Disclaimer: No, I don't own it and doubt my confundus charm will work that will give me the opportunity.

AN: Two things real quick. Thank you for your support. The other is an apology for having you endure a rant at the end of the last chapter.

Chapter 4

Harry and Dobby used their time alone to plan for the second task. The advances Harry had made with his magic would allow him to complete it easily but they also didn't want to expose his abilities this early in the game. Harry still had six months before he could make his move towards freedom and the longer he prolonged the inevitable, the easier it would be. In the end, they came up with three plans; the first would use gillyweed to transform Harry into a humanoid water creature that could easily move around Black Lake. The second plan would use his newfound magic which would be dispelled before reaching the surface. In the final plan, Harry would use his Firebolt and get the heck out of there. Dobby, in his infinite quest to help Harry had gone out and purchased enough gillyweed to survive underwater for three hours just incase there were problems.

As the champions were lined up and Dumbledore was counting down to the firing of the starting cannon, Harry shoved the gillyweed in his mouth and started chewing. Cedric gave him a strange look to which Harry responded with a large gillyweed filled smile. After a snort from Cedric, Harry finished chewing and then swallowed the slimy plant. Just as the cannon went off, all three of the other champions enacted their plans and dove into the water.

Harry had a good idea how long it would take for the gillyweed to affect him and by his plan, he was the last one in he water a full thirty seconds after the other champions. True to what he told Cedric after the first task, he was letting his inner Hufflepuff out and was following along behind the other champions to make sure they survived the task. He knew that his method was probably the best out of all the champions except for that creepy shark thing that Krum did.

The reason why Harry was out on the platform meditating was so that he would know which way to go. He used a technique Dobby taught him to locate magical signatures. Since Ginny owed him a life debt, it was easy to pick up hers as he scanned the lake. He followed the strand that linked them both and swam up to Cedric. After a tap to the shoulder, he pointed out the direction he needed to go and with a nod, Cedric headed in the right direction, Harry turned and sped over to Fleur. He motioned for her to go the same direction but received a frown and a quick shake of the head. Harry shrugged and headed off to watch over Cedric. He followed Cedric for a while and when he saw Cedric was making good time, he swam back to check on the French champion. He hadn't gone far before he saw a pack of grindylows overwhelming her and blood staining the water.

Harry sped over and with a wave of his hands, banished the little buggers twenty feet away from her. As he took in her appearance, her normally gorgeous body and face was bloody and bruised and she was barely conscious. The situation went from bad to worse as her eyes closed and the bubble from her bubble head charm started to flicker until it finally vanished. He reacted on instinct and used the only way he could think of to save her which was pressing his lips to hers in order to breathe for both of them. He knew she was in no shape to continue the task so he wrapped his arms around her and kicked hard towards the surface. Her eyes started to open on the way up and when she noticed what was happening, those same eyes grew wide in alarm. As he approached the platform, he gave a final kick which propelled them out of the water and onto the hard surface. As they landed, the only thing he heard was Fleur muttering "Ma Sueur". Harry didn't know much French but he did know she was saying 'my sister'. With a quick nod, he dove back into the water before the judges could approach.

Harry didn't waste any time and sped through the water. As he came upon the merpeople village, he noticed Krum and Cedric were working on releasing their hostages. He saw Ginny Weasley and sighed internally. Even though he knew she was the one down here, he thought 'Shite, she'll be following me round even more now. Bet Dumbledore had something to do with this.' He knew he should be angry and refuse to take her back up but a part of him just couldn't do that to her. In a way, she was a victim of all this just like he was and although he would no longer seek out her friendship, he wasn't so cold that he would just leave her. He floated in front of her for another minute before making his decision. He'd have to rescue her if only for them to think that he was still somewhat on their side.

He glanced over at Cedric who was laughing at him as if he could figure out what Harry was thinking. Even though he had webbed fingers, Harry made his gesture as plain as possible which caused Cedric to start laughing even harder. Harry looked at him and pointed to the surface to which Cedric nodded and headed off.

Harry turned back to Ginny and pulled his silver knife to cut her bindings. Once Ginny was free, he looked over at Krum and saw that he had released Mandy Brocklehurst. It crossed his mind that Krum preyed on young girls so maybe he really was a shark. Harry let Ginny float free for a second before going towards the miniature Fleur that was tied up. As he started to cut her bindings, a merman tried to push him out of the way. The merman squealed "You can only take your hostage."

Harry replied "Her sister was hurt so I'm taking her with me."

Several mermen surrounded Harry as he was arguing and as soon as they lunged at him, Harry used his wandless magic to push them away. Harry hurriedly cut the bindings on the girl and dragged her along as he grabbed Ginny and headed for the surface. The burden of towing two bodies was slowing him down and the mermen had little trouble catching up to him. Just as they were about to confront him again, the shark/man barreled through them knocking them out of the way. In an instant, he was on Harry and bit into his side. As the shark was rolling and shaking his head, the flesh from around Harry's ribs, abdomen, and back were ripped away leaving mangled flesh. Krum's thoughts were 'This will teach you to interfere with one of my dates.'

Even though the mermen were confronting Harry, they weren't really a threat as they were told to put on a show but not hurt anyone and protect the students as best as they could. When the shark grabbed Harry, they were torn because they knew the shark was a student but at the same time, the shark was trying to kill another. In the end, they tried to protect Harry and lunged forward with their tridents through the blood filled water. The shark caught a glint of metal from the tridents and released his victim. His reactions were so quick that he was gone before they even realized the attack was over.

In the confusion of the moment, one of the mermen warriors had already thrown his trident at the shark and being unable to stop it, the trident pierced Harry's left thigh. As the merman tried to pull back on the trident, it grabbed flesh and bone and became firmly lodged in Harry's leg. The merman tried once again but the handle broke leaving the trident stuck through his thigh. The results of all this was Harry floating limply in the water with his two charges nearby.

Harry was trying to regain his composure and fight through the pain as he floated there surrounded by blood leaking from his body. The mermen tried to approach him to help but under the circumstances, he took their movement as threatening and pushed them away with his wandless magic. Once they were far enough away, Harry thought about sealing the wounds around his torso and with a pass of his hand, the mangled part of his body was covered in a yellowish glow. He fought through the terrible pain he was in and glanced at his watch. Sometime during the two fights, his watch had been broken and the last position of the hands showed him he had fifteen minutes left. Not knowing how long he had, he noticed his two hostages were floating close by and appeared unharmed so he grabbed their arms and made his best speed towards the surface. The mermen followed along at a distance to make sure he made it alright and knowing how badly this would go sent one of their warriors to get their chief and explain what happened. They felt it would be necessary so that he could speak with silver beard.

Harry was within ten feet of the surface when he pain in his neck added to that of his body and leg. He knew that meant that his gills were disappearing and he fought harder for the surface before he lost his flipper feet and webbed hands as well. By the end of the effort, he was almost too tired to make it to the platform but soldiered on anyway. As soon as the two girls' heads appeared above the surface of the lake, they woke up and were able to help in getting to the platform. The effort was made more difficult by the freezing cold water that Harry could now feel due to the gillyweed wearing off. For Harry, the water was a blessing and a curse as it numbed the pain in his body while it cold sapped what little remained of his strength.

Once they reached the platform, several pairs of hands stretched out and pulled the girls out of the water. The little French girl was tugged out by a sobbing Fleur who had her in a hug as she wrapped them both in a blanket. Cedric grabbed Ginny and hauled her up and quickly passed her to Madam Pomfrey. As Cedric turned back to Harry, he saw that he had relaxed now that both girls were safe. Cedric stuck his hand out for Harry and was quickly waved off. Cedric knew something was wrong and asked "Harry?"

Harry shook his head and said "Give me a minute." He allowed himself to sink back into the water to let the cold water numb him some more.

Once Harry built up a little strength, he reached out and Cedric grabbed his hand. As he grabbed it, Harry winced and groaned in pain. Cedric yelled "Cho, get over here, I need your help." She ran over and grabbed Harry's other arm and helped get him on the platform as everyone else stood and dumbly watched the scene in front of them. It kind of rankled Cedric that Fleur didn't even offer to help after all that Harry had just done for her and her sister. As soon as Harry cleared the water, they could see what was wrong. The trident was sticking out of his leg and where his shirt had been ripped; there were what looked like bite marks that had ripped the flesh and mangled his right side.

Cho gasped "Harry, what the hell happened to you?"

Harry looked at Cedric and growled out "Why don't you ask Viktor and the mermen?"

Cedric tried to hold Harry up and lead him off. "Come on Harry; let's get you to Madam Pomfrey."

Harry whispered "No, that'll put me at their tender mercies. I can't get trapped again."

Cedric pleaded. "But Harry, this is bad."

Harry winced again. "Can't be helped, I've got to go with Plan C."

Cedric pleaded "No Harry, you can't. You need help."

Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out the broom. He resized it and slowly climbed on as the judges saw what he was doing and moved towards him. With a grunt, he kicked off and rose above their heads before they could stop him. Madam Pomfrey was busy tending to the others and didn't notice Harry's condition until he flew off. Harry flight was erratic and shot over the castle grounds until he ploughed into the ground not too far from the castle entrance. He rolled about on the ground in agony for a minute before finally crying out as he sat up. In view of everyone, he reached down and pulled the trident free giving a horrific grunt as it tore free. Just as the blood started pouring out of the wounds, he pulled his wand and with a flash of light and a scream, he cauterized in his leg. It was as he used the broom to get on his feet that everyone saw his side was ripped open and bloody.

Madam Pomfrey sat there stunned that one of her favorite students would do such a thing when she was right here. Out of everyone on the platform, she gained her wits first and apparated to spot on the ground that held a pool of blood and a trident. She looked up and saw him slowly making his way to the castle. She tore off after him yelling "Mr. Potter….Harry. Let me help you!"

Her only answer was the castle doors opening and Harry limping along on his way. By the time she got to the castle, Harry was nowhere to be seen. The crowd had been shocked at first until a group of Gryffindors charged out of the stands to go help one of their own. As soon as they arrived, Hermione screeched "Where is he?"

In a small voice, she answered "I don't know. He wouldn't stop for me. Why would he do that? He needs help."

Neville Longbottom spoke up. "It's because he doesn't trust the lot of us. He said that he couldn't turn his back on any of us so I'd bet he went wherever he goes so that he could feel safe."

Poppy was sobbing "But I can help him. I've always helped him."

Hermione said "We know Madam Pomfrey. He doesn't want any of our help anymore."

Megan watched the whole scene and then quietly slipped off to see if Harry was in their room. When she arrived, Harry was sprawled out on a couch while Dobby tended to him. She ran over and was sitting on her knees and started running her hands through his hair. "Harry? Come on Harry, talk to me."

Dobby said "Harry is passed out Mistress Megs. He be sleeping for a while. Dobby make sure Harry is okay."

She sat there for quite a while as Dobby took care of Harry. Dobby popped out a few times and reappeared with several vials of potions. He gingerly poured the contents down his throat and then popped out again. When he reappeared, Dobby had Harry's trunk and all his belongings. As soon as she saw this, she asked "What are you doing Dobby?"

"Dobby sorry Mistress but Dobby be taking Harry somewhere safe. Dobby will hide and protect Harry until he can stand for himself."

"No Dobby, I need him here."

"Dobby sorry but Dobby must put Harry's safety first. Master's orders were to get him out of here if he was unable to protect himself."

She grabbed his face and kissed him hard on the lips. "I…I love you Harry. Please come back to me."

As she started crying, Dobby waved his hands over Harry and he disappeared. He turned to the trunk and did the same thing before making himself disappear. He grabbed both and with a loud 'pop' they were gone. Dobby arrived at the edge of the wards and then walked through with Harry and the trunk levitated behind him. Once they were outside the wards, Dobby popped them away from the school and back to their hotel suite. Dobby knew that he had done all he could for Harry and wasn't sure who he could trust. He checked to make sure Harry was soundly asleep and busied himself around the already clean suite. Dobby was scared and hoped Harry woke soon so he could tell him what to do. Dobby knew lot about fixing magic but not so much about repairing broken bodies. Right now, he knew Harry needed rest to heal as his magic was drained. Once his magic was restored, it would restore his body like it had done many times before.

**LC**

Albus was horrified at the condition of Harry when he came out of the lake. Yes he wanted to toughen Harry up and used the tournament as an excuse to do so but he didn't want Harry dead, well at least until it was the right time. He began to think that the whole tournament idea had been a bad one as everything he had worked for was destroyed and his was probably ruined beyond repair. Not only had Albus ruined his relationship with the boy but also those of his classmates, the staff, and worst of all his Godfather.

If Albus ever had doubts about Sirius' sanity, they had been confirmed recently as the man was clearly suicidal and was almost in the mental state he was in when he first escaped from Azkaban. The only thing keeping him alive was the fear of having to face James and Lily in the afterlife and the fact that he found it easier to deal with the pain if he spent most of his time as a dog.

Karkaroff led Viktor and Mandy over to a boat and took them to shore at Krum's urging. Cedric had been keeping as eye on Krum since Harry made his comment. He knew that Krum was nervous about something and seemed to be in a hurry to get away.

The pandemonium on the platform increased as the head of houses arrived wanting answers to what happened. Before Albus could say anything, a horrible screeching could be heard coming from over the edge. As Albus moved that way and started speaking to the merman chief, everyone gathered around to hear what Albus translated to the crowd. There were several gasps as the events were revealed and Cedric now knew why Krum was so eager to get away. Cho had to physically hold him back as he made for the boats. When the chief saw this, he motioned Cedric forward.

"You ah friendz wif Mistah Pahtah?"

Cedric worked through what was being asked him and finally said "Yes."

The chief nodded and said "Tell Mistah Pahtah my warrior waz twyin to hep him. We apahlajiz fah de ahksadent."

When Cedric worked through that he said "I'll tell him. I'm sure he won't hold you responsible. He's more likely to hold the person, who made him go down there in the first place, responsible for his injuries along with the person who caused them. I know I would."

The chief gave him a nod and with Professors Flitwick and Sprout escorting them, he and Cho made their way to the boats. As they floated across the water, Flitwick said "If you can contact Mr. Potter. Please offer my apologies."

Sprout added "Me too Cedric."

Cedric shot them a look and said "I doubt he will accept it. He quit going to your classes too didn't he? Just do me a favor. Remember what you just heard tonight at dinner if Krum has the balls to show up. Somebody in this school needs to stand up for Harry and I guess the job is left to me since no one else has the courage to do what's right."

He walked away with Cho without even giving the two heads of houses a second glance. The other boats touched shore and Minerva led a distraught Ginny up to the castle. Another boat held Madam Maxine as well as Fleur and her little sister. Once on shore, she led them towards the carriage. From the looks of it, Fleur was deep in thought. As they walked away, Cho muttered "Stuck up bint couldn't even say thank you."

Bringing up the rear was Albus and Severus along with Ludo Bagman and Percy Weasley. The conversation they were holding was spoken so low that no one else could hear but it was clear that they were arguing about something.

The group finally made it to the entrance of the castle where they found a sobbing Poppy sitting on the floor. Minerva passed Ginny off to Hermione and went to her friend. "What's wrong Poppy? Where is Mr. Potter?"

"He wouldn't stop and let me help him. He just disappeared like he has been all year. How can I help James' baby if he won't let me?"

Albus arrived and heard the tail end of the conversation. When he realized Harry was not in Poppy's care, he turned and loudly said "Mr. Diggory, if you know where we might find Mr. Potter, take us to him now."

Cedric stood straight and said "I don't know where he is and even if I did, I wouldn't screw him over like the rest of you have done this year. If he wants to be found, he will be. If he doesn't he won't."

"Mr. Diggory, you will take me to him or I will see you in detention."

Cedric snapped back "I'll be glad to sit any detention you require but it will be with my head of house and I still won't tell you where he is. You know, it scares me when someone who needs help is too afraid to get said help because he knows that if he does, he will be locked up once again or made to forget everything that happened this year."

The crowd gasped and Albus grew furious. "Very well Mr. Diggory. That will be two weeks detention with your head of house beginning tonight."

"I'm sorry Professor but I won't be able to start until tomorrow night. I'll need to contact my father about this and see how he wants to proceed. I can promise you that I will suggest speaking to the Prophet and the DMLE about what has happened this year. I'm sure both parties will be very interested."

Albus paled and before he could say anything, Cedric added "I'm not Harry, Professor. I grew up in this world and wasn't left ignorant of it and I know how to get things done. If you force the issue, I will take Harry under my protection."

Albus looked at him for a minute before saying "That will not be necessary. Detentions cancelled citing the emotional state we are all in."

Cedric turned and stormed off towards the Ravenclaw dorms as he dragged Cho along with him. When he settled a bit and slowed down, she asked "You knew he'd back down didn't you?"

He smiled "Yeah, he doesn't want anyone having any kind of control over Harry but him. If I took him under my protection, my dad would have to authority to launch an investigation into all matters concerning House Potter and that's the last thing he wants."

She smiled up at him. "Maybe you should do it anyway. I mean, it would help Harry."

"No, Harry already has a good plan in place. He just has to wait a little while longer and he's fine with that."

As they arrived at the door to the Ravenclaw dorm, Cedric kissed her gently and said "Go get cleaned up and get some rest. Sit with me at dinner?"

She smiled and gave him a quick kiss in response. As she went though the door, she yelled back "It's a date as long as you don't take me back to the lake."

Cedric laughed as the door closed and he took off to find Harry. As he walked through the castle, he got looks from several people who acted like they wanted to say something but a look from him discouraged the idea. When no one was looking, he disappeared down a forgotten corridor and stepped quickly to the door of their room. As he opened the door, he found Megan lying on the couch crying. He went over and sat beside her. Without even looking up she wrapped her arms around him and continued to cry. After a half hour, she finally settled and he asked "What's got you so worked up other than the obvious?"

She sniffed "He…He's pretty bad Ced."

He looked around the room and asked "Where is he?"

With a sniff, she answered "Dobby took him. He said Harry instructed him that if Harry was incapacitated, that he was to get him and Harry away and to safety. I begged Dobby to let him stay here and that I would look after him but he refused. I think Dobby only waited long enough to make sure Harry was stable and to tell one of us."

He patted her arm and said "Don't worry Meg, Dobby is a good elf and is completely devoted to Harry. If he can't help him, I'm sure he will find someone who will. Sometimes I think he's worse that Madam Pomfrey when it comes to Harry. She kept crying and saying something about James' baby. I think Harry not letting her help broke her heart."

"Yeah, Granger and Longbottom both told her he didn't trust anyone in the castle and he didn't want their help any more. Not much compassion there, Huh?"

Cedric smiled "Well they know about me and Harry now. You're still safe for the moment but I'm sure they'll figure it out eventually. When it happens, expect the masses to start asking you to tell him they're sorry."

She sighed "I don't care anymore. I just want Harry here and to finally be safe. So what do we do now?"

Cedric sighed "I don't really know as far as Harry is concerned. I'll just try to push them off as long as I can. I don't think they need to know he's not in the castle. It would mess up his plans."

"Agreed so deny, deny, deny."

"Yep and we need to go get cleaned up for dinner. There's going to be a bit of excitement there tonight."

"What's going on?"

Cedric growled out "Krum turned back and bit Harry in his shark form. That's where the big place on his side came from. I intend to make him admit it in front of the whole castle at dinner and then explain why."

She pulled him up from the couch and started leading him back to the Hufflepuff dorms. As they walked, she said "I hope Harry is okay."

He gave her a small smile. "Dobby will keep us informed. You are Mistress Megs you know."

She punched his shoulder and said "You prat. Will you let it drop?"

He smirked "Did you let it drop when you found out I liked Cho?"

"Crap!"

"Yep"

They walked back to the Hufflepuff dorms in silence. Neither was happy with the current situation but unlike Harry, they at least had each other for support. As Megan thought about this, she had to fight back tears once again. When Harry returned, she had made up her mind that since he wouldn't ask her until this was over, that she would ask him. One way or another, the boy she had grown close to would be hers.

**LC**

Cedric and Megan arrived early to the Great Hall and took their seats at the Hufflepuff table and it wasn't long before Cho joined them. During the conversation, Cho said "As much time as he spends with you, I'm beginning to wonder if I should feel jealous."

Cedric chuckled and said "Oh, you don't have to worry about that. We know each other too well for that to ever work. Besides, I think her heart belongs to another."

Cho quickly figured out what that meant and said "I'm happy for you. He's a good guy and will treat you right."

Megan blushed but smiled at the comment. Cho added "Please be good to him. He deserves some happiness."

All Megan could do was nod before Fleur came over with her little sister and asked "May we join you?"

Cedric gave her his most political smile and said "Certainly though I'm not sure we would meet up with your standards."

Fleur sat down and looked down at the table. "I know I deserve that for how I treated your friend. I would like to apologize to him face to face but I think that will be difficult now. Would you pass it along please and also give him my thanks for what he did for me and my sister during the task. He saved my life and completed my task for me. I am thankful for my life but even more so for what he did for Gabrielle."

Cedric said "I will pass it along when I see him again." He received a kick under the table from Megan for the last part.

Fleur latched on to that comment and asked "You don't know where he is?"

Cedric truthfully said "No, he has hidden from everyone. It may be some time before he shows back up."

She nodded and looked to be in deep thought for a minute. She finally straightened her shoulders. "There is another matter I wish to speak with him about. I…What he did today makes me indebted to him."

Megan asked "Do you mean a life debt?"

Fleur nodded "For a Veela, it is not such a simple matter. Our magic is different and a debt of this type must be settled or it will start to affect me."

Cho asked "How is it different? From what I've heard, Harry collects life debts like some people collect chocolate frog cards and that doesn't even count the debt owed to him by our whole society from when he was a baby."

Megan jumped in "Yeah, I think I heard that Granger and the Weasley girl both owe him a life debt but after what all has happened, the only way he'd use them is to make sure they left him alone."

She smiled as she heard gasps behind her.

Fleur blushed and quietly said "A Veela's magic will compel her to satisfy the debt by sacrificing something to him. In my case, it could be my virginity or I could be bonded to him for life as a concubine. There are other ways to satisfy the debt but most do not apply in this situation as Harry is too young to want children yet."

Megan stared at her for a few minutes in shock. Her eyes cut over to Cedric who was also staring at Fleur in shock. She finally burst out in mocking laughter in the French champion's face. She growled out "Why in the hell do you think Harry would ever accept anything you had to offer? You treated him like the dirt beneath your feet and then insulted his manhood."

Fleur indignantly replied "I did no such thing. I merely stated he was too young to compete."

Cedric said "You called him a little boy when he has done more than most adults."

"I do not understand. What do you mean?"

Cedric said "Harry has already faced you-know-who four times in his life and lived to tell about it. If that isn't enough, he killed a sixty-five foot basilisk at twelve and has faced all kinds of stuff that would make most of us crap our pants and go crying to mummy."

"Mon dieu"

Megan said "Yeah, he has more reason to brag or gloat and walk around here showing he's as tough as Draco Malfoy thinks he is but instead, he's quiet and caring and really sweet. And then the tournament happens and everyone treats him like crap and makes his life even more miserable than it already was. And then you have the nerve to come over here and claim you owe him a debt and that you intend to claim him as your own to satisfy that debt. I don't see how Harry would benefit from such a thing. In my opinion, the debt would only grow because he would have to take care of a spoiled princess like you for the rest of his life. I don't care what you think but you don't deserve to even look at him or wash his feet. Your best bet is to tell him thank you and move on. Anything else is laughable because he wouldn't give you the time of day no matter what you look like."

Not realizing that they were drawing attention, a crowd had started listening in. Ginny, Ron, Hermione, and Neville were amongst the first Gryffindors in the Great Hall and heard the whole thing. Their eyes widened that not only had they been replaced but here was someone from another house that was heatedly defending Harry to the end. They finally saw Cedric squeeze her hand to calm her down but realized that Harry now had real friends that wouldn't turn their backs on him like they had. It was just another blow to their fragile egos that Harry didn't need them and had quite obviously moved on after their betrayal.

Fleur looked up after being berated as she was quietly said "You love him don't you?"

Megan noticed she had a lot of attention on her and said "Who wouldn't? He's a great guy that any girl would be proud to be with. His only requirement at this point is that you show some loyalty to him. You could be dog ugly and it wouldn't matter. I guess that's why he liked Granger so much as she was loyal to him until Halloween, well at least he thought she was."

Cedric cut her off as he whispered "Meg, I know you're mad but you need to shut up."

She smiled again as she heard a few sobs behind her.

Fleur had been watching the whole thing and knew that her answer had not been the whole truth. She decided to take Megan's advice and see if a simple thank you and a promise of help in the future would satisfy the debt. She finally said "I thank you for your insights and will attempt to satisfy my debt as you have suggested."

As Fleur rose and moved to sit amongst the students of her house, Gabrielle said in perfect English. "Please tell Harry that I said thank you. He didn't have to do what he did for me and I'd bet that if he hadn't helped me and my sister, he wouldn't have been hurt."

Megan smiled at the young girl and asked "Are you going to have to settle any debts with Harry?"

Gabrielle smiled "Goodness no, I was never in any danger. I had Harry Potter watching out for me."

Megan laughed "That's a good one, I'm sure Harry will get a laugh out of that."

With a grin, Gabrielle turned away and went to sit beside her sister. As Megan watched her go, she felt a tap on her shoulder. When she turned around, a teary eyed Ginny Weasley was standing in front of her and asked "Is Harry okay? Do you know where he is?"

Megan gave the girl a hard but tear filled glare. "I don't know and thanks to you lot, he could be lying somewhere dying and we wouldn't know."

That was more than enough to send Ginny running from the Great Hall and she wouldn't be seen the rest of the night. Under normal circumstances, the Gryffs would be all over her for making Ginny cry but they couldn't deny the truth of the matter and sat there silently.

**LC**

The three of them ate in peace as everyone around could tell that Cedric and Megan were not happy. To make matters worse, Susan and Hannah were quick to move into the seats after Fleur and Gabrielle left. As they fawned all over Cedric even with Cho sitting there, Cedric tried to be as polite as possible but the two girls were starting to make him feel uncomfortable.

Megan finally had enough of their fawning and said "Will you two slags knock it off? Can't you realize that he's had a trying day with the tournament as well as with what happened to Harry?"

Susan asked "Why would we care what happened to Potter? He's trying to steal the spotlight from Cedric."

Cedric gave them a hard look and said "He is doing no such thing. Hell, he didn't even want to be in this damn tournament and has said so I don't know how many times."

Hannah asked "Why do you care Cedric?"

With a growl, he replied "I care because he is my friend. Now let me ask you something?"

Susan silkily sad "Anything"

After rolling his eyes, he said "I know your Aunt Amelia pretty well and I'm sure she required you to study the ancient families."

Susan replied "She did."

"Well in your training as the Heiress to House Bones, have you also studied treaties between houses? Especially your own?"

She still wasn't getting what Cedric was asking. "Yes"

"Was there an alliance between House Bones and House Potter?"

"Yes but that doesn't matter right now, we're in school. We don't need to worry about that until we graduate and take our places in society."

Cedric rolled his eyes and said "Meg, do you want this one?"

She gave an evil grin and asked "Can I? Really?"

He smirked as he nodded. She leaned over and kissed his cheek and then turned her eyes on the two girls. "Harry had some questions he wanted answered and Cedric and I suggested your Aunt. When he heard that she was your Aunt, he immediately refused saying that thanks to your behavior towards him, he wouldn't trust a Bones to wipe his arse. What this means is that on the day that Harry takes control over House Potter, House Bones will probably lose an alliance. Do you really think he's going to say that it was just school crap or do you think you made a lasting impression on him that will affect the future of your house?"

Susan looked at her stunned. Megan gave a smirk "I can see that quite a lot of the treaties with House Potter may be broken after this year. The loss of political and financial support for the lesser houses would be devastating don't you think? You know I once read that it was Harry's grandfather that paid to have Bones Manor rebuilt during the first war as a gesture of goodwill between the families. I can just imagine how your Aunt Amelia is going to act when she finds out what you've done. And don't get me started on what will happen when Augusta Longbottom discovers how her grandson single handedly destroyed an alliance that has been in effect for centuries."

Megan gave a satisfied smile as she heard Neville's gulp behind her and witnessed Susan pale at the ramifications hit her.

Susan and Hannah sat there in silence throughout the rest of the meal and there was not much being said at the Gryffindor table either. As the dishes were vanishing, Dumbledore rose and announced that they would give the champion's scores momentarily. It was evident that Dumbledore was waiting Krum when he was escorted into the Hall by Karkaroff. It appeared as if Dumbledore had heard of and was taking Cedric's threat very seriously.

Dumbledore stood at the podium and said. "Now that we are all here, we can begin. Could I have the champions up front please?"

As the champions moved forward, someone yelled out "You can't start without Harry Potter."

Dumbledore frowned and said "Mr. Potter is unavailable at the moment so we must continue without him. Please hold your applause until the end."

This started the first of many murmurs throughout the hall.

Dumbledore said "Miss Delacour receives a total of forty out of fifty points for the successful casting of the bubble head charm and since her hostage was returned during the pre-determined time."

Fleur was shocked and said "Non, I do not deserve such a score. Mr. Potter saved me and then brought my sister back for me."

Dumbledore said "Such modesty is refreshing but the score stands as it is."

Fleur flushed and looked apologetically to Cedric.

"Mr. Krum receives a total of forty-five points out of fifty for a successful if not strange partial transformation and for returning his hostage back within the allotted time."

Krum smiled as Cedric yelled "What? He attacked and tried to kill a fellow champion. How could you reward him for that?"

"Mr. Diggory, it is not against the rules to attack a fellow champion and all we have is the mermen account of what happened. Without Mr. Potter here, we have no proof."

A low rumble was heard across the hall as the students were finally made aware of what happened under the water. Cedric turned to Viktor and said in a menacing voice. "I'll be sure to inform Harry of that and we will see what happens in the final task. My only question is why?"

Viktor was angry that he had been challenged like this in front of the whole school and spoke without thinking. "He interfered with my date to the Ball. That was an insult to Viktor Krum and could not stand."

Cedric looked at him and said "You really are stupid. Harry had nothing to do with that. If you wanted to attack who was responsible, you should have

pointed your wand at Dumbledore and McGonagall. Harry wouldn't touch Granger with a ten foot pole."

Megan was watching the whole thing and inwardly smiled as she heard Granger sniff at that comment.

Dumbledore said "That will be enough Mr. Diggory. Your behavior is unbecoming a champion."

"And yours is unbecoming of a judge. Let's get on with this farce."

Dumbledore glared at him and then continued on. "Mr. Diggory receives forty-eight of fifty points for a successful casting of a bubble head charm and for returning his hostage within the allotted time."

Dumbledore cleared his throat and said "Mr. Potter receives….thirty points for the successful use of gillyweed and returning his hostage within the allotted time. The judges deducted five points for his interference with Miss Delacour's task. Another five point deduction was added for not following instructions by fighting with the mermen. In the end, it was decided that another five point deduction would be added because he did not get his hostage and himself on the platform. This concludes tonight's ceremonies."

Albus expected applause but there wasn't a sound in the entire hall. Cedric stood there and stared at Dumbledore. He finally said "He outperformed all of us. He even watched over us to make sure WE were safe. He actually saved Fleur who would have drowned. He was attacked by Krum and stabbed with a trident but even through all of that, he brought up two hostages and completed his task plus another champions. You deducted points for saving Fleur's life. You deducted points for fighting with mermen when you deducted none for that bastard biting him and then you had the audacity to deduct points for him needing help getting on the platform after all that. Is that all correct Headmaster?"

Albus looked sheepish at being dressed down by a student in front of the entire student population. "I wouldn't look at it in the context you put it in but that is essentially correct."

"Thank you for verifying that. I will use it in my quotes to the Daily Prophet when I discuss this sham of a tournament and the lack of impartial judges with them." Once he said that, he walked to his table and held out his arms to Megan and Cho. When they rose and headed out the door, Megan said loudly "Harry was right. They aren't worth the effort anymore."

**LC**

It took two days for Dobby to realize he was in over his head. Harry had lain on the bed the entire time and although he thrashed about and moaned, he had not woken up. He could sense that Harry's magic was working overtime to combat the complications that were developing due to his injuries but he didn't know what else he could do to help. The main problem seemed to be the high fever he was running and during the times it spiked, Harry thrashed worse than ever and even managed to utter a few words such as cup and crown.

Deep inside Harry's mind, the high fever enabled him to see the residue left over from whatever it was that Dobby had managed to rid him of. When his fever lowered, it allowed him time to process what he had seen if he didn't know what he was seeing. All he could tell was that it was something important to Voldemort and these things would have to be dealt with before Tom would leave him alone.

On the third day, Dobby knew that he could no longer do this alone and he started thinking about who he could trust to make Harry better. Dobby knew Harry didn't trust anyone in the castle but his mind kept going back to Madam Pomfrey and how she had always made Harry better. He laid a cold compress on Harry's head and poured yet another fever reducing potion down his throat. He then said "Master Harry, Dobby does all he knows to do. Dobby needs help making you better. Please forgive Dobby but Dobby goes and gets help."

Harry's head turned slightly towards Dobby and he gave a slight nod. Dobby reached out a grabbed Harry's hand. "Dobby be back soon." He stepped back and popped away.

He arrived in the Hogwarts infirmary with a louder pop than he wanted to but it couldn't be helped when he came through strong wards. The noise caught the attention of the witch who was sitting in a chair staring out the window. Dobby scampered over to her and pleaded "Nurse Poppy, Master needs your help."

"Who is your master?"

"Dobby heard you call him James' son. Dobby will not say his name here."

Her eyes bored into him when he said this. "Is he alright? No. of course he isn't. Can you tell me what is wrong with him?"

"Master be running high fever. Master's wounds won't stop weeping and Master's leg is turning dark."

"Oh Merlin. Please take me to him at once."

"Dobby cannot until Nurse Poppy swears that she won't turn Master over to Whiskers or anyone else. Dobby finds someone else if Nurse Poppy cannot do this."

She raised her wand immediately and said "I, Madam Poppy Pomfrey, swear to not reveal the location of Dobby's master to anyone and promise to do all in my power to heal him."

Dobby nodded "Nurse Poppy floo to wherever she wants outside of castle and call Dobby. Dobby come and take you to Master. Dobby needs to go check on Master." POP

Her wand never came down as she summoned her bag and then summoned everything she thought she might need into it. She stepped over to the floo and threw a pinch of powder into it. "William Holston, St. Mungos. Billy, are you there?"

"Hey Poppy. How are you today?"

"I'm sorry Billy but I don't have time to talk right now. I've got a family emergency and need someone to cover my ward for a few days. Can you send someone through?"

"Of course Poppy. I'll send someone right over. Give them a few minutes and you can leave your instructions."

"Thank you Billy. I wouldn't ask if it wasn't necessary."

"With how many times you have helped us out, it's the least we can do. I hope things work out okay."

"Me too."

She pulled her head out of the floo and then threw another pinch in. She stuck her head back in and said "Minerva?"

"Yes Poppy? What's wrong?"

"I have a family emergency I need to tend to. I've already called Billy and he is sending someone over. I should only be gone for a few days."

Minerva could see potions and other equipment flying through the room and packing itself in her bag. From the looks of things, whatever the emergency was, it was pretty serious and judging by the way the normally unflappable Poppy was acting, this was something extremely important to her. It was then that she realized what was going on. "Alright Poppy, go do what you must. And Poppy?'

"Yes Minnie?"

"Just make sure he gets better."

Poppy looked at her for a second and nodded her head.

As soon as her head came out of the fireplace, the flames flashed green and a healer stepped through. "Billy, what are you doing here?"

"It sounded important so I came to cover your ward until someone else could get here."

"Thank you, nothing going on right now and there are no patients to tend to at the moment but that could change in a second."

He laughed "I know Poppy, my internship here is one of my fondest memories."

"That's just because you met Janice here. Now, I really do need to run."

She threw another pinch of floo powder into the fireplace and said "Leaky Cauldron."

When she stepped out of the floo, Tom greeted her "Morning Poppy, can I get you anything?"

She smiled "Not today Tom, just passing through."

She made her way to the back of the pub and tapped the bricks. Once she entered, she went to a deserted alley and called for Dobby. He popped in, grabbed her hand and popped right back out. Their arrival was fast so she knew they were close to Diagon Alley and from the appointments in the room, she knew she was in a muggle hotel, a decidedly upscale one too. Dobby led her to the bedroom and she winced at the smell that permeated the room.

She moved quickly and started removing the rest of the clothes that remained from the second task. She then started waving her wand to diagnose what all was wrong with the young man who had captured her heart just as much as his father had. The results were really bad and she knew she could have prevented most of this if he had just let her take care of him. She shook that thought from her head and went to work banishing the bandages and unpacking her bag.

Her biggest concern was the fever as all his magic was focused on fighting it and the infection that coursed through his body. She held out her hand and several vials floated to it which she quickly uncorked and started pouring down his throat. She knew that it would take time for the potions to work so she started looking at his wounds. The wound on his side was just as mangled and weepy as it had been days ago. The fact that it had not scabbed over spoke to her years of experience and pointed to some type of poison affecting it. She looked at his leg, the one that he had cauterized in the middle of the grounds and then thought back to the trident lying there. She knew that the mermen sometimes coated their tridents in a special poison to weaken their prey and inhibit their magic. It was evident that this was the case so she summoned a book and started narrowing down the possible toxin. With a wave of her wand, she determined the poison but realized she was not prepared for this.

She started writing something out on a piece of parchment and turned to Dobby. "I need you to go get this from the apothecary at once. Do you have any money?"

"Dobby can go get some if it is needed."

"No time." She waved her hand and a money pouch flew into it from her bag. She handed it to Dobby and added "Be quick about it."

Dobby nodded and popped off. He returned five minutes later handing her several vials and her money pouch. "Dobby goes and gets money."

"No, I need you here in case I need something else. There should be enough in there for now. You can get money later."

She uncorked both vials and poured both of them in at the same time. Harry started choking so she rubbed his throat to allow the potion to go down. She sat back as she needed to give the potions time to work before she could do anything else. She talked to him because she felt it calmed her and comforted him. "Those potions were to counteract the poison that was on the trident. It has a magic inhibiter that was not allowing your magic to repair what it could. I'm going to be doing a lot of things to you baby but I will do everything I can to put you back together."

She waited about ten minutes and then and a brown bottle flew into it. She levitated Harry up for a second as she laid a towel underneath him. When he was settled again, she rolled him on his side and began pouring the liquid from the brown bottle over the wound. When his body reacted to what she was doing, she softly said "Good old muggle hydrogen peroxide Harry. It works as good as a wand and doesn't interfere with the potions."

She took out her wand after the wound stopped foaming and sprayed water on it to rinse it clean. She repeated this five more times before the infection had been cleaned enough that the wound stopped bubbling under the effects of the peroxide. After the last rinsing, she saw that the wound was bleeding normally and started working to correct that problem. The damage was severe and during the attack, Harry had lost most of the muscle on that side of his chest along with his nipple and on his back, the shoulder blade was so damaged that she thought it best to vanish it and start over but that would have to wait for now.

It took her longer than expected to stop the bleeding but she soon had a salve patch in place that would allow new skin to grow quickly. If things went right, she should be able to rebuild his muscles but she would need something stronger than what she brought with her. As she examined him closer, she realized that the loss of the nipple was probably permanent which wouldn't be as tragic for him as it would have been for a girl. There would also be a permanent jagged scar where the teeth bit down and tore. If that was the worst of it, she thought they would both find the results acceptable. She wrapped a clean bandage around his torso and then forced a blood replenishing potion down his throat.

Knowing he had been without food for at least three days, she pulled out a nutrient potion and forced it down his throat as well. She looked at her watch and realized that she had been working on him for almost four hours and she could feel it. She smiled down at her charge and said "You know this is the easiest time I've ever had in giving you potions. I usually have to either chase you down or brow beat you into submission."

She looked down at the leg and noticed the darkened color had started fading but that wasn't good enough and those wounds were still left to be dealt with. Dobby appeared and handed her a glass of water. She thanked him and continued to work on Harry. It took her another three hours to be satisfied with the wound on his leg. As she examined it, it was obvious to her that if left uncorrected, the wounds would cause Harry problems for the rest of his life. She then did something she only did on rare occasions. She pulled out a scalpel and began to cut the damaged tissue out of his leg. She was amazed that he didn't move during the whole thing but she could see his eyes squeezed tightly shut. She softly said "It won't be much longer Harry. I'm almost done."

Once she was finished cutting, she poured a potion directly into the wounds. She said "This is a potion of my own creation. It'll work to repair the damage and hopefully give you full use of your leg. If it doesn't work then we will come up with other options. I can't have you not coming to see me because you can't ride your broom."

She worked on the leg for a bit longer before she wrapped it up in a bandage. When she was finished, she looked at her watch again and sighed. "I haven't had to work on someone that long in quite a while. We're done for now Harry but I promise you we will talk later about you not letting me help you in the first place. If your little friend had not came and got me, you would have been dead within two days. I won't have that ever again so you're going to explain everything to me so that I can help."

Dobby appeared in the room and led Poppy into the dining area where he had prepared a meal for her. "Dobby thanks you for helping Harry. Dobby sorry Dobby couldn't do better."

"You did what you needed to do Dobby and then you did an even braver thing by going against Harry's wishes and bringing me here. I want to thank you for doing that. I…I wasn't sleeping from worry for him."

"Dobby prepared a room for Nurse Poppy so she could stay close by. Dobby watch Harry while Nurse Poppy rests."

She ate her meal and then went to clean up. Once she was ready for bed, she checked Harry one last time and went to lie down for the night.

**LC**

All had been quiet for Billy as he manned the Hogwarts' infirmary until a Hufflepuff second year showed up right after dinner. When she saw the man standing there in healer's robes, the first thing that came out of her mouth was "Where's Madam Pomfrey?"

"She had a family emergency and had to leave suddenly. My staff from St. Mungos is going to take shifts until she can return. Is there anything I can help you with?"

She blushed and said "No thank you. I just wanted to talk to her but it can wait until she gets back."

Billy sat back and smiled as the girl hurried off. She ran all the way back to the Hufflepuff common room and was out of breath when she got there. She looked around and spotted Megan sitting in one of the arm chairs studying but didn't see Cedric anywhere. The girl ran up to Megan and was tying to talk and catch her breath at the same time. Finally she got out "Where's Cedric?"

Megan looked up at the girl and saw how red her face was and asked "What's wrong Jennifer, are you having an asthma attack?"

Jennifer waved her off. "No, I'm fine, just out of breath. Do you know where Cedric is?"

"I think he's in the library with Cho. Did something happen?"

"I just went to the infirmary for a headache potion and Madam Pomfrey is gone. Some man is there in healer robes and told me she had a family emergency and would be gone for a few days."

"Family emergency?"

"Yeah and I thought with the way she was acting after the second task that well…she's gone to help Harry."

Megan stood and said "Crap that means he's in worse shape than we thought. I've got to go tell Ced. Thanks Jennifer."

Megan bolted out the door and headed for the library. She made it through the hallways in record time and stopped to catch her breath at the library doors because she did not want to upset Madam Pince. She made her way inside and crept around until she found Cho and Cedric back at a corner table. Cho looked up and with a grin said "I thought tonight was my night."

Megan plopped down and said "I've got news."

Cedric leaned forward "Well?"

"Madam Pomfrey left the castle for a family emergency."

Cedric said "You think she went to Harry?"

"That's my guess. You saw the way she was acting in the entrance hall. She kept crying about her James' son."

Cedric leaned back. "Well that could only mean that things got a lot worse and Dobby couldn't take care of it himself. Have you tried calling Dobby lately?"

"Not since they left. I knew he'd be busy."

"Give it another day then call for Dobby and see if he can give you any news. Damn I hate not knowing. It's been four days since he left but if she's with him, at least we know he's being taken care of."

**LC**

The next morning, news was spreading like wildfire that Madam Pomfrey had left the castle. Speculation about her family emergency was primarily centered on the idea that she went to help Harry Potter since most of them had witnessed her breakdown in the entrance hall. Everyone had seen the bloody mess that landed on the grounds and they all were witnesses to him removing the trident from his thigh. Most still winced thinking about it but if there was one underlying thought, it was relief that Harry would get the care he needed. Madam Pomfrey was known to never give up on a patient and they knew she wouldn't give up on the boy they had all pushed into this situation.

As soon as Albus heard the rumor, he approached Minerva. "Do you know anything about this?"

"All I know is what Poppy told me. Is she taking care of Mr. Potter? I don't know but I hope she is. Merlin knows we have all dropped the Quaffle when it comes to him."

"If he's off school grounds, that is a blatant violation of the rules and we will have to deal with that."

"Albus, that boy was in no shape to leave the school so if he did leave, it wasn't under his own power. If you are so hell bent on pushing the boy even further away then by all means expel him. I think he would thank you for it at this point."