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In Servitude of the Dark : My Obiesance	By : xXxLuckyxXx Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Voldemort Views: 39418 -:- Recommendations : 5 -:- Currently Reading : 12
Disclaimer: This story is based off of J.K. Rowling’s amazing Harry Potter series. All characters, locations, themes from the world of HP belong to her. This is not for money or profit. I am just having fun playing in her magical world.

Chapter List
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(¯`·._.·(¯`·._.·(¯`·._.· In Servitude to the Dark ·._.·´¯)·._.·´¯)·._.·´¯)

My Obeisance

Chapter 9 : Pay to Use My Name – November 1, 1994

Albus allowed himself to relax after finally convincing Sirius that there was no way out of this magical binding contract. Sirius had fought and argued admirably, but in the end it was Harry's name that was entered, written by his own hand. That was enough to convince the Cup that Harry had voluntarily entered, without coercion.

Of course, Harry hadn't written his name for the purpose of entering the Tournament, but no one needed to know that. At first, Albus considered entering Harry under the name of a fourth school, guaranteeing that he would be selected. But then he figured if Harry wasn't magically strong enough to be chosen under his own merits, then there was no need to test him in the first place, which was the whole point of this Tournament.

So, Albus pulled out some of the homework Harry had turned in, cut his name out, merged this piece of parchment with another that had the words, 'Hogwarts' and slipped the name into the goblet as he took it out of the casket.

It took a little acting on Albus' part to appear surprised when Harry's name came out of the Cup, but privately he was quite pleased. Like everyone else, he wanted to see how powerful Harry had become after four years of Hogwarts' education. He didn't even mind so much that Sirius and Severus was going to help the boy through the tasks, because no matter how much help or research he did, in the end it would be his magic pitted against the tasks.

O o 0 O 0 o O o 0 O 0 o O o 0 O 0 o O

November 2, 1994

Ron watched darkly as Harry left the Gryffindor Common Room for his weekend classes. Normally he wouldn't be up at this hour, but ever since his ex-best friend's name was pulled out of the Goblet, he felt so angry and frustrated that he couldn't even sleep right! He couldn't understand how things just magically fell right into Harry's lap without him even working for it.

First, Harry had gotten on Quidditch team, breaking the century-year-long rule on first years not allowed on the team, and getting the highly sought after position of Seeker, without having to try out. Hell, even the first broom Harry got was delivered to him in the middle of the Great Hall, for free! What kind of first year had that kind of luck? Huh?

Being on the Quidditch team and being its captain was Ron's lifelong goal, and Harry had it all handed to him without even asking.

When Harry actually quit the team, Ron thought it was his chance to step up. But the only spot available was Harry's old Seeker position, and Ron knew he was no Seeker. Third year would have been fine, but then with Black's escape, everyone was treating Harry like a little prince again. Even Ron's parents were all worried about Harry when, in fact, Black had slashed up his curtains and held a knife over his bed. And that wasn't even mentioning the multiple vaults Harry inherited that year. He was probably richer than Malfoy! It was unbelievable, but what really topped it all was Sirius Black, Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House, actually adopting Harry and made him his heir!

Meanwhile Ron, the sixth son of seven siblings, was stuck with a crooked, shabby house, sharing a room with Stuck-Up Percy, and scraping the bottom of his pockets just for some spare change. It was infuriating! This past summer, he thought he finally got something that Harry didn't, tickets to the World Cup, and VIP seats, at that! It was probably the happiest moment of his life until…. it was ripped right out of his hands by none other than his so-called best friend and his snobby-rich godfather! Surely, the great Harry Potter could have pulled some strings and get his best friend into the VIP box too.

Really, there was only so much Ronald Bilius Weasley could put up with, and this thing with the Tournament was the last straw. With each passing day, Ron could see Harry turning into a Slytherin, throwing his name and money around, keeping secrets, and avoiding…

Ron's brooding was interrupted when Hermione came out of the girls' stairway with a tote bag flung over her shoulder. Her eyes were still slightly puffy from crying last night. Ron grew a quirky smile, remembering how Hermione had flung herself in his arms after Harry practically screamed at them and accused Hermione of caring more for the house-elves than for her friends. Ron had Hermione all to himself that night, and she was so distraught that she didn't even nag him about his homework.

Ron got up from the couch and quickly appeared by Hermione side, helping her pick up a S.P.E.W. badge that fell out of her over stuffed tote bag. "Hey, how are you doing?" he asked trying to sound smooth, but it got awkward because Hermione's eyes weren't on him. They were darting around the room as if looking for someone.

"Did Harry go already?" she asked.

Ron scowled. Why is it always Harry? "Yeah, just left," he grumbled. "What are you looking for him for anyway? After what he said to us…after how he treated us in third year and taking our Quidditch tickets…"

"I don't care about those stupid tickets," Hermione interrupted. "And for your information, I thought Harry could help me sell some of these badges. House-elf liberations is too important, and I'm not going to jeopardize my cause just over some little argument. I'm sure Harry will come to see it my way. You know, with his popularity and all, he could be a real spokesman for S.P.E.W."

Ron's mind sort of drifted off when Hermione started ranting on about the house-elves again, but something suddenly clicked inside towards the end of her rant. "What if I told you I had a way to sell all those badges for you?" he interrupted.

Hermione came to a stop and stared. Ron usually wasn't the idea guy, so this brought her up short, and for a moment, she didn't know what to say. "I'd say that's great Ron, and I'm glad you're really getting into the spirit of this. But how?"

Ron pulled the tote bag full of badges off her shoulder. "Just let me handle it," he said, straightening up and trying to sound gallant. He felt all warm and tingly when Hermione gifted him with a wide smile.

"…let me go get…"

Ron blinked out of his daze when Hermione suddenly disappeared back up the stairs. He was left befuddled until Hermione came back down and stuffed the collection tin and a blank parchment into his arms too.

"Now, just make sure you keep a careful record of every sale, this will become our official S.P.E.W. roster…"

O o 0 O 0 o O o 0 O 0 o O o 0 O 0 o O

November 4, 1994

It was the weekends, which meant Harry had his Politic's lessons with Andromeda Tonks. While he wasn't exactly afraid of facing everyone, he was glad to have a legitimate reason to get away from all the sly looks and whispers that seemed to follow him as closely as his own shadow.

Andromeda already knew the gists of it through the newspaper and snippets of stories that managed to escape the walls of Hogwarts. Of course, most of them were false, outlandish rumors. Knowing how things tended to be blown out of proportion, Harry had written to her about the truth of what really happened-that he hadn't consented to enter the tournament.

"There are a couple things you can do," Professor Tonks began. "You can fight this. Magically binding contract or not, you did not put your name into the Goblet, and this can be easily proven. Veritaserum, oath swearing, and the like." Then she gave Harry a narrowed eyed look, demonstrating why she was a Slytherin. "But since you already know all this, I am assuming you actually want to compete now that you've been selected."

"I don't care about the money or the fame," Harry said. "But I want the chance to turn this around, make it benefit me instead of whoever's trying to hurt me." Namely Dumbledore, he added privately.

And thus, she immediately scrapped today's lessons in Goblin-Human Relation Laws in favor of Media and Privacy Laws. Harry honestly didn't know what he would do without her.

"In fact, I have been meaning to consult with you about this for a while, Harry," she said. "Your name is something we lawyers like to call Intangible Property. You own it and you have rights to how it is used, which means those who wish to profit from your name must first get your permission and compensate you for its use."

Harry only blinked blankly back. "You mean people have to pay me to use my name?" he asked, shocked.

Andromeda nodded. "Not just your name. Even your lightening bolt scar can be trademarked."

Stunned, Harry's mind instantly went to all the silly Harry Potter products, from brooms to toys to candies to books, being sold at Hogsmeade, Diagon Alley, and who knows where else. "How come no one's told me about this?" he asked.

Amdromeda shrugged. "Well, it's not every day a wizard's name becomes valuable enough to become Property," she said. "Only celebrities really have to deal with this sort of notoriety, and you can bet they already have lawyers who specialize in this sort of business."

"Huh. Well, I guess I don't mind," Harry said dubiously. He couldn't imagine forcing all those people to pay him just to use his name, like it was actually worth something. It seemed sort of pretentious to him. "It's not like I need the money or anything."

"Harry," Andromeda said, in a tone which Harry recognized was fond exasperation. "It's not about the money. It's about the rights. Trademarking your name will protect it from being abused."

"How do you abuse a name?"

Andromeda took a moment to put it in terms that her pupil would understand. "Say a bill is presented to the Wizengamut that…let's say it will classify pixies as deadly creatures and calls for their complete annihilation."

Harry snorted. "Who's gonna vote for something like that?"

"Exactly," Andromeda said. "But what if they say Harry Potter endorses it? That you think it's a good idea for all pixiess to be executed?"

Harry stiffened. "I would never!" he protested, and then he got what Andromeda was trying to tell him. "Oh, I see now." Suddenly a hundred scenarios popped into his mind. What if someone invented a dangerous toy, and put his name on it. It would be like he approved of the dangerous item, when in reality it wouldn't.

"If the money part bothers you," Andromeda said. "You could always open up an account, under your name, for a charity of your choice. Any royalties you get from the use of your name or your symbol will go into that account."

Harry brightened at that suggestion. "Oh that's brilliant! Can we do that today?"

"Certainly. While we're at it," Andromeda continued. "It is probably best, with you participating in the Triwizard Tournament, that we also ensure your name does not get slandered by the media."

For the rest of the weekend, that was what they did, with Harry even staying over the night, with Sirius' permission. Andromeda, having done some research already, estimated more than 100,000 galleons a year on the use of his name and image alone. Then there were book royalties on his life story which cost more, his lightening bolt symbol on almost every other children's product, and even his messy scrawl of a signature was worth something.

Then they went to the Ministry's legal offices to trademark his name. The way Andromeda set it up, everyone out there who was profiting from any use of Harry's name or the lightening bolt image would have a lunar's cycle to submit a formal request. Harry, or Andromeda, would review each submission to see if he agreed with how his name was being used. If he approved, they would have to pay Harry a 2% royalty for his lightening bolt image and 5% for his name, with an emphasis that all royalties be given to his charity. In the coming days, with the Triwizard Tournament, Andromeda predicted an exponential increase in requests. She also predicted that there would be a lot of unhappy reporters out there.

Harry had no idea what kind of charity he would like to sponsor, so left that part of the form blank. Maybe it could even help fund the Dark Lord's campaign, and wouldn'tthat be ironic?

When the weekend was over, Harry actually felt like he had some control over this mad situation. Unfortunately, his respite passed all too quickly and it was time for him to floo back to the castle. Having spent all weekend with Andromeda, he really had no idea what he would be coming back to. That was why he was so shocked to see so many students wearing hand-charmed badges on the opposite lapel of their House badges.

For an insane moment, he thought Hermione actually got all these people to buy into her silly S.P.E.W. campaign, but a closer look showed :

POTTER'S A GLORY STEALING FAKE!

Harry froze in mid-step. "What on earth?" A cold chill went down his spine as he realized nearly a third of the school was wearing these badges. Determined to get to the bottom of this, he marched through the corridors, catching a few others wearing these badges. If he could just find Severus or any one of the teachers…get to the bottom of this…

"So, come out of hiding, have you?"

Harry came to an abrupt halt, and closed his eyes, groaning. Of course, it had to be Draco Malfoy who found him first. "What do you want, Malfoy?" Harry growled, definitely not having the patience for this.

"Like them, Potter?" Malfoy asked loudly, catching the attention of everyone nearby. Malfoy flashed his lapel, letting the shiny badge catch the light on its surface. "And this isn't all they do…Look!" He gleefully pressed his badge into his chest, and the message upon it vanished, replaced by another.

STEP DOWN FOR HOGWARTS' SAKE!

All those who sported a badge-admittedly most of these were Slytherins-howled with laughter. And then each of them pressed on their badges too, and Harry was suddenly surrounded by badges that flashed…POTTER'S A GLORY STEALING FAKE…STEP DOWN FOR HOGWARTS' SAKE!...

Feeling threatened, claustrophobic and closed in, Harry spun around, hoping to find a friendly face. Perhaps if he were not so close to the Slytherin and Ravenclaw dorms, coming out of Severus' floo, he would've gotten more support, but those few who were not sporting badges were standing quietly in the background, too afraid to step up.

"You must think you're very witty, don't you?" Harry growled. "So the little Ferret can actually rhyme."

"Oh no, Potter," Malfoy replied, even more gleefully, if that was possible. "I would love to take credit for this little trick, but…"

"What is the meaning of this!" a voice roared from one end of the packed corridor, interrupted Malfoy.

"Thank Merlin," Harry breathed in relief, recognizing Severus' voice. Suddenly all the badges flashed once more, but this time only the letters S.P.E.W. showed, with a moving picture of a dancing (clothed) little house-elf underneath. Harry was surprised by how hurt and betrayal he felt. Sure they had a parting of ways, but did his ex-friends really hate him this much?

By now, the students had all shifted around, their Potion's Professor cutting through the crowd like a knife. Judging by the look on his face, their Potion's Professor was very unhappy to see the two rivals, looking seconds away from dueling each other. "I won't ask again. What is going on here," he growled.

"Nothing," both Harry and Malfoy mumbled.

"Then there is no reason for this hold up." He glared at the two students.

"Yes, Sir."

"Yes. Professor."

Professor Snape nodded in satisfaction. "Now, everyone get moving or else its 20 points from each of you." Considering most of these students were from Slytherin and Ravenclaw, they all scattered rather quickly. But before they all disappeared, a few of the badges flashed again : STEP DOWN FOR HOGWARTS' SAKE!

Fury suddenly replaced Harry's pain, and before Severus could stop him, he raised his wand and shouted, "Accio S.P.E.W. badges!" Instantly you could hear a couple dozen sticking charms all ripping and a moment later a couple dozen badges-most of them in their S.P.E.W. forms- all land neatly at Harry and Severus' feet.

"Step down for Hogwarts' sake?" Severus said, curiously, picking one up. "What's going on?"

"That's what I'd like to know," Harry grumbled, also picking another up. He pressed the badge, activating the charm. It returned to the harmless S.P.E.W.

"What in Salazar's name is S.P.E.W.?" Severus asked, bewildered.

"Hermione's on a crusade for house-elf liberation, or something like that," Harry explained. "It stands for the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare." Seeing the look of disbelief in his teacher's eyes, Harry nodded. "Yeah, ridiculous, isn't it?"

"Quite," he agreed and glanced over the rest of the badges. His eyes landed on the few POTTER ones, and Harry could practically see the moment when Severus put the pieces together. His lips pursed tightly, his eyes darkened dangerously, and he took a deep breath as if to calm himself. "As a teaching member of the staff, I am not suggesting anything as…immoral as revenge, but your godfather may be interested in having a look at these," Severus suggested with a rather sinister smile.

"Oh I will," Harry vowed, pocketing the one in his hand. No doubt the Marauder would have something suitably diabolical in mind. Maybe he'll even send his Fire sprite, Flama, to destroy every single badge. "But first I am going to see if my so called friends have anything to say about this." And with that, he incendio-ed the pile on the ground before marching towards Gryffindor Tower.

Harry, not wanting to be held up again, pulled on his invisibility cloak. He silently passed a few more students wearing those infernal badges. "Gone for two days and it seems like the whole world's gone mad," he muttered and stormed into the Lion's common's room, and suddenly found himself in the middle of what looked like a battle front, with a line drawn down the middle of the room.

On one side, several Gryffindors were huddled around a tearful Hermione, though the tears look more like tears of fury than hurt. On the other, with a red slap mark on his cheek, was Ron with a S.P.E.W. badged at his feet. Many of those who tried to enter the Tournament but didn't get chosen were on Ron's side. Harry could just imagine how it all went down. Hermione had a wicked right hand.

His sudden entrance made everyone turn towards him, a few of them gasping in surprise.

"Oh Harry!" Hermione shouted, cutting through the room and throwing her arms around Harry. Harry, stunned, caught her before they could both fall over. "I'm soooo sorry! I didn't know! I just wanted to sell some badges, I had no idea Ron had this in mind! Honest."

Once Harry mind caught up with Hermione's mouth, he slumped in relief. From what little he could understand, Hermione was innocent in all this, though he still didn't know how her S.P.E.W. badges got involved. He slowly pushed Hermione back, giving her a half confused, half reassuring smile before turning flashing green eyes at Ron.

"Let me guess, this bright idea was yours," Harry accused.

Ron crossed his arms. "Serves both purposes, really. Helps 'Mione with her club thing and lets everyone know that your only claim to fame is luck."

Harry sneered at Ron's attitude. "Well, aren't you just a brilliant strategist? Why don't you put that chess brain to use?" Harry demanded. "Someone entered me into this tournament and it's NOT for my benefit."

"Oh, so that's how you're going to play it?" Ron asked snidely. "Play the victim card? Well, I think you just can't stand the idea of having anyone else in the spotlight for once. Malfoy even said so, on the train, remember? Or maybe it's the adventure you want, or the 1000 galleons, or the…"

"Listen to yourself, Ron!" Harry shouted. "This is ridiculous. I have no need for money. I'm the Black Heir, and the Potter Lord!"

"Oh yes, rub it in…"

"Ronniekins, if you don't shut up, we'll owl Mom," one of the Twins interrupted.

Harry turned, seeing Fred pushing through with George and Lee right behind him.

"Yeah, Ronnie, you're just making an idiot of yourself now," George added.

Ron glared at them, irritated that even his own brothers were siding with him. "I don't see why you two are so happy about this. If it weren't for Potter, here, Angela might've gotten a chance."

"Yeah, or Diggory," Jordan said with a grimace.

"Or Warrington." At that, both twins and Jordan shuddered. "Thing is, Harry's a Gryffindor, so Gryffindor's gonna be the one to win the Triwizard Cup. That's all that's important."

"Thanks guys," Harry said gratefully before turn back to Ron with a smug smile, reminiscent of the one he wore when he took Malfoy down last year. "Well, my back-stabbing friend," Harry said, his voice sickly sweet. "You'll be surprised to learn that I've trademarked my name, just yesterday, in fact! How much are these badges going for? 2 sickles a piece, wasn't?"

The sudden change in Harry's attitude confused Ron, who only nodded, giving him a blank look.

"Let me explain this so you can understand then. It's a 5,000 galleon fine for illegal use of trademarks. Didn't you know that?" Harry paused, enjoying the horror that washed over his ex-friend's face. "Or for libel, the fine is 7,000 galleons. But, since you're supposedly a friend of mine, I'll be lenient. I'll give you a whole 24 hours to confiscate every single badge out there that has my name on it before I file a charge."

At this, the Twins and Lee Jordan howled in laughter, and Hermione gasped.

"But that 167 badges!" Ron cried out, paling so badly that his freckles stood out. He didn't know all the technical stuff Harry spewed, but the galleon amounts he threw around was enough to turn Ron's stomach.

Harry nodded smugly, again grateful for Andromeda's foresight. He just wished he didn't have to use it against his own dorm-mate. "Actually, I already took care of a couple dozen of them for you. That leaves….oh about a little more than a hundred left to go. Better get cracking!" And with that, Harry spun on his heels, heading up to dorm. Retribution would have to wait. He knew Sirius liked to go visit Lupin on the weekends and wouldn't be back until tomorrow, morning.

The next day, Harry decided to forego his morning run and workout to catch his godfather before the day started. "Sirius?" Harry knocked on the man's personal rooms. He heard a series of bumps and thumps, followed by muffled cursing before the door finally opened.

"Come in, Pup." Sirius waved him in, while still cradling his injured foot.

Harry instantly noticed his godfather appeared more frazzled around the edges than he usually was. "Umm…everything go alright with Lupin?" he asked tentatively.

"Moony?" Sirius asked, looking perplexed. "Yeah, of course. Why do you ask?"

Harry glanced pointedly at Sirius' ruffled hair. It looked like he had ran his fingers through it a dozen times already, not to mention how jumpy and suspicious he was acting. "Oh, no reason. Have you kept up with your meditations?" he asked, not wanting to offend the man. "You're still not feeling like you're followed right?"

Realizing where Harry was going with this, Sirius grimaced. "I've been on schedule and I even take those nasty potions," he answered and then lowered his voice. "But I still keep feeling like something's just waiting to get me. Every time I leave Hogwarts to go to Moony's."

Harry frowned. That didn't sound like your typical paranoia to him. It sounded more like someone was waiting for Sirius to leave the safety of Hogwarts' wards to get him. "You haven't actually seen anyone, have you?"

Sirius let out a sigh of frustration, and ran his fingers through his hair again. "No, Pup. I've been careful. Once I am outside the wards, I apparate away before I can see anything, plus I never chose the same place twice." He gave a wry shrug. "Left over habit from being on the run."

"That's probably a good idea," Harry said.

"You didn't come here to hear me moan and groan," Sirius suddenly said and immediately had a small tea set laid out for them. "How goes it in the world of Harry Potter?"

This time it was Harry who grimaced. Over a nice, warm breakfast, Harry began recounting his fight with Ron. "Ron is nothing but a jealous idiot. He was always a little insecure about being the 6th Weasley son and how poor their family is, but I used to think when it was me against the world, he would stand by my side no matter what," Harry only paused so he could fish out one the S.P.E.W. badges. "Then he got this brilliant idea of charming Hermione's House-Elf Liberation badges." He slapped the badge onto the table, with the S.P.E.W. words displayed

Sirius snorted and choked on his tea. "House elf, what?"

She's on a mad mission to free the house-elves because she thinks enslaving them is wrong. So she started this club and even made these stupid little badges. 2 sickles a piece. Can you believe it?"

"But House elves like working," Sirius replied, confused.

"That's what I've been trying to tell her since the beginning of the year!" Harry said, throwing his arms up in the air. "But it that's not the point." He pushed on the badge twice, activating the charm, so it flashed through both faces : POTTER'S A GLORY STEALING FAKE! STEP ASIDE FOR HOGWARTS' SAKE!

Sirius leapt to his feet so fast that his chair flew out from under him. "What in Merlin's name is this garbage?" he demanded angrily.

"Apparently, it was Ron's bright idea to spread the word about me, while selling S.P.E.W badges at the same time. Thankfully, Hermione didn't know about Ron's plans," Harry answered. "I figured, you know being a Maurader and everything that you can help me…" Harry trailed off as his godfather got a wicked gleam in his eyes.

For the next two hours, the two concocted their plan, right through breakfast. It was decided that Harry would let his ex-friend sweat it out for a while. It was rather entertaining to see Ron go around class desperately trying to take back the badges, before the teacher scolded him to sit down. It was also equally funny seeing the Slytherins snub him back, refusing to give up what they paid for.

By the time lunch rolled around, Ron looked harassed and strained. "Come on, mate, have a heart," Ron pleaded. "I've been working my arse off all day!"

Harry glared at him, and Hermione gave him a smug look. "I'm not your mate, and you've clearly shown that you aren't my friend," Harry returned. "How many badges have you gotten back, anyway?"

Ron mumbled something indecipherable.

Hermione leaned forward. "What was that, Ron?"

Ron turned bright red. "26."

Harry blinked for a second and threw his head back and laughed. "So you're telling me all this time, and you've only managed to convince the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs to give back the badges?"

"Look, it was a stupid prank," Ron cried out, looking ready to break something. "I'm sorry, okay? You're not really going to fine me are you? I mean 5,000 galleons is even more than the prize money!"

Immediately Harry's face morphed into one of contempt. "By now, you should know I don't care about the money," he said. "The point was to show you how much it hurt to have people, my own dormmate, turn on me when I needed you most. You have about 6 more hours to get the rest of the badges before I file a complaint against you. If you feel the task too daunting, I suggest you go the teachers for help," Harry said, feeling no sympathy at all for his plight.

Hearing this, Ron gave Hermione a terrified look, begging for help. Hermione wavered for a moment, biting her lower lip. "Oh fine!" she said throwing her arms in the air.

"Hermione!" Harry interrupted. "What are you doing?"

Hermione gave Harry a guilty look. "I sort of feel responsible too. They are my badges after all," she explained before turning back to Ron with a stern look. "But if we can't get all those badges back, you are heading straight to Professor McGonagall."

Harry shook his head, giving up. He'd never understand that girl.

After the two left the table, to go hunt down more badges, Neville scooted over. "You're not really going to hold Ron to the fine, are you?" he whispered, looking a little wide-eyed.

Harry gave the other boy a wink. "Of course not," he said, rolling his eyes. "But I'm not letting Ron off so easy either. Severus, Sirius and I have a plan. Just wait and see."

Neville's eyes widened. After more than two month of class with the teacher that pranked you instead of take points, everyone (except the Twins ) from all four Houses developed a wary respect for this year's DADA teacher. And then there was the Potion Master. Neville couldn't imagine what those two would come up with together. He almost felt sorry for Ron. "Good for you, mate. It was a rotten thing he did."

Harry’s prediction was correct, when his healing lessons with Severus were interrupted by an excited Sirius. “It’s time,” he called out, so excited that he could barely stand still. “The deadline’s over and Granger dragged Weasley to Minny’s office, who took them to the Headmaster’s office.”

Harry grinned back. Together, they went to the Headmasters’ office, where Sirius said they were waiting. Inside, Harry noted how utterly petrified Ron looked, with a stern McGonagall staring him down. Dumbledore, was of course, sitting behind his desk, looking troubled. Hermione was also looking very solemn, sitting next to Ron.

“Come in, have a seat,” Dumbledore said. “I understand we have a slight issue at hand? Something to do with a prank?”

“A prank!” Severus growled. “In two days, this baffoon managed to rally more than a hundred Hogwarts students against Harry! Not to mention the foreign students too. Considering how publicized this bloodly tournament is, it could have far reaching consequences.”

“Very well, Severus. I quite agree with you,” Dumbledore said, in a conciliatory tone and turned Ron. “Professors McGonagall and Black have given me the gists of the situation, but I would like to hear it in your own words what’s been happening.”

Ron completely froze, looking panicky.

Hermione huffed impatiently. “It all started with my idea of this club, Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare,” she began. “I made these badges to sell them to fund my club. I got a little angry when Harry and Ron refused to help me sell them….I mean fighting for house-elf rights is important! How can anyone not see…”

“Ms. Granger!” McGonagall barked. “Stick to the issue at hand, please.”

"Sorry, Professor.” Hermione ducked her head. “So, I had trouble selling them, you see, and Ron came up to me saying he got this brilliant idea, and to trust him. That he found a way for me to sell all of my badges.” Hermione turned and glared meanly at Ron.

Seeing that Hermione was done with her role in all this, Dumbledore also turned to Ron. “Is all this true?”

Ron nodded mutely.

“And you don’t deny charming these badges to display these defamatory remarks?” Dumbledore pressed.

“No,” Ron muttered, barely audible.

McGonagall rose to her full height. “I am very disappointed in you, Mr. Weasley,” she nearly growled. “The Triwizard Cup has chosen Mr. Potter as Hogwarts’ Champion, and as a Hogwarts’ student, no as a fellow Gryffindor, I had expected more loyalty from you than I’ve been seeing, not to mention you are supposed to be Mr. Potter’s best friend.” Her voice rung shrilly in their ears, and Harry silently wondered how the Headmaster didn’t flinch, as he was closest to her.

“That’s right,” Sirius piped up. “I can understand a difference of opinion between mates, just like anyone else. But to rally the school into turning on our own Champion is beyond disgraceful, not at all Gryffindor.”

“What shall be the suitable punishment, then,” Dumbledore asked. “Since it was your godson who was wronged, what do you suggest?”

“I’ve got just the thing.” Sirius grinned a little madly, causing Ron to gulp nervously. “You will still be responsible for collecting the rest of the badges and refunding them, and the students will be obligated to turn them over to you. But that’s not all.” Surprisingly, he turned to Severus. “Would you like to do the honors?”

“With pleasure,” Severus said, making it almost sound like a purr. “For the next two weeks, Ms. Granger…”

Hermione stiffened. “What? But I had no idea Ron was going to use my badges like this!” she protested.

“Do not interrupt me again, Mr. Granger,” Snape growled. “You may not have known how Mr. Weasley planned to use your badges, but there is still a lesson to be learned here. Therefore, you will be working in the kitchens with the house-elves for detention for the next two weeks. You will take this time to actually learn what the house-elves really want in their lives, not what you assume because you think you know better than them, or some such nonsense.”

Hermione glared angrily at this, but didn’t protest. This would be the perfect opportunity for her to free some elves. She was already planning on how many bits of clothes she’d have to gather.

Then Sirius took over, looking like he could barely contain himself. “You’ll love this, Weasley!” he began. “Since you want to compete in this tournament so badly, you will get your chance at the first task of the tournament, after all the real champions have had a go.”

Ron’s eyes bugged out. “Really? I actually get to compete?”

Dumbledore frowned at Ron’s cluelessness. “Sirius, I do not think Madam Maxime or Headmaster Karkaroff will agree with this.”

“Got that covered too, Albus,” Sirius smirked. “I’ve already explained the situation to them, and they agree that this is a suitable punishment for Weasley’s behavior.”

Harry didn’t think they so much agreed with the punishment, but Maxim and Karkaroff thought Ron’s failure at the First Task would make their schools look even better.

Since no one was protesting, not even Ron, the Headmaster had no choice. Besides, the magical contract of the Goblet was designed to only prevent a Champion from abandoning the Tournament. It was never made to actually exclude other students from participating. “Very well, Severus, Sirius. You two have certainly planned this out carefully. Harry is very lucky to have all your support.”

“As is should be,” Severus replied imperiously. “Mr. Weasley, I do not think you realize the true nature of this punishment. You will have no official standing in the tournament. This is only to teach you the difference between real danger and adventure.”

Ron, unfortunately, didn’t hear anything beyond the part where he got to compete. He straightened up in his seat and puffed up his chest. “So, what’s the task then?” he demanded, showing everyone that he still didn’t understand. “Can’t be all that bad, since Harry’s allowed to compete.”

At this, Harry gave him a rather snake-like smirk. “Well, Ron, according to Mr. Crouch, the first task is to test our daring in the face of the unknown. So, we weren’t given any clues at all. You have until the 1^st of December to prepare. Oh, and you’re not allowed to ask anyone, including Hermione, for help.”

Hearing this, Ron paled slightly, but his head was so filled with glory and gold that he couldn’t see the danger for what it really was. Harry almost felt sorry for him…almost.

Over the next couple weeks, you could gradually see Ron and Hermione’s attitudes changing, and not for the better either. Hermione, according to the house-elves, was terrifying. Now that she had direct access to them, she was even more determined to see her little crusade through. Instead of actually listening to the house-elves, she was preaching at them with near religious fervor, terrifying the poor creatures with talk of salaries, vacations, and freedom!

Ron, on the other hand, was going around school boasting loudly that he was the 4^th Hogwarts’ champion! This would have caused the other Houses to complain about fairness, if it weren’t for the fact that they knew Ron was being punished. Unlike Ron, they understood the reasoning behind allowing him to participate, and merely shook their heads in pity.

A/N: Okay, Ron was ridiculously hard to write without make him completely evil. Every Ron hater out there writes him as a jealous, immature prat, and yes growing up among 7 siblings contributes to that. But is that enough to cause one best friend to turn against another? Well, if you're constantly watching all these good things happening to Harry-and let's be honest, most of the things in 1st year, Harry didn't have to lift a finger for- then that can reasonably explain why Ron suddenly deserted Harry in GOF.

Up Next : Harry gets revenge on Ron and we find out what going on with Sirius.
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In Servitude of the Dark : My Obiesance