A/N: Hello to anyone that reads this, if you're interested in my first story please note it has not been dropped; I'm just dealing with a little writers block at the moment with it. This story, which will not get out of my head has unfortunately taken the space I would usually have for writing. So I'm hoping by writing this, it'll give me thoughts and interesting things to write about for my first story.

Please consider this first chapter as a sort of prologue if you will. I'll judge based on reception if I'll continue it, I just had to get the idea out of my head. Thank you for all the views and comments I've received already, they really do motivate me.

The Tournament

The Wizard From Her World

Chapter 1

"OK, class dismissed."

As soon as the professor spoke up the classroom immediately erupted with noise. Students chatted to each other, chairs scraped against the ground as they were pushed back. All eager to leave and go home.

"Oh and Mr. Peterson, don't think I've forgotten; I want that assignment in by next week!" The professor, a tall older gentleman with a balding patch on his head shouted out to his student just before he could flea who elicited a groan at being reminded of the horrors that were assignments.

In small groups the students left, and eventually only one remained. Hermione Granger was slowly packing up her books and notes, making sure they were all in the correct place in her bag. She wasn't in a rush like the others. In fact, she often wished the university classes lasted longer. If she was honest with herself she had hoped university would turn out better than her years in college. Isolated and virtually friendless, it was never nice thinking back on those years. She thought university would be different, a group of like minded individuals; all sharing the same love for learning. She was mistaken very quickly. While she attended Harvard under a scholarship, others were admitted through connection or financial wealth. Most didn't care about learning, they just wanted to get through it so they could say they graduated from a esteemed school.

Hermione jumped as the noise from one of the doors of the classroom shut, bumping on the frame as it did. Even the professors didn't seem to want to stick around. Sighing, and a little thankful that she got through another day without any incidents she closed her back and made sure the catch was secured. Too many times had it split, it made her nervous. She knew she could carry less, but what if she missed something or wasn't prepared for a question?

She stood up and pulled on her coat, brushing a few strands of hair away from her face as the fur lined hood fell onto her head. After pushing the hood back off her head she swung her bag over her shoulder and left through the other door to the classroom but immediately stumbled when her leg caught on something. She managed to catch herself on the wall on the other side of the corridor.

"Watch it Granger, I was resting my legs there."

Hermione turned around quickly, cursing herself for jinxing it. Jason Brookes was smirking at her as he leaned against the wall, a few other girls and boys standing around him and trying to hold in their laughter.

Holding back her comments about how only idiots would put their legs in front of a door she made to turn and walk the other way down the corridor. She was blocked however when Jason stepped in front of her.

"What's the rush Granger? Too eager to get to your next class, you do know the days over; right? Or maybe you don't…" He said, laughing to himself and the other joined in.

She used to argue back, but knowing it was useless against the idiot that stood before her she simply said nothing and tried to walk around him. He moved with her, continuing to block her path.

"Move, please." Hermione said, frustrated. She didn't want it to escalate.

This only caused Jason to smile more however, and she internally cursed herself once again. "And there's that pretty voice we all hear so often in class." He said, sending a subtle wink at one of his friends behind her.

The next second her bag was quickly pulled off her shoulder.

"Hey!" She yelled, turning around quickly but Emma Jones, who was Jason's girlfriend was blocking her other way, she had thrown the back to one of the boys behind her. "Give it back." She said coldly.

"How come you always refuse to hang out with us Granger?" She said mockingly, knowing she wouldn't fight back.

"I'm busy." Was all Hermione said, looking at her bag, thankfully they weren't pulling things out of it.

"Busy? Doing what? Surely you can spend some time not studying?" Emma said.

Hermione was getting angry. "And what's so wrong if I do?!" She yelled. "Now give me back my bag."

"I said, give it back." She said again, glaring at the boy holding it. He looked a little apprehensive but didn't hand it over, obviously to afraid of what Jason might think or say.

Hermione tried stepping forwards, the thought of just pushing Emma out of the way and taking her bag back when Jason grabbed her from behind and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Come on Granger, why not hang out with us? Where's the harm?" He said into her ear.

She stopped dead, some fear spreading into her mind as she thought quickly. What was happening was fairly tame compared to other things that have happened to her but one instance sprange to the forefront of her mind.

Jason continued to speak quietly into her ear, rooting her to the cold floor. "The whole school knows about your little… Adventure, with Smith. Why can't we have some fun too?" He said subtly.

Her memories were rushing past her a mile a second as fear and panic flooded her emotions. She was trying not to cry, to keep her cool. Nearly every day she heard the whispers, the students discussing her behind her back. Even some of the teachers seemed to regard her cooly. All for something that wasn't her fault.

Clentching her fights and shutting her eyes to keep the threatening tears at bay she thought about what her mother had told her. It had taken a lot of her courage to tell her, but she was happy when she did. "You did nothing wrong, ignore them and if they aggravate you ignore them still. At the end of the day you're a far better person." Her mother always said. While she agreed with it, knowing that bullies looked for a reaction out of someone but her situation was a little differently.

She pulled his arms from around her waist and shoved them back towards him. Walking past Emma she glared at her pretty smirking face and didn't slow as her shoulder was buffeted. Quickly grabbing her bag from the boy's hand, who honestly looked a little nervous and walked at a fast pace down the corridor without looking back. Once she was around the corner she stopped and leant her back against the wall, letting a large breath she had been holding in. She listened out to see if they would follow her.

"Dumb slut, let's go; she's a huge bore anyway." She heard the echo of Emma bounce down the corridor to where she was. They said words couldn't hurt you, but comments like that almost chipped away at her slowly.

It wasn't your fault. She almost had to remind herself.

She didn't know how long she stood there for, a few silent tears cascading down her cheek as she thought about how unfair it was. She tried so hard, yet nothing had changed since school.

It wasn't much longer until she walked through the door to her dorm. It was small, but she was glad she didn't have to share. Letting her heavy bag drop to the floor with a thud Hermione walked over to her small single bed and collapsed face first into it.

"Just one more year, that's all you have to do Hermione. One more year of hard work and you'll be free of it all." She mumbled into her duvet.

Some hours later, and well into the night she was awoken by a strange noise. She couldn't quite place it but it sounded like it was coming from outside, as if someone was dropping things on her small balcony. It was called a balcony but it really wasn't. She could open a small door which had about half a foot of space before a metal railing. It was nice in the summers though.

As the insufferable noise wouldn't stop she pushed herself off the best, not realising she had fallen asleep when she'd come home she pulled the heavy jumper off and set it neatly down on a small chair beside the window. She often sat there for hours on end, reading happily with the sun shining on the pages of whatever book she was interested in at the time.

The noise persisted and she found herself curious. Walking quietly over to glass door she pulled the thin curtain aside and peered outside.

Hoot.

Hermione jumped, and stumbled over her feet, falling heavily onto the carpeted floor. "Ow…" She said as she slowly got back up. She opened one of the curtains fully this time, now prepared, having been caught off guard and not expecting an owl of all things to be perched on her balcony railing.

She pulled the glass door open. "Hello little owl…" She said softly, feeling stupid. "Are you lost?"

Her memory quickly went to any of the books she had read about owls. She knew they were nocturnal, and hunted mostly at night so it shouldn't be that strange for one to be resting there. It was just an inconvenience as it's sharp claws scratched against the metal railing. It simply hooted at her daft question.

As she looked at the sharp claws of the owl she noticed something foreign. A small triangle piece of what looked like old paper. She wondered if the owl was on a delivery.

Can owl's deliver messages? She thought. She knew about carrier pigeons. Some were still used although it was a bit of a joke with today's technology. Hesitantly she extender her hand, wondering briefly if it was actually for her. Expecting to be scratched or bitten she was surprised when the owl extended its leg to her.

"It's… It's for me?" She said nervously? Not caring that she was speaking to an owl, if anyone ever saw they would think she was crazy. The owl simply stared at her with it's large amber eyes. Hermione nervously untied the small paper, trying not to fumble to much with string. She didn't want to aggravate the owl. Defying her expectations the owl simply did nothing as she removed the paper. As soon as it was free however the owl promptly spread its large wings and flew off.

"Ow!" Hermione exclaimed for the second time that night as a wing clipped her in the face.

She watched the owl for a few minutes, until she couldn't see it anymore before closing the door. A shiver ran down her body, not having paid much attention to the cold night air. Pulling her curtain shut again she walked over to her bed and sat down and pulled her duvet up and around her. She turned the small lamp on the bedside table on, casting a soft orange light around the room. Once her hands stopped shivering she slowly unfolded the letter. It was made of parchment, having held some from the school's library when she had to look up really old facts and information. Smoothing it out on her leg she began to read.

Miss Hermione Jean Granger,

You're here by selected to participate in a grand event. Hosted by the Ministry once every 20 years. The Tri Wizard Tournament is a fundamental spectacle of our current society. Each applicant, chosen by the Goblet of Fire, will be paired with a witch or wizard closest their age. Fear not however as these magicals boste excellent magic prowess and abilities that will help you in your tasks and ultimately, victory.

The victor will receive a substantial sum, guaranteeing you wealth for the remainder of your life and the eternal glory to match it, your name will be known in history. You will also receive, should you win, a request of your choosing.

No preparation is needed, no items or information is needed or could be found as the tasks are different with every Tournament. Simply touch this parchment on the specified time and you will be transported to your starting location.

Your arrival time: 13:00PM

Your arrival date: February 3rd 1997

Wishing you eternal victory.

Yours thoughtfully,

Verinda Montague

Head of Tournament Applications and Planning

Ministry of Magic

Hermione sat, staring at what she had just read. She wasn't sure if she was breathing or not. Is this a joke? It didn't seem like it. Sure, she had pranks pulled on her a few times a month but they were never this, thought out. The letter, on closer inspection looked like genuine parchment. There was even an elegant red seal with a logo on it.

"Ministry of Magic? What does that mean?" She said out loud. Hermione read the letter over and over again, until she knew it from memory. There was no such thing as magic, it was all part of the fairytales and stories she was told as a kid. It had to be a joke and even if it wasn't, why was she being picked.

Her mind was going crazy. It was a joke, just a joke. It couldn't be real. These thoughts crashed through her mind, each with a reply of why not?

"Why can't it not be real?" She mumbled and shook her head. She was looking for an escape, but this wasn't it. Falling into the trap of some crazy idiot who was either trying to scare her or make her look like a fool.

Finally getting angry at herself she scrunched the letter up and threw it across the room. Turning her light off she went to bed and was soon sound asleep. Her dreams filled with wild fantasies of magic.

The next morning was a struggle for Hermione. She wasn't used to being woken up in the middle of the night and it had really done a number on her. To make matters worse her hair wouldn't do what it was told so she just decided to straighten it as best she could and put it up in a ponytail. Her uniform, which she usually left neatly out was a crumbled mess and to top everything else off, she had stubbed her toe on the way out of her dorm.

The lessons didn't go so well either. Her mind scattered, thoughts still on the letter and a fantasy she wished to fulfill she struggled to answer questions. She didn't even notice people were staring at her as she played with her pen and stared out of the window. Usually one to sit up straight while giving the professor her full attention while taking notes.

Lunch was better, she ate some food in the cafeteria like she always did. No one bothered her thankfully, although she did notice a few people looking at her, but that wasn't out of the ordinary at lunch time. She didn't eat much, a simple sandwich and a small salad but it was enough fuel to get her brain back into gear and she decided there and then the letter was just a joke she wasn't going to fall for, she was done being naive and innocent.

She didn't realise she would be second guessing herself so soon as the 3rd arrived and she sat on her chair, hugging her legs and staring at the crumpled parchment in the corner of the room. It was 12:50, she had never skipped a lesson before but they started up again in ten minutes but there she sat, staring at the parchment.

"It's not real." She said to herself for the fifth time.

She kept her eyes on the parchment however. The past few days had been horrible for her. Lack of concentration, coupled with strange dreams left her feeling terrible and exhausted. She took more lessons than what was average at Harvard, so doing them all when you're only half there was a struggle. She just wanted it to be over, but she was struggling with herself.

12:55 and she still hadn't moved. Deep in the back of her mind she wanted too. She wanted to pick it up, to hold it and to be whisked off to a new world filled with lavish landscapes and magic. Somewhere that accepted her and she could make friends.

A few minutes to go and she stood, but still rooted to the spot. Her legs wanted to move but her brain was telling them not too. She'd never felt so conflicted in her life. All of her decisions had been based on facts and knowledge.

The facts were telling her that this couldn't possibly be real, people pulled pranks like this all the time. She'd read and heard the stories. The knowledge part she was struggling with, there was no knowledge of magic; apart from it not being real.

She took a few steps forward, biting her nails and hesitantly reached down to grab the crumpled letter, smoothing it out in her hands. She looked at her watch and saw there was a minute to go.

"This is it." She said to herself. "Now you'll see why you shouldn't have gotten your hopes up."

As the minute hand fell on one o'clock her hands started to feel strange as they gripped the parchment. Staring at the letter in disbelief she noticed it start to shine softly, the colour seemed to be blue.

The next moment, her Harvard dorm was empty.

Hermione landed in a crumpled heap, face hitting dirt and her arm was off at a wonky angle.

"Ow ow ow…" She said between breaths as she tried to push herself off the ground. As soon as she was on her knees the world was spinning and she clutched her head for support. Closing her eyes didn't seem to help as the sea sickness feeling seemed to be getting worse. She hoped she wasn't going to throw up.

"The feeling will pass, don't worry." A male voice said to her.

She jumped at the voice, not realising she wasn't alone. Squinting against the bright sun light that she noticed was shining down from above she tried to locate where the voice had come from. When she did, she was a little worried about what she saw.

A boy around her age, which she guessed he would probably be eighteen by the looks of him was laying down on a large rock, more resembling a boulder. The sun hit it square on, as if he was hoping for a tan.

"C-Can I help you?" Hermione said nervously, the fear of vomiting all over the ground slowly creeping up on her as she spoke.

The boy didn't move as he basked in the sunlight. "I suppose I should be asking you that question, Miss…?" He asked and Hermione realised he was asking for her name.

"Oh, Hermione. Hermione Granger." She said as she stood to her feet. She swayed a little, and her arm hurt but so far she was good. "Is this a dream, or something?" She blurted out, not being able to stop herself.

This time he looked at her. "A dream? Why would it be a dream, you accepted the invitation right?" He asked, puzzled.

Hermione nodded, not really knowing what to say.

"Well then. You're here of your own volition, dumb move but there you go. I was hoping for an easy run of the Tournament." He said as stretched his arms.

"Dumb move?" She couldn't help but ask. "What do you mean by that, who are you?"

The boy jumped down from the huge rock and Hermione could have sworn he slowed down just before hitting the ground.

The names Harry. Just Harry." He said with a smile. She couldn't quite help looking at his eyes, vivid green that seemed to warm her he was dangerous. "And I'm your wizard, at your service." He took a deep bow.

"Wizard?"

"That's the general term for us yes, and you're a muggle. What of it?" He said, clearly enjoying her confused state.

"And Muggle? What does that mean?" She asked, taking a step back. He decided to take a step forward, keeping the distance.

"It means you're not magical, no magic in your blood." He said as if it was common knowledge.

Hermione kept taking a step back as he took a step forward, he had a small smile plastered on his face and it was making her uncomfortable.

"And this… This, Tournament. It's real then?" She said, noticing how scared she sounded.

"Oh course, why wouldn't it be? You did read the letter right?"

She thought back to what the letter said, it wasn't that informative but so far she had to believe what she was seeing and hearing. As she looked around she noticed she was in a large opening, huge intricate stone walls surrounded her but the ceiling was open to the sun and clouds above. She noticed on one of the walls there was a large opening, she couldn't see what was down there however as it was almost pitch dark.

"O-Of course I read the letter! It didn't exactly explain anything though! I though… I thought it was all just a joke." She mumbled towards the end, not wanting to look at him. However she was suddenly forced to as he back his something solid and she couldn't back up anymore.

Her brown eyes met his green and she was fixed on them, not able to look away. His hand was slowly extending towards her and just before he reached her she scrunched her eyes shut. A soft brushing sensation on her cheek and then it stopped. Opening her eyes she saw him wiping his hand on his black jeans. She wanted to slap herself, she had landed in the dirt and he was just brushing it off. It wasn't like, before.

"Well either way, you're stuck here now. You know when you accept the letter you're bound by a magical contract?" He asked her, to which she shook her head. "Well think of it like a normal contract, only if you go against it; you'll probably die."

"Die…?"

"Yeah, you know. Not living anymore."

"I know what dying means!" She shouted, not really in the mood for jokes.

"Then why ask?" He countered.

Hermione was struggling for words, she had a headache and still felt a little sick. She wasn't in the mood for arguments. "I want to go home… To my dorm." She said quietly, her thoughts fixating on not being where ever it was she found herself in.

"Sure, but I'll have to win this first; but after that I don't see why not." He said nonchalantly and causing her to stare at him again.

"What do you mean, you, have to win? The letter-"

Harry sighed. "Don't believe what the letter says, it probably said something like you're here to compete and you'll get a reward, right?" Hermione nodded. "Well the reward part is correct, money and fame and all that. Oh and you get a request, but the catch is only one of you get's the request. Oh, and it's not you competing, necessarily. It's more like, can I keep you alive… Make sense?" He said with a bright smile.

She wanted to hit him.

After processing everything he had said she looked down at her muddy school skirt. "So I'm what, a fragile egg you have to carry to the finish line?"

"Huh?" He said, tilting his head in a confused manner.

"It's a metaph- Forget it. So I'm not going to do anything?" Hermione said, hoping she had sort of lucked out.

"Oh I wouldn't say you're not going to do anything.. Everything outside of this little area will want to kill you."

She hated how confident he sounded.

"But you're here to protect me, right?" She said, hoping his confidence also extended to her safety.

He shrugged. She wanted to hit him again.

"Well… I could, but it's not like I have too. You supposedly get a reward for every task you keep your muggle alive. Which in turn makes the next task easier. So all in all, yeah keeping you alive would probably make the whole thing easier." He explained.

"Your muggle?" She felt silly for asking when he simply pointed at her.

Hermione couldn't take it anymore and let herself slide down the wall she was leaning against. A few tears ran down her face as she struggled to understand everything. It wasn't long until she started to cry. She was a piece of meat waiting to be killed, she was just a university student. She wasn't up to this. She was good at knowledge, books and working things out. She couldn't fight, she was a coward most of the time.

She was brought out of her crying when Harry spoke up again. She looked up through blurry eyes to see him sitting with his legs crossed in front of her.

"You know it's actually pretty interesting you're here with me."

"W-Why's that?" She said as she wiped furiously at her tears.

Harry jabbed his thumb over his shoulder, pointing upwards at the far end wall where the tunnel began. Above it, inlayed into the wall was a large intricately crafted lion's head with words underneath. Squinting she could just make out that it was latin. Hermione wondered what it could mean, Harry certainly thought it had significance. Thankfully he answered for her.

"That's Gryffindors symbol. It represents courage and bravery. That's why I thought it was interesting that you would be placed in this one. There's 3 other symbols, each with their own qualities; but it's not really important in your case." He said with a look of interest.

Hermione mulled this over as she wiped the remaining tears from her eyes. She wouldn't class herself as brave or courageous. Was there a symbol for people who liked reading and learning? That would be the one for her.

"But, isn't it just random? Being picked I mean." She asked, her eyebrows turning down in confusion.

Harry smiled. "To a degree, but the cup takes some things into account; or so I hear."

"Cup?" Hermione asked, wondering if he was talking about the Goblet of Fire that was mentioned in the letter.

"The Goblet of Fire, it's a incredibly powerful magical object. Pretty much runs the Tournament." He said and Hermione nodded in return, some sort of understatement sinking in.

"I feel like this is all a dream, and I'm going to wake up and I'll be in my dorm room at Harvard." She whispered, filled with uncertainty. "How… How hard is this going to be, exactly?"

Harry tapped his finger on his chin and thought for a moment. "Pretty hard I'd say. I think all of the last contestants died… Not sure, I didn't hear much about the last one to be honest."

Hermione stared at him, she didn't understand how someone could say that and keep a straight face. "You're strong though right? I mean, you know; lots of magic. That's what the letter said, that I would be paired with someone magically powerful." She asked, desperate for some confidence.

"Sure, I guess." Was all he said. Her shoulders slumped in defeat but was quickly pulled to her feet. Harry placed his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. "Don't worry about it, you'll be fine. First though, you'll need to change out of… Whatever it is you're wearing." He said, giving her a once over which caused Hermione to blush slightly.

"There's a chest," He pointed back to where Hermione had first landed in a heap. "Just over there, when the cup picks you it puts a whole bunch of clothes in there suited to the participants. I've already picked mine so go ahead and choose. I'll wait over here." He pointed up to the boulder he had been lying on before. Before Hermione could ask or say anything else he was already walking away, hands in his pockets and humming a tune she didn't recognise.

Deciding this was all too real to be a dream, and she just had to accept her fate she walked over to the large wooden chest. It wasn't anything fancy, simple oak wood with some bronze metal reinforcements. Opening the lid she saw there wasn't just clothes. There were some bags, all different shapes and sizes, some water flasks and also some food. She glanced a look back at Harry, who was sitting down on the ground again; facing the boulder. He didn't look like he had packed anything.

Guess I'll have too. She thought.

She picked a medium sized rucksack, the others were a little big for her and had far too many pockets. Picking some items and clothes, which she noticed included underwear, she quickly stuffed them into the bag. A dark blue pair of jeans and a black cotton jumper that looked her size took her fancy and she glanced around at Harry again. Very quickly she stripped off her Harvard uniform and pulled the jeans and jumper on, feeling highly embarrassed but a whole lot more comfortable than her school uniform. The skirt and thin blouse didn't offer much in the way of protection from scrapes and bumps. Once she was happy with the items she had packed she walked slowly over to Harry.

"I'm done, Harry…" She said. Harry turned around and looked her over again. "Cool, we better get started then I guess." He said, giving a few glances to the rucksack on her back.

"O-Okay." Hermione replied with a nod of defiance. If she had to do this, she was going to put her best foot forwards and see it through; she had to trust the stranger before her that he was going to keep her safe.

"Hermione." Harry said, suddenly serious. "I'll be honest, I was hoping the muggle paired with me wouldn't show up. I wanted to take it easy, but now you're here… Well, let's just say it complicates things. I promise I'll protect you and you'll need to trust me." Hermione nodded, her hands a little shaky as she held the steps of her rucksack.

"A few rules, then. Always do what I say, even if it sounds stupid. Just do it, and you'll be fine; OK?" She nodded again. "Good, second one is never go anywhere without me. If you do, you'll die. And the last one, which is by far the most important… Do not trust anyone else in the Tournament, they will try and kill you the first chance they get. I won't lie and say this is easy, it's not. It's rare anyone even finishes, let alone wins."

She let his words sink in as she stared at her feet. She should be in Chemistry by now, ready to hand in her assignment she had spent the past week on. Instead she was in a strange place, with stranger things yet to happen.

"I promise. I'll do what you say if it get's me through this." She nervously replied, strangely coming to terms with her fate.

"Beyond that tunnel, could be anything. From traps to Dragons-"

"D-Dragons?!" She interrupted.

Harry ignored it and carried on. "-We stick together, we sleep together we do everything together. I mean it."

Hermione didn't want to admit it, but she was pretty scared of him when he talked that way, with authority and control. All her body and mind would let her do was nod to which he gave her a nod back.

He turned around, and Hermione noted a few scars on the back of his neck before he turned around and gave her a big smile.

"Let's go, we're an hour late."