Everyone was making a huge fuss over the 422nd Quidditch World Cup final. Although Severus enjoyed Quidditch (he wasn't that bad either), he didn't understand why people made such a big deal out of one game. Severus was brought from his thoughts by a knocking on the door. He eased out of his chair and slowly made his way to the door. When he saw who was at his front door, however, he wished he had stayed in his chair. Standing in front of him, looking quite dishevelled, was Barty Crouch Jr.

"Hello, Severus," said Crouch. His tongue darted out to his lip, then retreated back inside his mouth. Severus' eyes narrowed. He didn't want anything to do with this madman.

"Crouch, what on earth are you doing here?"

"Oh, I think you know Snape," he snarled, "He's coming. His return is close. Watch your back, 'cause he'll be ready soon."

"And who is it that would be returning, Crouch?" Dread flowed through his body. Severus knew exactly who was 'returning', and he hoped that Crouch's words where just those coming from a lunatic.

"You know who." A devil's smile flitted across his face, apparently pleased with his dark pun. Crouch then took a few steps down the front garden, spun on the spot and disappeared. Severus shuddered. The Dark Lord has fallen he reminded himself he's gone. It wasn't very reassuring that Dumbledore himself thought that the Dark Lord would return, but the old wizard can make mistakes, as he has said so himself.

Severus was quite shaken by Crouch's visit, and decided to down some Firewhiskey to calm himself. He wandered back inside and sat down at the small bench near his kitchen, taking a large bottle off it as he did so. Not even bothering to use a glass, Severus brought the bottle to his lips and took a large gulp from the liquid. It burnt his throat on the way down but after a few more swigs, his thoughts became fuzzy and he felt more relaxed. Severus sagged back in his chair. It was bad enough that the Triwizard Tournament was commencing that year, but now he had to worry about the supposed return of the Dark Lord. He decided to keep Crouch's appearance to himself. Although his words were worrying, they were most likely nothing to be afraid of, given his history.


Severus' eyes widened at the title of the Prophet: SCENES OF TERROR AT THE QUIDDITCH WORLD CUP. When he saw the glittering form of the Dark Mark floating amongst the clouds in the picture below, his mind jumped to one conclusion; Crouch wasn't as crazy as he had thought, and the Death Eaters are becoming active for a reason. Reading down the article, he knew who had written it before her name was mentioned at the end. Rita Skeeter was one of those reporters who exaggerated everything. She always questioned the Ministry and its intentions, and Severus was quite surprised she hadn't gotten fired yet.

If it was an attack on muggles, he wondered why Death Eaters would do something so rash and careless. It could only have been orchestrated by someone who knew nothing on how to do things without the Ministry's notice. However, if it was to scare people, then Severus thought they did quite a good job. Not that he was going to congratulate them, very much the opposite. He folded up the newspaper and placed it on the table in front of him. Pulling a hand through his dark hair, Severus returned to his room to pack for the start of term.

His holidays went by too quickly for his liking, and it felt like just yesterday he was enjoying the thought of doing nothing. Of course, however, he hadn't 'done nothing' these past few weeks. Severus had mostly been brewing potions constantly, and marking homework.

Severus knew that school would be quite hectic for the next year, as it always is with the Triwizard Tournament. He heard that Victor Krum from Durmstrang was going to be entered in the Tournament. Severus was still amazed that Igor Karkaroffe managed to get position of Headmaster there, considering he would still be in Azkaban if it weren't for his knowledge of names. Sighing, Severus picked up his suitcase, placed it on the bed and began packing.


"PEEVES!" came a hollering voice from down the hall, "Peeves, come down here at ONCE!" McGonagall stalked out of the Great Hall, almost slipping on the wet floor. The cheeky poltergeist was throwing water balloons from the ceiling, soaking anyone who came through the entrance hall. Severus watched from his safe corner beside the door. Minerva hauled Granger out of the way of another balloon, almost strangling the girl in the process.

"Oh, sorry Miss Granger-"

Granger pressed a hand to her throat tenderly. "That's alright Professor."

"Peeves, get yourself down here at once!"

"I ain't doin' nothin' granny 'Gonagall! They're all wet anyway, what's the harm?" Peeves cackled and flew around the roof, pelting another balloon at an unfortunate fifth year who ducked and ran into the Great Hall.

"I will call the headmaster! I'm warning you, Peeves!"

Peeves dropped the remaining balloons right above the deputy headmistress, which she dodged narrowly, and sped off up the stairs, snickering to himself. Minerva then turned on the remaining students and barked;

"Well then, off with you, go on, inside!"

They quickly shuffled into the Great Hall, followed by Severus. Half the hall was chattering with excitement. The other half was looking around, confusedly. Severus guessed that the confused half still didn't know what was happening this year. He walked past the students, slow enough that he could glare at them all, but not slow enough that it looked like he was dawdling. After resuming his position at the Head Table, the hall fell silent. Severus looked around to see Minerva and the first years coming in through the large doors. The little first years were shivering from the cold, and soaking wet. They all looked freezing in their robes, which were sticking to their small bodies. All except a very small boy, who looked to have a furry black circus tent draped around him. Looking closer, Severus saw it was Hagrid's cloak. The silly child probably fell in the lake on the way here.

Minerva had walked forward and placed the three legged stool at the front of the hall. She then placed the Sorting Hat on the stool, and moments after, the hat begun to sing.

A thousand years or more ago,
When I was newly sewn,There lived four wizards of renown,
Whose names are still well known:
Bold Gryffindor, from wild moor,
Fair Ravenclaw, from glen,
Sweet Hufflepuff, from valley broad,
Shrewd Slytherin, from fin.
They shared a wish, a hope, a dream,
They hatched a daring plan
To educate young sorcerers
Thus Hogwarts School began.
Now each of these four founders
Formed their own house, for each
Did value different virtues
In the ones they had to teach.
By Gryffindor, the bravest were
Prized far beyond the rest;
For Ravenclaw, the cleverest
Would always be the best;
For Hufflepuff, hard workers were
Most worthy of admission;
And power-hungry Slytherin
Loved those of great ambition.
While still alive they did divide
Their favorites from the throng,
Yet how to pick the worthy ones
When they were dead and gone?
Twas Gryffindor who found the way,
He whipped me off his head
The founders put some brains in me
So I could choose instead!
Now slip me snug about your ears,
I've never yet been wrong,
I'll have a look inside your mind
And tell where you belong!

When the hat finished, Minerva rolled out a large parchment, and read out the first name on the list of first years.

"Ackerley, Stewart!"

And it went on and on until Whitby, Kevin was sorted into Hufflepuff. Dumbledore then gestured for them all to begin the feast. There were a few cheers that rose up from the tables as mountains of food pile onto their plates. Eventually, there was the final clattering of knives and forks being placed down on plates for the last time that night. At that moment, the Headmaster stepped forth and cleared his throat loudly, to silence the remaining chatter.

"For those of you who do not know, this year, Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry has the honour of holding the Triwizard Tournament," whispers of excitement rose from the students. "Therefore, we do have some guests joining us soon tonight." As if on cue, a loud knock sounded on the closed doors of the Great Hall. Moments later, they were heftily pulled open and in poured Beauxbaton Academy of Magic. At the front of the boys and girls, was Olympe Maxime, a lady with quite a bulky figure, and who was almost as tall as Hagrid. Maxime smiled grandly at Dumbledore and pulled him into what looked like quite a painful hug. If it was, he did not show it, and kissed the top of her hand gracefully. "I introduce to you, Madame Maxime and Beauxbatons Academy of Magic!"

The ladies of the Academy curtsied gracefully, and the men bowed deeply.

"Please, children, find seats around our tables." They dispersed around the different houses at Dumbledore's word. No sooner had the last person sat, then another knock echoed around the room. "Ah, and our second guest has arrived!" he exclaimed jovially. The doors burst open and rows of boys of all ages streamed into the room. Towards the back was a small man with a grey goatee, and limp, greying hair. Igor Karkaroff strode forwards towards the Head Table, and shook the Hogwarts Headmaster's hand firmly.

"Good to see you Albus." He said gruffly.

"And you too, Igor. Students, Durmstrang Institute, and their Headmaster, Igor Karkaroff." Dumbledore announced. Without being asked to, the students of Durmstrang found spots all around the room. When every person was seated, Dumbledore continued. "I now invite Ludovic Bagman, head of the Department of Magical Games at the Ministry of Magic."

A person, who until this moment, had been unnoticed by the rest of the student strode forwards. He was smiling greatly, and shook Albus' hand with energy. "Thank you, Professor. Well students, I'm Ludovic, most people call me Ludo. I have an announcement about the Triwizard tournament. Unfortunately, anyone not of age cannot enter the Tournament, because of safety reasons." Aggravated sighs came from around the room. "Hey, hey, I'm sorry guys, I really am, but it's to keep you safe, I promise. Right then," he turned to Dumbledore. "Shall we?"

But before the Headmaster could reply, thunder struck from the Great Hall's ceiling, and the doors banged open loudly. Severus flinched, not at the noise, but who was standing at the doors. Alastor Moody, dubbed Mad-eye, was glaring at all the students who were staring at him. He then grunted and started hobbling his way to the Head table. A small whisper started around the Hall, but eventually it grew to be a loud chatter. Dumbledore cleared his throat loudly to silence them.

"Before we begin, Mr Bagman, I would like to introduce all Hogwarts students to Professor Alastor Moody, who will be your Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher this year." He turned, whispered something to Moody, who nodded, and took the empty place at the table. "Now, you may continue, Mr Bagman."

Bagman nodded, and proceeded to wave his wand, and the empty space in front of him was filled by a table, and a large, magnificent looking goblet. The Goblet of Fire. There were awed gasps from the Hall.

"This," said Bagman, "Is how we will choose each champion from each school. Anyone who wishes to participate in the Triwizard Tournament, who is of age, will write their names on a piece of parchment and place it in the Goblet. The Goblet will then decide who is worthiest to compete, and at this exact moment, tomorrow night, will spit out one name from each school. From this moment on, the Triwizard has begun!"


"Harry Potter!"

Severus' eyes widened a fraction. There were three names out already. Three. That was all there needed to be. Yet there he sat, and there was a fourth name being called. Of course it was Harry. Who else would it be? Severus had hoped that there would be just one year that Harry could have a normal year, but obviously not. All eyes followed him as Harry stood and made his way to the room the other three had gone.


"Dragons, Dumbledore, really!? They could kill someone, and most likely it will be Potter!"

"Calm down, my boy. I am not the one who decides the events, it is the Department of Magical Games."

"I don't give a damn who chose the event! It's ridiculous!" Severus pointed a finger at Dumbledore. "Do not think, old man, that I won't interfere if someone is going to be killed!"

Albus opened his mouth to speak, but Severus stopped him. "I know it will lose me my job, I couldn't care less if I did, but I won't have anyone killed at Hogwarts." He then swirled around and stormed out of the office, yet again angry with the Headmaster. What Severus didn't hear, though was the older man mutter to himself,

"And I won't either."

Severus knew Harry didn't have any sort of plan, they weren't supposed to know really, but Hagrid had showed Maxime, he knew, and Harry had found out, and Severus had no doubt that Karkaroff knew somehow too. He was going to help if one of them was about to be roasted by a dragon. Severus decided to go and check with Hagrid, what type of dragons there were.


"And, lastly, we have Mr Harry Potter with the Hungarian Horntail!"

Cheers erupted from the crowd. Severus' heart pounded in his ears. His eyes pinpointed the small jet-haired boy in a red uniform. He watched closely, ready to do something, should anything go too wrong. Harry darted out towards the egg. The Horntail descended on top of the egg and blew savage fire towards Harry, which he narrowly escaped. Severus sat on the edge of his seat, feeling so nervous he was almost sick. This continued for five minutes, Horntail breathing fire, Harry barely dodging it. Then finally, as if he remembered something, Harry pointed his wand to the sky and yelled, "Accio Firebolt!"

That was his plan. To fly. As much as Harry wasn't stupid, he wasn't all that smart either, and Severus wondered who came up with it. Granger probably. The crowd waited for a few seconds eagerly, before a small speck in the distance grew larger, and Harry's Firebolt flew into his hand. He jumped on it and flew up in the air, hovering near the edge of the arena. Suddenly, Harry dropped, and made a beeline for the egg. But the Horntail new what he was doing, and launched herself in front of the egg before he could reach it. Quickly, Harry pulled up and flew backwards, to avoid the breath of fire that soon followed. He taunted the beast for a few moments, before, unexpectedly, she lashed out, throwing her whole body towards Harry. He dodged it easily, but a loud sound of metal breaking sounded around the room, and the audience looked to see the chain that had been keeping the Horntail in the arena had snapped. Harry zoomed upwards into the sky, but this time the dragon could follow.

Severus cursed under his breath, fear for his son's life growing with every second. The Horntail darted upwards, ready to push Harry off his broom, but the boy's agility got him out of the way just in time. Severus let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. His body screamed at him to help, to get him out of there, but he knew he couldn't. Severus looked down at his feet, refusing to watch the boy almost get killed. Moments later gasps rippled through the crowd. Severus' head shot up. The beast had managed to almost knock Harry off of his broom, and he was hanging off it by one hand. A female voice from the crowd screamed:

"COME ON HARRY! PULL YOURSELF UP!"

Heads swivelled round to see Hermione Granger looking terrified, exactly how I feel thought Severus, and who was jumping up and down, face almost unnaturally pale. Seemingly strengthened by his friend's words, Harry yanked himself back onto his broom, and sped off, right above the teacher's booth. Bad idea, bad idea, was what Severus thought, a split second before he went crashing to the ground, along with the rest of the teachers. The dragon had of course followed the Gryffindor there, and destroyed the tall booth in the process. As soon as Severus got back on his feet, he looked around for Harry. All he could see was a shrinking dot, followed by a slightly larger dot, head towards the castle.

"Is everyone alright?" asked Dumbledore from his standing position, helping that Skeeter woman to her feet. A few murmured replies of 'yes' came from around the stand, though many looked very dishevelled. Severus' legs were barely holding him up. Harry was going to die, unable to escape the huge beast.

"Headmaster, I suggest we call off the first task, and send Mr Weasley and his team out to get the dragon back. We can't risk losing her, or others being harmed by her." And I need to make sure Harry is alive he added in his head.

Dumbledore was about to reply, when Bagman interrupted. "Sorry, Professor, but we cannot interfere with the games in any way, shape or form. It would lose you your job. That's the rules." he said with a shrug.

Severus' eyes narrowed. "I am aware of the rules, Mr Bagman, however we would all agree that this is no ordinary Triwizard Tournament, hence maybe we could disregard the rules slightly."

Bagmen shook his head. "No-can-do, Snape. We just have to hope for the best."

Severus was furious. And terrified. He had no idea what to do, sitting down and chatting with someone, not really his thing. He ended up excusing himself to the bathroom. When he got to the staff bathroom, he looked at his reflection. He was pale, his face slightly creased with worry, but not enough to notice if you weren't looking, which most people weren't. In a very un-Snape-like manner, he rung his hands in concern. He needed to do something. Tell someone. Severus was very shocked, when as he thought this, Potter popped into mind. He shrugged internally. He needed some distraction anyway. Running to his quarters, he grabbed some Floo-powder he kept in a pouch in his pocket. Kneeling before the fire place, Severus barked the address of Potters home, and stuck his head in the fireplace.

"Potter!"

Footsteps came from another room, and James Potter appeared in his living room. Looking down, he saw Snape's face in the fireplace.

"Hi, Severus. To what do I owe the pleasure," he said with a mock bow.

"As you know, Harry is a Triwizard Tournament champion," Severus said seriously. James nodded thoughtfully. "He- Well, Potter, they were rescuing a dragon's egg from its mother for the first task - "

"They what!?"

"A dragon's egg Potter, listen. Harry's task is on now, and the dragon broke free of its chain. The-" Severus' voice broke "the two of them are somewhere on the rooves of the castle, and the idiot Bagman refuses to call it off."

James chose to ignore the worry in Snape's voice. "He- What? That bastard! Harry's gonna be killed. Hold up Severus, step back, I'm coming through."

Severus removed himself from the fireplace and stepped back, and not a moment later, Potter stepped onto the mat in front of the fireplace.

"Nice place you have," said Potter sarcastically, looking round at the mess. "Come on then."

And they made their way to the arena. But to their immense surprise, there was a loud cheering when they arrived. Severus just managed to see a glint of black hair and a large, gold egg. He felt his inside unravel from the tight knot of anxiousness they had formed. He was alive. No-one was getting killed. Thank Merlin.

James saw Harry walk out of the arena with a large golden egg. He'd done it. "Hey, Severus, I'm gonna go see that Bagman git, you coming?"

Severus nodded absentmindedly. They walked back around the arena and towards were Bagman stood, talking with Harry. They both swivelled round at the sound of the men's footsteps.

"Dad!"

For one, split second, Severus thought he might run to him, give him a hug. But of course he didn't. Stupid hope. He thought he had buried his hope far away within him, but apparently not. He knew it shouldn't have, but it hurt. He knew he wasn't a worthy father, but it still hurt. Quickly, Severus turned to Bagman.

With a murderous glare, he took the blonde man's arm. "Come, Ludo, I wish to speak with you about something."

Bagman gulped nervously. Severus wasn't going to harm him, that would send him to Azkaban, he would just give him a… what was the word? stern talking to.

A/N Well then, this has taken so long to come up, and I'm so sorry. Thank you for being so understanding (though i get it if some people want to bash my head in). I have holidays coming up so hopefully that means more updates.

(BTW, for Slytherins must stick togther's review... that is a secret (maniacal laughter)

Anyway Love you all, review and enjoy!

~ thebraveslytherin aka Lis