PreHarry

- CHAPTER THREE -

Skye's Dilemma

Next day at breakfast, Fred, George, Oliver and anyone else who cared to listen asked Skye how her punishment with Filch and Snape went.

'It went a lot better than I expected it to be,' she replied.

'You sound quite chipper than usual, especially after a detention with Snape and Filch,' Fred said. 'What happened?'

Skye made up a story about scrubbing the dungeons from top to bottom and how she had used magic when Filch wasn't looking. She did mention her discussion with Dumbledore. She said that Dumbledore talked to her after her detention, instead of during.

'You can't possibly go to Albania with You-Know-Who being there,' Fred complained loudly.

'That seems the perfect set-up though,' Oliver said. 'Whoever agreed to have the tournament in Albania has to be right in with You-Know-Who, or else the tournament wouldn't be held there. This is probably what You-Know-Who's been waiting for all along; have a large gathering of witches and wizards right in his backyard so that he'll have a better chance of murdering them.'

'You're probably right,' Skye said, 'but I still want to go and compete. Another offer like this might not come up again.'

Oliver looked at Skye white-faced and tight-lipped. 'If you're planning on going and making it back in one piece to play Quidditch, then I say go ahead. But if you don't come back in one piece, then Gryffindor's chances of winning the Quidditch Cup are close to none.'

'Oliver's right,' George said. 'I don't think that you'll be coming back together, let alone at all. None of us Gryffindor's want to see the best Seeker that Hogwarts has had in year's hurt or killed. You're what makes the Gryffindor team such a success.'

'Well thanks a lot!' Oliver snapped.

'Well it's true!' Fred retorted with a mischievous glint in his eye. 'Wasn't it sometime during one of our practices last year you said that the Seeker is the most important player of the game?'

'Yeah,' George chimed in. 'I remember you saying that.'

'Oh, shut up,' Oliver said.

'Anyway, I'm still deciding on what to do,' Skye said, hoping to grab everyone's attention again. 'I know from what Dumbledore's told me, that it'll be very dangerous and risky if I go. If I don't go though, Snape and all of the Slytherins might think that I'm too scared to go.'

'Since when do you care about what other people think of you?' Oliver said. 'I bet you that Snape knew all along that the tournament was going to be held in Albania. He probably is harassing you enough to make you go so that you'll go and get yourself hurt or killed. That way he won't have you in his classes anymore.'

'Wow, Oliver,' George said with surprise. 'You're getting to sound as bad as us. "That way he won't want you in his classes anymore." That's something that we would say,' he said, elbowing Fred.

'Well it's true!' Oliver hissed. 'This tournament's not only a set-up for You-Know-Who, but it's a set-up for Snape!'

'I wouldn't say something like that until you have proof,' Skye said, taking a bite of sausage.

'PROOF?' Oliver shouted so loudly, that the Slytherins who were sitting at the other end of the hall stopped eating to look over at him.

'Keep it down,' Lee hissed.

'Proof? I don't need proof. You just wait until Skye comes back to Hogwarts after this whole mess of a tournament is over. Her remains will be in a matchbox containing a note from You-Know-Who:

"My dear Severus Snape,

I am pleased to send you a very special present from the International Confederation of Wizards tournament here in Albania. In this box contains the remains of one of your most hated students, Skye McAndrews. As you know, she was a competitor in the tournament, and I decided to finish her off as a way to get back my powers. Another reason I killed her was that you could be spared of one less nasty, stuck-up Muggle-loving students.

I hope that you will cherish these remains forever.

Your very good friend,

Lord Voldemort".'

Fred, George and Lee all flinched at the mention of Voldemort's name. No one ever dared to speak his name because they were still scared of him, even though he had no powers for ten years. This was due to Harry Potter. Voldemort had lost his powers the night that he had tried to kill Harry, but his spell had rebounded and Voldemort's powers had vanished along with him.

'Thank you very much for your fine telling of my death Oliver,' Skye said, but she didn't look angry. If anything, she looked amused.

Their conversation though was cut short as a sudden rushing noise filled the Great Hall. Owls were pouring into the Hall bearing letters to their owners. Blaze came and landed neatly on the table next to Skye. Two other owls landed next to him. One was a large grey owl, the other a great horned owl. The grey owl was the Weasley's. His name was Errol. The horned owl was Oliver's. His name was Orion.

Skye eagerly took the letter which was tied to Blaze's leg and opened it. It was a letter from her parents.

Dear Skye,

We have just received a letter from Dumbledore telling us that you're a contestant in the International Confederation of Wizards tournament. Congratulations! You never told us you had entered! Your father and I are so proud of you!

How is school going so far? I hope all of the teachers are treating you fairly, especially after hearing your wonderful news!

Dumbledore also mentioned something to us that he didn't want to tell you yesterday. You remember Gwenivere Lrigdab right? Well, she has also been accepted to compete in the tournament. She'll be representing Scotland, whereas you'll be representing England. I bet you're wondering the same thing your father and I are wondering. How on earth did SHE get into the tournament? I don't see how she's qualified (Dumbledore told us the requirements in his letter). First, she's dedicated to the Dark Arts just like her parents, and secondly, her marks aren't anywhere near good enough.

I hope you do your best to try and beat her. She doesn't deserve to be in such a posh event. Make us proud Skye by showing her what a real competitor is like.

Hope to hear from you soon!

Love from,

Mum and Dad XOXOXO

'Who's your letter from Skye?' Fred asked looking up from his own letter.

'My mum and dad.'

'Can I read it?'

'Who's yours from? Skye asked.

'My mum.'

'I'll let you read mine if you let me see yours.' Skye passed over her letter.

Mrs Weasley's letter was close to what Skye's parents had wrote, but hers also contained something that her parents' didn't. A clipping from The Daily Prophet, the famous wizarding newspaper. She read the article first:

International Confederation of Wizards Tournament Competitors Announced

By: B.F. Simwer

Two months ago, the International Confederation of Wizards announced that they will be holding a tournament for young wizards. Two days ago, some of the names of the competitors were released. Below are a list of the entrants so far:

Country-Name of Competitor

Scotland- Vivian Lrigdab

England- Skye McAndrews

Wales- Gordan Mittler

Ireland- Andy O'Sullivan

Italy- Mario Gigliotti

France- Jean Xavier

United States of America- Michelle Fordham

Canada- Sean Fox

Germany- Deidre Schliehoff

Australia- Nicole Hogan

For more information, please refer to future editions of The Daily Prophet. For more information of the tournament, please send a letter by owl to the following address:

International Confederation of Wizards Tournament

C/o The International Confederation of Wizards

315 Magic Lane

London, England

Mrs Weasley had highlighted Skye's name with red ink which had accidentally run onto the next page containing her letter:

Dear Fred and George,

I have exciting news for you! Your friend Skye McAndrews has been chosen to represent England in the International Confederation of Wizards Tournament! I do hope you'll congratulate her on her achievement!

I also hope that you two aren't getting into any trouble. I haven't been receiving any owls from Hogwarts YET, but that doesn't mean that none will turn up.

I've sent you some peanut butter cookies that I made, I know that you'll enjoy them.

Please make sure that Errol receives care before you send another letter home. I don't feel that he's as up to long journeys as he once was. I'm warning you now, IF ERROL COMES BACK HOME TIRED THAN HIS IS ALREADY, WORN-OUT OR IN A CASKET, YOU TWO WILL BE IN SERIOUS TROUBLE!

Hope you two are enjoying yourselves.

Love from,

Mum

P.S. I found this article about the tournament in The Daily Prophet. Give it to Skye, I think she'll like it.

Skye looked at the article again. Skye hadn't ever met Mrs Weasley, but from the kindness she expressed in cutting out the article and telling Fred and George to give it to her was something that Skye hadn't known of the Weasleys.

She handed the letter back to Fred as Fred passed her parent's letter back to her.

'You're lucky not to get threatening letters from your Mum, Skye,' Fred said with a sigh.

'That's probably because I don't use an owl that isn't up to long journeys and send him back home worse than he was before he left,' Skye replied.

The twins looked as if they were going to start a food fight with her, but the bell rang signalling the students to finish breakfast and hurry off to their first classes.

*

Two weeks had passed with no questions from Skye's friends as to what she was going to do about the tournament.

One day though, while Skye was working alone in the library, Oliver approached her. Skye thought he was going to ask her about her decision, but he didn't and she was relieved.

'Gryffindor's first Quidditch practice of the season is going to be this Friday. I was wondering if you were going to be there,' he said as he sat across from her.

'I wouldn't miss a Quidditch practice for the world,' she replied.

Oliver cocked a brow. He seemed to be thinking about the tournament and how Skye's world may come to an end if she went. 'I was just checking,' he said.

Skye nodded and returned to writing about phoenixes for her Care of Magical Creatures class.

Oliver was quiet for a few moments before he looked up at Skye again. 'You've heard about the party that Dumbledore's throwing in your honour for the tournament right?'

'Of course,' Skye said, not looking up.

'Right. I was wondering if you had found someone to go with you,' Oliver said, nervously twiddling his thumbs.

Now Skye looked up. 'No, why?'

'Well...you know how you're supposed to go with...like...a date...and I was wondering if you'd found someone, that's all.'

Skye dipped her quill in the inkpot and paused before she answered. 'I haven't found someone. Why are you so interested?'

'Well...I suppose...'

'Just spit it out Oliver!' Skye said.

'Okay. Ireallylikeyouasafriendandwaswonderingifyouwouldgotothepartywithme,' he said in a rush.

'Say that more slowly,' Skye said, dropping her quill into the inkpot.

'I-really-like-you-as-a-friend-and-was-wondering-if-you-would-go-to-the-party-with-me.'

'You wonder too much,' Skye said flipping a page of her Care of Magical Creatures textbook.

'Is that a no?' Oliver asked timidly.

'Why are you acting so strange all of a sudden?' Skye asked. 'You're usually bold and fearless.'

'I assure you I'm not fearless,' Oliver said.

'I suppose that doesn't matter, but why are you so keen on asking me to go to the party with you? I mean, there are dozens of other girls that would love to go with you, but why me?'

'I...I don't know. But I bet there are dozens of guys that would love to go to the party with you and you've turned a couple of them down already.'

'So?' Skye said, glancing up from her book. 'Just because I've turned down others doesn't mean that I'm...'

'I knew it,' Oliver interrupted. 'I knew you'd say no. I'm an idiot for asking.'

'You are not, and I was going to say, "just because I've turned down others doesn't mean that I'm going to turn you down."'

'You're not?' Oliver said looking hopeful.

'No, I just didn't know how to ask you.'

'You, ask me?' Oliver asked, shocked. 'I didn't know you were going to ask me.'

'Of course you didn't. That's because I never told you about it.'

'Oh, well that solves one of my many problems. I've heard that a lot of students have dates already, and I wasn't sure if you'd be available...'

'Well I am.'

'Good. I'll see you later then?'

'Sure.' Skye watched him leave the library. He almost looked as if he were going to skip with joy. Skye shook her head and went back to reading.

Phoenixes are very powerful and magical creatures. As some would say, they carry very heavy burdens. Phoenixes should be noted above all other things to not be classified as normal birds. They are known to carry great weight for a bird of its size without trouble and also have magical feathers. Their feathers are used as the core of some wands. Phoenixes also have tears with healing powers. Another interesting fact about phoenixes is that they die by bursting into flame and then are reborn from their ashes. Due to all of these facts, the phoenix should not be taken advantage of, by anyone. Only very special people are known to have caught and have domesticated phoenixes, as phoenixes are very hard to catch.

Skye smiled as she read this. Her very own cousin, Dumbledore was one of those 'very special people' who owned a phoenix. Skye had always wanted a phoenix of her own, but her parents had told her it would be too difficult. Skye hadn't believed them until she had read the information from the textbook.

But she didn't care if she got a phoenix...really...it would be nice to have one and be considered a very special person for owning one. She had a faithful owl already in Blaze; he not only delivered her post, but he was also a good friend, even though he was an owl.

Two hours later, Skye packed up her things and left the near-deserted library. The phoenix essay that was due on Friday was only one of the many assignments she had to do. For her Transfiguration class with Professor McGonagall, she had to do a very long essay about Animagi (people who could transform themselves into animals); for Charms she had to do a lot of reading on Memory Charms and how they were used; she had the worst potion she had to brew up for Snape's class which would take her (as she estimated) three weeks. The list went on. With Quidditch practice starting on Friday, Skye had no idea of how she was going to get all of her homework done.

*

On Friday before Quidditch practice, Skye told Oliver about her homework problem.

'If Quidditch practices are going to be every night, or at least three times a week, I may have to quit for a while until I get this wave of homework done.'

'Don't worry so much. Everyone has been complaining to me about how much homework they've been getting. I have enough stuff to worry about on my own without hearing about other people's problems.'

Skye crossed her arms.

'Except for you. This is the first time that you've ever complained to me,' Oliver said quickly. The last thing he wanted to do was get a seventh-year wizard mad at him, especially one as powerful as Skye. 'We'll work around everyone's homework problems. I've decided that we're not going to do heavy practices just yet. We'll just be worrying about working out the kinks of summertime and just see where we need improvement.'

'Good,' Skye said.

'I couldn't really disagree as I have my own homework load that I have to get done by Monday.'

*

The Quidditch practice went very well, and according to Oliver, he was quite pleased that everyone had hauled out their brooms and practised Quidditch at least once over the summer.

'Yeah, we wouldn't want you to be on our case if we went into our first Quidditch match against Slytherin rusty without practice,' Fred said.

'That's right,' George replied. 'We all know that you're desperate to win the Quidditch Cup this year Oliver.'

'I think we all want to,' Skye piped up. 'Slytherin has won for the past four years. It's about time they were the reserve champions, and Gryffindor was the winner.'

'Couldn't have put it better myself,' Wood said, smiling at Skye.

*

The days went by rather quickly for Skye. This was an advantage for her as all of her assignments were due and she would have a free rein for a while. However, her freedom was cut short as Dumbledore called Skye up to his office in the last week of October.

Dumbledore went straight to the point. 'I have given you plenty of time to decide on whether or not you are going to the tournament or not.'

Skye twitched nervously in her seat. She should have known this was coming.

'I need to know now if you are going because the competitors must be in Albania at the grounds where the tournament is going to be taking place on 10 November.'

Skye nodded. 'I really want to go,' she said. 'I don't think I'll ever get another chance like this again.'

'Ah, I see,' Dumbledore said with a sigh. 'You know that you could be great inside of Hogwarts? You don't have to go and put yourself in a life-threatening position to show everyone who you really are.'

Skye frowned. 'How do you mean?'

'Everyone knows that you are beyond the requirements that a seventh-year student here should have. You are very talented and...'

'That's what everyone says, but I really need the chance to show "everyone" that I don't need to be in school surrounded by safety such as you. Some people think that I'm too scared to show everyone outside of Hogwarts that I'm a really good witch. I need this tournament to prove that.'

'Do you know that you also have many admirers at this school? Why, you probably have more admirers here than you do enemies. I know many students who would love nothing more than to be in your position right now, aside from making difficult decisions such as going to this tournament. You only really have to be true to yourself, not to others. Do not let other people make you, make yourself who you want to be. You do not need this tournament to show everyone that you're great. If anything, you'll probably be showing them that making the right choice in a difficult situation is both brave and powerful in itself.'

Skye paused for a moment. 'But how can I be great? I have the top marks in the year, I'm one of the best Seekers that Hogwarts has seen in years and I have parents who are both playing for national Quidditch teams. What more do I have to prove?'

'Skye, everyone is faced with difficult decisions in their lives and making choices is even harder than trying to catch a Snitch. Showing others that not putting yourself in a very dangerous position is very wise.

'What your parents have achieved doesn't really have an affect on who you are. I am not denying that Quidditch doesn't run in your blood, but you have shown everyone that it takes a great deal more than having excellent Quidditch-playing parents to be a famous Quidditch player yourself.

'This choice is up to you. No one can decide for you. I can guess that your friends have been giving you advice on what to do?'

'Yes. They've told me not to go.'

Dumbledore smiled. 'I trust that they believe it is too dangerous?

'Yes.'

'They are correct. You see the problem with you is that you don't have a real fear of anything. For as long as I have known you, I have never seen you shy away from what others think of you, nor have I known you to be afraid of even Lord Voldemort. I think that you do not understand what kind of danger you are putting yourself in. Some of your friends have relatives or friends of the family that have suffered under Voldemort's powers. They know that he's the most dangerous person in the world, even if he has no powers at the present moment. He has many followers out there that would kill at his command.'

Skye was quiet. She was turning over what Dumbledore has just explained. It did make sense. No one, other than Dumbledore had ever spoken Voldemort's name because they were scared of him. Skye realised that Dumbledore was right. She wasn't afraid of anything, and she didn't know what kind of position she was putting herself in.

'You're right,' she said in a small voice. 'Everyone's right. I shouldn't go.'

'That choice is up to you. If you feel that you must go to the tournament, then no one is going to stop you. If you feel that it is not safe for you to go, then I suggest that you don't go.'

'I won't then,' Skye replied. 'I have a great life here already. Why go and ruin what I've made at a dumb tournament?'

'I strongly believe that you have made the right choice,' Dumbledore said. 'Now, why don't you hurry along while I send a message to the Confederation telling them that you will not be attending.'

As Skye was walking back towards Gryffindor Tower, she couldn't help but feeling that she had made the wrong choice.