me to introduce you to others. Without the political implications, I would consider pairing you with my most promising dancer. One who I could see pairing up well with you. I'm just not sure I should risk the downside; downside for both you and for me."

Harry had an issue, well several of them, but one was rather pressing. He had a teacher that he couldn't interact with and he needed to learn how to move around in the magical world. Using a public floo and trekking through the Hogwarts grounds, then through a crappy tunnel, before sneaking in and out of a haunted house wasn't really a very good solution. It was his only current option and a rather poor one at that.

He needed to learn how to apparate or create portkeys. If he could talk to his mentor he could just ask. Instead he was sitting in the chamber petting cuddles and debating how he could learn. The Hogwarts library seemed like his best option at the moment. He wondered if the curriculum that he was taking in the Chamber covered it soon. He already knew the chamber adapted to his actions, could he communicate with it?

"Chamber of Secrets, or, uh, Salazar Slytherin? Do you understand me? Can you listen to me? I need to learn how to use portkeys and apparate. I can't just be stuck here all the time!" He felt like a complete dolt. Sitting in his chair talking loudly to empty air, to inanimate objects.

He watched the books in the room with bated breath. Hoping one would suddenly glow. His eyes scoured the room and he even got up.

He waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

He sighed. Obviously it didn't work.

An errant thought filtered through: What about parseltongue? He is in a chamber that required parseltongue to enter…

~"I need to learn how to apparate and use portkeys. Can you understand me? Can you communicate with me?"~

Harry waited again. He was looking around the room when he saw, out of the corner of his eye, that Cuddles had woken up and extricated herself from him.

That was odd. The little beasty slept and demanded pets usually. It didn't normally ever fly off around this time.

He tore his gaze away from the search and focused back on the black dragon, whose spikes had a bronze sheen in the light as she flew. Harry watched it fly to a bookshelf and snag a book off the top shelf. Cuddles flew back and dropped it on the desk in front of an astonished Harry Potter.

Cuddles stood tall on its hind legs and preened. Harry stared at the book then the dragon. He quickly kept shifting his head to look from one to the other, repeatedly. Cuddles was not impressed and shot a warning of fire out her nostrils. Harry knew what that meant and immediately made to soothe the dragon. He began caressing it just how she liked. The dragon walked off the desk and glided onto his lap to once again be in her favourite position while he studied.

With detached and idle movements, Harry pet the dragon while wondering what had just happened. He used his free hand to turn over the book so it's front was face up. Like most of the books, it had a blank front. Harry opened the first page and immediately noticed it was a book on wizarding methods of travel and how to prevent them. Portkeys, apparition, broomsticks, flying carpets, and floo were among the topics he recognized easily. There were more topics he knew very little on like splinching, anti-portkey wards, anti-apparition wards, anti-broom wards and many more. It was the first book in the Chamber that hadn't glowed before it showed words, aside from the main memoir.

Harry abruptly got up needing to see if it was just this book or the whole shelf and he just missed that there were other books available for him to read. Cuddles growled upset at having been dislodged from its source of heat and, more importantly, affection. She flew behind him and landed on his shoulder with her tail wrapping around behind his neck for extra stability.

Harry grabbed the two books that were previously on either side of the one Cuddles had removed from the shelf. As soon as he had grasped them he scrutinized them intently. Both had plain front covers and as he flipped through the pages he discovered neither had any words written in them. He put them back and began systematically working through the entire shelf.

From the top shelf all the way down to the floor, he searched through book after book finding them empty. Just like the first time, not even a single one of them had any visible words. Harry looked at his little dragon and wondered if the dragon's magic broke the concealing charms?

While moving back to sit at his desk, Harry grabbed a book and started rubbing the book up against the horntail. The only effect Harry elicited was the growling of an annoyed dragon. A black beast that was frothing fire in warning.

Harry stared at his dragon wondering what was going on. Could it understand parseltongue?

~"Can dragons speak parseltongue? Can you understand me?"~ he asked into the Chamber void of life besides himself, a tiny dragon and Dobby.

Cuddles had watched him as he spoke parseltongue but didn't respond at all. As far as Harry could tell all it looked like was that she wanted was more cuddling… The Horntail put its head back down on him and closed its eyes angling just for it.

~"You don't understand me?"~

The magical creature continued its plan to fall asleep on Harry's lap. Harry frowned trying to work out what had just happened. How had the little dragon just gotten him a book? A book that now had writing in it, and was on the very topic he had asked for instruction in.

He shook the little dragon and tried again. Repeating the same phrase in parseltongue.

The only response from the midnight black dragon was a deep rumbling growl as it burrowed further into him. Any further attempts were parried by the little gremlin refusing to acknowledge him. It just wanted to sleep.

Harry exhaled deeply in frustration, he needed more information. The dragon, other than getting him the book he desperately needed hadn't acted out of character. Had Cuddles been possessed?

He was getting really tired of all these mysteries, even ones that only had direct benefits for him.

Harry sat back deep in the chair. He used his single free hand to rub his face. He needed a way to know more about parseltongue. A moment of Deja vu overtook him. He'd had the same thought back in second year and when he stayed in Diagon Alley, the following summer, he'd ordered one. He hadn't gotten around to actually reading it, he got it delivered the morning he went back to Hogwarts and between Sirius's escape and the dementor on the train he'd not gotten around to studying it.

Harry called Dobby and instructed him to bring it quickly. It was far faster than walking over to his trunk and searching for it himself.

He quickly flipped it open and began reading.

Parseltongue is a topic of research that scholars have debated for millennia with very few discerned results. There are minimal credible facts because only one who speaks the language is able to provide clarity or even answer basic questions about the language. There may be written records, however, any that have been passed down, by speakers of the language, have never been made public and are guarded zealously within private libraries- if they even exist.

One undisputed fact about the language is that it is a magical language. While there are other languages unique to the magical world, mermish and gobbledegook, Parseltongue is the only dialect known that cannot be reproduced. One either has the ability to speak the serpent language or one does not. There is no way to teach it and even its hereditary passing is ill-understood. The human body cannot, naturally, produce the sounds and tongue movements required to speak parseltongue.

What is more, the bloodlines that have carried the ability to use it do not always produce the gift amongst their offspring. Further research has proven the bloodline ability does not pass to a new family. Seconds sons started their own family lines, and women married off from their family, have never passed the ability on to their children. Not a single record has been recorded to refute it. The few families that have ever produced offspring that speak the serpent tongue are the only ones known to have ever done so.

Research into the potential uses of a magical language has produced little more than conjecture. There are some facts that have been produced by observation only that…..

Harry sighed. In second year Hermione had futilely searched the Hogwarts library for information on it. She was able to procure a list of those known to have spoken it and she explained the list was not even comprehensive.

He continued reading and found the book that he was finding out was rather useless. There were guesses and hints but little else. It was thought dragons could not speak parseltongue, generally but not by all. Some scholars had thought they may be able to comprehend it but not respond. The documentation supporting it was sparsely more than conjecture though. Harry wondered if his dragon got him the book then refused to acknowledge him any more. Could it only understand commands? At this point in time, he needed to focus on apparition and portkeys. He needed a reliable way to move around the magical world. Parseltongue could wait.

Samantha Roberts looked differently than Harry had expected. She had light brown haircut where her hair hugged her face as it dropped down to her shoulders with an inward curl. She was slightly overweight and had slight skin creases on her forehead. Noticeably shorter than average and less moderately endowed she was a rather plain witch.

In her chosen profession she was anything but plain. The information he had gotten from Director Bones indicated she was a highly respected Daily Prophet journalist known for thorough research and a impeccable integrity. She was the kind of reporter that put their principles first. Harry could respect that; he didn't need a spin on his story, just honest and accurate reports.

Harry was seated across from her in a private room that she had guaranteed to be private, not that it mattered when his words would be reported in public. They had met in a private room at the Leaky Cauldron and exchanged greetings and allowances to call each other 'Harry' and 'Sam'. Their discussion was just getting started. They had prearranged, by letter, that Harry would have minor editorial control. It was a small price for Sam to pay to garner the first-ever one-on-one interview with the Boy-Who-Lived.

"Well, Mister Potter, you had asked for the meeting, did you have anything particular you wanted to discuss?" She looked him over shrewdly.

"Not really, I know my last, and first-ever, media availability didn't go perfectly and I wanted to meet with someone ahead of the next event. I'd like to take the focus off me by answering questions ahead of time, clearing up misinformation and so on…."

"Do you have an idea of how you wanted this to go?"

Harry shifted in his seat slightly. "No, this is my first real interview and Director Bones suggested I deal with you." Harry didn't add he'd done his own research and was happy to see her advice lined up with his own perceptions. Name dropping his acquaintance with Bones might help too.

"How about I ask you questions to begin and you answer the ones you feel comfortable with?"

Harry was sitting rather evenly in his chair, he was trying to project confidence in his body language, even while he felt nervous.

"Sure, we can try that and see how it goes." He gave her a tentative smile.

He watched as she pulled out a quill and parchment from her bag. She'd notified him she'd run a dictaquill to ensure the quotes taken are perfectly accurate and she'd have perfect notes to refer to.

Her posture seemed to change as she focused back on him. She turned more serious and professional.

"Okay Harry, how about we start off with something easier: where did you grow up and can you describe what it was like?"

Harry felt his stomach drop. Such an innocuous question for most people and like traversing a minefield for him to answer. Should he really say how he was mistreated by the muggles and give the Dark Lord's followers pitch for their fiery hatred of all things muggle? Should he throw the headmaster under the bus? He would need the man in his fight against Voldemort, more than likely, and yet he still wanted to…

"I grew up with my mother's sister, her husband and their son. I was kept out of the magical world and was unaware of it until I met with a Hogwarts representative." A short statement of facts he hoped she'd catch onto the direction he'd prefer to guide it to.

Her eyebrows shot into her hairline as she listened. "You weren't aware of magic until you were eleven?!" She had to ask the follow-up question. How could he not have been aware? He wasn't a muggleborn.

His ploy had worked.

"Yea, I was told that it was done on purpose so I could experience a more normal childhood."

"But they could have done that and made you aware of magic."

Harry nodded. He had many times thought the exact same point. Why was he kept ignorant of magic. He could have begun learning about magic years before school started and not been informed of his celebrity status.

"I wasn't told why I was kept ignorant of the magical world growing up and why I didn't receive a single letter until I got my Hogwarts acceptance letter. I felt rather overwhelmed as an eleven-year-old and there are still things I believe I am unaware of that my parents would have taught me growing up. There's nothing I can do it about now though so I try not to dwell on it…"

She had stopped her line of questioning unsure of where to proceed next. She had a number of topics to ask about and just the response to the first question brought up too many further issues. The boy was a walking printing press. Every time he'd opened his mouth, in front of the press, it could spawn multiple articles.

Sam swished her wand and the quill on that had been upright and scratching out a record of the conversation fell flat to the parchment.

"Harry, how aware are you of the wizarding world?"

Harry made to respond but she held up her hand to stop him.

"I mean really, truly, aware are you? I have a whole line of questions ready for you from your lack of attendance at the annual event held in honour of your defeat of You-Know-Who, to why you have authorized books that are a fiction of your upbringing, to why you don't respond to wizarding mail, to why your childhood home still stands in ruins, and I could go on and on."

Harry looked at her closely. "This is off the record?" He asked gesturing with his hand and head toward the quill that had been deactivated.

"Yes"

"I'm woefully informed. I've been isolated from the wizarding world other than Hogwarts and Diagon Alley shopping trips for school supplies. This tournament has given me an opportunity I can't let pass. I'm going to use this opportunity to take control of my life."

Harry saw a gleam in her eye. He could see her struggle with what direction to take their discussion, how to follow up his responses. He wasn't stupid, he was giving her a good opportunity. If he was as famous as Lacroix suggested then having a close association with him would help any reporters career. She was well established in her career and it wouldn't make her career but accolades and being the envy of her peers was beneficial.

"How would a fourteen-year-old get emancipated? I've never heard of anyone so young being emancipated. Sixteen sure, fourteen never."

She was sharp at a tac Harry ruefully thought. She'd read between the lines without hesitation.

"I think my situation is rather unique. I'm in a tournament enforced by a binding magical contract that only allows adults to participate. Two Ministry department heads declared I must compete, thereby calling me an adult, and my Magical Guardian told me I had to compete too. From what Gringotts has told me, I am magically emancipated for the duration of the tournament. The actions of the ministry and Dumbledore have approved my legal emancipation. I just need to meet the requirements."

She sat eerily still the further he progressed in the understanding he had been given by Gringotts. He could see her biting her lower lip deep in thought.

"What are the requirements you mentioned?" She asked once she had ordered her thoughts.

"OWLs in the wanded subjects: Transfiguration, DADA, Charms."

"That can't be all."

Harry shrugged, "From what I have been told I meet all the requirements except the OWLs. I'm sure there is more to it but as Gringotts takes care of legal paperwork filings. I'll trust they are correct."

He watched her jot out a note, probably a note to check on emancipation laws.

"You'll need to write your OWLs before the tournament is over and the final task is prior to the scheduled examinations. Then again, your not a Hogwarts student and there are homeschooled examinations… Are they after the Hogwarts ones though? Do you have a plan for where you will be examined before the tournament ends?"

Harry hadn't considered that yet. He'd been focused on learning enough to write them…

"I'm not sure" he responded with a scowl. "I'm preparing for them and am probably ready to write them soon."

Another surprising revelation from a teen whose marks, as far as she was able to find out, were decidedly mediocre on the whole. How could he have learned so much so quickly? She'd used a favour to learn his third-year end of the year results were nothing tremendous.

"In my line of work I've found it best to converse with ministry employees by personal correspondence rather than by sending requests, or letters, through the ministry itself. I'd suggest an OWL to Griselda Marchbanks the Governor of the Wizarding Examinations Authority."

Harry pulled out his own short journal and wrote down the name and her position so he could do as she advised. Fortunate knowledge given that he hadn't yet considered how he was to actually write his exams.

"Okay, then there are quite a few questions that you've indirectly provided clarity on. I have quite a lot of options for topics to write on."

She grabbed her pre-written notes and leafed through them. Glancing at various parts and taking time to read some parts.

"Are we in agreement that there can be follow up interviews? I can begin to reveal article after article in such a manner that it will not interfere with your plans?"

"As long as you've do what we agreed on occurs it works for me."

Harry Potter the Boy-Who-Was-Isolated

Samantha Roberts

The Daily Prophet has secured the first-ever one-on-one interview with the enigmatic Boy-Who-Lived. It follows on the heels of the first-ever instance of his taking questions from the wizarding media at large. His whereabouts during his early life was well out of the public's eyes and aside from the Adventures of Harry Potter book series nothing has been written about the young man's upbringing. The Daily Prophet has sought to begin to unveil the young man kept hidden away in the muggle world. In this exclusive interview the young man opens up about his upbringing, prior to Hogwarts.

S: Many have speculated on your upbringing and where you were raised. Can you give the wizarding public an idea of where you grew up and how magical it was?

H: Magical? No, I grew up in the muggle world and I attended muggle school starting at age five like any normal one would. It wasn't until my Hogwarts letter came that I even know about magic.

S: Who did you live with?

H: I lived with my mother's sister Petunia. My uncle Vernon and my cousin Dudley who is the same age as me.

S: You didn't know you were a wizard until you were eleven?

H: Well I knew there was something different about me… I just didn't know that it was just instances of accidental magic.

S: If you lived with your mother's sister wouldn't she have told you about magic?

H: No, they hoped I wasn't a wizard. They didn't even let me know my parents were magical. I think they hoped I would be a mundane like them.

S: What kind of accidental magic happened?

H: Well, I talked to a snake and freed it by vanishing the glass that kept it on display in the zoo. There was another time when I changed the my teachers hair colour. I kind of apparated onto my school roof one time and there were multiple incidents of levitating, summoning and banishing too.

S: Apparition? I've never heard of anything like that. How many incidents can you think of?

H: I can think of at least a dozen of hand. Probably more if I think about it. I didn't keep track of it. The last time was after my second year at Hogwarts. Obliviators had to come and undo the magic.

After the interview sources from within the MInistry, the ICW and experts from St Mungos confirmed the number of incidents and types of accidental magic make one conclusion: Harry Potter is a powerful wizard. The average child, in the UK, grows up with 3.6 noticeable occurrences of accidental magic. Offhandedly, Harry Potter could recall at least a dozen. While summoning, banishing and colour changing charms are somewhat regular incidents, vanishing and line of sight apparition are spectacular. None of the sources were able to confirm any other known circumstances of the two feats… Even accidental magic after Hogwarts starting is unprecedented.

S: Do you know why you were kept away from the wizarding world and purposefully kept ignorant of magic?

H: I asked the headmaster once. He told me it was so I could have a normal childhood away from my fame. He's never been forthcoming with information whenever I ask questions. He tells me things like I'm too young to know about such things so I just haven't bothered asking further since first year.

S: Does it bother you that you were kept from magic deliberately?

H: That's kind of hard to answer. I would have done anything to have known about my heritage sooner but it's not something I could control… Decisions were made for me and I bear the consequences of them now. I can't change what happened and I don't waste time thinking about it. I doubt I'm the worst off magical child so why bother complaining when others have had worse ya know?

S: Can you describe your living arrangements further? What did you do for fun? Did you travel?

H: I lived in a pretty standard muggle neighbourhood. Well kept modest homes. I had a rather small bedroom and grew up doing a lot of chores. Aside from attending school, I didn't get out much nor did I ever travel. I'm not really sure what to say. My upbringing was rather mundane and unspectacular to talk about.

S: What about friends? If you took classes with them you'd have spent six years in the muggle world. Do you keep in contact with them?

H: No, since I learned about magic I've not kept in contact with anyone I'd met in school. In a way it was lucky I didn't have any good friends in muggle school. How would I have explained my absence and kept magic from them?

If it wasn't clear to anyone already, The Harry Potter Adventure book series is complete fabrication. While the books do not explain they are fictional they also do not claim to be true. Beyond the shadow of doubt, Harry Potter's upbringing was one isolated from magic.

Albus Dumbledore, his magical guardian, did not respond to requests for an interview to accompany the article. The reason given to Harry Potter was true. He did grow up away from fame but it is evident it also harmed him. For full article on Harry Potter and the Triwizard Tournament, so far, refer to Harry Potter & the Triwizard Selection page 4.

S: How did you feel about the press coverage of the First Task?

H: I had no idea it was coming. I was totally caught off guard. I showed up for the task and found myself in front of Director Bones of the DMLE. I didn't know about the manhunt for me. Then after completing the bollixed up first task, I got my medical checkup, my score, instructions for the second task, and when I went to leave I was told about it. Then next thing I knew I'm in front of all these people and they keep asking me question after question. I tried to shift attention off just me. The thing wasn't moderated at all. It was a total free-for-all, other than only one question coming at a time. Why would they let them ask me about hypothetical reactions of my deceased parent's that I'd never met? At that point I knew I had to leave. Things were deteriorating. If they could ask about my deceased parents what else would they follow up with?

S: Nobody prepared you for it?

H: Nope. I had no idea at all. I was told as I was trying to leave.

S: You mentioned you didn't know about the manhunt can you explain how that's possible? It was on the front page of this paper and many most other wizarding publications before the First Task.

H: When I withdrew from Hogwarts I went somewhere else to stay that is very safe and secure. I don't receive any mail there and I was too busy learning and focusing on how to survive a tournament meant for seventeen-year-olds. There's not much to it. I didn't have a subscription to any news. I'd sent a withdrawal letter and told them I was safe. After that I just focused on my studies.

S: You're not willing to say who's teaching you or where you are staying?

H: No, I'm not.

S: You withdrew from Hogwarts why would you leave behind one of the best magical educations money can buy?

H: I believe my current accommodations and individualized tutoring will be better for me at this time.

He stopped reading, he had gone over it a few times already and was watching Madame Lacroix read through it. These articles would be hitting the Daily Prophet tomorrow unless Harry objected strongly to one thing or another. Harry continued to wait as she was working through the first article and had yet to start on the second. The first focused on his early life and after going through the questions and answers she speculated on just why he was kept so isolated.

The article was well written and she had clearly done her a lot of research. The second article's introduction, prefacing the interview, was very informative. Reading like a mix between historical account and a novel. It drew the reader in through the history of the tournament and its ups and downs over the years.

She highlighted previous winners and the notable things they had accomplished. She'd covered a dark wizard that had won by killing his competitors prior to openly trying to overthrow Prussia. Stories of dangerous creatures rampaging and killing contestants and political fallout from previous tournaments- one even sparking a minor war when the prince of a fiefdom had been killed due to foul play. Samantha took the reader through the importance of the tournament and just why they were so very willing to do away with an event that became a growing abomination the longer it was held.

Each tournament tried to outdo those previous. Tasks that were accomplishable for a top student became more and more outrageous. It went from having to utilize technically complicated feats of magic to spectator driven games that grew increasingly alike to the barbaric events hosted in the Colosseum during the reign of the Roman Empire. Towards the end only the most foolhardy and desperate would be willing to even consider entering. When the final disaster of the cockatrice occurred, the tournament ended with a deadly bang and only a few whimpers of wanting to keep it going were ever heard.

Beyond the history of the tournament, Samantha interpreted the report from the DMLE explaining how it was clear the Goblet of Fire was tampered with to ensure Harry was an unwilling participant and that there were no suspects as of yet. It walked the reader through the known, and speculated, events that led to the unprecedented fourth champion. Harry had read through the question and answer section multiple times and was doing so again. He kept skipping over her comments that were intermittently interspersed between them this time.

S: How do you feel about the tournament selection now that the DMLE has released their report? You were maligned, even in this paper, for being the unheralded fourth champion do you feel vindicated in the face of your detractors?

H: Honestly, I'm not really sure what exactly I should feel. I feel like that was so long ago now. I have so many other pressing items on my to-do list that whatever reaction I feel or felt towards my fellow peers is just not worth the effort. I'm focused on learning magic, learning my place in our society, and the tournament.

S: What about your friends, professors, housemates, dormmates, and your quidditch team members? How will they take your leaving Hogwarts? Will you maintain those friendships?

H: You're asking the tough questions, I'm not sure really. I ask myself where were all of my parents' friends when I was growing up, or when I entered the wizarding world? Where were all those people you mentioned when I was being bullied and picked on at the start of the year? It's not something I'm focused on right now. I"ll have opportunities to talk with them and I'll take it case by case.

S: Why did you withdraw from Hogwarts? It is virtually unheard of for one to voluntarily leave Hogwarts.

H: Ever since the Championship selection I was being treated rather poorly. My roommates openly accused me of cheating and didn't have anything to do with me. Nobody verbally told me they believed I hadn't done it, even after I told them all I hadn't. Dumbledore knew I did not enter myself but neither he nor any of the other professors tried to put a stop to it. Nobody sought to help me so I sought my own and I'm rather pleased with the results.

S: I must ask again, are you willing to reveal where you are staying?

H: No.

S: Can you tell us what kind of instruction you get now? A single person for all your classes or multiple tutors? I have searched for those considered the top tutors and everyone I contacted claims to not have ever talked with you nor instructed you.

H: Yes, well that's not surprising to hear. I have a mentor now and the results will show for themselves soon.

S: Any hints?

At this point, Harry just smiled enigmatically at me without answering the question.

S: Given your scathing remarks at the first press conference, now that you've had more time to reflect, how do you feel about the tournament committee?

H: In what regards are you asking about?

S: You were rather upset with being named a champion, the handling of the dragons, and lack of clarity on the events you were to participate in.

H: Ah, yes, those ones. I was most upset with two things really. The first is their ability to protect me as a minor and as a student. Secondly, how hard would it have been to inform me correctly about the events? Could they not have written it down and handed it out at the selection? Even after the first task, they failed to inform me of the next event. I had to learn it from the press. Their failures affected me, I bore the consequences, not them. I don't want to have to bear any more for the duration of the tournament.

S: Just safety and information control then?

H: No, there was also their failure to inform the DMLE immediately which resulted in the evidence of how I was entered into the tournament being compromised. They have no leads, as far as I am aware of, and that keeps me in a vulnerable state. Whoever put me into the tournament did it maliciously.

S: Moving onto the next part of the tournament can you confirm you are attending the Yule Ball and whether you have a date already?

H: I will be attending and my date will be a surprise. I don't wish to spoil it.

S: Not even a hint as to which school she attends?

H: Nope.

S: How are your preparations going for the second task, have you sorted out the clue?

H: Am I supposed to give away all my secrets in just one interview? Fine, I'll be a little forthcoming here. I deciphered the clue and preparations are well underway.

Lacroix was obviously a faster reader than Harry because she had already read through both articles as she was attentive to his presence again.

"An interesting choice with Samantha Roberts. I trust you realize that woman cannot let any stone stay unturned?"

"Yes, that was one of the reasons I chose her for the first exclusive. She has done pieces on such a wide array of topics and they were all elaborately done. I have nothing to hide in my life, the only things she might find are probably things I wish to learn myself. Already she was kind enough to provide the list and contact information of the top tutors she had contacted asking if I worked with." He tried to keep his face blank as he finished his last part. "She even provided yours for dance lessons although she notes you didn't return her owl."

Her eyebrow rose ever so slightly in response. "Did she now?"

"Yep"

The corners of her mouth upturned into a smile. "You can't get one over on me like that Harry."

"It was worth trying" he shrugged off his failure while grinning at the older woman he was really coming to like.

"All of my mail is sent to my box. All of it is checked ahead of time and I go through it each day. There's not a chance I would fail to respond to that woman. Besides, there is no way she would know you're a ready-made a Son of House Black." She chuckled at his antics internally pleased he was continuing to come out of his shell around her.

"I presume you brought me these because they are going to be printed shortly and you gained some form of editorial control?"

"Yes, I thought you might see if I missed anything that was important. They will be printed in the morning paper. Some feedback would be useful too."

Lacroix stare imperviously at him in calculation. "I think this is a better time to teach you how to do that yourself, first. I can teach you an exercise I use myself and if you find it valuable you can use it as a tool for yourself."

She waited for the disappointment on his face to fade and for him to respond positively before she continued on.

"Business intelligence is a crucial part of good decisions making processes. In fact, Business Intelligence's purpose is to help the firm make decisions. Have you ever heard the term before?"

It was also so great to see how this particular young person focused. He took in advice and was developing his critical thinking astonishingly well. The progress was far beyond what she experienced in most teens.

"No, I'm not familiar with it."

She dipper he chin acknowledging his ignorance. "I wouldn't expect you to. I'll explain it, then tell you what I focus on for the academy, and then you'll apply it to your situation."

"Business Intelligence refers to the apparatus and methodology you use to collect, analyze, and collate information that is then used to create useful insights and actionable intelligence for your business."

Seeing that dazed look in his eye she pressed on with an example so the academic terms could be understood easily.

"An example of just one methodology or apparatus used by The Ministry of Magic, for instance, is how it allows people to provide feedback by sending letters directly to them and they occasionally ask for feedback from the general public. Those are two ways in which they collect information from their customers, they then analyze the responses and organize it so the feedback is useful for making decisions."

"Oh, okay, that makes sense… How do you do it then for your academy?"

"We are a much smaller business than the government. I have very few parties that I need to procure information from and I do it personally. I have two simple questions that I ask people directly when I take them out for lunch."

Harry had sat forward as Lacroix was sharing information on how she keeps her business a success. He wouldn't be ungrateful by doing less than his best to learn from her.

"The first question I ask is what are we doing well that we need to continue doing?"

Harry's head tilted as he considered just what the purpose of the question.

"It's an important question to ask. Essentially I'm trying to find out what they believe makes us successful."

That made sense to him. How you saw yourself and how others view you often have incongruencies. Trying to solicit honest feedback could be rather useful.

"The second question is the opposite: where do you think we could do better? It's a simple way of asking many questions. What needs do they have that we are not meeting? where are our weaknesses? Where could we do better? And really, quite a lot more."

She didn't wait for him to respond.

"Those two simple questions were taught to me by my mother. She taught me to use them to reflect on my ballet routines. Where did I do well and where could I improve. It's rather simple to apply to every facet of your life."

"It does seem rather simple at its core. So you want me to say what I think I did well on with the interview and where I could have done better?"

"Yes, there is always room for improvement and analyzing your performances will help you achieve better results."

He'd already spent quite a lot of his idle time thinking over just that. How he could have answered questions differently, or even wished he had, was constantly on his mind since the interview. He had some ready made answers because of this.

"I thought I did well-avoiding subjects I hadn't wanted to talk about. I thought I did well in not attacking anyone needlessly this time. I made criticisms but didn't directly assign blame. I felt I was gracious in my response to the people that had wronged me and I didn't come off as a braggart."

He stopped to collect himself and tried to see how his dance instructor was taking his thoughts. As per normal, he had a hard time reading her when she didn't allow him too. She gestured with her hand for him to continue.

"I left intrigue in the areas where I wanted people to focus on. They will wonder about my date for the Yule Ball, and what I meant by they'd see the results of my education soon. I didn't feel I came off as a complainer in the discussion about my life. I raised logical points as to why I would have preferred otherwise but I let Sam run with it all while knowing I could influence where she went."

Harry stopped and waited for her to respond to his thoughts. She didn't. "And where you could improve?"

"Well, I had a hard time finding the line of being confident versus arrogant and I think I come off a bit like a wimp- that I'm weak and don't know anything in parts… I think with more experience I'll be better at responding to questions and communicating."

"All salient points. Let me clarify one of your questions. The major difference between confidence and arrogance is where it is expressed. Confidence is internal whereas arrogance is external. I teach my dancers to tell themselves they can do something, to visualize it, to believe it, and then to make it happen. It's a part of building their inward confidence. When the dancer then continually tells others their inner monologue, that they can do it each and every time without fail to perfection over and over, then they are being arrogant. See the difference?"

"Yes, but how does that work for an interview? Everything I say is external." Harry's face furrowed in confusion. Lacroix was again pleased how quickly he took in advice. He'd immediately caught onto the issue with her explanation.

"The difference is in how you say something. Your line about your magical education was well done. You had confidence that your progress will show and stated you'd let your actions speak for themselves. You would only say that if you were confident. Whereas arrogance would have you extolling how far ahead you are of your peers and tried to tell people just how prodigious you are."

That made sense. Telling himself he was going to catch the snitch at every game he played because he knew he was the better seeker was confidence. Telling his teammates nobody could beat him because he was the best seeker at Hogwarts was arrogance.

"Oh, that makes sense, then it was something I did well then?" He questioned, still seeking reassurances of those in positions of authority over him.

"Overall you did rather well. Certainly room for improvement and that leads nicely into the second part of the advice that I'd like to impart to you."

She made sure she had his full attention before she spoke any further.

"You've heard similar sentiments from me but this is an idiom my mother taught me as well. True success begins with failure. Successful persons do not fear failure, they do not fear making a fool of oneself, and successful people have the courage to fall and get back up again, as many times as is required. The greatest dancers have fallen the most and in doing so they learned the lessons and dedication required to be great."

Harry was solemn-faced as he thought about the advice. It resembled the thoughts she had shared with him previously and it was good advice. Fear of failure can stop one from pushing themselves. Had he been holding himself back out of fear? Fear of being a celebrity? Fear of being the centre of attention? Fear of future expectations if he stood out now?

"I think you've done well as a starting point. You don't need to make enemies at this point and you are being portrayed as a likeable young man coming into his own. Perhaps, a little weak sounding, as you say, but you are just fourteen."

That was a fair point. Hard to come across as a powerful figure when he's still rather young to be emancipated. As Sam stated sixteen was normal and fourteen was unheard of. Hard to be commanding without experience backing oneself up. He would need actions to stand on.

"I'm not an expert at media relations, I just didn't want you out there disparaging powerful politicians at a young age creating adversaries that could very well last your life. The condition was set to protect my academy's reputation as I had only met you for mere minutes. I took a stance that I see was not needed in retrospect. Emotion, inexperience, and naivety were culpable for your first interview not anger and a need to lash out at any manner of perceived slights."

Harry felt proud her opinion of him had changed. She'd mentioned it when discussing whether he would take Anna Fairway as his date but he valued Lacroix's opinion. Hearing her honest feedback reflect on him positively was comforting.

"I still stand by my advice to consider getting an agent. They would help you and take a lot of the pressure off. They would also find financial opportunities for you and that alone might be something for you to consider. Many will work on a commission-only basis and you wouldn't have to worry about needlessly depleting your own finances."

Harry had been mulling the idea of an agent over already. It could help but he felt it could wait. He had one more media availability that was required, the Yule Ball, and it shouldn't be that large of an issue. Most of the questions will probably focus on his date. He didn't want to devote any of his already limited time away from his studies. Enforcing his emancipation and learning magic were his top priorities. The dance lessons killed all of his free time. After the Yule Ball, he could spend some time considering it.

"Thanks for all this Madame. I really do appreciate it."

She smiled warmly in return at his genuine thanks being expressed.

"I thought you might want to see these before you chose my date and now that you have.. Have you decided?

The dance sessions with Hannah were going really well. He was leading and his movements were smooth and natural. They'd done well adding in hesitations, though at first that hadn't gone too well. Learning to pause the routine so you don't crash into others on the dance floor wasn't an issue he'd thought. Just stop and move around them to continue. No, nothing is quite that simple. He had to learn how to 'hesitate' in time, un deux trois un deux trois un deux trois. It hadn't been that bad really, he just had to be more aware of his surroundings. If only the infernal first three prime numbers were not always being repeated…

Next he'd spent time learning to deviate from the standard form, under-arm spins being the first move extended to beyond the basic waltz box step. Again, he had to learn the perfect motions and practice it repeatedly in time, un deux trois un deux trois. Now that he had the basic pattern mastered they were branching into words he couldn't even pronounce properly. There was something called the Flecker? Feleckerl? Fecklerel?

He had no idea. There at least a few types of ways to Whisk: Back Whisk, Front Whisk, Left Whisk Fallaway Whisk. It was a mistake to sarcastically ask 'how many Whisks are there?'. He'd not progressed to them all yet… Harry had even learned there was a new way to count: Un deux trois could be inflicted upon him in new varied forms. Un et deux et trois et being the longest form.

Un deux et trois seemed to be the second most frequent. It was starting to get bloody complicated. Regardless, his skills were progressing very quickly and he was eager to find out who his partner would be. Apparently, he would be progressing to a choreographed first dance soon. He just had to learn to perfect all the moves and then blend them.

"I've rather hesitantly decided."

Harry could feel her smirk, even though none adorned her face, she was drawing it out on purpose! This wasn't the second time he'd tried asking. He'd hinted quite a few times that he wanted to know and she enjoyed ignoring it he was sure.

"I still fear it will be more trouble than it's worth but my instincts are telling me the two of you could do well together, even if it is one evening together. It's not the conservative option but I think you can handle it."

Was she purposefully pulling a Dumbledore?

"I'll have to give you some background information so you can understand what you would be getting involved in and whether you wished to risk it."

Oh no! She was trolling him! She knew he just wanted to know her name!

Harry suppressed a groan.

He could see the mirth in her eyes.

She was enjoying this entirely too much.

"Imagine the Malfoy family. A family that is politically powerful and seems to have their fingers everywhere. They have pull at the top of Ministers office, friends that are department heads, extensive business holdings, and know how to use their wealth and power."

Harry felt some of the irritation slide away. Perhaps this was more involved than just a silly dance partner.

"Unlike the Malfoy family, they hold all their power legitimately. They don't lean on their connection to another family for an iota of credence. They are the power behind the scenes and their family is bred for their place in life. Politically savvy, titans in the business world, and very dangerous to cross. They've been powerful for centuries and are as ambitious as they are cunning. Generations of building have led them to where they are and the current implementations are progressive and patrician alike."

She held his full attention as she waxed on.

"They are not strength is not just found in a single country but in three: Germany, Russia, and Bulgaria. The current Head of the family, and his Lady, have three sons and two daughters. One son to operate in each country and a daughter to help coordinate while working with the Head of the family. They tie together their business and political interest across all three regions together to create an immensely influential family."

Holy hell what was she getting him involved in? It sounded like the muggle mafia.

"The second daughter is the youngest of the five, and she is not totally like her older siblings. Some would say a disappointment, the black sheep, the one they try and let you forget about. Though, the apple didn't fall far from the tree. Beautiful yet shy, confident yet brittle, effervescent yet eclectic. One who pursues her dreams against her family's wishes. Derided for her decisions and labelled a disappointment, the black sheep. Only her unimportance as the fifth, accidental, child allows her to be who she is: an unneeded disappointment."

Madame Lacroix let her words hang heavy. She had to ensure Harry knew what he may be getting involved in. The two could be just what the other needs for an evening. For her a celebrity date showing there is potential for aiding her family's aspirations. For him a date of beauty, grace and one that was taught to handle the limelight at such events. Both positioned to help one another, even just for a single evening. The social pressures on each of them could break them apart before they have a chance. This wouldn't be a simple single night of dancing if he went for it.

"I can allow you to choose. Anna is the safe easy choice. A beautiful unheralded English dancer. A single night out with you and a favour for her family. The second is fraught with politics and intrigue. It wouldn't be simple, she is a lovely girl, but getting involved with that family complicates things."

Harry nodded. He really appreciated that she was levelling with him. Per their agreement she could have just assigned him this other girl and never told him her family's backstory. How had she said so much and still kept the name from him?

"Is it possible to meet her?" Harry inquired. He could give her a chance. He was trusting of his dance tutor and if she thought they could be good together he could at least deign to meet her. The last thing he needed was to upset a powerful family. He already had a Dark Lord after him.

"We don't meet on Saturday's because I spend my day tutoring Natalia. She is a day student at Durmstrang and spends her weekends practising ballet here. She's here every morning before attending school and completes her academic work during the evenings so she can spend her weekends here. One of my most promising students. Come tomorrow at six."

She stood, indicating the conversation was now over, and Harry thanked her again for the evening before heading out. He walked back to the entry and apparated back to the Chamber. It had taken him just a couple tries to be proficient at it. The book was rather clear in its directions on how to do it. Intend to move yourself to the destination, will yourself and power it with your magic. Willpower was tertiary, Magical power and intent were the two major components. Enough power to get all of yourself to the destination and the clear intent of what you wanted.

Creativity was useful for those who are well-practised in the art, reducing noise, affecting how you appear. Willpower was mostly used as focusing your every facet of your being and magic to ensure complete complicity in the feat.

Portkey's were still an issue, he could make them but he wasn't sure how they were detected. Even in Salazar's time portkey usage was scrutinized. The ability to move objects or people against their will was too dangerous to leave uncontrolled. Portkeying an enemy from a marketplace into certain death was something that couldn't be tolerated. They were traceable and had a more distinct magical residue that could be more easily tracked. At the World Cup, the portkey usage was tightly controlled.

Harry moved back to the desk looking for the black terror. He wasn't surprised to find her curled up in a jacket he'd left on his chair. Harry moved in and picked up the jacket carefully so he wouldn't wake the tiny dragon. Gingerly he picked her up and began patting her. He wasn't successful in his quest to keep the dragon asleep. It woke as she began purring as his hands worked its way along her body.

Cuddles lifted her head up and yawned shooting out a small fireball that burned out immediately in front of her head. She began stretching out as she woke herself up. She hopped up and flew off him giving a deafening roar, well deafening if you measured it in levels of cuteness. The little lady was still a dragon, hard scales, sharp claws, spiked tail, and spewed real dragon fire and yet it was also absolutely adorable. It acted like it was still a massive hulking beast when it was miniature. Harry watched her fly around the room; she knew when Harry returned Dobby provided a snack.

Dobby seemed to take pleasure in doing his work silent and unseen. The plates appeared and Cuddles swooped down to char her meat. She seemed to have an instinctive love of blasting her food with fire. He watched his pet dragon devour its food.

While eating, Harry was startled by a fiery burst. Far brighter and larger than he'd associated with his horntail. He grasped his wand and looked up to see the majestic phoenix Fawkes land on the far side of his desk with a letter clutched in its talons.

Cuddles reared and jumped between Harry and the phoenix. She screeched a warning and reared herself to full height ready to spew fire and protect her wizard. Harry could make out the script on the page. Only one wizard could have written his name like that and used this majestic creature to deliver a letter.