Raine Whispers

Tw: Homophobia

Chapter Hub: https://theowlhouse.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000000195081 (I know it's been a long time since I've posted, so feel free to refresh your memory of the plot so far)

The Pentawizard Tournament Chapter hub | FandomIt's just links to all of the chapters, rather…theowlhouse.fandom.com

Hermione returned very late, and she was seen clutching a wooden otter, though it seemed a bit smaller than a real one (Harry couldn’t be too sure of that, he hadn’t seen an otter since Dudley’s 11th birthday, which had ended in Dudley and his friend getting trapped in the boa constrictor’s tank. Harry was grounded for over a month due to that one.)

“Where’ve you been?” Ron inquired. It took a second for Hermione to react.

“I was carving my palisman with Hunter and his mentor,” Hermione said flatly.

“How come it’s just a wooden figure?” Harry asked calmly, “I thought they came alive,”

“Dell said that you have to tell it your true desire,” Hermione replied, “And I wanted to try that with you two around,”

“Why us?” Ron said bluntly.

Hermione scoffed, “Because you’re my two best friends, idiot,”

“So you just tell it what you want to do with your life, and it wakes up?” Asked Ron.

“I think so,” Hermione replied.

The three of them gathered around a table in the common room and placed the otter figurine between them.

“I want to become a powerful witch,” Hermione said.

Nothing.

“Hermione,” Harry noted, “You already are a powerful witch,”

Hermione groaned, “I know that,”

“Well, what do you want?” Harry asked, trying to be helpful.

“I don’t really know,” Hermione said, “I’ve always just tried to be the best but… then what? What has it all been for?”

Harry shrugged. “Try saying you want to be the best?”

“I want to be the best,” Hermione tried.

Nothing again.

“I want to be the best student at Hogwarts and prove that muggle-born witches are just as capable as purebloods so Malfoy can shove it,” Hermione said.

The wooden otter sat there rather unmagically.

Hermione paused and thought for a long while.

“Ughh!” She groaned, “Why can’t I think of anything?”

“Maybe you’re just tired,” Harry said, “You look exhausted,”

“I want to be a successful witch, and help people!”

Nothing, nothing, nothing…

Hermione groaned in frustration, “Why won’t this work?”

“Hermione, you’ve tried three things,” Harry reminded, “We can figure this out. But maybe later, it’s getting late.”

“Yeah, you’re right, and the Third Task’s tomorrow, you need your strength, Harry,” Hermione added.

Hermione grabbed her otter and climbed the stairs to the girls’ dormitory. Harry and Ron went up to the boys’ dormitory.

The next morning, Harry awoke with a healthy sense of dread. On one hand, the tournament was finally going to be over, but on the other hand, this only meant that Harry had another shot at making a fool of himself in front of not only the entirety of Hogwarts, but also all of Beauxbatons, Durmstrang, and Hexside.

The sense of dread was luckily not as heavy as it had been for the first two tasks, mostly because Harry felt that he had done all that he could to prepare.

Breakfast was a noisy affair. When the post appeared, Harry only received a good-luck card from Sirius, which was nothing but a muddy pawprint on a piece of parchment. Hermione received her morning copy of the Daily Prophet as usual. When she glanced at the front page, Hermione spat out a mouthful of pumpkin juice.

“What?” Harry and Ron asked in tandem.

“Nothing,” Hermione said quickly, trying to hide the paper. But Ron grabbed it.

He stared at the headline, “No way,” Ron muttered, “Not today, that old cow,”

“What?” Harry asked, “Is it Rita Skeeter again?”

“No,” said Ron, who, just like Hermione, tried to hide the paper.

Harry snatched the paper from Ron and began reading.

Harry Potter ‘Disturbed and Dangerous’

The boy who defeated He Who Must Not Be Named is unstable and possibly dangerous, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. (You get the gist, I ain’t typing all that)

“How did she know your scar hurt in Divination?” Ron asked, “There’s no way she was there, there’s no way she could have heard-”

“The window was open,” Harry said, “I opened it to breathe,”

“You were at the top of the North Tower!” Hermione reminded, “Your voice couldn’t have carried all the way down to the grounds!”

“Well, you’re the one who’s supposed to be researching magical methods of bugging,”

Willow walked up to them, followed closely by Hunter.

“Hey, Hermione,” She said, “How are you doing?”

“Better,” Hermione replied. She looked at Willow’s palisman for a moment, then back at the Daily Prophet still in Harry’s hands, then back at Willow’s palisman. An odd, dreamy expression suddenly came over her.

“You alright?” Ron asked, frowning at her.

“I’ve had an idea,” said Hermione, “I think I know… because then no one would be able to see… even Moody… and she’d have been able to get onto the window ledge… but she’s not allowed… she’s definitely not allowed… I think we’ve got her! Just give me two seconds in the library just to make sure!”

With that, Hermione grabbed her otter and sprinted out of the Great Hall.

“Oi!” Ron called, “We’ve got a History of Magic exam in ten minutes!” He turned back to Harry, Willow, and Hunter, “Blimey, she must really hate that Skeeter woman if she’s willing to risk missing the start of an exam,”

“Willow, Hunter,” Harry said, “Did anything happen last night? She seemed off when she got back, she was easily frustrated, and she wasn't thinking clearly,”

Hunter made a face that made Harry assume that something had definitely happened last night.

“A lot happened,” Hunter said.

“Like what?” Ron asked.

“We uhh, kinda met Eda’s great great great great, something grandparents…” Hunter said, “And saw Belos…”

“Belos, like the guy who was emperor and died a year ago?” Asked Harry.

“Yeah,” Hunter nodded, “Him,”

“Jeez,” Ron said, “And I thought you-know-who was hard to get rid of,”

Before Hunter could continue recalling the previous night, Professor McGonagall appeared behind Harry.

“Potter,” She began, “The champions are congregating in the chamber off the Hall after breakfast, the one you entered after your name came out of the goblet.”

“But the task’s not ‘til tonight!” Harry protested, accidentally spilling scrambled eggs onto his lap.

“I’m aware of that, Potter,” She said, “The champions’ families are invited to watch the final task. This is a chance to greet them. And there is also a final weighing of the wands, to ensure full functionality for tonight.”

She moved away, likely to tell Cedric the same.

“She doesn’t expect the Dursleys to turn up, does she?” He asked blankly.

“Dunno,” said Ron, “But I have to go, can’t be late for Binns, see you later,”

Harry finished his breakfast in the emptying Great Hall. He saw Fleur Delacour get up from the Ravenclaw table and join Cedric as they crossed to the side chamber. Krum slouched over and shortly joined them. Harry stayed where he was for a time. He really didn’t want to go in the chamber. He had no family, well no family who would turn up to see him risk his life anyway (His odds of survival were simply far too high for the Dursleys to want to come).

Just as Harry was getting up, Luz sprinted past him.

“Harry, you coming?” She asked.

He had been planning on skipping the meet-and-greet so he could study in the library, but he decided to come with his friend.

“I suppose so,” He said, getting up and following Luz into the chamber.

Cedric and his parents were just inside the door. Viktor Krum was in a far corner, conversing with his dark-haired parents in rapid Bulgarian. On the other side of the room, Fleur was jabbering away in French to her mother. Fleur’s little sister, Gabrielle, was holding her mother’s hand. She waved at Harry, who waved back. A small collection of Witches, and King, were waiting for Luz. Then he finally saw three people with fiery hair waiting for Harry. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and Bill. They were all beaming at him.

“Surprise!” Mrs. Weasley exclaimed. Harry smiled broadly and walked over to them.

“We thought we’d come over and see you, Harry!” She said, bending down and kissing him on the cheek.

Fleur Delacour, Harry noticed, was eyeing Bill with great interest from across the room.

“Fancy giving us a tour, Harry?” Bill asked.

“Yeah, sure,” Harry replied, and they made their way back towards the Great Hall.

As they passed Luz and her visitors, Eda looked at the Weasleys. “So, you must be Harry’s family!” She concluded, “I’m Eda, the Owl Lady, the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles!,”

“Wonderful to meet you,” Arthur said, “I’m Arthur Weasley, this is my wife, Molly, and our eldest, Bill,”

“And this is my son, King, my sister, Lilith, and my partner, Raine Whispers,” Eda introduced, “And of course, Camila Noceda, the kiddo’s mom,”

“Your son looks… different,” Bill noticed.

“That’s because I’m not a Witch,” King said enthusiastically, “I’m a Titan!”

“He’s not very titanic yet,” Luz said, “But someday he’ll be tall enough to touch the clouds!”

“Alright,” Harry said, “Nice to see you all again,” he started making his way to the door again.

“Ah, there you are!” Amos Diggory said, catching Harry, “Bet you’re not feeling quite as full of yourself now that Cedric’s caught up to you on points, are you?”

“What?” Harry replied.

“Ignore him,” Cedric said in a low voice, frowning at his father, “He’s been angry ever since Rita Skeeter’s article about the Tournament, you know when she made out you were the only Hogwarts champion,”

“Didn’t bother to correct her, though, did you?” Amos said to his son so loudly that he could hear them as he left the room.

Harry had a very enjoyable morning walking around the sunny grounds with the Weasleys. Eventually, they returned to the castle for lunch.

“Mum, Dad, Bill!” Ron said, looking stunned as he joined the Gryffindor table, “What’re you doing here?”

“We came to watch Harry in the last task!” Mrs. Weasley said brightly, “How were your exams?”

“Okay,” Ron admitted, “Couldn’t remember all the goblin rebels’ names, so I think I invented a few,” Mrs. Weasley looked stern, “They’re all stuff like Bodrod the Bearded anyway,”

Fred, George, and Ginny soon joined them. Soon, Harry felt like he was back at the Burrow, his worries about the final task melting away. Hermione, Luna, and the Blight twins soon joined them at the Gryffindor table. (Hermione seemed to think Luna shouldn’t be at the Gryffindor table, Luna argued that people who weren’t even students were sitting there, so she should be fine)

“So, mum,” Fred introduced, “This is Edric Blight, “ Edric gave a polite wave.

“And this is Emira Blight,” Said George. Emira also gave a wave.

“Oh, so you’re the parents!” Edric said, having no sense of subtlety, “I must say, Fred’s quite the attractive guy, now I see the source of the good looks,”

Arthur seemed surprised by the compliment, “Oh- well, err, thank you?” He said awkwardly, clearly unsure of what to really say.

“We’ve been dating the twins for a few months now,” Emira said, breaking the news unsubtly, “The four of us get along like birds of a feather,”

Mrs. Weasley looked shocked.

“Oh, if we’re coming out,” Luna said softly, “Then maybe you should know that Ginny and I have gotten romantically involved recently as well,”

This only shocked Mrs. Weasley more.

“What’s next?” She said indignantly, “Harry, Ron, and Hermione have started a polycule?”

“I mean, I don’t think we have,” Ron said.

“I know,” Fred said, “Learning about three different relationships in this quick of succession is a lot to take in,”

“It’s not that it’s just…” Mrs. Weasley muttered.“Just what?” Edric asked.

Mrs. Weasley shook her head.

“It just doesn’t feel right,” She said quietly, “My children in such sinful relationships…”

“What about them is sinful?” Emira asked, “Is it because Ed and I aren’t human? I can assure you that Witches and Humans can, and apparently have, been able to reproduce together,”

“No… it’s just that… it’s not right, a boy with a boy. A girl with a girl…”

“And what’s wrong with that?” Edric asked, unaware of the concept of homophobia.

“It’s just not right,” She said.

“Why isn’t it right?” Luna asked, “We love each other, isn’t that enough?”

The silence coming from her was deafening

“I guess…” She eventually mumbled, “That’s enough,”

“Glad that we’re all in agreement,” Edric said, planting a kiss on Fred’s cheek.

Harry felt a tap on his shoulder, he turned around to find Professor McGonagall.

“Professor?” He said, a bit surprised. “Is it time for the Third Task already?”

“Not quite,” She replied, “There is a final weighing of the wands ceremony first, then the Third Task will commence in approximately three hours, at five o’clock sharp. Do not be late,”

It was finally the day of the third and final task, and Luz could not be more excited. She practically jumped out of bed that morning.

“Today’s the day!” She jabbered excitedly to a sleepy King, “It’s finally gonna be over! I’m gonna totally show those European dorks who’s boss!”

“European?” King sleepily asked.

“Don’t worry about it!” Luz quickly said.

Luz practically sprinted down the stairs of the Owl House, shocking the groggy old lady who calls it home.

“Huh?” Eda managed through her sleepiness, “What’s all this energy about?”

“Today’s the Third Task!” Luz exclaimed.

Eda yawned, “Well, at least you’re excited,”

Luz, practically bouncing with energy, grabbed some cereal and poured herself some.

“So…” Started Eda after she had some Apple Blood, “The last one is today, huh?”

“Yup!” Luz said enthusiastically between bites of cereal.

“Well, your mother should be there today, Rainestorm and I will too.” Eda said, “Now that I think about it, about half of Bonesborough is coming to cheer you on tonight. You’re pretty popular these days, kiddo,”

“Is that so?” Luz asked.

“Have fun at school!” Eda shouted as Luz rushed out the door in the direction of Hexside.

Luz got to school and nearly tripped as she got off of Stringbean.

“Hey, Batata!” She exclaimed, giving Amity a hug, “How are you?”

“I’m fine, but don’t you have some kind of Champion thing at Hogwarts right now?” Amity asked.

“Oh shoot! You’re right!” Luz exclaimed, getting back on Stringbean, “I’ll see you later Amity!”

Luz zoomed back to the Owl House, getting off of Stringbean only to go through the portal door.

As Luz sprinted to the room where they were supposed to group up, she passed Harry.

“Harry,” She asked, seeing her friend still at the table, “You coming?”

When Luz entered the room, she was met with a few familiar faces: Eda, Raine, Lilith, King, and most importantly, her mamá Camilla.

“Mamá!” She exclaimed upon entering, enveloping her mother in a massive hug, “It’s so good to see you!”

“It’s good to see you too, mija,” She said

Luz had a great time telling her mamá all about the events of the past few months, albeit leaving out the parts about her soul connection with Belos.

The afternoon came and went, and soon she and the other champions had to do a final Weighing of the Wands. The five champions lined up in the same order they had gone in November for the first Weighing. Mr. Ollivander was sitting at a large desk, and Mr. Fudge stood behind him.

Ollivander first called Fleur to him. He held Fleur’s wand in his hand and fiddled with it for a moment.

“Hmm, yes, nine and a half inches, rosewood, inflexible, and Veela hair,” He says. “Not exactly what I usually make, Veela hair is rather temperamental in my experience, but to each their own.,” Mr. Ollivander gave the wand a wave, and a bunch of flowers spurted out from the end.

“It seems to still be in working order,” He said, “Good luck today,”

Next was Cedric. As he handed Ollivander his wand, a sense of familiarity seemed to fill the old man’s face, “Ah, this is one of mine, I remember it well. Twelve and a quarter inches, ash, rather springy, and the tail hair from a rather fine unicorn, if I recall. Nearly stabbed me with its horn when I plucked its tail,” He recalled, giving the wand a wave, which produced fine sparks. “It’s in fine working condition,” He declared.

Viktor Krum was next.

“Ah, this is one of Gregorovitch’s, is it not?” Ollivander recalled.

“Yes,” Viktor said quickly.

“Well, it’s in fine condition, thicker than usual, but then again, Mister Gregorovitch likes to make them that way.” He noted, “Hmm, quite rigid, ten and a quarter inches, hornbeam and dragon heartstring,” Ollivander gave it a wave, which sent out water. Then he handed it back to Viktor.

Then Harry went up.

“Ahh, yes,” Ollivander said, recalling Harry’s wand, “Holly, eleven inches, rather supple, and a phoenix feather core,”

He gave the wand a wave, and light shot out from the end.

Then finally it was Luz’s turn. She walked up to the old man and took Stringbean off of her shoulder and onto the table.

“Ahh, yes!” Mr. Ollivander recalled, “You were the Witch with the, err, ‘Palisman’, as you called it,”

“Would you like me to do the magic to demonstrate her?” Luz asked.

“Actually,” Mr. Ollivander stated, “If you wouldn’t mind, I would like to have a try at using your magic. The Demon Realm seems to operate differently than our world, and as a wandmaker, these differences are fascinating to me,”

Stringbean, realizing her cue, summoned her staff from hammerspace and coiled herself around it. But before Mr. Ollivander could obtain the staff, Mr. Fudge piped in.

“Are you sure about that?” He asked the old wandmaker. “I mean, it comes from someplace called the ‘Demon Realm’, doesn’t that concern you at least a little?”

“Not in the slightest,” Mr. Ollivander replied.

“Well, it should,” He retorted, “Who knows what kind of sin and debauchery might be going on there, not to mention any dark magic they might use,”

This was starting to really get on Luz’s nerves, but she was going to try to hold her tongue.

“I mean really, the Demon realm?” He said indignantly, “Maybe that’s where You-know-who is from.”

“Voldemort’s not from there and you know it!” Harry retorted from the back of the room.

“Regardless,” Fudge said, ignoring Harry entirely, “You can’t trust this… thing” He indicated to Stringbean, “Who knows what it’ll do to you! The snake could… come back alive and bite you! Or… wrap itself around your neck and choke you out!”

“Cornelius Fudge,” Dumbledore said firmly from near Harry, standing up. “We are here to foster cooperation and friendship between the Demon Realm and Human Realm. If you don’t want to be a part of that interdimensional magical contact, you have my invitation to leave,”

“Well… I… err…” Mr. Fudge said sheepishly, sitting back down as his face turned red, “I suppose you could give the thing a try if you insist.”

With a nod from Luz, Mr. Ollivander finally got to try to use Stringbean.

“Now, err. How exactly does this work?” He asked. Luz decided to try to help the man.

“Try to picture in your head what it is you want to do, and draw a circle in the air. The bigger the circle, the more powerful the spell will be.” She explained.

“Interesting, that reminds me of something I heard about a Native American tribe, I believe it was the Potatuck specifically, they similarly cast magic,” He recalls, “Or so our records from early settlers claim.”

Seemingly unaware of the fact that he unintentionally revealed the fact that the Wizarding World and Demon Realm have had some contact since at least the seventeenth century, Mr. Ollivander attempted to cast a spell with Stringbean.

He drew a small circle in the air in front of him. And a small puff of light was emitted.

“You did it!” Luz exclaimed.

“Yes, I did!” The old man said with a hint of childlike wonder.

“Would it be… possible for me to have one for my own?” He asked.

Luz sighed, “The wood that is used for carving Palismen comes from the Palistrom tree, which is nearly extinct. You could talk to my friend Hunter, he could give you more info on whether or not you could get one,”

Mr. Ollivander handed the wand back to her. “Thank you for allowing me to use your staff. And good luck to all champions on your third and final task of this Pentawizard Tournament!”