The Fourth Wizard

An AU Harry Potter fanfiction

Author's Note: Many thanks to Buggycas the Superbeta.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Potterverse!

Chapter One

Harry was on the train heading to his fourth year at Hogwarts. He looked up as Ron came in, "Hey Ron, any word on capturing the people who disrupted the world cup celebration?"

"Nope," Ron said. "Dad says they are certain it was death eaters but found no clue as to who." He sat down, "What's weird is that he seems sure that the ones we saw were as shocked by the appearance of the dark mark in the sky as we were, if not more."

"So whoever stole my wand wasn't working with the rest?" Harry said. "That is weird."

Hermione entered then, "Hi boys, how are you?"

Harry and Ron took turns describing the Quidditch World Cup and the attack afterward.

"Wow!" Hermione said. "You've had a much more exciting summer than I have. I spent the summer in the south of France and faced nothing worse than possible sunburn."

Ron grinned suddenly, "The south of France huh? Did you visit one of those beaches?" He put emphasis on the word those.

Harry didn't know what he meant, but Hermione must have because she blushed then slapped his shoulder, "Grow up Ron! If I had gone to a topless beach, there would be nothing wrong with that. There's nothing sexual about it. It's just the custom in some places."

Ron's leer didn't shrink, "Oh yeah? Then how about you show us the photos of your trip?"

Hermione seemed to think for a moment then she smiled, "Do you have pictures of the world cup to share in return?"

Ron's leer fell off his face and he scowled, "No, I didn't have the money for an omnioculars."

"I offered to buy you one Ron," Harry said. Then regretted it when he saw Ron's expression.

Ron's shoulders slumped, "Yeah, I remember." He turned to back to Hermione, "Harry has pictures of the tournament, so I guess he gets to see your pictures huh?"

Hermione winced. She had just meant to tease him a little not make him depressed. She looked over at Harry and was surprised to see he looked eager. Did that mean he wanted to see her topless? It sure seemed that way. How did she feel about that? She hadn't felt uncomfortable on the beach, but there she had been surrounded by lots of other women doing the same, and nobody was paying her any special attention.

While she was considering Harry spoke up, "If you don't want to that's okay. I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

Ron said smugly, "Yeah, you say it's nothing to get excited about, but obviously, you don't really believe that so I'm right after all."

That made Hermione mad, so she moved to the other side of the train compartment and sat next to Harry, "I don't mind as long as it's a fair trade." She dug an envelope of pictures out of her pocket and held it up, "For each picture of the World Cup I'll show you one of these. Deal?"

Harry blushed but nodded, "Deal." He pulled the omnioculars out of his trunk then sat back down. He cued up the first image then passed them to her, "This is the campsite. We set up the tent with Mr. Weasley then went and looked around."

Hermione looked, "Wow, it looks crowded. It also looks like nobody was pretending to be a muggle. I thought you said it was a non-magical campsite."

Harry nodded, "Yeah, they had obliviators on hand, but still they were all terrible at blending in. The muggles in charge of the campsite just think we were a bunch of medieval costume enthusiasts." He sighed, "At least they won't remember the death eaters either."

She patted his arm, "I'm sure they are fine Harry." She handed the omnioculars back and took out a photo from her envelope, "Here's my first picture." She made sure to angle it so only Harry could see, glaring at Ron when he tried to look. Ron settled back on his seat and huffed. "That's the hotel we stayed at. Isn't it beautiful?" She looked for impatience or disappointment and didn't see any.

"Yeah that's lovely architecture," Harry said. He handed it back smiling, "It must have been a nice place to stay. Did you have your own room?"

"No, we had a two bedroom suite, so I had a bedroom to myself but not a whole room," Hermione replied.

"My turn then," Harry said. He set the omnioculars, "This is the stadium they built. You can see the runes carved into every part. They kept anyone without magic from finding or even seeing the place."

She smiled, "Yes, I recognize some of these runes for this year's textbook. Maybe I can ask the teacher about how they are used on buildings. I find it amazing that something so huge could be built so secretly and so fast. Magic is truly amazing." She passed the device back, "My turn again." She pulled out a second picture from the envelope and passed it to Harry.

When Harry took it, she said, "That's the local market near the hotel. They had a lot of fresh vegetables and spices as well as more touristy stuff for souvenirs."

"Oh that reminds me," said Harry. "I was told by my goblin account manager about needing formal wear this year while we were discussing investments. So when I went shopping, I got three sets in case neither of you got the message." He dug in his trunk and removed two wrapped packages and passed them out.

Ron grinned, "Thanks mate!"

Hermione thanked him as well and hugged him, but she was feeling mixed emotions. He had been thinking of her which was nice, but he interrupted their photo exchange to give them out. Maybe he realized she was just teasing Ron, but maybe he just wasn't that interested in seeing her topless. That bothered her, and it bothered her that it bothered her. She didn't like Harry that way so why should it bother her? She shook off the thoughts as Harry offered her the omnioculars again.

"These are the Irish mascots," Harry said. "The Leprechauns flew around the stadium and dropped their gold coins anywhere."

"But they don't last do they?" Hermione said.

Ron answered, "No, they don't. I wish I had known that."

"If I'd known I would have told you," Harry said. Ron just grunted and looked out the window. Harry turned back to Hermione and smiled, "I believe it's your turn."

She smiled back, "Yes, I guess it is." She handed the omnioculars back and removed another photo, "This is the beach we visited. As you can see, both men and women are wearing the same thing basically. What they call a bas de bikini or sometimes g chaîne,"

Harry looked and saw a whole lot of bare flesh in the photo but none close. He cleared his throat, and hoped his voice sounded normal, "Yes, I can see that."

Hermione giggled, "Maybe once you're an adult you can visit and see for yourself." She took the photo back, "But for now it's your turn. Unless you have no more photos to share?"

Harry smiled ruefully, "I guess I did lose my cool a little. I guess I should be glad the Bulgarian team mascots weren't dressed like that or I wouldn't have shaken the effect off." He set the omnioculars and passed them over, "Here's what they looked like."

"Well they're Veela," Ron said. "They have a magical allure that makes all but the most strong-willed men act foolish and lovestruck. You can't blame them, it's magic."

"But Harry shook the effect off?" Hermione said.

"Well yeah," Ron said. "But he's Harry Potter."

"Your dad did it even faster, " Harry said. "And Ron and the twins did it too, just not as fast."

"Yeah, well, he's dad," Ron said.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Oh now I have to see them." After looking at the scene, she said, "Well they were certainly beautiful, and that dance was sexy, but I guess the magic doesn't carry over."

"It doesn't affect women!" Ron said. "Well, not unless they're, you know."

Hermione smirked, "No, I don't know. What do you mean Ron?"

Ron just blushed and said nothing.

Harry made a note to ask Hermione later. It was obvious she knew what Ron was hinting at, but he didn't know.

Hermione pulled out another photo and said, "Well I'm no Veela, but you might want to see this one anyway. This is me in my bikini in front of the mirror taking my own picture."

Harry almost swallowed his tongue when looked at the picture. Hermione was only wearing the bottom half of a bikini in the picture! "Wow!" was all he could manage to say.

She took the picture back, "That's enough. I wouldn't want you to start drooling or anything."

Harry just nodded, eventually, he set up another pic in the omnioculars, and they swapped perfectly normal pictures after that.

Soon the train stopped, and they all got into the carriages heading toward the castle. Harry noticed that Hermione sat next to Ron, close enough to be brushing up against him but looking the other way and smiled. It was obvious to him that she liked Ron and was trying to get him to make the first move. He wondered if it was going to work and what she would do if it didn't.

Neville sat beside him for the ride to the castle, so Harry talked to him, "How was your summer, Neville?"

"It was great!" Neville enthused. "I got a new plant from my Uncle, and he even showed me a new spell!"

"Was that your uncle the Unspeakable?" Harry asked.

Neville nodded, "Yes, he's actually my great uncle. He's my grandmother's brother."

"That's cool," Harry said. "What spell did he teach you?"

"Well, he's a little worried about me after the events of the last three years," Neville said.

"So he taught you some offensive magic?" Harry asked.

"No," Neville replied, "He said that might lead me to join you the next time something attacks the school, and he wants me to stay safe. He taught me a spell that makes me mostly invisible."

"Mostly?" Harry asked.

"Yeah," Neville replied. "If you move there's a border effect people can see if they are paying close attention in good light. But it's as good as you can get with a single spell. Or so he says anyway."

"Well I guess he would know," Harry said. "Maybe you can show me later?"

"Sure Harry," Neville said.

At the feast, the headmaster made a shocking announcement.

"There will not be Quidditch this year," Dumbledore said. After waiting for the commotion to quiet down, he added, "This year we are hosting two other schools and playing to a revamped Tri-Wizard Tournament!"

He paused and pulled out a parchment, "The Ministry has asked me to make the following disclaimers before I continue." He cleared his throat and read, "The Ministry is not responsible for any loss of life, limb, or other debilitating injury suffered as a direct or indirect result of entering the tournament. The Ministry will provide a trophy and a thousand Galleon prize to one contestant as long as he or she is alive and declared the uncontested winner by a majority of still living judges. It should be kept in mind that the tournament was discontinued last time due to all contestants being killed along with two judges. That being said the Ministry has updated the tournament rules to comply with all current British and international legislation on safety during sporting events. We always look out for the safety of our citizens."

Albus folded the parchment back and put it away, "I know that sounded rather grim but I assure you the tournament is the safest it's ever been! I, myself, was in charge of security preparations and I will be assisted by your new defense teacher, once he arrives." He smiled at them, "The new, improved Triwizard tournament will be as safe as the building in which you sit!"

As Dumbledore sat back down Harry muttered to Neville, "That last comment doesn't exactly fill me with confidence."

Neville nodded back, but before he said anything Ron interrupted, "But Harry, Hogwarts is the safest place in Britain! The teachers all say so."

Harry stared at his friend for a minute then shrugged then said, "You're right Ron. I'm sure we'll be as safe as we were last year with the Dementors."

Ron shivered, "Why did you have to mention them? Scary they were and worse, they interfered with Quidditch!"

Harry looked at Neville, "Can you teach me that spell tonight? I might need to make myself invisible this year."

Neville smiled, "I can show it to you tonight sure." He looked at the other side of the table, "How about you two? Up for learning a spell my uncle taught me this summer?"

Hermione said, "Yes! I'm always up for learning something new."

Ron said, "You're all mental! Wanting to study on the first night back, and learning stuff that's not required. You can count me out!"

Harry shrugged, "Okay, Ron." He turned to Neville, "We can do it in the dorm tonight. It's better than the common room, and we don't have to worry about curfew."

Neville nodded and looked at Hermione, "Is that good for you?"

"Sure," she said. "I will meet you there after the feast."

When they met in the dorm after the first thing Neville said, "Just so you know this spell feels weird. If you do it right, it feels like you just cracked an egg on your head and the inside are running down all over you. I'm telling because it can be surprising the first time and throw you off."

"Thanks for the warning Neville," Hermione said. "I'd hate to screw up halfway through and end up only partly invisible."

Harry grinned, "Yeah, having everything but our heads visible would make people laugh at us and might give the twins new ideas."

"And they certainly don't need anymore," Neville said.

They worked for hours before succeeding but finally managed to get it to work.

"It's well after curfew Harry," Hermione said. "Can I borrow your cloak to get over to the girl's side without being seen? I'm not up for casting any more spells tonight."

"Sure Hermione," Harry said. He dug it out and handed it over, "You can return it any time tomorrow."

"Thanks, Harry," she took it and walked off invisibly.