AN: I've created a forum for this story, and I've used it to post an update on the progress of the next chapter and some plans I have for the story. One that was really too long to just add as an author's note onto this chapter. You can check it out here: topic/167441/126277251/1/The-Deal-Update-1-and-a-couple-of-Q-As-insideI'd greatly appreciate it if everyone whose interested could go take a look at it. Thanks!

The Deal

Normal Speech

Thoughts

/Parseltongue/

*Mind Speech*

Chapter 2: Explanations

Harry felt his feet land on the ground, but he kept his eyes closed, waiting for the world to stop spinning. He absolutely hated travelling by Portkey, it was even worse than Appariting. He made a mental note to talk to Lucy about whether or not she could allow him to use underage magic, especially Apparition. Or an alternative form of transportation altogether.

He slowly opened his eyes, and he noticed that everyone in the crowd was staring at him, Then he noticed that, while at first he had heard cheers when he showed up, that had quickly died down to silence, then murmurs throughout the crowd. After all, it's not every day a Fourth Year wins the Triwizard Tournament. Or that they showed up out of nowhere, holding a grown man who was bleeding from the head. Harry glanced around quickly, locating Dumbledore, Fudge, Ron and Hermione, as well as the other three contestants, who were all receiving medical care at the moment. Then, he spoke.

"I need to speak to the Headmaster and the Minister! In private! Now!" he stated loudly. As soon as he saw Dumbledore and Fudge begin to approach him, he nodded towards Hermione and Ron, who understood and got up to follow him as well. Then he levitated Wormtail's body and headed towards the castle. He could hear the murmurs behind him grow louder, but he paid it no mind. His only focus was to set his godfather free.

Just a few minutes later, Harry, Dumbledore, Fudge, and an unconscious Pettigrew were all sitting in the Headmaster's office (unfortunately Hermione and Ron had to stay out in the hallway because the Minister was having a fit over them joining the impromptu meeting). Before they had entered the office, however, Harry quickly mentioned to Dumbledore to have someone search all the trunks in Moody's office, stating that he'd explain inside. Albus called for Professor McGonagall to perform the search.

"Now, Harry, young man. Tell us what happened! And who is this bleeding man you brought back? Oh, the Prophet is going to have a field day with this! How did this stranger even get here? Oh no, oh no…" the Minister was going on like this, a bit frantically, before Dumbledore interjected.

"Now, now, Cornelius, calm down. Let the boy speak. Harry, please explain what happened. But, first, tell us who this man is." Dumbledore spoke in a much softer, calmer tone than Fudge did, and seemed to help put everyone at ease.

"Well, Professor," Harry started. "I thought that would have been obvious to the two of you. That's Peter Pettigrew."

The Minister gasped. "Merlin's Beard! That's not possible! Pettigrew was killed over a decade ago by Sirius Black!"

"Minister, we'll be able to confirm whether or not that is indeed Pettigrew soon enough. For now, let's listen to what Harry has to say."

"Fine, fine, get on with it, boy."

"Well, I suppose the easiest place to start is right after I encountered a Sphinx. I was able to solve her riddle, then I moved towards the final section of the maze, where I saw Cedric Diggory passed out on the ground, with a dead Acromantula behind him. Well, I say dead, but honestly it looked more like the spider had been cut in half, then its insides exploded outwards. It was quite sickening, actually. Anyway, I sent up some sparks to signal someone to come help Cedric, then I moved onto the center of the maze. I found the cup, grabbed it, and found that it was a Portkey that took me to a graveyard of some sort. Pettigrew was there, waiting for me, and he tried to ambush me. Fortunately he doesn't seem to be a very strong wizard, so I was able to defend myself against him. Actually I didn't even do much, I managed to stun him, then he fell and his head on a gravestone. I was just checking my surroundings to get an idea of where I was when I heard someone else arrive via Portkey. It was our Defence Professor, Professor Moody. At first, I was relieved to see him. But, I quickly realized something wasn't quite right, so I kept my guard up. And I was right. He confessed to being a supporter of Voldemort-" at this, the Minister flinched almost violently, "-named Barty Crouch Jr. and that he had come to take his revenge on me for the downfall of the Dark Lord." At this point, the Minister just had to cut in.

"Barty Crouch Jr.?! But he's been dead for years as well! Do you have any proof of this, or is this just some ploy to get publicity?!"

"Only my memories, Minister. Also, Crouch did mention keeping Professor Moody 'locked up in a trunk,' I believe were his words were. I do believe the Headmaster has the Deputy Headmistress performing a search as we speak. Plus I brought back Pettigrew. Now, may I carry on with my story?" Fudge resentfully agreed.

"Thank you. Now, as I was saying, this man claimed to be Barty Crouch Jr., who I assume is Mr. Crouch's son, and that he believed killing me would actually bring the Dark Lord back. It sounds like he was going a bit mental to me, but Azkaban will do that to you. Luckily for me he seemed more prone to monologuing than to actual fighting, so I was able to stealthily summon the Cup and grab Pettigrew before getting out of there. And that's what happened."

*You got all that?* Harry mentally asked Lucy.

*Yeah, you shouldn't have any problems with anyone who tries to read your mind. While you were telling them your story, I just kept up a shield that showed them a memory of what you were saying, so it just seemed like you were concentrated on what you were talking about. No one tried to read your mind, though.*

*Alright, thank you. Hopefully this will be over with soon so we can discuss a few things.*

*Oh? Like what?*

*Well, I think I know who I'd like to let in on what we're doing, give them their memories back, etc. And I'd like to just discuss what happened back there. For now, I kind of need to focus on this, though.*

Lucy made a mental nod, and Harry refocused his attention back to the discussion at hand. Fudge seemed to be pacing, refusing to believe much of what Harry said, though he did seem a bit more willing than when he heard about Sirius being innocent or, in the other world, Voldemort's return. Dumbledore had given up on calming him down and had just ordered two portrait to fetch for Snape and Madam Pomfrey, and another to let McGonagall know to report back to his office once her business was taken care of.

A few minutes passed before Snape and Madam Pomfrey arrived. Dumbledore greeted the nurse and pointed out the limp form of Pettigrew. then he turned his attention to Snape.

"Ah, Severus, did you bring the Veritaserum I asked for?" Dumbledore asked politely.

"Yes, I did, Headmaster," Snape replied in a drawling, bored tone. "Though I still don't see why we need give credence to anything Potter says. Clearly his fame has gotten to his head. Claiming to have defeated two Death Eaters, both of whom are dead, one of whom was a victim of another Death Eater. Potter's probably still under the influence of Black's Confundus Charm from last year, and this is all a ruse to gain Black his freedom…" Dumbledore rose his hand towards Snape, quieting him, but Snape still muttered his ramblings under his breath,

"Poppy, what's the status of that man's injuries?" Dumbledore inquired.

"He has some minor fractures to the front of his skull, and most likely a concussion, if he hit himself hard enough to be knocked out. I've repaired most of the damage, the worst thing he'll have is a minor headache. He's in good enough condition to take Veritaserum and the hit won't affect his memories. Everything he says will be the truth."

"Very well, thank you, Poppy. You may go." After Madam Pomfrey left, Dumbledore turned back to Snape and nodded. "Three drops, if you will, Severus." Snape reluctantly strutted over to Wormtail and dropped the potion underneath Wormtail's tongue.

*Can you alter his memories so his story matches up with mine? I don't want him mentioning the homunculus that Voldemort has become.*

*I can, but why wouldn't you? I could just alter them so that it makes it seem like you didn't see or know about Voldemort being there. Wouldn't you want the Minister to know and hear it from another party so he'd know and not have a reason to start a propaganda war against you?*

*Normally I'd say yes, but based on the past few years in the alternate timeline, I've found the Ministry to be comprised of fools. Fudge didn't start that campaign because he was against me or didn't trust me, it was out of fear of Voldemort returning. If he were to hear about it from another source, he'd do everything in his power to discredit that source as well. It'll make things easier for everyone- well, myself and the Order, anyway, if we're able to work in peace. Not only that, but the Ministry won't be able to ignore the movement of Dark wizards, even if they don't acknowledge that Voldemort's behind it. So Voldemort will have a somewhat more difficult time gathering his troops. That's the way I see it, anyway. What about you?*

*No, you make sense. I'd rather not risk it with an idiot like Fudge involved. Besides, you're more familiar with this world than I am, so ultimately we should be going with your judgement here when it comes to politics, not mine. I've altered his memories for you.*

*Thank you.*

Harry refocused his attention and saw that Wormtail was finally regaining consciousness. he figured that Dumbledore must have Rennervated him. The Headmaster beckoned the still-pacing Fudge over and began the interrogation.

"What is your name?" Dumbledore asked.

Wormtail's eyes were clouded over, and he spoke in a monotone, emotionless voice. "Peter Pettigrew. Also known as Wormtail. Also known as Scabbers the Rat." At this, the Minister had a shocked look upon his face, but leaned in closer to hear the rest of the information.

"What plans did you have regarding Harry Potter tonight?"

"The Triwizard Cup was a Portkey, set to send the first person to touch it to a graveyard in Little Hangleton. Once Harry Potter touched it, he would find me waiting for him to capture him. I would then wait for my partner and, together, we would sacrifice Potter to the Dark Lord in hopes of bringing him back."

"Who was this partner of your's?"

"Barty Crouch, Jr."

"What was his role in all of this?"

"He has been posing as Alastor Moody here at Hogwarts. He was to set up the Portkey and ensure Potter was the first to touch the Cup. He was then to take his own Portkey to the graveyard and help me sacrifice Potter."

"What happened once Harry showed up in the graveyard tonight?"

"I went to attack him, he was able to defend himself against me. The last thing I remember is Potter sending a stunning spell towards me."

"Why the Little Hangleton Graveyard?"

"It was where the Dark Lord's father was buried. We believed that we could use Potter's blood and his father's remains to bring back the Dark Lord." At this, there was a spark in Dumbledore's eyes, and it looked as if he had an epiphany of some sort.

"When Lily and James Potter went into hiding from Voldemort in 1980, who was their Secret Keeper?" At this point Fudge was still in enough shock that he didn't even flinch at the mention of Voldemort's name.

"I was."

"Who betrayed their location to Voldemort?"

"I did."

"Is Sirius Black now, or has he ever been, a Death Eater or supporter of Voldemort?"

"No."

"When Sirius Black confronted you after the Potter's deaths, did he kill those 13 Muggles?"

"No."

"Who did?"

"I did."

"How did you escape that night, and how did you frame Sirius?"

"When Sirius confronted me, I used a spell to cause an explosion in the middle of the road, killing those bastard Muggles. Then I cut off my finger, and transformed into a rat and escaped through the sewers. Framing Black had nothing to do with me, everyone thought that he was Lily and James' Secret Keeper, all I had to do was fake my own death and everyone assumed he betrayed the Potters and killed me."

"Are you an unregistered animagus? If so, what is your animal form?"

"Yes, I am. It is a rat."

"What happened last year, when Sirius was captured?"

"He had escaped Azkaban to hunt me down. Remus Lupin had also found out I was still alive during that year, and he and Sirius confronted me at the end of the year. Luckily, Snape didn't give Remus his potion that night, and Remus transformed into a werewolf. That gave me the opportunity to escape." Dumbledore gave a look towards Snape at this comment, whose face had paled even more than usual, then turned to Fudge.

"I think we've heard enough, Minister. Shall we call in the Aurors?"

Fudge had been able to calm himself a bit at this point. "Yes, yes, of course, Dumbledore. But, I think we can skip the Aurors, I'll send for a dementor to come perform a kiss immediately."

"Wait, Minister!" Harry interjected. "He just admitted that he had framed Sirius, and that Sirius was innocent. Shouldn't you hold a trial for Sirius now to free him? Also, he stated that Barty Crouch Jr. is alive and was working with him. Shouldn't you take him in for questioning to find out Crouch's whereabouts?"

"Well, uh… Yes, yes, of course, Mr. Potter. You're correct. Hasty decision making on my part. Yes, I'll call in the Aurors to pick him up. I'll also need to contact the Daily Prophet to announce Black's innocence. My, my, so much is happening all of a sudden. To think, they thought they could bring back You-Know-Who from the dead! Well, it's a good thing that's impossible, I'm not sure what I'd do if that were to happen… Anyway, I best be off. Lot's of people to owl, you know. Oh, and Mr. Potter, I do apologize for not listening to you and your friends last term. I should learn to pay more attention to what the Boy Who Lived says!" Fudge chuckled for a moment, then addressed Dumbledore. "Do you mind if I use your Floo, Dumbledore?"

"Not at all, Minister." Fudge nodded his head in thanks and walked towards the fireplace. Dumbledore then pointed his wand at Wormtail, then Wormtail slumped over, as if asleep. A few moments later Harry heard a knock on the door. "That must be Minerva," said Dumbledore. "Enter."

The door opened, and Professor McGonagall walked through, along with Bill Weasley, and between them was Mad-Eye Moody, thin, with patches of his hair removed, and one of his eyes and legs missing. Moody seemed weak and disoriented, and had to be carried by McGonagall and Bill. "We've found him, Albus." McGonagall stated. They set Moody on a chair and wrapped him in a thick blanket.

"Severus, please go and fetch Poppy for us," Dumbledore ordered. Snape stalked out of the room, grumbling to himself about something no one could hear, but it probably involved Harry in some way. "Now, Minerva, what happened? Also, hello, Bill. It has been a while since I've seen you within these halls."

Bill quickly greeted the Headmaster, sent a quick nod to Harry, who nodded back, then let the Headmistress tell her story. "Well. Albus, I did as you asked, and searched every trunk in Professor Moody's office, and I found nothing until I got to one in the corner of the room that had several locks on it. It wouldn't open, not with the usual charms, anyway, and I couldn't find a key, I had to contact Gringotts to request a curse-breaker, which is why Mr. Weasley is here. He was able to open the chest, and each lock opened a different compartment. We finally found Alastor in a compartment that was just an isolated chamber. We got him out of there, checked him over for any major injuries, then came straight here. Oh, and Mr. Potter, I've asked Ms. Granger and Mr Weasley to go back to their common room. They'll be waiting for you there when you're done here."

Albus nodded and thanked her, then conjured two chairs and offered them to the Transfiguration Professor and Bill Weasley. They both sat, and everyone waited in silence, except for Fudge, who was still conversing with someone via Dumbledore's Floo. Then the door barged open and Madam Pomfrey was back, holding a few potions in her arms. She took one look at Moody and started shoving different vials in his face, trying to get him to drink them. This led to Moody becoming a bit more aware of his surroundings, which led to him closing his lips tightly while trying to push the nurse away from him.

"Oh, blast it, Alastor! I'm not going to bloody poison you! Just open up and take the potions!" Moody started shaking his head "no," and Madam Pomfrey redoubled her efforts. It was at this point that Fudge had exited the Floo, turned to address Dumbledore, opened his mouth to say something, then immediately closed it and stared in bewilderment at the scene in front of him. Moody had tipped his chair back and was actively trying to get away from Pomfrey, while the nurse was on top of him, trying to shove various potions in his mouth. Harry was trying hard not to laugh, but he could hear Lucy cracking up within his mind. Finally, after several minutes of persuasion from Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Pomfrey, Moody finally seceded and took the potions. Once Madam Pomfrey had finished her initial examination, she returned her attention to Dumbledore. "He doesn't have any critical injuries, the main problem is that he's severely malnourished. He'll need to be in my care for a week or two, depending on any injuries I may have overlooked and how… cooperative he'll be. After that he should be free to go."

"Thank you Poppy. Bill, would you be so kind as to help her take Alastor to the Hospital Wing? Also, feel free to spend the night here and visit with your siblings, I'm sure they'll appreciate it. I'll take care of paying Gringotts for your services for the rest of the night, so don't worry about it."

"Thank you, Headmaster," Bill replied. He then waved goodbye to Harry and Professor McGonagall and helped Moody onto his feet and out the door.

Once they were gone, Fudge spoke up. "Well, Dumbledore, I've contacted the Aurors. They should be meeting us in the Great Hall any minute now. I'd appreciate it if you and Harry were to help explain to them what exactly happened here."

"I would certainly be more than happy to come with you, Minister. But I do believe that young Harry here has had more than enough excitement for one night. I'm sure he'd be willing to testify at Pettigrew's trial. For now, I think he should get some rest."

"Fine, fine, very well, Dumbledore."

"Harry, I'm sure your friends are all worried about you. Don't keep them waiting. Also, in light of recent events we will have to postpone to awards ceremony for the Triwizard Tournament, but I should congratulate you on your victory."

"Thank you, Professor," Harry replied. He stood up and walked out the door and down the stairs into the corridor in front of the Headmaster's office.

*Lucy, can you meet me in one of these empty classrooms?*

*Sure thing. Just give me a minute.*

Harry entered a classroom and leaned against one of the walls. He was waiting for about half a minute when the door opened slightly, and a black cat crawled through. She then pushed the door closed with its head and walked over to Harry.

"Hello Lucy. Aren't you adorable?" Harry crouched down and began scratching her head and behind her ears. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that she had streaks of purple throughout her fur, and had two small horns at the top of her skull. Lucy purred, then stretched and began shifting back to her normal, cloaked self.

"Why, thank you," she giggled. "Now, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"First off, I'd like to thank you for your help. I wouldn't have made it out of there if it wasn't for you. I wouldn't have even gotten this second chance. So, thank you. Secondly, I think I'd like Hermione to know about you and what's happening. She's the only one who's truly been with me through this whole mess from the beginning, and she's never even thought about abandoning me, even when Ron left us during our hunt for Voldemort's Horcruxes. Plus she's the most brilliant, clever person I know."

Lucy nodded and thought for a moment. "I'll need to examine her mind to make sure I agree with your decision, and she'll have to agree to our Contract, but I think she'll be the best choice of people to help us."

"Thanks. About how long would it take you to examine her mind? And how deep into her mind does this examination go?"

"Just moments after meeting with her. I'd only be looking at her true intentions and allegiance, nothing more. I don't even need to look at her memories, just her thoughts and feelings towards you."

"Okay, excellent. In that case, I'd like to ask for yet another favour. Could you go into the Gryffindor common room, give a message to Hermione, and return to me with my invisibility cloak so I can meet with her?"

"I can, but, remember how I agreed to give you certain powers to help you out? Why don't I just give you the ability to completely conceal yourself? You could become invisible and silence yourself at will, without using any magic."

"Really? You could do that for me?"

"Yes. Let's see, concealment is at the base of the spine. So lay down on your front. This might… hurt a bit. Or a lot. But you'll be fine, I promise."

Harry nervously laid down on the floor, second-guessing his decision, and Lucy got on her knees next to him. She took off the glove of her left hand, and began mumbling words Harry couldn't understand. Her fingers were spread out, her hand above Harry's neck. A silver ball of light began forming in her palm, then it floated to the tip of her index finger, getting smaller as it moved. She then closed all of her other fingers, pointed down at the base of Harry's spine, and plunged the ball (and her finger) down into his chest. Harry tried to gasp, but found that he couldn't breathe. His brain felt like it was being electrocuted. But, the pain only lasted for a few moments, and soon sweet relief filled his mind as a pleasant sensation flowed over it. He found that he was able to breathe again, He took a few deep breaths, then heard Lucy speaking to him.

"You can get up now. You did surprisingly well, actually." Harry reluctantly sat up and slumped against the wall.

"What the fuck was that all about? What did you do to me?" Harry rubbed the back of his neck, and was surprised to find that there was not, in fact, a finger sized hole in it.

"Hey, I told you it would hurt. As for what I was doing, well, I was putting some of my power into you. There are certain sections of the body that can hold the different powers. For invisibility, or more specifically, concealment, since you have the ability to conceal the sounds you make too, that power needs to be held in the base of your spine."

"Ugh. Will all of my 'power-ups' be like that?"

"Yes. You should be able to get used to it, though. The first one is always the worst. Anyway, catch!" She threw two mirrors at Harry. The only reason he was able to catch them was because of all his training as a Seeker. "Check out your neck. You've got a new, rockin' tattoo."

Harry quickly positioned the mirrors so he could see the back of his neck. Lucy was right. Now he had a strange, black symbol on it. It looked like a circle, with a semi-circle below it, and below that was a cross. "Don't worry, no one else can see it. Just you, me, other gods, demigods, or certain species associated with gods, and other people who have made Contracts, like yourself. Oh, and look, I've got the same tattoo." Lucy lowered her hood and showed Harry the back of her neck. Sure enough, she had the same symbol marked on it. Harry rubbed the back, remembering how it felt like she had shoved her finger through his spine. He was about to ask her, when she answered. "Yes, I did shove my finger through your spine. Also, you're still sending your thoughts to me. You never stopped, actually, so I felt everything you did. So don't think I was just tormenting you a bit, it was just something that had to be done."

"I wasn't thinking that. I know I needed it. So, what does that symbol mean?"

"Oh, it's the symbol of Pluto and Hades. They're the rulers of the Underworld in Roman and Greek mythologies, respectively. They're also two names people have given to me throughout the centuries. The legends of Pluto's Helmet and Hades' Cap of Invisibility come from my ability to grant others the power of invisibility through the base of their spine."

"Wow…" was all Harry could say. He never really learned about various religions in the Muggle or Magical world. Plus he was still a little shocked about what had just happened moments before.

"Why don't you try becoming invisible, Harry? Just try concentrating really hard on it. Once you're invisible, you don't have to concentrate on staying invisible, you just have to concentrate on being visible again. When you're first starting out, I'd recommend meditating and focusing on it. Try to practice a few times a day and you'll get the hang of it soon enough. Just be careful not to accidentally become invisible when there are others around you."

Harry nodded and crossed his legs, closed his eyes, and started some breathing exercises. He focused soley on becoming invisible.

*Let me help guide you your first time around. I'll tell you what to think and help you focus on it. First, imagine you're in a room, and there are people there, staring at you. Now, visualize mist seeping out from your next, slowing throughout the room. Finally, see the mist condense and cover your body, leaving you out of sight from the other people in the room. They can't see you anymore, they're not looking at you anymore. Good, now focus on absorbing the mist into every pore in your body, and become invisible…*

As he heard Lucy speak, Harry could see the images coming to life within his mind. He felt a pleasant, tingling sensation at the base of his spine, which grew stronger as the visualizations continued. Once they were at the part where he absorbed the mist back into his body, all throughout his pores, the tingling suddenly stopped.

"Awesome, Harry! You're invisible now!" Harry opened his eyes suddenly and looked down. All he saw was the floor he was sitting down on. He couldn't even make out where his body was supposed to be. "Alright, now, when you're in this form, you won't be able to be seen, heard, or felt, unless you want to be. That's not to say you'll be able to just pass through people, you'll still run into people and things, it's just that no one will notice if you happen to bump into them. You also won't leave any footprints behind. I can still sense you, but that's because I'm me, and I gave you this power. Now, if you get to wherever you'd like to meet Hermione and you want to try becoming visible, you just have to visualize the process in reverse- imagine the mist coming out of your body, spreading out, then going back into the base of your spine and everyone in the room notices you again. If you can't do it, don't worry, it takes some getting used to and I'll help you as soon as I return with Hermione. Now, where did you want to meet her and what message did you want to send to her?"

Harry rummaged around his pockets until he found a spare piece of parchment and a Muggle pen he didn't really remember carrying around. He wrote out a quick message to Hermione, then gave it to Lucy. "Thank you, again. Hopefully I'll see you both soon."

"You will," smiled Lucy. "I'm sure she's anxious to see you as well. I'll let you know when we're on our way." With that, she transformed back into her cat form, picked up the parchment in her mouth, and crawled back out of the room.

Harry double checked to make sure he was still invisible, then he left as well, heading towards the Room of Requirement.

A/N 1: For anyone who's wondering, here ( wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/68/Pluto's_astrological_ /220px-Pluto's_astrological_ .png) is the symbol I was referring to. Here ( wiki/Pluto_(mythology)#The_helmet_of_invisibility) and here ( wiki/Cap_of_invisibility) are the items I was referring to (Hades' Cap and Pluto's Helmet).

A/N 2: I was originally planning on making this chapter go on until after Harry and Hermione's meeting, but then I realized that this one was about the same length as my last two chapters combined. I also apologize for it being so dialogue heavy, but that's what happens when there's interrogations and whatnot going on. Hopefully I managed to make everyone chuckle at least once, though, to help you cope with this all talk no action chapter.

A/N 3: Even though this story only has about 10 reviews at the time of writing this, it already has over 1500 views. First off, I'd like to thank everyone for reading! I never thought that many people would actually read this, let alone the amount of people who have followed and favourited it. I really just wrote and posted this thinking it'd be kind of a fun thing to do, I never expected to get any feedback or anything from it. In any case, what I wanted to say was that, while I do (and will continue to) respond to each review individually, if there are any questions multiple people are asking, I'll start doing a little FAQ section in either the beginning or ending of the chapter so everyone can see it. Currently I've been asked a lot about Harry and Hermione's relationship, how soon is it gunna happen, etc. Here's the thing- I've never written romance before. Granted that I've never written fanfic before, I've only written some original horror stories for school, and I've written songs, but romance is a different thing. I feel like it could quickly become awkward and hard to read if it's not well written. So, if I feel like I can't write romance well enough to actually do it justice, I won't be writing any romance in this story, the most I'll do is mention some relationships without going into too much detail about how much x loves y and whatnot. So, if romance does start up, it'll be in the next chapter. And I should no by then whether or not I'm going to include romance in this story, so you all can have your answer then.

A/N 4: I went back to the first chapter and added in horns to Lucy's description. So now it makes sense that she has them now. Why did I add them? I like horns.