"Errr... yes?" asked Bagman.
"Did you know that, even though the three champions and Lord Potter may be bound by the Goblet to be involved in the Tournament, there is no similar binding for any hostages?"
When Bagman only stared back, Ted continued, "That means no hostage can be forced to take part."
Again Bagman didn't say a word.
"What that means, legally, Mister Bagman," explained Ted, shifting to lean right forward, "Is... if you take anyone against their will to be used as a hostage it will be kidnapping.
"Are you starting to understand, yet?"
Bagman spluttered and said, "Dumbledore assured us that we only need permission from their Heads of House... their Hogwarts Heads of House, that is... to use anyone we need to use."
Ted's smirk immediately dropped to a scowl.
"If he told you that, he lied," he flatly stated. "I have already been informed by both Lord Potter and Lord Black that if you use Lord Potter's betrothed as his hostage in the Task both will immediately come after you and the rest of the organisers.
"As well as it being illegal for you to take anyone as a hostage without their prior consent... and the consent of their guardians if they are under-age... they both will see it as an attack on their Houses. Right there, in front of everyone, they will both declare a blood feud on you and the other organisers.
"Remember what I told you what would happen if Lord Potter so much as developed a blood nose as a result of this Tournament?"
"Errr... y-yes?"
"Even worse will happen if the hostages are harmed."
Bagman immediately whimpered, "Ohh, Merlin!"
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
After eating a big lunch and giving it time to settle, Harry had asked Hermione if she wanted to join him at the Longbottoms.
"No, thank you, Harry," she was quick to reply. "You go and spend time with Neville and flying. I don't want to be there to see you performing dangerous stunts in the air."
Exiting the floo at Longbottom Hall with his broom in hand, and again skidding across the marble floor on his back, Harry looked up to see a grinning Neville.
Neville chuckled and asked, "How is it you can be so graceful in the air on a broom and so hopelessly uncoordinated using the floo?"
"No idea," he replied, climbing to his feet before checking himself and his broom over for damage.
As Neville stood there smiling at him, Harry asked, "Got any brooms here, Nev?"
Frowning in puzzlement, Neville replied, "You're carrying one, Harry. Why do you need another?"
Grinning back, he replied, "It's not for me. It's for you. It's time I helped you get over your fear of brooms."
Frank had just walked in, heard what Harry had said and said, "I quite agree."
Neville spun to stare at his father so fast one could be forgiven for thinking he didn't turn, so much as apparate about on the spot. "Dad?" he fearfully asked.
Looking to Harry, Frank said, "You'll find brooms in the broom cupboard next to the back door. They might be quite old compared to that lovely broom you have in your hand, Harry, but they are definitely not the death traps Hooch had you on for your flying lessons in your First Year."
Harry grinned back and, as he began to head for the back door, looked to Neville and said, "Come along, Nev. No time like the present!"
Almost shivering in sudden fear, Neville turned pleading eyes on his father.
"Go on, Neville," his father commanded.
Giving the impression he was heading to his doom, the sandy-haired boy reluctantly headed after Harry.
Surprising the boy, though, he found Harry to be a very patient and very good instructor. By the end of the hour he was now carefully slaloming a path around the garden beds and ornaments in the back of the Longbottom Hall property. Though he flatly refused to climb higher than about ten feet off the ground, he was definitely becoming more comfortable riding the broom.
'Who knew that allowing one foot to hang while riding made it a hell of a lot easier to learn to ride?' he thought. 'A counterweight, Harry had called it.'
At the end of the second hour, Harry led the pair of them back to the back patio of the Hall and lightly touched down, Neville was only a few moments behind.
Turning his attention to the other boy, Harry grinned and said, "See? Not all that much to it. What you need to do now is practice doing that. Then, once you're more comfortable keeping your balance, have both feet up and on the pegs."
Breathing a sigh of relief, Neville smiled back and said, "That was a lot easier."
Harry, still smiling, said, "That's because you weren't forced to ride on a death-trap of a broom that should have been burned fifty years ago for being unsafe."
Neville nodded and led the two back inside, stopping at the broom closet to drop off 'his' broom as he did.
"Well," sighed Harry. "I must be off. Dobby should have afternoon tea ready by now. And I don't want him turning up here berating me for missing it."
Neville gave a small snort of amusement.
"Now," said Harry, as they headed for the floo. "Can you write down the floo addresses of Greengrass, Davis, Bones and Abbott and send them to me by 'elf express'?"
Curious, Neville replied, "I can do that. Why?"
"Well, I was wondering," he replied. "Would you like to join Hermione and me as we go and visit them? I really need to properly introduce them to... not Miss Hermione Granger... but Lady Presumptive Hermione Granger. I've been a bit remiss in not letting them know."
Surprised and cursing himself for not thinking of it himself, Neville replied, "Yeah, I can do that. Expect my elf within the hour or so."
As they stopped in front of the floo, Harry smiled again and said, "Thanks, Nev."
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