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Yuletide Blessing in Disguise	By : Gandalfs-Beard Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Harry/Hermione Views: 123768 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 10
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any related properties--all rights belong to Rowling. Nor do I make any money from the production of this work.

Chapter List
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In the Serpent's Wake Part 2

“Pomfrey should reserve a bed in here for you!” Ron chortled at Harry. “Seems like you’re always in here for something or other.”
Hermione glared at Ron and was about to yell at him for being so callous when Neville got a word in edgewise.
“But we’re both just glad you’re alive, Harry! We were really worried that you might actually die.”
“Yeah!” said Ron, nodding and getting more serious. “And Malfoy was gloating about it. I was going to punch him but Neville beat me to it. He socked Malfoy right on the nose. You should’ve seen him... Neville was bloody brilliant!”
“But then Ron jumped in to help me when Crabbe and Goyle piled on,” said Neville, turning pink at Ron’s high praises. “We lost a lot of points for Gryffindor though!”
“Who cares!” Ron retorted. “It was bloody worth it! And besides, Malfoy and his lot lost loads more for Slytherin!” Ron grinned again. “Fred and George helped us out - there were like, ten of them and only four of us!”
“So that was why Malfoy was in here with a bloody nose and a black eye a little while ago,” said Harry, grinning back at Ron. “I wondered what that was all about.”
Hermione frowned, looking a bit torn. “Well, it’s all well and good you both sticking up for Harry, but you really shouldn’t have been fighting. Someone could have got seriously hurt.”
Ron choked out a cough which sounded suspiciously like, “Third year!”
Hermione flushed, remembering how she had slapped Malfoy when he had been mocking Hagrid for crying about Buckbeak being sentenced to death. Harry raised his eyebrows at her and gave her a little smirk.
“Oh, shut up!” said Hermione, swatting him on the shoulder.
“Ooow!” moaned Harry teasingly. “I’m not Malfoy!”
Ron and Neville peered at each other slightly awkwardly. Neville gave Ron a little nudge as if to suggest that it might be time to leave, but Ron let his curiosity get the best of him.
“Er... Is it true Harry? Did you really fight a Sea Serpent?”
“Yeah, I did actually. How did you know?” asked Harry
“Malfoy,” said Ron. “That’s more or less how it all started. When you were gone so long, Malfoy said you’d got eaten by a Sea Serpent.”
“Oh!” said Harry, shooting Hermione a dark look.
“It might be a coincidence, Harry,” she said worriedly. “Malfoy could have just made a lucky guess. You shouldn’t read too much into it.”
“You don’t really believe that, do you?”
“I don’t know,” Hermione admitted with a sigh. “I suppose, if Draco’s father really is involved with Bagman or someone else high up at the Ministry, he could have told Draco. He did tell Draco all about the tournament before anyone else was supposed know, after all.”
Neville caught Madam Pomfrey’s steely gaze and gulped. He gave Ron another little nudge. Ron shot him an annoyed look.
“Erm, maybe we should let Harry get some rest,” said Neville. Ron suddenly got the hint and spotted Madam Pomfrey glowering at them.
“Oh, er... Right! I suppose you can tell us the rest of what happened later, Harry.”
“Yeah, of course. No problem!”
“Bye Harry,” said Neville.
As Neville and Ron departed the hospital wing, Hermione swiveled around to give Madam Pomfrey a hard stare as if daring the school nurse to turf her out, but she was surprised to see Madam Pomfrey smiling shrewdly at them.
“Well, Mr. Potter, it is time for your Blood Replenishing potion...”
Harry groaned and made a face.
“...and I do believe it is time for lunch,” Pomfrey continued, “You must keep up your strength to maximise your recovery. I presume you missed breakfast this morning!” She gave Harry a stern questioning look.
“Er, yeah, actually,” said Harry nervously, wondering if she was going to be cross with him. “To be honest, I felt a bit too sick to eat.”
“I would be very surprised if you hadn’t, Mr. Potter. Very well, I shall send for a House-Elf to bring you both a lunch tray.”
“Thank you Madam Pomfrey,” said Hermione, feeling relieved, and very hungry.
“Not at all, Miss Granger,” said Madam Pomfrey. “I would hardly be a very good Healer if I didn’t feed up my assistant now, would I?”
“Oh, er...” Hermione wasn’t really sure how to respond to that.
“You are going to make sure Mr. Potter takes his Blood Replenishing potion on the hour every hour aren’t you? And you will inform me if Mr. Potter requires anything else, will you not?”
“Oh, yes! Of course I will!” Hermione nodded vigorously.
“Very good!” said Madam Pomfrey briskly. “I shall be in my office should you need me, and your lunch will be arriving shortly.”
“Brilliant!” said Harry, grinning at Hermione as Madam Pomfrey marched back to her office, her heels clicking on the tiled floor.

~o0o~
Draco Malfoy fumed as he picked at his lunch, not feeling very hungry. It was so unfair! Not only did he have five detentions, he had also personally lost Slytherin a hundred and ten points, just because Weaselby and Longbottom couldn’t take a joke. And even worse, Potter and his pet Mudblood were still alive!
Draco savagely speared a piece of steak and gnawed on it just to give himself an excuse to grit his teeth. He had been so sure the Sea Serpent would eat Potter and he had been hopeful it would get Granger as well.
Despite his father’s schemes, Potter kept getting lucky somehow. Draco tried to mollify himself with the thought that his Killing Curse and Cruciatus Curse were improving every day. If the Third Task didn’t finish off Potter, he’d do it himself. As for the Mudblood - he had other plans for her now...
“You gonna eat that?”
“Huh?” Draco snapped out of his reverie to see Goyle staring blankly at him.
“Your steak!” said Goyle thickly. “It’s the last piece on the table. You gonna eat it?”
“It’s all yours,” said Draco, pushing his plate towards Goyle. Then he got up fron his seat and marched out of the Great Hall.

~o0o~
Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement Amelia Bones washed down her kippers and toast with a cup of tea, then dabbed at her lips with a white linen napkin. She was just about to clear up and get back to work when there was a knock at the door and her secretary poked her curly head through.
“Sorry to disturb you Ma’am! It’s the Minister and Dumbledore to see you. Are you available?”
“Yes, yes! Of course!” said Madam Bones in a clipped voice. “Send them in.”
Madam Bones lifted her monocle from her mahogany desk and screwed it firmly into place. She peered shrewdly at the Minister and the Headmaster of Hogwarts as they entered her office. There were less twinkles in Dumbledore’s eyes than was usual, and Fudge was scowling and twirling his lime-green bowler hat nervously. They were clearly disturbed.
“Good afternoon, Cornelius, Albus. Please, sit - would either of you like some tea?”
“That would be delightful, Amelia,” said Dumbledore as he took a seat.
“Oh, er... Yes, alright. Thank you,” said Fudge.
“So, to what do I owe this visit?” asked Madam Bones as she poured everyone cups of tea.
Dumbledore added a teaspoon of honey and a twist of lemon to his tea and took a sip. Fudge added a sugarcube and a spash of cream to his own before beginning.
“Hm...ahem!” Fudge cleared his throat. “I would like you to open an investigation, Amelia. ... But it shall have to be taken with great care, as Dolores, Ludo, and possibly Lucius Malfoy are all to be subject to certain aspects of the investigation, as will be criminal elements of the Goblin Nation.”
“Good Heavens!” Madam Bones’s monocle fell into her teacup with a splash when she raised both eyebrows in shock.
“Does this have anything to do with the Triwizard Tournament perchance?” she asked as she retrieved her monocle and wiped it on her linen napkin.
“Indeed so,” Dumbledore replied, taking another sip of tea. “The Second Task has been tampered with and Harry Potter was very nearly murdered.”
“And you believe that two senior Ministry officials, a Warlock with a proxy on the Wizengamot, and Goblin criminals are all involved?” Madam Bones gave Dumbledore a skeptical look. “That seems quite a stretch - even for you, Albus!”
“Well, Percy Weasley, assistant to the Senior Undersecretary, and Ludo Bagman himself confirmed that at the very least, Dolores and Ludo had conspired to alter elements of the Second Task without informing the headmasters. I will of course also be addressing my concerns to the Triwizard Committee later today.
“And Aurors Shacklebolt and Tonks will be providing you with physical evidence of Goblin involvement this afternoon. Whether all conspired together or separately remains to be seen.”
“And Warlock Malfoy, what does he have to do with all of this?”
Fudge drained the rest of his tea with a gulp and his cheeks reddened with embarrassment.
“Well, erm... ahem...” he began nervously. “Until very recently, Lucius and I... well, let’s just say we had a certain understanding, and after the whole Crouch debacle, we...erm, parted company. Dolores however, is close to the Malfoy family and Lucius continues to have her ear. I wouldn’t be so concerned, but I have come to question Lucius’s accounting of his involvement with You-Know-Who during the war.”
“Indeed!” said Madam Bones dryly. “I’m glad to see that you are not wholly immune to common sense, Cornelius.”
“Er... quite!” Fudge gave her a sheepish little smile. “Better late than never, right?”
The upward curl of the corners of the dour looking square-jawed witch’s lips suggested the barest hint of a smile.
“Quite so, Cornelius. Well then, I shall await the evidence provided by Kingsley and Auror Tonks this afternoon, and I’ll put an undercover task-force together. I presume that Head Auror Scrimgeour is to be kept out of the loop due to his own ties to Dolores?”
“That would be a wise course of action,” Dumbledore agreed, twinkles returning to his eyes. “There is just one other thing - if you would allow the French authorities to conduct an independent investigation of the Sea Serpent and Water Sprites...”
Madam Bones’s monocle fell in her tea again.
“Sea Serpents and Water Sprites?” she sputtered, “In the Tournament? Why didn’t you say so to begin with? All measures were taken to minimise the risk this time - that alone is enough to warrant an investigation of Ludo and Dolores.”
“My thoughts exactly,” said Dumbledore as he serenely took another sip of tea. “However, the creatures appear to have posed no threat to any of the other contestants - only to Harry Potter. ... Madame Maxime assures me that the French Authorities are willing to perform an independent investigation to determine if the creatures themselves were tampered with in any way. All their findings would be turned over to you.”
“Yes - yes! Very sensible, Albus.” Madam Bones nodded as she wiped off her monocle yet again and wondered if she shouldn’t just get a pair of half-moon spectacles and be done with it.

~o0o~
Severus Snape stormed through the drafty stone corridors of Hogwarts, his sallow face a mask of fury, his black robes billowing, looking very much like a hungry, angry vampire seeking prey, Flitwick and McGonagall’s dressing-down still burning in the pit of his stomach.
For the umpteenth-thousandth time Snape wondered why he had ever allowed himself to be talked into helping to protect James Potter’s son.
Harry Potter was a constant reminder of James Potter - arrogant, attention-seeking, contemptuous, self-righteous, the spitting image, stealing Lily right out from under his nose... Lily had belonged to Snape, not to Potter. Snape had lost her twice, once to Potter, and again to the Dark Lord’s wand.
If Harry Potter had never been born, Lily would still be alive today, and Snape would have had the opportunity still to show her whom she really belonged with.
Snape had never even wanted to protect James or his son - he would have been just as happy if they were both dead as long as Lily was alive and in his arms. And retribution against the Dark Lord and Wormtail for their part in the death of Lily hardly required protecting the reincarnation of James Potter.
But Dumbledore had manipulated Snape, had used his deep sense of loss at Lily’s death against him, had convinced him that protecting Harry Potter would salve his broken heart. But instead, protecting Potter’s son had proved to be little more than pouring salt and bitter lemon on an open wound.
It was too late to turn back now; he would complete the task that he had allowed Dumbledore to foist upon him. But Snape was determined to make Harry James Potter pay dearly every step of the way for putting him in this position by living while Lily remained a cold corpse six feet under.
Snape’s rageful reverie was interrupted by an appalling sight; he spied an undeservedly happy looking couple snogging on an elm-wood bench under a wide bay window.
“Fawcett, Stebbins!” he barked at the startled pair.
“What did I tell you about open displays of affection at the Yule Ball?” he snarled. “That’s fifty points from Ravenclaw and fifty from Hufflepuff. And if I catch you at it again you’ll both be in separate detentions till the end of the year.”
Fawcett, the Ravenclaw girl, burst into tears and ran down the hall while Stebbins shot Snape a mutinous glare and sprinted after her.
Feeling slightly better, Snape whirled around and stalked back to his dungeon lair to pour himself a stiff drink.

~o0o~
As the sun crept lower towards the mountainous horizon, Hermione sighed happily, stroking Harry’s messy black hair. He looked so peaceful as he slept, nightmare free for the time being. And he had been very good, taking his Blood Replenishing potion like clockwork on the hour without any fuss.
Hermione glanced at the cot near the door, where Dora - who was guarding the ward - and Fleur were chatting in hushed whispers.
Her eyes wandered, catching Lavender and Parvati’s bouquet of flowers in a crystal vase sitting next to a box of chocolate frogs from Ginny and Luna and a magazine which Luna had left to keep Hermione occupied while Harry napped.
Hermione lifted The Quibbler from Harry’s bedside table and flipped through the pages, rolling her eyes at an article on the mating habits of Blibbering Humdingers; she snorted mirthfully at an article regaling the health benefits of Crumple-horned Snorkack venom in small doses and shook her head at an article about pig/gorilla/goat/mongoose/human hybrids.
Then Hermione turned the page and her eyes caught a photograph of tents in flames and hooded Death Eaters at the World Cup. The article which accompanied the photo purported to describe a vast conspiracy of Death Eaters who had escaped prosecution after the war and which threatened to take over the Ministry.
Perking up with great interest, Hermione began to read. She was so caught up in the riveting article that she almost missed hearing the clock on the wall strike five o’oclock. Hurriedly, Hermione set The Quibbler back down on the table and pressed her lips to Harry’s.
Harry stirred, returning Hermione’s kiss, his eyelids fluttering open.
“Time for the next dose of Blood Replenishing potion, is it?” he said with a grin.

~o0o~
Clouds crawled across the darkening sky, blocking out the stars, and raindrops began pattering on the decaying rooftop of a manor slowly falling into ruin. The wind picked up, howling under the eaves and driving the increasingly heavy rain against the broken and boarded up windows.
Inside the manor, the bowing stairs creaked under the feet of a rat-like man slowly climbing up to the next landing, brushing aside cobwebs as he passed. The man was trembling, afraid to be the bearer of bad news, and hoping the Dark Lord would see the news more as a boon than not.
“M-Master?” he called through the open doorway, warily eyeing the enormous viper coiled near the threshold.
“Enter, Wormtail,” said the high, cold voice of the Dark Lord.
Wormtail scurried inside and prostrated himself before the threadbare armchair that contained the homunculus which his Master was currently inhabiting.
“What news have you of the Second Task, Wormtail?”
“My - my Lord! Harry Potter still lives. Th-there is rumour that he almost died, only barely survived an encounter with a Sea Serpent.”
“So, Potter survives yet again!” the Dark Lord hissed venomously. “Dementors, Dragons, Sea Serpents. The boy grows in power with every passing year. I cannot allow this to continue, lest the Prophecy come to pass. Yet I cannot openly make a move until I have regained my true form and my followers.
“As much as it pains me to do so, it shall indeed have to be done with another. Go forth and bring me a boy, Wormtail - a Pureblood boy unsullied by adolescence. We shall use an alternate ritual upon the next full moon at midnight. Then I shall call back the unfaithful and see who is brave enough to return.
“But do not forget, you must return each day and milk Nagini to nourish my current form.”
“Of course, Master! It shall be done.” Wormtail quivered with eagerness and relief.
The alternate ritual did not call for the flesh of a servant, and a tingle of excitement rushed through his veins at the prospect of killing again. Having milked Nagini early that morning, Wormtail chose to waste no time scouting for a young Pureblood.
He already had some ideas of which Pureblood families might have some young children, and it would take surveilling and planning to accomplish the task without being caught.
“I shall leave at once Master and return in the morning.”
“Very good, Wormtail,” said the Dark Lord, sounding impressed with the diligence of his servant.
Gleefully, Wormtail hastened back down the stairs and slipped on his long, black cloak. Out the front door he went and pulled his hood over his head, unfazed by the downpour and the flicker of lightning in the distance.
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Yuletide Blessing in Disguise