A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks so much for the great turnout for the third chapter! You all are simply awesome :D
I wanted to thank all 22 people who favorited this story and the 39 people who followed it. I also wanted to thank pianomouse, anotherboarduser, EndlessChains, texan-muggle, and dancingfingers for reviewing! You five are amazing, and your replies are waiting in your inbox. :D
Also, a huuuuuuuge thank you and shout out to texan-muggle, who has basically been my beta reader for this entire story. Dude, you're awesome :D
Now, I hope you all enjoy this next chapter!
Year Four: Tournament
Harry just couldn't catch a break. His third year had concluded with his Godfather's name being cleared due to Peter Pettigrew being spotted in the castle again, after Sirius had ripped the Fat Lady's canvas apart. Sirius Black had been wholly innocent of the crimes placed against him, and with Peter appearing back in the land of the living, the whole farce of Sirius Black, Traitor and Killer of the Potters crumbled. Being tried and sentenced before Christmas, Harry, for once, spent Christmas away from not only the Dursleys, but also Hogwarts castle. Having been able to invite Hermione and Neville over for dinner, the three teens got to see what Sirius said was one of many properties the Ancient and Noble House of Black owned. A large mansion, nearly rivaling the size of the Longbottom Manor, Harry was ecstatic when Sirius asked him to live with him instead of at the Dursleys come summertime.
The rest of third year went more smoothly than the last two, thankfully.
Summertime had come swiftly, and with it another combined birthday party for Harry and Neville, this time held at Black Manor. Harry hadn't gone back to the Dursleys since the summer between second and third year, and he never wanted to go back. So far, Professor Dumbledore had come to visit three times since school ended, but it was always whenever Harry was out of the house. He was never told the reason for the Headmaster's visits.
But after Neville and Harry celebrated their birthdays, Sirius surprised them both with tickets to the Quidditch World Cup. The event was spectacular, and they sat in the same box as the Minister and accompanying delegations, partly because of Sirius' status as the Head of an Ancient and Noble House, partly because the Minister was trying to suck up to Lord Black after him being unlawfully incarcerated for 12 years. Neville, Harry, and Hermione saw the Weasleys there, as well as other classmates they knew from school, and all had a really great time when Ireland won, despite Bulgaria catching the snitch.
The morning after, however, chaos reigned.
Death Eaters had appeared, Sirius explained to them as he woke them up from their beds. They were told to grab onto this portkey and to get out of there. "I will join you later," Sirius said. Doing as they were told, they appeared in the middle of the entrance to Longbottom Manor, Augusta hurrying down the stairs to meet them. After being assured that they were alright, Madam Longbottom tried to put the three back to bed, but none were able to sleep. Worry about Sirius consumed Harry, and so Neville and Hermione waited up in the living room with him, the three playing games and talking as they waited for Siriu to arrive.
Just after the sun rose, Sirius appeared, weary looking and staggering from lack of sleep. He ended up passing out on the couch after telling the three that the Death Eaters got away, and any Muggles that were affected were being treated at St. Mungo's at that moment. What he didn't tell them, which they found out a few hours later when an early edition of the Daily Prophet arrived, was that someone had cast the Dark Mark above a few bodies of wizards caught in the crossfire. It had reported no one had been caught, and no one knew who cast the spell. It was by group consensus, then, that Harry, Hermione, and Neville were glad they were removed from the area, after getting post from Ginny Weasley, whom they had gotten closer to over the past year having needed to band together against Ron. She had written to them speaking of how the new wand Ron had gotten had been lost, and when it was found, it had been snapped in half and in the hands of a House-Elf of Bartimus Crouch Sr, who worked at the ministry with their father. Mr. Crouch ended up promising to buy a new wand for Ron at their earliest convenience, before dismissing his Elf.
Besides these events, the rest of summer went smoothly. Sirius escorted the three to Diagon Alley to buy their school things, and met up with the Weasleys there. Ron had been absent, having gone off with Percy and Barty Crouch to get his wand, leaving everyone else to catch up. Besides the event at the World Cup, nothing had gone wrong so far, which worried Harry that something bigger was coming along later. He kept bracing himself for it, and yet by the time the first month of school went by, everything was still peaceful and boring.
To Harry, it was amazing.
However, there was the announcement of the Triwizard Tournament that worried Harry immensely. With his track record, he'd be forced to enter, and the last thing he wanted to do was to risk his life again. The only thing nowadays that managed to keep his mind off of the perils that were bound to ensue was Hermione and her calming presence at his side. Sirius had pulled him off to the side the night before returning to Hogwarts and had given him the Talk, resulting in a very red Boy-Who-Lived, who refused to meet his best friend's gaze for the entire train ride to school without blushing profusely. Prompted by Sirius' talk, however, Harry had made a decision by the time they had arrived at Hogwarts.
By lunchtime on the first day of classes, Harry had asked Hermione to be his girlfriend, and to his joy, she said yes.
So not only did Harry want to preserve his life by staying out of the Tournament, he didn't want to worry Hermione, who had to deal with enough of his injuries from Quidditch to need to worry about anything else.
The day before Halloween, the students of Durmstrang and Beauxbatons showed up and made their introductions, Ron excitedly whispering about Viktor Krum, the seeker from Bulgaria, being there. Most of the male student body, however, swooned over a few of the girls from the Beauxbatons students, which Hermione had explained as the allure of the Veela, which they had all encountered before at the World Cup a few months before. Harry was, to Hermione's happiness, unaffected by the allure.
The day after, on Halloween itself, Harry, Hermione, and Neville were up at their normal time for breakfast. Since it was a Monday, classes had been cancelled in honor of the Triwizard Tournament and the arrival of the students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons. Learning from Professor McGonagall that the foreign students would be joining them in classes, everyone in the upper years got to look forward to sharing their class space with the newcomers. Since the two schools only brought students older than seventeen with them, only the 7th years were affected by this change. Several Prefects were enlisted to lead the new students around Hogwarts, showing them where their classes would be and the tips and tricks to getting around the castle.
The Golden Trio, however, spent their time after breakfast sitting in the hall doing homework, watching those people who were brave enough to enter their names into the Goblet. Hermione noted to the other two how, when the name was submitted correctly and approved, the applicant had a glow of white magic around them a second before the Goblet's fire flared up to eat up the paper. Both boys looked at her surprised, and she was confused until she learned they didn't see the magic like she could. Neville spoke of the Mage Sight, while let a person see magic that wasn't cast directly from a wand. Seeing Hermione make a mental note (she made the cutest face when she did so, her nose wrinkling up as her mouth slanted to the side, tugging her bottom lip between her teeth), Harry knew they were about to spend most of their day in the library researching. That, however, would come after coursework. His grades have never been better and Neville was slowly rising on the academic ladder, much to his grandmother's pleasure. Hermione had been offered unlimited use of the Longbottom library because of all of her help, much to the girl's surprise and happiness.
One incident happened after their Mage Sight talk that made Harry bristle. Although he and Hermione were now dating, they didn't really publicize their relationship. That didn't stop him from feeling uncomfortable when he noticed Viktor Krum's eyes lingering on his girlfriend after he put his name in the Goblet of Fire. It seemed the Quidditch player was debating on coming over to them, Harry's body tense if a confrontation followed, when Krum was intercepted by an overly enthusiastic Ron Weasley, who had an armful of things he wanted sign. Disgruntled, Krum left, but Harry made a note to himself to be wary of the other Seeker in the future.
By lunchtime, their homework for the week was completely done, giving them plenty of time for the rest of the week to do whatever else they would want to do. Heading into the Great Hall for lunch, Harry was right when Hermione propositioned them to head to the library to research Mage Sight after they ate. Agreeing with his girlfriend, they were joined by Lavender and Parvati, who wanted help from Hermione on homework. By the time they had gotten from the Gryffindor Tower to the library, the trio only had a few hours before dinnertime, and the Halloween feast.
Harry had been on edge for nearly the entire day, wondering when the other shoe would drop, but everything remained peaceful, for once. Finding nothing in the library on Mage Sight, Hermione got Harry and Neville to promise to write to Sirius and Madam Longbottom for any books in their respective libraries, and Hermione would be looking through bookshops for any books as well. She wanted to know more about this ability that she had that wasn't commonplace. They had agreed, however, to keep it amongst themselves, just like Harry's Parseltongue ability. The less people around them knew, the less frightened by the unknown they would be.
Fortunately, the feast itself was dull, but the excitement in the air at the selection of the champions was thick enough to cut. Harry knew it must have been two feasts in two days for him feeling super stuffed super quickly, but he was content with putting more on Hermione's plate when he noticed she was spending more time reading a book she had gotten from the library rather than eating, much to her blushing embarrassment. Harry got a kiss on the cheek for his efforts, and her book stashed in her bag as well.
"You know, this has been an uneventful Halloween so far. I could get used to this," Harry said in between dinner being taken away and dessert appearing before them.
"Oh, don't say that, you're going to jinx it somehow," Hermione fretted with a frown.
"Come on, Hermione. What's the worst that could happen?" Harry asked with a grin.
"Famous last words, Harry," Neville joked as he watched Harry poke Hermione's side just to find out that she was ticklish. Harry's eyes sparkling with glee, he started tickling Hermione until she couldn't breathe, gathering the attentions of those seated around them. Lightly hitting his arm when he stopped, she gave him a half glare before kissing him on the cheek. Dessert then appeared, and after Hermione explained again what all of the French dishes were again, Harry gladly helped himself to the ones he knew he liked from last night.
With the conclusion of the feast, Harry impatiently waited for the announcement of the champions for the tournament.
"Hope it's Angelina," Fred commented a couple of seats away, most of the House around him nodding in agreement as Angelina herself flushed in embarrassment. Their attention was called to the Head Table where Dumbledore stood, the Goblet of Fire being brought to directly in front of him, the flames of the Goblet blue.
"The Goblet is nearly ready to make its decision. One thing I would like to note before we begin is that once a champion is chosen, we ask them to make their way up to the top of the Hall, walk along the staff table, and go through into the next chamber where they will receive their instructions," Dumbledore said, indicating to a door directly behind Professor Snape. Everyone turned their attention to the Goblet and waited. Nothing was happening. A few minutes went by, before the fire inside the Goblet suddenly turned red, before it belched out a piece of paper, Professor Dumbledore's hand shooting out to snatch it out of midair.
As the minutes went by, Fleur Delacour from Beauxbatons joined Viktor Krum of Durmstrang in the room behind the staff table, with Cedric Diggory joining them shortly afterwards. Taking Hermione's hand in glee, Harry shared a smile with her, thinking he was in the clear for having a troublesome school year. Professor Dumbledore opened his mouth to say something, probably a closing speech, when the Goblet turned red once more, everyone's gaze fixated onto it. Harry felt the pit of his stomach drop, and Hermione squeezed his hand out of worry.
"Harry Potter," called the Headmaster, and the hall went completely silent. There was a moment of stunned silence from him, and then-
"No!" Harry called out, standing up, his hand still firmly clenched in Hermione's. He made no motion to move away from the Gryffindor table. "I did not enter my name and do not wish to participate in the tournament." His mind kept flashing to all of the death tolls and the mortality rates that they had looked up earlier that month, which he had decided swiftly afterwards that the tournament was not for him.
"Harry, you have been chosen, my boy. Please, come up through here and we-" Dumbledore began, but Harry interrupted him.
"No. I did not enter my name, and do not wish to participate in the tournament," Harry repeated before sitting down again, looking at Hermione with a determined gaze, who only looked back at him in fear and worry.
"Come, let us talk about it in the privacy of the chamber behind us. We will figure something out," Dumbledore tried to convince him, but Harry shook his head.
"Disqualify me, please. Since it was not me who put my name in there, I have no ties to this tournament beside as an observer, and should you wish for me, a fourteen year old, to compete in something that has an age limit three years my senior, that speaks more on your value of this school and the tournament than in my safety," Harry replied, refusing to look back up at the Head Table, instead staring at his cleared plate. A moment of silence followed his proclamation, before whispers started up all around the Great Hall. The Headmaster had to call for silence once more, before he dismissed everyone from the Great Hall.
Professor Snape caught up with Harry before he headed out with the rest. "Professor Dumbledore would like to request your presence in his office. He would be meeting you there once he is finished with the other champions." Harry looked at his Potions Professor hesitantly, just feeling down with all the danger that seemed to follow him everywhere.
"Professor, can I ask you and Professor McGonagall to be there as well? I am afraid the Headmaster will try to force me to compete, which is the last thing I want to do," Harry said, his hand tight on Hermione's as he pulled her closer. The Potions Master nodded.
"I will be there," he replied. "And. . .if you can, call your guardian here. Since you are underage, he has a right to this discussion." With that, Professor Snape headed back towards the head table, giving Harry time to lead Hermione and Neville over to the corner to pull out the mirror Sirius had given him after the debacle at the World Cup.
Talking with his godfather, Harry was convinced to put the discussion with his headmaster off until the next day, so Sirius could attend as well. When Harry was led up to the Headmaster's office, he found just Professor Dumbledore there, with Professors Snape and McGonagall thankfully by his side. Before anyone could say anything, Harry repeated his earlier words about him not entering his name, and when Dumbledore started saying that Harry had to participate, Harry put his foot down.
"If you insist on trying to get me to participate, then we will continue this conversation tomorrow, when Sirius can join us. As my legal guardian, because I am still underage, he has a right to know about decisions concerning my safety," Harry stated.
"Harry, I'm sure you don't need to worry your godfather about this-" Dumbledore started and Harry cut him off.
"Sirius already knows, and will be joining us after lunch tomorrow," Harry replied, staring unblinkingly at his headmaster. This next part would hurt him to say it, but it needed to be done, Sirius had assured him. "I will not participate, and if that means leaving Hogwarts to ensure that, then this castle might not be my home for much longer." With Professors McGonagall and Snape by his side, Harry felt a lot braver than he really was, and waited tensely in the silence that followed his proclamation. At long last, Professor Dumbledore spoke.
"Then we shall wait for your guardian to join us before speaking any more," he said, a frown appearing on his lips. "But Harry, surely you can-"
"Since Mister Potter here has classes tomorrow, Albus, anything else you need to talk about with him can wait until tomorrow's meeting," Professor Snape interrupted.
"Yes, I will escort him back to Gryffindor Tower, since he will want to sleep well tonight to focus on his studies tomorrow," Professor McGonagall added before Dumbledore could interject. "Tell the Headmaster goodnight, Mister Potter."
"Goodnight Headmaster," Harry said obediently before letting himself be led away by his Head of House and Professor Snape. When they got to the bottom of the stairs, the three found Hermione and Neville waiting for him.
"Come along, you two," Professor McGonagall stated as she turned to head towards Gryffindor Tower, Professor Snape heading in the opposite direction toward the dungeons.
"Yes Professor," the two chorused before joining Harry's side, Hermione's hand finding her boyfriend's. McGonagall left them at the entrance to the tower, and the three paused for a moment to let Harry collect himself.
"Just know that I believe you when you say that you didn't enter your name," Neville said, trying to lighten the mood a bit. Harry nodded in recognition with a chuckle.
"Guess I'm not meant to have a normal, quiet year, huh?" Harry asked with a sigh. And with a squeeze of Hermione's hand, then three entered the portrait hole to face the music.
A/N: So things have REALLY changed from original canon, lol. Who's to say what will change now that Wormtail is in Ministry custody instead of seeking his old master out? :3 And will Harry be forced to participate? We'll just have to wait and see. ^.^
If you liked what you read, please consider favoriting and following, so you know when I update, as well as maybe leaving a review to share with me what you thought of it. I also am putting a poll up on my profile, about whether I should do a Christmas themed continuation of this one (and maybe a Valentine's Day one after that, if people want one). The poll will be up until the final chapter of this story, so you all have until Saturday! :D