Harry was fairly positive that he hated Professor McGonagall. Really, what had she been thinking inviting the Dursleys to see the final task? He was nervous enough as it was, going into a maze filled with all kinds of potential dangers. Wasn't that enough to worry about without having to look over his shoulder every second of the day to be sure that Uncle Vernon wasn't going to smack him, or that Aunt Petunia wasn't spreading rumors and lies about him? Well, at least he could rest assured that they would never come. They hated magic and they hated him, and he could see no reason that they would turn out in support of him winning the tournament. He couldn't imagine anything McGonagall might have said in the letter to them that would make them come.

Unfortunate as it was however, Harry was shocked to be approached by McGonagall one day after dinner in an empty corridor, wide smile on her face and Muggle envelope in her hand.

"What's that?" Harry asked, pointing to the envelope.

"It's a reply from your family Mr. Potter. They will be attending the final round of the tournament. The Headmaster himself will be escorting them here. Now, as the other families are coming two days before the start of the tournament, yours will be as well. They will be put up in the guest quarters nearest to Gryffindor tower so that you may spend some free-time with them after their arrival."

Harry simply stood there with his mouth open, feeling as though he'd just been told his mother and father were a troll and he was going to start the transformation any day now.

"They're coming?"

"Yes. I was pleased to see their response."

"What did you say to them to get them to come?" It was barely more than a whisper now.

"I simply informed them of the dangerous nature of the tasks you have been competing in, and that the winner of the tournament will gain a large sum of gold."

Oh, well, that explained it then, Harry thought. Both of the Dursleys main interests would be served by coming: There was a good chance that Harry might gain grievous bodily harm, and if he survived and won, he would be fabulously rich and they probably hoped they could make him give them most or all of the money.

"I shall leave you to your evening then Mr. Potter. I should hope that you're continuing to spend your free-time preparing for the tournament? It is only three weeks away and seeing that you're two years behind your competitors, I would hope that you're taking every advantage you can get."

"Yes maam," Harry said obediently and suddenly feeling down. She didn't seem to notice however, and smiled at him before walking away.

Half an hour later, Harry made his way into the common room in a stupor, drawing the attention of his friends.

"What's wrong? You look like Peeves has been playing jokes on you again," Ron said when Harry walked right past him without giving any notice that he'd seen him standing there at all.

"Huh? Oh. Family's coming to the last task."

"What?"

"Family. Last task. Here."

Ron and Hermione gave each other a look. They knew how Harry had been treated, especially Ron who had seen the bars on Harry's windows when he and his brothers had gone to rescue Harry after first year.

"Why would they do that?" Hermione asked quietly, ignoring a sudden loud outburst from the other side of the room where a first year had just accidentally caught his homework on fire.

"To see me get hurt or to make me give them my winnings, or both," Harry said. "It's the best I can figure. They hate magic and they hate me. I can't imagine them wanting to step foot anywhere near this place. And worst off McGonagall says I'm to spend time with them when they get here."

"Well you're not going to are you?" Ginny asked, coming over to join the conversation. "They sound like ghastly people."

Harry blushed then. He'd had his eye on Ginny all year now, and he was fairly sure she'd been watching him as well.

"They are... ghastly," he said, clearing his throat then. "And I don't want them here."

"Can't you tell Dumbledore?" Ron asked.

"No. I think he's in on it. He's going to pick them up and bring them here two days before the tournament."

"Just fantastic," Ron said. "You don't think they'll try to take the money from you, do you?"

Harry shrugged. "Yeah, they'll probably say I owe them and threaten to tell people stuff about me if I don't give it to them."

"Why don't you ‘wizard will' it away first?" Ginny asked then, and Harry frowned.

"Do what?"

"Wizard will..." Hermione said, "You write a document that says if you were to win the money, then it's to go somewhere else. Then you bind it with magic. If you don't win the money then nothing happens. If you do, then the money automatically goes to wherever you've willed it to go."

"Where would he put it?" Ron asked.

"Into savings of course," Hermione told him, always the sensible one.

Harry looked to Ginny. It had been her idea and he wanted to know what she thought more than either of the others. "What do you think?" he asked her.

"It's one hundred Galleons, right? I think you should will half of it into an investment, will twenty into savings to pay for the rest of your school supplies until you graduate, and will thirty to someone you trust who will give it all back to you after your relatives leave."

"Right here," Ron said jokingly pointing at his chest.

"Let's put this to paper now," Harry said. "Someone go get Fred and George." Ron didn't ask why, he just went out the Portrait hole to find his brothers.

Harry lead Ginny and Hermione up to the empty fourth year boy's dormitory where he pulled out a new roll of parchment and sat down at his and Ron's shared desk. Ginny and Hermione helped him start the wizard will and Hermione was fairly good at giving him binding legal terms to use so that there could be no mistaking the will or where the money was to go to. "I'm giving thirty to you Ginny," Harry said. "It was your idea, and I trust you."

"I'm touched," she said, and when Harry looked up into her eyes, he knew it was true. Just then Ron came in with the twins though, who were covered from head to toe in dirt for some reason, and ruined the moment.

"You wanted to see us Harry?" Fred asked, brushing some dirt from his right sleeve.

"Don't mind the filth," George said. "It's for a new line of pranks. We're making dirt bombs with Filch in mind."

Hermione rolled her eyes but Harry only smiled. "We're making a wizard will in case I win the tournament money, so that my family won't try to take it from me. I'm putting half into an investment... you guys."

"Us?"

"You're starting a joke shop after school, right? Well you can have fifty galleons of my winnings to get you started."

"Are you sure Harry?"

"I'd rather you have it than them."

Harry scribbled it down then and when the wizard will was done, Harry, Fred, George, and Ginny signed it, and then Ron and Hermione as witnesses. Hermione then took the will and bound it in magic, before giving it to Harry and Ron to do the same. When it was finished, Hermione banished it with her wand and told Harry the incantation to bring it back.

"Good," Harry said, not feeling at peace with the situation, but feeling better knowing that the money would be taken care of at least.

"We'll be off then," George said. "Need to shower before bed and get the dirt bomb off. We'll start giving you our samples first dear benefactor."

"Don't give me anything yet," Harry said. "I haven't won anything and might not."

"We'll make sure you do," Fred said, and then they were gone.

Ginny and Hermione left too to go to their own dorms and Harry lay down on his four-poster, trying to imagine what it would be like with the Dursleys at Hogwarts. It would be even worse if they brought Dudley, Harry thought, and his stomach felt sick then. It had already been a bad year, what with the entire school turning on him after his name had been put in the cup without his knowledge. He didn't need everyone turning against him again just because his relatives showed up and started spreading lies.

"It'll be all right," Ron said from the next bed where he lay reading a Quidditch Magazine. "We'll be with you and if they try anything, maybe we'll give them tails to match Dudley's." This made Harry laugh, and Ron smiled because he was the cause of his friend's smile.

* * *

The only thing that kept Harry's mind off of the Dursley's impending arrival over the next few weeks, was the intensive training his friends had been putting him through. At every opportunity they made their way out onto the grounds and down to Hagrid's hut, where Hermione taught him useful charms, Ron taught him defensive spells, and the twins imparted unto him their knowledge of fist fighting, just in case his wand failed him in the last task. It was his time with Ginny that he looked forward to the most however. Every morning at five am he and Ginny went out onto the grounds in the darkness and ran or did situps and other activities to increase Harry's endurance. The best day however was when they were down by the lake missing breakfast, and Ginny reached down into the water to splash a little back at Harry. "Oh yeah?" Harry had said in response to her grin, and he leapt forward tackling her and taking them both into the cold water.

"Harry!" Ginny screamed at him, and despite the cold and the fog still lingering across the surface of the lake and damp ground, they splashed a great deal of water at each other. Finally Harry grabbed Ginny around the shoulders so she couldn't splash him anymore, and they both stilled, looking into each other's eyes.

"You'll be careful at the tournament, won't you?" Ginny asked him.

"Well, I don't know," Harry said playfully. "Why should I?"

Ginny bit her lip. "Well if you die or something, I won't have anyone to do this with." Then she had moved in shyly and given him a quick kiss. When she pulled away he surprised her by pulling her back in for another kiss however. If the tournament wasn't in three days and the Dursley's weren't arriving tomorrow, Harry would have said that this was the start of a very good week.

* * *

Despite that Ginny was holding his hand, Harry was very anxious. He had no idea when the Dursleys would be arriving today or if he'd be notified. A thousand unpleasant scenarios had run through his mind in the days leading up to it. The Dursleys sneaking up on him, the Dursleys threatening his teachers or friends, the Dursleys conspiring with Filch to lock Harry in a broom cupboard, Dudley trying to get Harry into trouble, Dudley spreading rumors about Harry to the Slytherins... yes, Harry was anxious.

"I just saw Cedric's dad," Ron said as he walked up to where Harry was with Ginny, Hermione, and Luna. Harry was leaning against a corridor wall, Ginny's hand in his the only thing that was allowing him to display a calm exterior to the world.

"I met Mr. Diggory once," Luna said dreamily. "He buys The Quibbler."  Harry and his friends generally didn't hang out with Luna, but she was Ginny's friend, and with Harry spending more time with Ginny, that meant spending time with Luna as well.

"Really?" Ron asked, eyebrow raised, and she nodded.

A few moments later and the twins had walked up to deliver the same news that Ron had. "Guess if we see ol' Dumbly then we'll know they're here," Fred said giving Harry a fake punch in the shoulder.

"But that's not all we came to tell you," George piped in then. "We came to give you our latest official product. The double dirt bomb." He held out what looked like several pieces of brown chalky candy.

"Just throw and it will explode in dirt clods," Fred explained. "If you add a little water before tossing, it will explode in mud."

"Can I have one?" Ron asked, and Harry handed one over to his friend who examined it closely.

"Not just any mud either," Fred continued. "We did extensive testing. If you throw it at someone's feet, it'll keep them stuck to the ground pretty well."

"Who did you test it on?" Hermione asked.

"Filch," they both chimed. Harry gave a little laugh despite his anxiety then and pocketed the ten or so double dirt bombs.

A few minutes later, Severus Snape was displeased to pass by the Potter Fan Club. Four Weasleys, Granger, Luna Lovegood, Longbottom and Seamus Finnegan were all standing around him in a group laughing. He had half a mind to give them detention for loitering in the halls, but there were other students around too as it was after lunch and the school had been given the second half of the day off so that the champions could greet their families. Ugh, Potter's family in the castle he sneered. How wonderful. Just what the brat needed... more pampering. Snape hurried by and out of sight, just before the Dursley's rounded the corner being led by Collin Creevy, who was extolling the virtues and heroism of Harry Potter.

When the Dursleys happened upon the scene of students, they almost didn't even see Potter there in the middle of them with a smile on his face until one of the tall red headed boy's said his name.

Vernon grunted and nudged Petunia, before pointing into the group. "What's this about then?" He asked her, and she closed her eyes. She hated being in this place and didn't want to see or hear any of it. Dudley was standing there next to her, pudgy as ever and staring at Harry's popularity with his jaw hanging open, giving him the appearance of a small hungry hippo needing to be fed.

Seeing that his wife and son seemed incapacitated at the moment, and tired of hearing their tiny blond guide babble nonsense about Potter, he moved forward cleared his throat behind the group.

Ron looked up and with a warning look at Vernon stepped aside. The entire group was looking at him now, and Harry noticed Dudley and aunt Petunia in the back about ten feet behind uncle Vernon.

"Er... boy. We're here."

"Ok," Harry said, still holding Ginny's hand and feeling that he could be non-chalant about it if his friends were all here with him.

"I was just showing them to their room Harry," Collin said. "Want to come?"

Harry was going to say no, but he knew what the Dursleys were like, and didn't want to see Collin get hurt.

"C'mon," Harry said, hoping his friends would come too. Because most of them knew what the Dursleys were like, they did go and Harry was pleased.

"Hello," Luna said to Dudley as they walked, Vernon holding Petunia's hand because her eyes were still closed.

"What?" Dudley asked. He was still staring at Harry and Ginny holding hands.

"I'm Luna," she said. "My father is the editor for a national magazine. Would you like a copy?"

"Your father is important and you're friends with Harry?" Dudley asked in a conspiratorial whisper.

"Of course I am. Most of us are friends with Harry. Only the Slytherins don't like him because he fights evil."

"Slytherins?"

"The students that live in the dungeon," Luna said in her dreamy voice. "Not all of them are bad, but they don't like Harry very much."

"But everyone else does?"

"Of course."

Dudley frowned. He was at the back of the group with Luna now and nobody else seemed to be aware of the conversation except for Neville, who had hung back to be sure Luna was ok.

"Why on earth would anybody like Harry?"

Neville scoffed then and turned around. "He's the best Quidditch player at the school, year after year he beats back the darkest most evil wizard of our time so that we can be safe, he's friendly, he's fun to be around, he's kind, he sticks up for other people who need it, he's good in school, and he's always off on some adventure that everyone wishes they could have been a part of after it's over. Even the professor's like him."

"Yeah, ok, whatever," Dudley scoffed, crossing his arms. "Did he pay you to say that?"

"I don't need payment," Neville said.

"Harry's got a good heart," Luna continued then. "He's got a vault full of gold, and I'm sure he'd give it to those in need if they asked."

"But nobody's asking," Neville said then. He took Luna's hand then and they headed up to the front of the group, leaving Dudley to catch up to his parents in this unfamiliar world.

At the guest quarters down the hall from Gryffindor tower, Collin opened the door and then presented a map of the castle to the Dursleys that Dumbledore had instructed him to give them.

"Meals happen in the Great Hall three times a day," Collin said then. "If you don't show up for a meal then food will be brought up here by the house elves."

"The what?" Vernon asked warily.

"House elves," Collin said, the smile never leaving his face. "Little creatures with wrinkly faces and big ears that do all the chores around the school. Don't worry though, they're friendly enough. They won't hurt you."

Collin left then without a thank you from anyone but Harry, and Harry took a quick glance around the posh quarters before backing out of the room, where his friends were waiting outside.

"Dinner's in an hour," Harry said. "The Great Hall is on the first floor. Just keep following the stairs down until you find it, and ask a portrait if you get lost."

"A what boy?" Petunia finally asked, opening her eyes and looking pale.

"A picture of a person, hanging on the wall," Harry said. "If you're lucky you'll get Sir Cadogan." Harry turned again and went to the door, hurrying out and closing it before they called him back in again.

Ron slapped Harry on the back of the shoulder. "That wasn't so bad."

Harry shrugged. "Hope they don't come down to dinner."

"They hate it here. You really think they would?"

With a frown, Harry thought to himself, ‘I really hope not.'

Harry was to be disappointed however, as he spotted the Dursleys looking uncertain on the threshold of the Great Hall that night at the start of dinner. Dudley was staring up at the ceiling in awe and Vernon's eyes were scanning the sea of students and staff. Harry could tell he was saying something to aunt Petunia but couldn't tell what for all the noise.

"Better go get them Harry," Hermione said, and he nodded, not wanting to get chastised by McGonagall for leaving them standing there. He should have just skipped dinner altogether he thought.

Fast-walking over to them, Harry said hurriedly, "Come on, over here," and hurried back to the table with his head down, hoping to be invisible. From the staff table Snape watched with a sneer. What, was the little brat afraid his guardians would embarrass him? Yes, he himself thought Petunia was horrid, but that was no excuse for the brat's blatant show of disrespect after all they'd done for him. If the Potter spawn had showed up at his front door, he would not have taken him in even if Voldemort himself was hot on the brat's tail.

"Budge up," Fred said loudly when they approached the spot Harry had left, and the students around them on both sides of the table got up and scooted down. Harry purposely sat on the opposite side, and Ginny got up to be with him, gripping his hand under the table again. Dudley, curious, followed Harry and sat on his other side.

Because this was the first night that the families were visiting, there were extra special foods on the table, including roast duck, rabbit, and several other kinds of meats, not to mention twenty five kinds of deserts.

"This is how you eat every night?" Dudley asked in awe. They never served anything other than cafeteria food at Smeltings.

"They don't serve duck or this many deserts," Harry said quietly, serving himself a second helping of candied carrots and shepherd's pie. "But yeah, we have a lot of food here."

Petunia poked at the salad in the bowl next to her plate as if she expected it to come alive and eat her fork, and Vernon stared at Harry with a curious look as he loaded up his plate with steak and kidney pie.

"Why are some of the students dressed differently?" he asked, surprising Harry. They never made conversation with him at home, and he hadn't expected them to start now.

"This is an international tournament," Harry said. The rest of his friends were cautiously listening to the exchange, wary of any trouble the Dursleys might cause. "The students in red are from the school in Bulgaria and the students in blue are from the Academy in France. One student from each school gets to compete."

"And you're competing for... Hogwarts?" Vernon asked, careful with the last word, one of the many words that was always forbidden at four Privet Drive.

"Two of us are competing," Harry said. "I'm not supposed to be in the competition."

"But?"

Dudley was curious about this now too, and Harry wasn't sure what to say, so Hermione spoke up instead.

"A magical cup decides who gets to compete for each school. You're only allowed to compete if you're 17 because it's all very dangerous. After the cup chose the seventh year from Hogwarts, it chose Harry as well, even though he's only a fourth year."

"And why would it do that?" Petunia suddenly spit out, glaring at Harry, as if it were somehow his fault that she had been dragged here against her will.

"Somebody's trying to kill me," Harry said. "The headmaster reckons someone bewitched the cup to get my name out of it too so that I'd die in the tournament. Probably Voldemort."

Several people gasped at the name then, but Harry was used to it by now.

"Well you're not dead yet are you?" Petunia sneered.

"Harry almost died fighting the dragon," Ron said. "It chased him on his broom all the way out of the arena and to the castle. Harry came back alive though.

"And the merpeople tried to get him at the bottom of the lake in the second competition," Neville put in. "But Harry won extra points because he did his part in the task and then helped the other competitors too. He's tied for first place with Cedric Diggory, the other champion from Hogwarts."

"A dragon?" Dudley asked with a mouthful of food. Maybe this wouldn't be such a bad vacation after all. There did seem to be some very interesting things here, including the portraits that moved and talked like they were on a TV show. They'd helped them find their way to dinner.

"A red Chinese Fireball," Harry said. "It caught the tail of my broom on fire."

They ate in silence for a while, Ginny leaning in to Harry beside him despite the odd looks Vernon was giving them. When the main course vanished and even more deserts appeared, Vernon asked, "And what is the last part of the competition?"

Harry looked up from his strawberry orange cake. "It's a maze. We have to make it all the way through the maze first to win. There are dangerous creatures and magical traps. It's a test of magical prowess, wisdom, and bravery. Cedric and I get to go in first since we're both in first place. Viktor and Fleur get to come in a few minutes later."

"Doesn't seem fair does it," Vernon said with a glare at Harry, as if he must have cheated to get to first place to start with.

"Well Viktor Krumm is the star player on the Bulgarian National Quidditch team, we saw him play this year at Nationals didn't we Harry. He's famous and we reckon he's had extensive training. And Fleur is from Beaubatons, where they train them hard for challenges like this almost year round with no breaks. Not to mention all of the other contestants are 17 and have three years more training and schooling than Harry does. Harry, didn't they record the first two tasks?"

Harry looked up and shrugged. He thought he'd heard something like that. "Professor McGonagall probably knows," he said.

After dinner, uncle Vernon asked Harry to take them back up to their quarters, alone. His friends looked reluctant to leave him alone with them, but he gave them a nod and waved them off.

When the Great Hall was mostly empty, Harry lead the Dursleys off.

"What's a Seeker?" Dudley asked as they started up the first set of stairs.

"The star player on a Quidditch team. If the Seeker catches the golden Snitch... a flying golf ball basically, then the game is over and he earns his team 150 points."

"And that's you?" Dudley asked.

"Harry nodded."

"Is it dangerous?"

"Sometimes."

"Hush Dudley," Petunia told him, and Dudley closed his mouth.

"How about a tour," Vernon said, and Harry shuddered as the man clapped him hard on the shoulder. He wasn't sure if it was an order or not. Harry stopped on the stairs and pointed back down to the ground floor.

"Over there is the entrance to the Dungeons. Professor Snape and the Slytherins live down there, and we have Potions class there three times a week. The other way is Hufflepuff house and the kitchens. Hufflepuff is the house Cedric Diggory is in. Ravenclaw tower is up that way by the library and Gryffindor house is right by your guest rooms.

"How about the library then," Vernon said, and Harry swallowed. They had a while until curfew, but there wouldn't be many people in the library at this time of night aside from Madam Pince and some Ravenclaws, and maybe even Hermione.

"Ok," Harry said. He reluctantly pointed out classrooms as they went and explained what they were for, and sometimes pointed out hidden passageways behind a suite of armor or tapestry. Many of the portraits greeted Harry as they walked, and wished him good luck in the upcoming tournament. Surprisingly Petunia kept her eyes open through it all. Finally they reached the library.

Madam Pince was there at her desk as always and Harry was thankful that there was a staff member nearby to keep him from being murdered, though Harry had never seen her do any magic before.

"We don't have a library like this at Smeltings," Dudley said, and Petunia shushed him again. There were students from random houses scattered about studying in chairs or at tables and desks, but Harry didn't think they were disturbing them. He was thankful to also spot Hermione and Ginny at a table a few isles back.

"Hermione said once that Madam Pince has over a million books here. I heard Ravenclaw has their own private library too, but I've never been inside."

"You get good grades?"

Harry looked over at his aunt, surprised that she wanted to know. "Mostly O's."

"O's?" Dudley scoffed. "You must be terrible!"

"O for outstanding," Harry said. "It's the highest mark you can get. The lowest is D for dreadful. The only class I never get an O in is potions because the professor doesn't like me."

"Snape?" Petunia asked with disdain, and Harry nodded.

"Funny that he would hate you," she said. "He was always fumbling over himself for Lily."

Harry frowned. Snape and his mum? Anything was possible he guessed, glancing at the Dursleys, who he was leading on a tour of Hogwarts. Anything at all.

"I better take you back to the guest rooms now," Harry said. "Curfew is soon and I don't want to get detention."

"Will you get kicked out of the competition if you get detention?" Vernon asked.

"No, but Snape's usually lurking somewhere and I don't want to chance it."

"Best get you back then," Vernon said, and he took Harry's shoulder and steered him out the door. They must want the money," Harry thought. Yes, that was it, they were being falsely nice to him because they wanted him to share his winnings. Well, he'd already taken care of that, hadn't he, he thought smugly.

* * *

In the morning the Dursleys appeared at the table for breakfast again, and Harry was unfortunate enough to find himself with a free period to start off the day, so he took them for a very fast tour of the grounds, just down to the lake and back. Ginny went with him, thankfully, and they made it back just in time for Harry to go to defense with Professor Moody.

"Where to next boy?" Vernon asked as they got back into the castle.

"I have to go to defense class," Harry said. "If we hurry I can take you back to your rooms."

"That McGonagall woman said we could attend classes with you."

Harry glanced at Ginny for help, but she said, "Sorry Harry. I heard her telling all of the parents that this morning."

Ginny gave him a kiss on the cheek and then hurried off amongst a crowd of students to Potions.

"Come on then. It's up on the second floor."

Inside Harry took a seat next to Ron and Hermione and was awarded with a sneer from Draco in the next isle, which he ignored. "Slytherin," he heard Dudley knowledgably tell his parents in the row behind him, and Harry and Ron smirked despite themselves.

Moody wanted to do shields that day, and because Harry's family was there he called Harry to the front of the class for a duel, pitting him against Draco Malfoy. Draco sneered, thinking he'd put on a good show and throw Harry on his arse in front of his aunt and uncle, but Harry had other plans. He couldn't show any weakness in front of them, not here.

"Any spell goes so long as it's not a curse or hex that will cause illness or bodily harm," Moody told them as they faced off on the dueling platform that Moody had had installed at the start of the year. "And no unforgivables," he said in a warning growl aimed at Draco.

"First one to be thrown from the platform bodily or otherwise gets to do homework tonight. The victor gets a passing grade for the day. Begin." Moody went to the back of the class where he put a shield up around the room to keep the spells away from the students in the desks, and then crossed his arms. Harry and Draco began to circle, with Draco throwing the first spell at Harry, Harry waving his wand and throwing up a shield to deflect it easily. Harry was sure he heard aunt Petunia gasp in the back of the room as the red beam of light flew off towards the audience, but he heard it fizzle out and gave a little smile, casting several spells in succession at Draco in return. After five minutes both boys were tired, but were still casting an unending series of hexes and shields. Finally Harry saw his chance where Draco had missed a shield spell, and cast a dancing spell at his legs. Draco's legs began to jerk uncontrollably and he danced himself right off the platform.

"Well done Potter. You get an O for the day. Malfoy gets to write me an essay on the twelve classes of shields found in the book. Next!" He pointed at Ron who jumped up on the platform to face Harry. Normally Harry would have been told to get down, but he had a feeling that Madeye was giving him some last minute practice before the tournament tomorrow. Harry tossed Ron off the platform with an expelliarmus after two minutes and Hermione with a water spell that sent a flood her way after four. Before he knew it he'd gone through every student in class, including Pansy who had curses nastier than Draco's, and Neville who surprisingly had given Harry a run for his money lasting the longest up on the platform.

"Been practicing," Neville said with a grin after he shook Harry's hand and then went back to his seat.

"Good Potter. I'd say you're ready for tomorrow. Go back to your seat. Class, open up your books to page four hundred and ninety two."

Sweaty, Harry took a towel Hermione had conjured back at his seat and wiped his face and neck off. He'd forgotten completely that the Dursleys were right behind him. Petunia was silent, and Vernon was thoughtful, but Dudley poked Harry in the back and said in awe, "That was cool! You beat every kid in here!"

Harry shrugged. "Uh, yeah, thanks."

After defense Harry took the Dursleys to Charms, followed by lunch, and then on to History of Magic where he was sure Dudley and aunt Petunia both looked like they wanted to pass out because there was a ghost teaching the class. The last class of the day was with Hagrid out on the grounds, and Harry was happy to be free of the castle on such a nice day.

"There ya are Harry," Hagrid said in a happy booming voice. "Haven't seen ya the last few days." Harry looked back to see that all three Dursleys looked stunned and weary to meet once again with the same half giant who had once given Dudley a tail.

"Don't worry," Harry told them a moment later after Hagrid had gone to the front of the group and motioned for the class to follow them into the forbidden forest. "He's a Professor now. He can't do anything to you."

"Wh- what class is this?" Dudley asked, trying not to let his voice shake or take his hand to cover his backside in front of the other teenagers there.

"Magical Creatures."

"Creatures?" Dudley's voice sounded a little panicked, and aunt Petunia was doing anything but closing her eyes as they walked into the forest down the well-worn dirt path to Hagrid's paddock.

"Unicorns, hippogryffs, grindelows," Harry listed off.

"Giant man eating spiders," Ron said with a tinge of bitterness.

"Flobberworms," Harry, Ron, and Hermione said together before laughing.

"Flobberworms?"

"Nothing to worry about Dudley," Harry said, and he and Ron laughed again.

By the time they got to the paddock, Petunia and Dudley were crowded right up against Vernon, who was determined to be crowded right up against Harry's back. Harry couldn't help but think to himself, ‘So you're mean to me at home but now you want my protection?' but he didn't say anything.

"Gather round," Hagrid said waving them in. "Today we're cleaning Hippogriff hooves."

Harry looked to the far end of the paddock where the Hyppogryffs were waiting, and was glad that Malfoy wasn't here to ruin things this time. The last time they'd covered Hyppogryffs last year Draco had made a scene and ended up getting Buckbeak sentenced to death. Luckily for Buckbeak Harry and Hermione had been given permission by the Headmaster to save him and Sirius from their cruel fates.

"Remember not to insult them or they'll attack you. We reviewed what to do to get close to them last week so I won't cover that again." Hagrid took a few minutes to show them how to clean each hoof, and then sent them into the paddock in pairs, Harry being left without a partner because there were an odd number of students that day.

"Harry, how abou' yeh show yer cousin what ter do."

Harry raised his brows and looked over at aunt Petunia who was resolutely shaking her head ‘no' but Dudley looked interested and was already climbing between the fence posts to get inside.

"Yeah, ok," Harry said. "Just stay back and watch me and then when I tell you, you have to do the same thing. They're dangerous if you don't do it right."

Harry went to a white Hyppogryff named Petey and bowed, and was granted permission to approach him.

"Ok, you now, don't look at him, and don't show fear," Harry said. Dudley did surprisingly well, and Petey gave permission for Dudley to approach as well.

Harry held Petey's front hoof up and Dudley picked up one of the tools Hagrid had given to each group of students, and started to work the dirt out of the hoof. The work went by fast and Harry and Dudley were the first one's done.

"Good, good," Hagrid said proudly. "Want to take a ride? Everyone gets a chance once they're done."

"Can we?" Harry asked excitedly. It wasn't like riding a broom, he remembered. It was scary at first, but you started to feel like one with the majestic beast as its wings beat to carry you skyward. He climbed up onto Petey's back and was about to take off when suddenly Hagrid lifted Dudley onto the winged creature behind him.

"Better go with him," Hagrid said. "He's got experience flying with Hyppogryffs. Harry didn't wait for aunt Petunia to say no, and spurred Petey onward and up to the sky, Dudley holding for dear life.

"We're f-f-flying!" Dudley shouted, scared and excited at the same time. "You get to do this all the time?"

"On a broom," Harry shouted, urging Petey to go down towards the lake, where he flew low enough for his claws to skim the water.

"And Dragons? We watched the video of the first two tasks."

"No, no dragons," Harry laughed. They flew for a few minutes more before Petey turned around and headed back towards the paddock, where aunt Petunia was still laying on the cold dirt, passed out from seeing her son rising up into the sky and out of sight on a large winged beast.

Vernon looked a little white too, but he was still upright when they landed.

"Woo!" Dudley shouted, running over to his father. "There's nothing like it in the world! I want to go again!"

"Better not," Vernon warned.

Aunt Petunia spent the rest of the evening in their room and skipped dinner. According to Dudley she was no longer speaking to Harry for as long as she lived, but Harry seemed to have gained Dudley's enthusiasm and a little bit of his respect, though Harry wasn't sure how he felt about that. Uncle Vernon was still putting on his forced polite act, and Harry was content to let it be. It hadn't been so bad after all, he thought, though the final task tomorrow was starting to make him anxious again. Ginny gripping his hand once more as they ate dinner, he allowed some calm to come over him, and didn't see the sneer Snape was sending at him from the head table.