Harry Potter And The Champion's Champion

Rita and Sex Scandals

Disclaimer: I do not own the HP Characters.

A/N: Everybody was fair game in this chapter. If you see a major issue or typo please let me know. I do my own proofreading and do miss things on occasion.

Chapter 9

The spider looked over at the large lump of the wrapped dung beetle in disgust. The smell emanating from the thing was enough to turn his stomach. He had already wrapped it in three additional layers of webbing and still the smell continued. 'Maybe it needs more time,' the spider thought, but realized time was running out. The snow the previous day had indicated it was time for him to hibernate or die. 'I'll give it a few more hours. If it still stinks, I'll abandon it. Can't have that smell ruining my hibernation.'

xXxXxXx

Rita Skeeter awoke to an extremely bad taste in her beetle mouth. The first thing she noticed was that she was moving slightly as if swaying in a breeze. The next was that she couldn't move her body. As her beetle-eyed vision came in its multifaceted focus, she realized most of the facets were covered in some kind of milky white thread substance. But the few facets that were able to see could clearly make out an enormous, eight-legged creature.

'Oh no, it's an acromantula! I better transform back and get out of here.' And as she was about to revert back to her human form, she remembered an article she had read in a fashion magazine on acromantula silk being the strongest substance known. 'More sturdy than most metals,' the article had said. 'If I revert back and the silk doesn't break, I'll die,' Rita thought. Panic descended into the mind of the self-declared Daily Prophet's best reporter and she blacked out.

xXxXxXx

Harry awoke the next morning after the Yule Ball in a very good mood. The melodies of the previous evening came instantly to his mind along with the beauty of his Mione. He could still feel her in his arms as the music played, the look of enjoyment she had in her eyes. He remembered the garden in all its splendor with all the flowers blooming.

'Flowers! That's it,' he thought. 'I'll get Hermione some flowers to tell her how much I loved last night.' Harry quickly scrambled out of bed and quickly dressed. Right before he left his room he had a thought. 'I wonder if we are allowed to pick the flowers. I guess I should just make sure no one sees me.' He quickly grabbed the Marauder's map and made his way to the garden. He was happy to find the warming charm was still in place, meaning the flowers hadn't been damaged. He quickly glanced at the map and, finding no one else in the garden, started picking two dozen roses. Once he had finished, he started thinking of how to get them to Hermione and a thought came to him.

"Dobby?" Harry said quietly and, a second later, the little elf was beside him.

"What can Dobby do for Harry Potter sir?" The house elf asked.

"Dobby, is there something these can be put in?"

"Yes sir, Harry Potter sir. I can put them in a nice vase."

"Can you do that please, Dobby? And would it be possible for you to put them next to Hermione's bed so she sees them when she wakes up?"

"Oh yes sir, Harry Potter sir. Dobby can do that. Can Dobby cut them and make them all fancy sir?" Dobby asked.

"I want them perfect for her, Dobby. Anything you can do would be appreciated and I'll pay you a galleon. But she wouldn't want you to do too much."

"Yes Sir. Dobby will make them perfect." Dobby said and took the roses from Harry and disappeared.

Harry looked at the map one more time to make sure there was still no one there and was almost ready to wipe it when he noticed a name of a person he did not expect to see. The name Rita Skeeter was next to the base of one of the nearby towers and she wasn't moving. 'I wonder what she's doing here this early in the morning. Maybe I'll sneak over and see,' Harry thought.