Harry Potter The Final Straw

While Harry and Hermione were recovering from their ordeal at her parents house, Rita Skeeter was just sitting down in her office to write what she was sure would be the biggest story of the tournament, and perhaps the year.

She was about halfway through her opening paragraph when a very familiar black owl landed on her table. 'Today keeps getting better and better,' she thought to herself, as she untied the note from the owl's outstretched leg. The now familiar, loopy, handwriting was clearly visible on the front of the envelope.

With a smile, she tore open the note from her anonymous source and began to read. When she finished memorizing the note, it burst into flames. All of her attempts to save prior notes had ended with them destroying themselves in some fashion as well.

Quickly grabbing her cloak, quill, and notepad, she rushed out of her house and Apparated to Hogsmeade. She took shelter behind a building and when she was sure that no one was watching, she transformed into her Animagus form.

The tiny water beetle made its way to the Great Lake next to Hogwarts unnoticed. When she reached the shore, she settled onto a branch to wait.

Her source said that something big was going to happen down by the shore in the early afternoon. After waiting for fifteen minutes, she saw the Headmaster heading towards the shore with a worried look upon his face.

She flew down to the water's edge and landed on a rock near Albus Dumbledore so she could hear what was going on.

Dumbledore bent down and to Rita's surprise, he stuck his head in the water. A few seconds later, he stood back up and dried his face and beard with a casual flick of his wand. He appeared to be waiting for something.

A moment later the water rippled and four merpeople surfaced a few feet from shore with something floating in between them.

There was a flash of a spell from Dumbledore's wand and then he spoke, "Greetings, Elder. Thank you for coming to the surface." He said politely before continuing to speak. "One of your people mentioned that you had some grave news for me?"

The Elder looked up at Dumbledore before speaking in a solemn voice, "We have risked, and lost, too much Dumbledore."

With a small hand gesture, she waved the two guards that were each holding something forward.

When they reached the water's edge, they removed the cloth that was covering their bundles.

If Rita had been able to scream, her shriek would have sounded up at the castle. Floating between the two mermen was a body, a body in two separate pieces.

Dumbledore peered down at the body over his half-moon spectacles. 'A Severing Charm,' he thought as he examined the wounds. After a few moments, he asked the Elder, "What happened?"

The Elder turned to the guard on her left and waved him forward so that he could speak.

There was a frightened look in his eyes as he moved forward to speak to the wizard on the shore. He was understandably wary after what he had witnessed down in the lake. Being around someone that could end his life with a thought and a flick of a wand was not a pleasant experience.

His voice had a raspy quality to it as he spoke. "The smallest boy arrived just after the hour mark and we had already moved the girl from the dais and into a hut. He blew open the door and demanded that she be released. I wanted to let him take the girl and leave, but my partner refused."

His gaze shifted to the Elder for a moment, when she nodded to him, he continued speaking; "The boy slashed his wand once, and before my partner could move, he was cut in half."

The look on Dumbledore's face was one of regret and resignation. He bowed his head to the Elder and said, "I apologize for your loss. Young though he is; Mr. Potter has a certain disregard for life if he feels threatened. Is there anything that I can do to help his family?" Dumbledore indicated to the deceased merman with a casual wave of his hand.

The Elder knew that there was more to this entire situation than Dumbledore was revealing to her. Deciding that her people's best interest was putting this mess to rest quickly, she replied, "No thank you. The village will manage, we always do. Thank you for your time." Before Dumbledore could reply, she gestured to her guards and they all disappeared beneath the surface of the water, eager to put as much distance as possible between them and the games that the land-walkers were playing.

Stepping back from the water's edge, Dumbledore sighed and wearily said, "Where did I fail you Harry?"

Rita watched, transfixed, as Dumbledore conversed with the Elder. She couldn't believe her ears! The Boy-Who-Lived had killed a merman when he tried to retrieve his hostage late. This was such a huge event that she couldn't wait to get the story to the Prophet.

When Dumbledore turned to go up to the castle, Rita flew from her spot as quickly as she could. As soon as she reached the edge of the wards, she transformed and Apparated back to house so that she could write down everything that she had just witnessed.

While Rita was franticly writing her articles, Dumbledore was relaxing in his high backed chair. He was congratulating himself for a job well done. His plan to use Rita Skeeter to drive Harry back under his influence was proceeding as he had figured.

Rita was so predictable and Dumbledore was using her to get what he wanted. Now, he had to find a way to bring Remus and Sirius back into the fold. Popping a lemon drop into his mouth, he leaned back in his chair and began thinking up ways to bring them under his control.

Harry and Hermione were reluctant to part when it was time for bed. Their emotions were still a bit raw but the day's events. Their time away from Hogwarts had done a lot to help them along, but only time would truly heal their wounds.

They awoke the next morning after a fitful nights sleep. They stayed noticeably closer than usual during their walk to the Great Hall for breakfast.

Just as they were sitting down to eat; the post owls began delivering the mail and the morning edition of the Daily Prophet.

A feeling of dread welled up in Harry when the students all around him began to murmur, some even had the audacity to point. With trepidation, Harry reached over and pulled a copy of the Prophet towards him.

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