The Cupboard Series 4: The Fourth School

Chapter 27

"Harry?"

From the floor where he'd landed after FLOOing back home, Harry looked up to see an upside down Hermione smiling sweetly down at him.

Rolling over so that his girlfriend was the right way up once again, he smiled up at her. "Hi, Hermione."

"Harry," she repeated, "why did a couple of goblins deliver three horses to the manor half an hour ago?"

"They did? Good," he replied, climbing to his feet and shooting Sirius a significant look.

"Where did they come from?" she repeated.

"Dumbledore," he shrugged.

"Dumbledore?" she repeated slowly.

"Yeah, he had to give us three horses as a part of the betrothal contract," he replied absently.

Beside him, Sirius' eyes suddenly widened before he fled the room, slamming the door behind him.

"Betrothal contract?" Hermione asked and something in her voice caused Harry to want to run after his godfather. "What betrothal contract is this?"

"The one between me and Ginny Weasley," Harry replied, instantly realising that he'd said the wrong thing when she spun on her heel.

One hand whipped out, grabbing her arm to stop her flight.

"It's not what you're thinking," he told her quickly. "Dumbledore and Molly Weasley tried to set one up a couple of years ago, but it's worthless; Dumbledore signed it after Sirius and Minerva had already become my guardians."

Hermione slowly turned back around, her eyes narrowed. "If it's worthless, then why would Dumbledore give you three horses?"

Tugging on her arm, Harry pulled her across to the small couch against the far wall.

"Well, when I was emancipated, Slipshard showed us the contract that Dumbledore had tried to make," Harry began. "Since then, Padfoot's been working on a prank to get back at Dumbledore and Mollly Weasley for signing the thing. And today was the day that we pulled it off. You see ..."

-oOoOo-

Hermione eyed the strange box that her mother carried into the dining room for the evening meal curiously. Seeing it placed against the wall under one of the side tables and then seemingly ignored, she gave an internal shrug and turned back to her conversation with Lil.

The meal progressed normally from that point on: conversations abounded up and down the table amongst both the teens and adults, punctuated by bouts of laughter and the occasional playful shove.

Finally, dessert (a rich, moist chocolate mud cake topped with cream and strawberries) was finished and spoons clinked into empty bowls.

It was then that Headmistress McGonagall rose from her seat and tapped her glass drawing all eyes to her and all conversations to fall away.

"Thank you," she said, sweeping her eyes down one side of the table and back up the other. "I have just a couple of announcements this evening; announcements that I think you are going to find of particular interest."

Hermione straightened slightly in her seat. Her hand was given a slight squeeze where it rested in Harry's lap causing her to shoot him a quick smile.

"Firstly," Headmistress McGonagall continued, "I should tell you that I met with Headmaster Dumbledore yesterday to discuss Diricawl's involvement in the Yule Ball that is scheduled for Christmas Eve as part of the TriWizard Tournament."

Beside her, Hermione felt Harry stiffen slightly.

"I will admit that we, your teachers, were initially reluctant to allow any of you to go," Headmistress McGonagall stated. "But after talking to Headmaster Dumbledore, we've been given a number of reassurances and concessions which have changed our minds."