PHANTOM FIGURES | harry potter

49. house-elf liberation front

     Aspen, Harry, Jasmine, Hermione, and Ron went up to the Owlery that evening to find Pigwidgeon, so that Harry could send Sirius a letter telling him that he and Aspen had managed to get past their dragons unscathed. On the way, Aspen and Harry filled Ron in on everything about Karkaroff. Though shocked at first to hear Karkaroff had been a Death Eater, by the time they entered the Owlery Ron was saying that they ought to have suspected it all along.

     "Fits, doesn't it?" he said. "Remember what Malfoy said on the train, about his dad being friends with Karkaroff? Now we know where they knew each other. They were probably running around in the masks at the World Cup... I'll tell you one thing, though, Harry, Aspen, if it was Karkaroff who put your names in the goblet, he's going to be feeling really stupid now, isn't he? Didn't work, did it? You two only got scratches! Come here - I'll do it-"

     Pigwidgeon was so excited at the idea of a delivery he was flying around and around Harry's head, hooting incessantly. Ron snatched Pigwidgeon out of the air and held him still whilst Harry attached the letter to his leg.

     "There's no way any of the other tasks are going to be that dangerous, how could they be?" Ron went on as he carried Pigwidgeon to the window. "You know what? I reckon either of you could win this tournament. I'm serious."

     Aspen knew Ron was only saying this to make up for his behaviour of the last few weeks, but she appreciated it all the same. Hermione, however, leaned against the Owlery wall, folded her arms, and frowned at Ron.

     "Harry and Aspen have got a long way to go before they finish this tournament," she said seriously. "If that was the first task, I hate to think what is coming next."

     "Right little ray of sunshine, aren't you?" said Ron. "You and Professor Trelawney should get together sometime."

     Jasmine sighed. "Don't poke the bear, Ronald."

      "Did you just compare me to a bear?" Hermione asked incredulously, looking at Jasmine disapprovingly.

     Ron threw Pigwidgeon out of the window. The owl plummeted three metres before managing to pull himself back up again; the letter attached to his leg was much longer and heavier than usual - Harry decided to give Sirius a blow-by-blow account of his and Aspen's success. They watched Pigwidgeon disappear into the darkness, and then Ron said, "Well, we'd better get downstairs for your surprise party, Harry - Fred and George should have nicked enough food from the kitchens by now."

     When Aspen returned to Ravenclaw Tower that night she was greeted with everyone in her house waiting in the common room. When the door opened they broke out into applause.

     "Aspen!"

     "Congratulations!"

     "What's inside the egg?"

     "Open it!"

     "Yeah!"

     So many people were yelling all at once. She stood there shocked.

     A nearby sixth year shouted, "Shut it!" when Aspen tried to open her mouth to speak so everyone could hear her.

     "Oh - er - I'm not sure, I haven't tried to yet." She said awkwardly, everyone was watching her and she just wanted to go to sleep.

     "Well, do it then!"

     Aspen dug her fingernails into the groove that ran all the way around the golden egg and pried it open.

     It was hollow and completely empty - but the moment Aspen opened it, the most horrible noise, a loud and screechy wailing, filled the room.

     "Close it!" someone screamed, ears covered by their hands with a grimace plastered on their face.