2/2

Now, however, Ginny was quite happy to converse with him and chat about Luna, it seemed. It was better than listening to Mrs Weasley tell him off for not eating enough and for not getting enough sleep. The latter he could hardly help (he felt like a complete sloth if he had more than 15 hours of sleep a week), and the former he disagreed with. He had a small frame, perhaps, but he happily ate as much as Sirius (if he was hungry). Granted, since he was doing very little exercise he did not tend to work up much of an appetite, but he could not imagine his diminished nutritional intake was to blame for his growth stunt.

Ginny insisted on showing Gaara their tent since it was 'absolutely massive', according to her. It was actually the size down from Sirius' oversized family tent, but it was several decades newer. Orion Black had bought their tent in the early 1960s for such events (and Muggle hunting expeditions), and had made sure there was enough room for his family, friends and at least one valet. Plus enough room for Kreacher to keep out of sight.

Sirius sometimes wondered what happened to Mr Wentwhistle, his father's valet. Cold but not cruel, he had disappeared sometime during Sirius' second year at Hogwarts and had never been replaced. His mother and father also refused to speak of him ever again.

When Gaara mentioned that Sirius' tent was bigger than the Weasley pavilion, Ginny insisted on seeing it.

"This is ridiculous. How come you've got all of this room for just three of you?" Ginny had been camping with her family before, and being cramped in with her brothers and her parents was not conducive to the sort of beauty sleep she needed (especially if she was going to be seeing Harry in the morning!)

She threw a nearby throw pillow at Fred (or George) when they made a snarky comment about her state in the morning and Harry. She would have preferred throwing a spell or two.

Gaara ignored the family feud and used the distraction to hide in his "room". The secluded nook of the tent would give him enough peace and privacy to continue reading the one book he had been 'allowed' to bring with him. He still had an hour before they would all need to head towards the stadium for the game. If the others left the tent soon, he might continue on his animagus training, which was reaching a new stage that actually included some limited transformation.

Sadly it only took five minutes for Molly and Sirius to work who was missing from their group, other than the trio who were within sight milling about the camp ground. Sirius elected to fetch his wayward ward.

In the end, Sirius wheedled at Gaara to get him to join in the festivities, and when that did not work he had to transform and steal Gaara's book. Sirius had long since learned the "rules" of Gaara's so-called ultimate defence. As long as there was no malicious intent or chance that Gaara would be hurt, his sand would not automatically block any action around him.

So unless he had somehow seen it coming, there was nothing Gaara could have done to prevent the terribly irritating dog from snatching his book in its teeth and running away with it.

Sighing, Gaara knew there was nothing he could say that would convince Sirius to leave him be, so he followed the dog out hoping to retrieve his book before the saliva and teeth marks ruined it.

Padfoot had turned back into Sirius by the time Gaara emerged, but refused to return the book, saying, "You can bloody well get it back after the match. Maybe tomorrow."

Gaara sat on one of the logs that had been set before the fire pit, and waited. He was able to stare into the flames and peacefully contemplate for all of seventeen seconds before George and Fred plopped down on either side of him.

Sirius was wandering around the campsite with Harry this time, enjoying the busyness of the area enormously. They continued to draw stares and Harry came to envy his godfather's apparent ability to ignore all of the attention.

"Have you spent any time in your trunk yet?"

"Loads, lately. I've been doing all of my homework down there." Harry did not want to worry Sirius by admitting that he had moved his duvet and pillows into the enlarged trunk a week ago.

"Good, I'm glad. I don't think Gaara has even looked inside his yet," Sirius said, bitterly. To be fair, Gaara had very few possessions of his own, even fewer than Harry, so there was not much he needed to store in the giant storage device.

Harry had not been surprised to hear that Gaara received a special trunk also, and he had worked very hard to not let it bug him. "It's amazing, it really is. I was thinking of asking Professor McGonagall about it when I go back in September. I want to know what magic was used to make it."

"That's a good idea, though I would suggest Flitwick instead of McGonagall. It's a charm rather than a transfiguration so he is probably more apt to explain it. Though McGonagall knows just about everything, so you wouldn't be wrong to approach her either, really."

"Oh, okay. I will." Harry was a little embarrassed to admit he did not know anything about how the trunk was spelled.

Gaara was getting the impression, like at Potter's birthday, that people thought he secretly longed for company so they continually approached him.

Before the match, Sirius, Remus and Arthur had been ready to crack out the booze until Molly had seen her boys (minus Percy and Ron) shifting towards the men and put a stop to it. She did not care how old Bill and Charlie were, she would not stand for them getting drunk. She said as much and forbid any bottles (or kegs…) from being opened until after the match. She would have happily extended the ban indefinitely, but she knew there was no hope of it standing after the match finished.

With his drunken ambitions thwarted, Sirius sloped over to Gaara and sat a respectable distance away from him on the log. Both of the sullen males stayed client until, as always, Sirius was the one to break it.

"Want to go and say hello to Draco before the match? You've got time before we have to go."

Gaara shook his head. He would see Draco sooner or later, and he would be back to living in close quarters with him in a couple weeks time, so he didn't see the need to rush. Plus, it wasn't like Draco would be unsafe with his father alone…

He would wander over after the game and spend a little time there.

It was Percy who noticed the time (his watch habitually set one minute early), and insisted that everybody get going.

The group of fourteen joined the mass crowd all filtering towards the dozens of inlets for the gigantic stadium. It had hastily been agreed that they would stand a better chance of all making it to where they were going if they split up into groups of three or four rather than trying to pull everyone through the throngs of people in one line.

The children were divided between the adults and Gaara ended up with Charlie and Bill, it having been decided that he was mature enough to handle being under the care of the immature 'adult' Weasley sons.

He did not care much about the arrangements, having been disallowed from bringing a book. He was sulking as he followed the distinctive men into the busiest area. Soon his sullenness died as Bill and Charlie took each of his hands in theirs and pulled him along when the human density threatened to divide them. His sullenness died, but his rage grew.

They were practically swimming in humans by the time they entered the tunnel, and Gaara was not handling it very well. He was dangerously close to using his sand to get some much needed space, and to retrieve his hands which he could not shake free of the redheads dragging him onwards.

When they reached the multitude of staircases that led up or down to the different seating blocks and the crowds finally thinned, Gaara's 'responsible adults' looked back and quickly let go of him when they saw the look on his face. They stepped aside and let Gaara lead the way from that point.

After a couple flights, they caught up to the others of their party who had pushed through the crowds quicker than Gaara's had been able. Everyone was relieved to see the missing trio arrive, having worried about leaving Gaara and the oldest Weasley children to their own devices. Sirius had been sure Gaara would escape and would double back. Molly had been sure they would sneak the poor boy off somewhere and leave him to fend for himself (the number of times she had to go and find Ron because they had 'lost him' somewhere when he was little).

With relief abounding, they all proceeded up the endless stairs. They climbed at least a dozen flights before they reached their box, the undisciplined wizards struggling to breathe while Gaara did not even feel winded.

The procession of Weasley and others halted on the stairs, however, and Gaara heard a heated exchange coming from above. Two very familiar voices trading barbs rang down through the steps and finally Gaara was feeling the same weight his flabby/stringy companions.

He slipped past the halted Weasleys until he came to the front of the queue where he found Draco insulting Harry in very much the manner that he had thought Draco grew out of. He blamed this regression on Lucius, standing imperiously to the side, sneering at everyone on the stares.

Gaara continued up, glad that Sirius was at the back of the line with Bill and Charlie. The last thing the situation needed was his guardian picking a fight with Lucius before the game. Hermione was trying to keep Harry calm and out of punching/kicking distance of his rival, and Ron was doing the opposite.

Gaara pushed through to stand on the landing.

"Draco." Was all the greeting he was inclined to give. It also served as a warning.

"Oh, hello, Gaara." Draco assiduously avoided making eye contact with Gaara, properly cowed for being caught doing something stupid.

Harry and Ron saw that Draco's handler had shown up and settled for angrily muttering to themselves. Hermione thought it was funny that Gaara was Draco's handler as much as Draco was Gaara's. It was a curiously symbiotic relationship.

She did not mention this interesting observation because the only people within earshot were revisiting the theory (which Ron had hit upon multiple times despite Hermione and occasionally Harry rebutting it) that Gaara was Voldemort's illegitimate son. Despite the total lack of evidence pointing to this theory, and the fact that Tom Riddle did not have blazing red hair or Gaara's particularly potent brand of Crazy Eyes, Ron seemed to come back to this theory again and again.

"The next generation of Death Eaters falling behind the next generation of Dark Lord…" Ron murmured, looking at Draco's blatant deference to Gaara.

Hermione rolled her eyes, saw Harry was solemnly nodding along, and had to let loose a great big sigh at her moronic best friends.

Sirius pushed his way past, not nearly as politely as Voldemort's only begotten son had moments before, wanting to see what the hold-up had been.

"Why, hello Sirius. You're looking well." Lucius smiled, all teeth.

"And you Lucius," Sirius shot back, "I adore what you're done with your hair. Is that a new conditioner?"

Sirius' mocking smile irritated Lucius almost as much as the fact that he had switched to a new conditioner recently, at Narcissa's request.

"I'm afraid we really must be getting to our seats, come along Draco. They have a long way to walk, to the cheap seats, and we wouldn't want them to miss the inaugural address."

Sirius' smile just grew.

"Oh, dear, oh, no, Lucius, I'm afraid you're mistaken. We're all in the Minister's box with you!"

Lucius' eyes were the only part of his face that betrayed his abject horror at the thought of sharing his peacefully and dignified booth with such a lowly and rowdy crowd.

Lucius could not trust himself to make a suitably witty retort so he turned and walked away into the private box.

Draco, on the other hand, was happy to have Gaara sitting with him. Granted, between his father's poise and Gaara's disinterest, he could not expect to share his enthusiasm with either of them, but just being there with friends and family was a treat. Hopefully he would be sitting in front of Potter and the gingers and he could pretend they weren't there.

At the door to the box there was a burly security official to check tickets upon entry, which Gaara suspected was a measure not taken at any seating area but theirs. Sirius showed his three tickets and ushered Harry and Gaara to come in with him, followed by the long procession of Weasleys.

Harry couldn't wait to see Fudge's face when he saw the crowd of redheads, Sirius Black, a known werewolf, and Gaara all sitting in his special booth. It was not a happy thought that Harry could count himself amongst the positive presences for the Minister alongside Draco Malfoy and Lucius 'almost-killed-the-boy-who-lived' Malfoy.

Draco pulled Gaara ahead to the front-most row of seats where he was given the corner seat and Lucius took the aisle. Across the steps were three more seats, roped off with velvet, reserved for the Minister. Behind Gaara and the Malfoys sat Sirius, Harry and Ron, and behind them were the Weasleys and Hermione. Molly had happily taken the seat furthest back, wishing (in a manner reminiscent of Gaara) that she had been allowed to bring her knitting with her.

Percy had uncharacteristically been fighting with his brothers to sit closer to the front, not out of a particular interest in Quidditch but one of being spotted by the Fudge, Ludo Bagman, Barty Crouch and the special guests that were here by invitation of the Minister.

In previous matches, Lucius had been asked to sit on that side of the aisle but this year he had not 'made the cut'. He would be making a mental list of the people who had been asked, since such a list had not been disclosed to him a week ago when he asked.

Gaara looked out at the pitch and really was impressed. The scale was on an entirely different level than that of Hogwarts, with the stadium containing tens or even hundreds of thousands of witches and wizards from all around the world. It was scary really. He had not heard Shukaku make such a ruckus in years.

So many people cramped into such a compact area. If Gaara were to release the demon inside right now, it would be more than a massacre, it would be a step towards genocide, and the crazed tanuki was demanding nothing less.

Draco noticed the panic on Gaara's face and correctly deduced it was from being faced with such a gathering of people (although he did not know the specific thoughts running around the redhead's crowded mind).

"They'll quieten down when the match starts up," Draco shouted next to Gaara's ear, just managing to make himself heard over the roaring fans. Since Gaara was such a recluse, it made sense that the cheering legions were upsetting him.

Gaara turned and nodded at Draco, appreciating the attempt at comfort.

He did not imagine he would find much comfort even when everyone stopped screaming, unless he followed the advice coming from within and made the screaming stop himself.

They heard footsteps coming down the steps of the box and turned to see a pair of Aurors escorting Minister Fudge between them, followed by a dozen foreign dignitaries and high Ministry officials including Ludo Bagman, but minus Lucius.

Lucius stood when he saw them, and Draco copied him. "Good evening, Minister," Lucius offered his hand to shake, which Cornelius obliged with a smile.

"Good evening, Lucius. Quite the turnout you've got here," He said, looking back at the Weasleys.

"Oh, no, they're not here with me, Minister. Just my son. They are a separate party." It was rude to correct the man, and more so to make the distinction at all, but Lucius would rather appear to be a little rude than be thought to associate with the likes of Arthur Weasley.

"Oh, right you are," Fudge said politely, his focus having shifted from his subordinate and the multiplying Weasleys to the boy sat in the corner, paying him less mind than his office demanded. If it were any more formal an event, Fudge would have called a halt to everything until the child paid him the proper respect.

Instead, he tried to ignore the impudence, especially considering exactly who it was that was dismissing him, and instead moved on to other matters. His side of the box had filled and so it was time to take his place.

Gaara noticed Lucius and Draco and everyone behind them had stood to watch the Minister enter the box but despite the protocol he knew was as standard in this world and his own, he did not bother to get up out of his seat. If he had pulled such a stunt with his father or another Kage, they would most likely have him killed or do it themselves.

Gaara really wished Fudge would try that just once. Although, if he started fighting, his bloodlust might take over and…

His mind was working all the while, but to the Minister it had just appeared as if the boy had not even considered it. By the time Gaara worked out that he should probably observe the bare minimum of respect to the faulty leader, everyone was sitting down again and he had missed his chance. No one was holding a knife to his throat so he assumed either it had not been noticed, since he was in the corner, or they just did not care so much about those sorts of things in this world.

Fudge held his wand to his throat and for a second Gaara thought this was going to be a public suicide, until the politician spoke and his words were as audible through the din as if he had been speaking in a silent room. As the cheering and screaming and whistling stopped, he figured this effect was reaching everybody in the stadium. An interesting spell, especially to a battlefield commander, he thought.

The Minister for Magic gave a short commencement speech that did not interest Gaara, beyond the applications of the spell being used. When it was over, Fudge sat back down and looked to the field below them in obvious interest.

Out from one of the tunnels running straight onto the grass surface shot the entire team of Bulgarian players, flying almost so fast that Gaara missed them. Their speed, like the size of the stadium, was completely different to even Draco's and Potter's speed on their new Firebolt brooms. If Gaara was honest with himself, he would admit he was a little impressed by the speed of the manoeuvres.

From the same entryway came a group Gaara could not see clearly, though they looked like women. They were so far away Gaara would have needed to be a Hyūga or an Uchiha to see what was happening clearly.

Despite appearing to be a group of indistinct blobs, Gaara noticed a stirring in his head and in his heart that felt almost entirely unfamiliar. The closest he could remember was how he felt when he spent time with his friends and family, but different and more intense. Blood was rushing to his cheeks but he did not understand why and, managing to tear his eyes away to glance at Draco and Lucius, he saw they too were focussing intently on the group with blushes and smiles.

Oh, It was a Genjutsu of some sort! It had to be. Yet another similarity to his own world's techniques.

So this technique was supposed to inspire an emotional reaction to a sight, it was activated like the Sharingan techniques. The emotion was… affection…friendship…Something along those lines. Perhaps Draco would know if he asked later. Until then, he dispelled the technique in the usual way and it came away easily enough. When his sight was no longer drawn towards the women on the field, he looked around and noticed that nobody had been aware to or been able to dispel the technique. Or rather, none of the males had been able to free themselves. The women watching were apparently unaffected.

Strange…

It also gave Gaara the unhealthy thought that he would be able to take over this world if he only knew a few genjutsu techniques. Oh, wait, no. That was Shukaku giving him those thoughts.

Now the beast was telling him to slaughter them all while they were still under the spell…

The spell was broken by another team flying through and disrupting the formation of women, and immediately the crowd starting cheering either for the supernaturally alluring Bulgarian mascots or the Irish team that had flown into view.

The two opposing team continued their laps of the three-dimensional 'field' as the Irish mascots emerged, a squad of absolutely tiny humanoids that Gaara's could only see because of their bright green outfits and red hair. They were dancing around and suddenly gold fell from the sky and Weasley (Ron) moved quicker than Gaara had ever seen him move before. He managed to gather some of the precious metal from the air and the box floor before his embarrassed mother pulled him back to his seat and went back to hers. All over the stadium people were snatching gold from in front of them and from each other in a mad flurry.

The two teams had settled on the grass flooring as the gold coins stopped raining, and were presumably being given a moment to get into their starting positions.

Draco, a great smile on his face, leaned into shout to Gaara, "Did you see Weasley drooling over those gold coins?! I'm surprised his whole family didn't go crawling for them!"

"They will disappear in a few hours." Gaara had read that leprechaun gold had a tendency to disappear without warning. He would have wondered how so many magical men and women did not know this simple fact but he only knew it because he had gone to the trouble of reading a book on magical creatures (looking for info on tanuki) and had seen the obscure fact.

Draco looked a little downhearted at that, having covertly slid a couple coins under his seat to collect after the game, under the guise of tying his shoes when they were leaving. It would have been nice to have a little money he did not have to get as pocket money.

The twins had seen the coins being slipped under mini-Malfoy's chair and promptly leaned forward and added them to the stash of what they had caught. They needed it much more than Money Bags Jr., they reasoned.

"Did you see those Veela!" Draco said, looking about, trying to see where the distracting beings had gotten off to.

"Veela?"

"The women. They're really magical beings that make men fall in love with them. Dirty trick by the Bulgarians."

Gaara raised an eyebrow that for all intents and purposes did not exist. So that sensation had been physical attraction? Interesting. He tried to match it to any other similar feelings he had ever experienced, but he'd never felt it before. He would have to compare notes with Temari when he got back. He did not know if Draco had any experience with romance (he doubted it) but he knew Temari was in love with that one Konoha boy. Kankuro had said it numerous times.

The respite ended as the players remounted their brooms and rose to their starting positions and the Quaffle was thrown into the air and the whistle was blown.

Gaara was genuinely impressed by the acrobatics and the speed the athletes displayed on their brooms as they played the altogether more interesting version of Quidditch than that which he had suffered through watching before. It occurred to him that if he were to fight these flying wizards, it would be a very difficult fight. The greatest disadvantage wizards had in combat against him was that they tended to be slow and immobile, easy to strike at and dodge.

Of course, the only reason his mind had gone to combat was that Shukaku had still not shut up. He was getting a serious headache.

The professional players raced about so fast he was struggling to keep up with everything at once. At one point, one of the Bulgarians was knocked off of his broom, but his teammates paid him no mind and he was rescued only a few metres above the ground by a spell sent out by the referee at the last second.

In the background, one of the Ministry men who had entered with Fudge was speaking into a microphone and rattling off a suitably fast-paced commentary.

He had not been paying any attention to the scores, only the movements of the balls and brooms, so when the young Bulgarian Seeker caught the Snitch, Gaara was baffled when the Irish were announced as the winners. Although, Gaara did not fully understand the rules to begin with, so he had been under the impression that catching the Snitch was the object of the game.

Draco interrupted his overzealous cheering to interpret Gaara's quizzical expression and explain the results. Gaara thought it was terribly unfair on the Bulgarian Seeker.

While the initial celebrating was going on, the Twins, with smiles bigger than Gaara thought physically possible, stood from their seats and (for the first time Gaara could remember witnessing) split to approach two different men.

Sirius, who was smiling despite his approaching debt collector, pulled out a piece of paper and a little pencil Remus had given him, and wrote out an IOU for 500 galleons. He was going to have a hard time explaining this to Molly (Arthur would understand quickly enough, he thought), and to his accountant (whenever he got around to actually hiring one to manage his family's investments).

Fred took the IOU with a raised eyebrow. If he didn't know where Sirius lived, and that he was fabulously wealthy and careless with his money, he might have been disinclined to let an IOU suffice. As it was Sirius Black, of all people, he would wait until they could all go to Gringotts together.

George had approached Ludo Bagman, having to ask his way past the bodyguard watching Fudge (who had ordered the guards to keep an eye on Black, Lucius, and Gaara, but felt no threat from Arthur Weasley's son). Bagman was sweating profusely and begged to be allowed to collect the money from his tent since he had not brought it with him. George figured, since it was the Ludo Bagman, he could trust him this far. Plus it was a relatively small sum compared to the ridiculous amount they had bet Sirius.

Bagman did not seem up to closing the ceremony, despite having commentated the entire match, so Fudge stood to do it again. The man was a disgrace, the Minister thought. If Bagman managed to make it through the next year without screwing up, he would be moved to another less prominent position where he couldn't cause any more problems. If he managed to mess up Fudge's last chance, he would make sure to bring ruin to Bagman's life even more than the pathetic man had managed to do on his own.

The twins had returned to their seats and were scribbling away on the back of Sirius' IOU, working out exactly how much more they needed to open their dream. It looked like they would only need an investment of 500 galleons, but to get that they would need to find someone willing to go in with them as partners.

Lucius had enjoyed the game, as much as he ever enjoyed the vulgar entertainments of the plebeians. He might have appreciated the match a little more had Sirius Black not spent the duration screaming right behind his ear and 'accidentally' spilling popcorn all over him. Twice!

"Minister," Lucius said as soon as the departing Minister was within earshot, "I do hope you will do me the honour of joining me for a brandy."

"I'm afraid not, Lucius. I won't be staying in the camp tonight. I have a meeting early tomorrow I need to be ready for." Fudge, who had always done his best to keep Lucius happy and would always entertain an offer from the influential pureblood, hardly spared the blond a second glance.

Stunned by the dismissal, Lucius was hardly aware enough to say the proper farewells to his colleagues and the foreign dignitaries that had been invited with Cornelius and who were presumably following him to the Minister's private residence for a dignified after party. He did not know what he had done to cause this rift but Lucius was determined he would repair it before it was too late and he was forced to abandon the Minister he had spent a decade shoring up.

Step one would be to work his way in between Cornelius and Morbidus.

Gaara watched the Minister for Magic leave the box with his guests and his guards, standing not out of respect but because his group were also about to leave and had to wait for the politician to depart first. Lucius seemed to have been snubbed but perhaps that was just how Lucius and Fudge interacted normally. Probably not, judging by the defeated posture of the proud aristocrat.

Lucius corrected his appearance, brushed off the remaining popcorn crumbs, and turned to his son and Gaara.

"Gaara, if you would like to enjoy some more civilised company this evening, please do stop by our tent for a visit." Lucius managed a smile for his son's friend, something he had never bothered with before.

"Thank you. I will."

"After you've partied with us first!" Sirius piped from the row behind.

OXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

The partying had commenced immediately, on a scale Gaara had not imagined possible, after the crowds had exited the stadium. Fred and George had run off despite their mother's loud admonition, intent on finding Ludo Bagman and claiming the rest of their winnings.

Needing some time alone, Gaara had also broken away from the group and ran through (and briefly on top of) the crowd to beat them back to the tent. This way he could get five minutes of peace before Sirius and Harry might barge into the enormous marquee and disturb him.

He heard them as soon as they arrived, the younger among them making an ungodly racket as they cheered and yelled about the match and the individual players. Sirius poked his head in and looked relieved to see Gaara sat on his temporary bed. Without a word, he retreated outside and rejoined the celebration.

It had not occurred to Gaara for a second that running off in the middle of a crowd like that might have given Sirius cause to worry. The oblivious Jinchūriki was still a bit puzzled, to be honest.

Outside, the adults were quickly getting drunk and Molly was left to keep everybody fed and stop them from doing anything dangerous. She was hoping the buns accompanying the barbecue would soak up some of the alcohol Sirius had been sneaking all the way back from the stadium from his hidden (not-so-hidden) hipflask.

It was really Remus' flask, but Sirius had snatched it off of him a couple weeks ago and refused to return it.

After she had handed out most of the food, she ushered the children ("We're not children, mum!") inside of her and Arthur's tent so they could continue their excited antics safely and secluded from the sight the irresponsible would-be role models getting pissed, including her two oldest babies.

Speaking of which irresponsible drunkards, she headed off Sirius before he could go and bother Gaara. The poor boy was obviously very shy and wanted some time to himself. He had done very well today, she thought. She would have liked to tell him that, but she instinctively knew he would not appreciate the comment.

She redirected Sirius in Remus' direction and took a plate in for Gaara since he had not sought out the feast earlier. No wonder he was so skinny, skipping meals like this!

He was a sweet boy really, no matter what anyone said. He was always so polite, too.

It was getting late, so she entered her tent and settled on her bed with the first book she had bought since she finished Gilderoy Lockhart's. She had been put off reading after Ronald told her about that man's real character.

The parties were beginning to wind down, although in some areas they were just getting started. Sirius was a little bummed that Molly had stopped him from saying hello to Gaara. She made it sound like he was going to start him on a life of crime. It was just a little drink!

At least drunk-Remus was there to distract him. And the older Weasley boys were funny too. And Arthur had always been a treat when he'd had a few, when he stopped worrying about everything.

Inside Gaara ate a little of the lightly burned food (the definition of a good barbecue was clearly another difference in this world), and decided now was as good a time as any to drop by the Malfoy tent. Catch them before bed and keep it brief.

He had been second-guessing the need for his checking up on Draco all evening. Being around Sirius, who had never seemed so happy in all the time Gaara had known him, surrounded by his friends and family, Gaara had started to think that perhaps the good mood Lucius and Draco had been in at the match was genuine and there was no need for concern.

Doubt and suspicion won out in the end; he was never one to trust in the wonder and beauty of family moments. As he finished the overheated cup of fire-top tea, he was just about ready to head to wherever Draco was staying. He hoped Sirius was still sober enough to be able to point him in the right direction.

He was just setting his book down when he heard a scream in the distance, probably on the other side of the camp, but still loud and shrill enough to cut through the lulling parties. The scream was followed by the sounds of an explosion and more screaming.

It was a sound he was intimately familiar with, the sounds of battle! And Shukaku was laughing.

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A/N: Thank you for reading.

I don't know when the next chapter is likely to appear since I'm on a postgrad course at the moment and the lecturers' warnings that it was going to get progressively more difficult through the year is proving true. I'm thinking of recommending that in future cohorts they write down their warning in blood onto a stone tablet. Drive home the foreboding.

Anyway, things are going to be heating up in the near future as Gaara coasts along the canon express, at least until my changes come into play. Spiralling out from Silent Humanity, the divergence from canon should be more pronounced this year in some areas.

As you will have seen, at the end of Silent Humanity, I put a call out to my wonderful readers, to ask one of them to donate their time and expertise to draw me a new cover image like the one Darkling221 created for me a few years ago.

Anyway, for the first time in this story, please drop me a review if you have the time.

Update: I have received many kind offers to draw me a new cover for Hidden Inhumanity and I have accepted one such generous proposal already, but thank you to everyone who might have considered offering. If you would still like to draw fanart for this story, please know it would make my week or month to see it.

Update #2: Spiral of Destiny has generously drawn the cover image now attached to this story, a time-intensive task that I am enormously grateful for.