The Girl Who Fought | h.p |

The Quibbler

Harry Potter and Nova Lupin-Black Speak Out At Last:

The Truth About He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named 

And The Night We Saw Him Return

By Reeta Skeeter

Last June, Harry Potter returned from the last task of the Triwizard Tournament clutching the bodies of fellow Hogwarts Champions, Cedric Diggory and Nova Lupin-Black. One dead. One unconscious, barely breathing. One alive. The question remains.

What happened?

While on what one can assume is a date between the two fifteen-year-olds, I was able to discuss and question what happened that night. They both agreed to speak with me, cutting their date short. 

I asked the young couple to recount the night's events, starting from when they entered the maze. Miss Lupin-Black, being the first in the maze, responded. 

"I remember making a joke to Ced before going into the maze. He was nervous, so I hoped making a joke would calm him down," She began. "It was a muggle reference to a thing I saw in a book. 'Good luck, Ced. See you on the other side,' I had joked. He didn't understand the reference and I teased him about it. I obviously didn't expect him to die. The moment the whistle sounded, we raced in. His legs being marginally longer than mine, met the fork in the path first. That was the last time I saw him before the Graveyard.

"The last thing I said to him was in a teasing tone," Lupin-Black said with a sorrowful look in her eyes. "Then I heard the whistles being blown, signaling the other champions entering the maze. Harry. Krum. Fleur. In between the time in which Fleur entered the maze and when Harry and Krum entered, I was facing a boggart. I got past it easily due to my Pa's lessons. 

"Then the third whistle was blown and Fleur, my favorite French Lady, entered. I casted a spell that would point me North, knowing I had to travel further south. It was a spell Hermione taught me." Lupin-Black continued to tell her tale. "I remember getting becoming frustrated. I remember wishing a friend of mine, Seamus, was there. He knows a lot about pyrotechnics. I wanted to burn the hedges down, but before I could, footsteps approached. They were erractic and uneven. The sound of steps being taken with an artificial leg. At first I had assumed it was Moody seeing as he was supposed to patroling."

At this point, Miss Lupin-Black shivered. 

"I found it odd he was approaching me. Images of the tik Mad-Eye had flashed through my mind, like a warning. It didn't add up. I always looked up to Alastor Moody, the man who filled half the cells in Azkahban. I thought back to why his face twitch bothered me so d*** much." Lupin-Black stated. "Then I remember reading about how Barty Crouch Junior had the same problem. It wasn't until he threw a spell at me did I assume the worse. It all made sense. He has enough magic and extensive knowledge in how to enter our names in the Goblet. Luckily, I was able to dodge the spell. Unfortunate for me, I caught the portkey he had thrown to me about to pure habit. I was instantly transported to the Graveyard where I faced a loyal follower of V********. He paralyzed me. At first, I couldn't feel my fingers and toes. Then, it slowly crept up my arms and legs, down my spine. It was a tingling sensation, like a spider crawling up my spine. I couldn't move. I couldn't speak."

Mr. Potter took over for the time being. 

"I met Cedric in the middle of the maze. I helped him with this Acromantula. When we made it to the cup, he told me to take it. He told me that I deserved it. But I was stubborn. I told him he is the real Hogwarts Champion. In the end, we took it together, guaranteeing the win for Hogwarts. When we landed in the Graveyard, I instantly regretted it. I had a bad feeling about it." Potter said solemnly. "We had our wands out, ready to fight. That's when I saw it. A loyal follower of V******** came into view. He was carrying a bundle. It looked almost like a baby."