Prologue
October 31, 1994
Thirteen years ago, the first wizarding war had come to an end with the defeat of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, otherwise the Dark Lord Voldemort who had been known in youth as Tom Marvolo Riddle. This defeat, though much of the wizarding British populace believed him to be deceased, had come at a cost with the death of the last members of the Potter family. Two bright young students, Mr. James Fleamont Potter and Mrs. Lily Janice Potter nee Evans, together with their young son Hadrian James Potter, known as Harry to his family, had been found dead in the attack at Potter Cottage. Or at least that is what everyone thought. Little did they know this was far from the truth.
A memorial had been built in Godric's Hollow on order of Minister Bagnold to commemorate the sacrifice of the Potters, right in the center of the little village where it was rumored that Godric Gryffindor himself had lived along with the Dumbledore and Potter families. People left flowers to the statue, yet the cottage remained as it had been after the attack on the family, the second-floor half destroyed. A testament to the peace that Britain now had, both in the Muggle and wizarding worlds, though all was not entirely well. At the Quidditch World Cup over the summer there had been an attack by masked figures dressed in robes and the death of the Irish seeker, Aidan Lynch, and a Muggle family had been tortured to death before the Dark Mark had been shot into the sky. It had been an international incident as the perpetrators had not been caught and had happened on British soil, relating to Ireland threatening to secede from the ICW, even those in Northern Ireland were displeased with the fact that the Irish seeker had been killed.
The Ministry of Magic had decided to bring back the Triwizard Tournament this year, a chance for the three European schools of Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang to come together in a time of crisis and join forces for the rest of the year in a show of unity and magical cooperation. Hogwarts played host to the tournament, a series of three challenges which would test the skills of the three champions with a prize of 1,000 galleons and eternal glory as well as the Triwizard Cup. Of course, due to the high death toll in 1792, the tournament had been disbanded and not continued so it was a bit of a mystery to most students why the tournament had been fleshed out from the dredges of history to flourish once more among students of the 20th century. On this Halloween, not only would there be three champions and the tournament officially begin, the school of Hogwarts and Britain would be in for the shock of their life, though none would know of this.
Halloween or Samhain as it was known to those whom practiced the old ways, ways that weren't practiced anymore except among the Dark families due to the influx of Muggleborns into the wizarding world and the fear by the Ministry of Magic, especially the current Minister, one Cornelius Fudge was a time of celebration no matter if you had been born in the Muggle world or born in the wizarding world though Samhain had more meaning for wizard born and raised children. The ways that had been forgotten in this newest generation of witches and wizards to grace the halls of Hogwarts. It was on this night when the veil between the living and the dead was at its thinnest that would see the return of those thought dead, a night in which the pureblood parents would gather in secret to partake in the blessings of this night, and the choosing of the three champions whom would compete for their respective schools. Classes had been canceled due to the fact that nobody was able to concentrate on their schoolwork after the disastrous morning results by students in all seven years and across house lines. The afternoon had been spent with students chatting about the tournament in their dormitories or out on the grounds, the excitement palpable within the air. Now, as evening dawned, and it drew closer to the selection, all students and staff were gathered in the Great Hall, the wooden Goblet of Fire sitting silently before the dias that housed the Staff Table. Another table had been set aside for the judges; Madam Maxime of Beauxbatons, Headmaster Karkaroff of Durmstrang, Barty Crouch Sr. and Ludo Bagman.
Carved jack-o-lanterns, big enough to let two or three people sit in them lined the aisles underneath the benches of the four house tables. Live bats fluttered throughout the Great Hall and lit braziers hung from the ceiling. There were pitchers of pumpkin juice, goblets stuffed with a variety of wizarding candy for each student, apples floating in cauldrons big enough for six people to enjoy. Outside the tall glass windows of the Great Hall and mirrored in the ceiling above, it was a cloudy evening. Everyone was chatting with each other yet when the feast suddenly appeared on the tables, the chatter continued over the clinking of forks and knives as the Halloween Feast was served. It would only be after dinner that the selection of the champions would take place.
It was probably the fastest feast anyone had eaten. The excitement in the air was palpable, students had slowly put their names into the Goblet of Fire though there had been some amusement when the Weasley twins had done so and been thrown out, only to have long white beards afterwards for their trouble. It had been a source of amusement for the Hogwarts students. As the Headmaster rose to his feet, silence fell over the Great Hall, all eyes turning towards their headmaster. "Now that we are all fed and watered," some of the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students looked at each other in disbelief at the words of the Hogwarts Headmaster, "it is time to have the selection of champions! I must warn you all again that should your name come out of the Goblet of Fire then you will stand alone and staff, nor our visiting Heads and Judges are allowed to help the champions with their tasks," said Dumbledore. He was met with silence at this proclamation but what he didn't say, and it seemed none of the other judges would say either was that if they did not compete in the tournament then they would lose their magic and be rendered squibs.
The goblet's flames turned from blue to red and a piece of parchment flew out of the goblet and floated down in front of Dumbledore who caught it easily in his hand. Unfolding it, he read the school and the name on it to himself before looking around. "The Champion for Durmstrang is Mr. Viktor Krum!"
Cheers erupted from the Great Hall at one of the youngest seekers in the Scandinavian countries getting chosen for the Tournament. Viktor showed no reaction except to pump his fist in front of him as his friends patted him on the back and he walked down from the Slytherin table where the Durmstrang students were seated.
When it closed behind him, the students only had to wait a few minutes before the Goblet spat out another piece of parchment. "The Champion for Beauxbatons is…Miss Fleur Delacour!"
A girl with silvery-blond hair and blue eyes, dressed in periwinkle blue robes stood from where she was sitting at the Ravenclaw Table with the rest of the Beauxbatons delegation to cheers of her friends and sobs from those who hadn't been chosen. Walking down between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw House tables, the girl shook Headmaster Dumbledore's head and was pointed towards a door behind the staff table. Once more another champion vanished through the door and now it was time for the Hogwarts champion to be selected. Everyone at Hogwarts watched with bated breath as to who would represent, in many minds of Hogwarts and the United Kingdom, the only wizarding school worth going to. "The champion for Hogwarts…is Cedric Diggory!"
"No!" Ron shouted this, but his protest was drowned out by cheers from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff as the Captain and Seeker of Hufflepuff rose to his feet and walked confidently down the aisle between the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables where his hand was shaken warmly before vanishing through the side door that Krum and Delacour had disappeared into as well. Professor Sprout was smiling as she saw that one of her Puffs had been chosen to represent Hogwarts.
"Now that the three champions have been selected, I believe it is time for my fellow Heads and Judges to adjourn into the chamber to give them their instructions. Students and visitors are dismissed to their…"
But, suddenly a collective hush fell over the Great Hall, all eyes turning towards the Goblet of Fire that began hissing once more. Snape was the first to see it and he stood, slowly walking towards the Goblet. Dumbledore himself, stared at in disbelief and then began walking towards it, the flames changing from blue to red before tossing out a fourth piece of parchment. On reflex, Dumbledore caught it with surprising speed for a man whose age belied him and unfolded the slip of parchment, his eyes staring down at it. "Neville Longbottom!"
There were gasps within the Great Hall at the announcement of the Boy-Who-Lived as the fourth champion. "It wasn't me!" shouted Neville as he looked around at his house mates at the Gryffindor table who were staring at him with looks of disgust. "Neville Longbottom, come up here…" But before he could continue the flames turned red for a fifth time and like with the past four times, Dumbledore caught it and unfolded it to read the name there as everyone stared at him or at the Goblet, from student to staff member to even the Hogwarts Ghosts and the visiting student bodies. He unfolded the note and stared at it in shock, his eyes widening behind his half-moon spectacles. No…there was no way this was possible! He was dead!
"Albus?" questioned Minerva McGonagall as she came down the dias towards her colleague. "What is it?"
"Headmaster Dumbledore what is the matter?" questioned Mr. Crouch. Ludo Bagman went down the steps and snagged the piece of parchment from Dumbledore's hand before staring at in shock.
"What is going on here?" Ludo questioned in disbelief. The entire body remained silent as they stared, though soon whispers filled the air about what this could mean. Weren't there supposed to be three champions? At the Hufflepuff table, a red haired girl applauded Cedric's win though she couldn't help feeling that something was going to happen that would shock everyone within the school, if not the entire United Kingdom.
Ludo stared down in disbelief at the name and school on the parchment. He knew as well as any of the judges here that a dead person could not be put into the tournament, so he must be alive but how was that possible? "Harry Potter…" he whispered and then looked around the Great Hall. "HARRY POTTER!"
The whispers of the students grew even louder at the name of the dead child who had saved them from the Dark Lord, though with the death of the Potter child…or so they thought…Neville Longbottom had taken the child's place as the beacon of hope for the light and the Boy-Who-Lived. The doors to the Great Hall burst open as Hagrid came running from outside the castle and over to Dumbledore. Dumbledore's eyes grew even wider as he heard what Hagrid had to say but before he could make a move, several figures thought dead appeared within the Great Hall. An elderly couple, a missing Sirius Black and Remus Lupin who had disappeared, and a very much alive Mr. and heavily pregnant Mrs. Potter along with three children. But what attracted the attention of the students was the tall and handsome teenager that stood between his parents.
"But…you're supposed to be dead!"
"Well, it's as the Muggles say Headmaster. Our deaths were greatly exaggerated."