Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or make any money from this.

AN: Sorry it has taken longer than normal to update but I had to rethink some of the things I was doing. Big thanks to Aealket for listening to me and offering advice. As always, thank you for the reviews.

AN2: The character Connie Hammer is the creation of Old Crow. I read about the 'Inficio' curse in Rocag's The Champion's New Hope. I don't know if the author created it or not but that is where I saw it. As far as everything else, well you all know that we get our inspiration from JK Rowling and the other authors in here.

Chapter 9

The three champions arrived at their destination with a hard thump as their bums connected with the ground. As they rose, both boys noticed Fleur rubbing her rear from the hard landing and Harry managed to raise an eyebrow at Cedric. Fleur noticed what they were doing and let out a small chuckle.

"Like what you see gentlemen?"

Harry grinned and replied "What's not to like about you in leather pants?"

Cedric just nodded as they began to take in their surroundings. The sight before their wide eyes sent shivers up their spines as they took in the eerie graveyard. Harry looked up and saw the large tomb which had RIDDLE carved into it and said "Oh, this can't be good."

Fleur asked "What's wrong? Is this part of the task?"

"Definitely not part of the task. That tombstone is marked with the name of Voldemort's family."

Cedric said hopefully "Maybe the pedestal will take us back."

They all touched it at the same time and didn't feel the familiar tug behind the navel. Harry looked at his two companions and said "Um…guys…keep your wands out and be ready for anything. Better yet, you guys should apparate back to Hogwarts now and I'll get Dobby to come get me."

Fleur stated "We will leave when he comes for you. We will not leave you alone."

Harry heard a noise and motioned for them to be quiet. He quickly crept to where he could get a better view of their surrounding area and what he saw did not please him in the least. When he came back, he said "There's a group of people coming; we've got to get out of here now. Dobby, I need you!

It took a minute but Dobby finally popped in. When he arrived, Harry said "I need you to get us out of here now. I think we're in some kind of trap set by Voldemort. Can you take us?"

"Dobby sorry Master Harry but Dobby fought through wards to get here. Dobby can maybe take one at a time."

"Okay, Dobby. It's not your fault. I want you to take Fleur first. Fleur, when you get there, tell them what's going on."

She started to protest but Harry nodded to Dobby who grabbed her hand and popped away.

**LC**

When Dobby and Fleur arrived at the entrance to the maze, the crowd started cheering and the judges started announcing her as the winner even though it was obvious the cup was not in her hand. She took one look at the judges and thought Harry was right and they were useless. She turned and ran straight for her family as she knew that Harry did not trust any of them. With Fleur safely back at Hogwarts, Dobby disappeared once more.

Fleur arrived at her family and was gasping out "pedestal…portkey…Harry... Cedric…caught in Volde…morts trap. Grave…yard…name…said riddle"

The rest of the group were sitting around the Delacours and once she had gotten her breath back, Fleur was able to give them a better picture of what had happened and what the two missing young men were facing. Megan sat there in shock as she thought over everything she heard. The tournament had been dangerous enough for Harry and the other champions without Voldemort adding to it by a factor of ten. She sat there and silently prayed that Harry and Cedric would return as tears slowly ran down her face.

Amos asked "Were they hurt? Do you know where they are?"

"No, not when I left but Harry said someone was coming. All I know is that it was an old graveyard. Beyond that, I have no idea."

"They'll look out for each other. Dobby will bring them back and everything will be fine." Reginald said as he was trying to convince his self as well as the others.

Albus Dumbledore approached the families to try and find out what happened. "Miss Delacour, may I ask what is going on?"

She turned to him to answer but her father spoke up instead. "Headmaster, the three champions were portkeyed to a graveyard in an unknown location. Against her wishes, Mr. Potter ordered his elf to bring her back here to raise a warning."

"May I ask if you know who did this?"

What he got instead of a calm answer was Megan jumping up and getting right in his face. "Riddle has him all thanks to you. He would have never been in this position if you had done your job and protected Harry by keeping him out of this tournament in the first place. I have to ask, were you trying to get my Harry killed? I promise you that if anything happens to him, I will do everything in my power to make sure the whole world sees you for who you really are and what you have done."

Dumbledore knew he wasn't as all powerful as everyone believed. His age had robbed him of a lot of his power and he had only been able to maintain his image through the power of the wand that had now returned to the hands of its destined family. While he had experience, he knew if this young lady employed her emotions in her casting and attacked, she would overwhelm him and cut him to pieces so he backed away from the people who had stepped up in defense of Harry. Seeing the five British Lords start to rise from their seats brought forward the memory of Cornelius' threat and he would be lucky to finish out this term at Hogwarts. Albus turned and made his way to the judges table and did what everybody else was doing which was nothing. It was the final sign that he was now useless as he couldn't think of a single thing to do to help in the situation. His only consolation was that if Harry Potter died, the wand and the cloak might return to the main Potter vault.

Cornelius and Amelia were watching the whole scene for a minute before the minister went to the judges' table for answers and Amelia headed straight for Fleur. Once she had gotten some answers, she made her way over to join Cornelius. The pieces were put together and a plan was hatched even though Cornelius was trying to deny that such an event could be happening.

Amelia finally turned on Cornelius and said "Whether it seems impossible or not, we have to act. Three young people were kidnapped from the tournament and it is our job to try and get the last two back and investigate the matter. Master Auror Moody, front and center."

Alastair limped over to her and said "Yes Amelia?"

His response to her was way too informal in a public setting especially when she used his full title. The protocol for this situation required that he do the same. It sent a red flag up that something wasn't right here.

"Auror Moody, enact procedure 5-A immediately."

The man who had taught her stood there staring at her as if he needed an explanation. It was the final warning to her that something was definitely off about her long tome friend. Her wand came out and stunned him before he could move his hand. She knew she was quick but even at his age; Moody had always been able to beat her. She tied him up in magical ropes and pulled out her own badge. She tapped a series of points on her badge and then slipped it back into her robe.

It wasn't a minute later before swooshes of portkeys were heard all over the arena. As the crowds looked on, a sea of red robed Aurors made their presence known and took up defensive positions. Her two chief Aurors stepped up and asked "Orders?" after casting a glance at the stunned Moody lying on the ground.

"We have two boys in some type of situation. Unconfirmed reports place them in the vicinity of Voldemort. I suspect some dark ritual to resurrect the snake faced bastard. Team one's job is to try and locate them. Team two will remain on guard here until the situation is contained. Team two will also hold Moody in custody and not release his bindings. That is not the man who trained us."

Amelia turned to Albus and said "Headmaster, you have always had all the answers before so I'm going to assume that this was not part of the tournament. Do you have any idea where we might find our two missing champions?"

Her response was a blank look from Albus. "Rufus, the pedestal was a portkey. Call in anyone you need to and try and figure out where it went. I want teams three and four on alert to assist and to escort the students and spectators to the Great Hall until this has passed. Once they are inside, keep them there until you receive my order."

As the Aurors were in the process of following their orders, there was a loud pop and Dobby appeared one again. At his feet was an unconscious Cedric who was bleeding from multiple cuts all over his body caused by shards of stone of which some were still sticking out of him.

The Auror field healers responded quickly and were in the process of determining his condition when Poppy arrived followed by his family. Poppy waved her wand to get her own diagnosis and knelt beside him and started forcing blood replenishing potions down his throat as quickly as she could pull them out of her bag.

Cecelia stayed out of the way but asked "Poppy?"

"He's alive but barely. We'll do our best Celia. I won't give up."

One of the healers looked up after casting a diagnostic and said "He's lost too much blood and we're going to lose him if we don't get him to St. Mungos immediately. I know he is your charge Madam Pomfrey, but blood replenishers will not be enough. He's going to need real magical blood to help with this. Where are his parents?"

They stepped forward but Poppy cut them off. "Their blood will work for him but not well enough for what you want. His blood was changed at a young age."

The healer asked "Is there a better alternative close at hand?"

Poppy's eyes went to Megan as she rushed to Dobby and got down on her knees in front of him. "What happened?"

"Masters were taken to graveyard where bad wizards were waiting for them. Master Harry and Cedric protected each other until Master Cedric was hit. Master Harry made Dobby bring Master Cedric back. Dobby sorry Mistress but Dobby must return to Master. Dobby try to bring Master back soon."

Before he could leave, Amelia asked "Could you take someone with you? He can summon other Aurors to him to help Harry."

"Dobby sorry Mistress but Dobby getting tired. Dobby maybe have enough strength to save Master Harry."

Connie Hammer was thinking fast and ripped off her badge and handed it to him. "When you get there, tap the star and we'll find you. Can you do that?"

Dobby nodded his head but before he could leave, he was grabbed by Megan once again. As she knelt in front of him, she said "Bring my Harry back to me." He nodded his head, closed his eyes, and was gone again.

Poppy laid her hand on Megan's shoulder as she knelt there crying and said "Megan, Cedric needs you right now. When he made the oath to Michael, he truly became your brother due to the magic involved. He needs your blood and strength and you need to go to St. Mungos with him. He won't make it if you don't."

Megan looked up at her as if being torn in half with tears running down her face. Poppy could understand what she was feeling and said "I'll bring Harry to you as soon as he arrives."

She crawled over to Cedric and laid her hand on his arm just as the healers activated a portkey and took them away. As soon as the portkey left, Poppy turned to Cecelia and Amos. "You go straight to St. Mungos. I will be along as soon as Mr. Potter returns."

**LC**

As soon as Fleur was gone, Harry and Cedric were ducking and dodging to try and avoid the spells flying at them. They were battling with six Death Eaters that Voldemort had summoned to witness his resurrection and were doing fairly well at holding them off. Cedric seized an opportunity and cast 'Inficio' at the man leading the attack who was moving back into position after dodging a nasty bludgeoner from Harry. The spell flying from Cedric's wand was a sickly yellow color and struck the right side of the man's mask before he knew what hit him. The Death Eater screamed out in pain before tearing the mask from his face to reveal Lucius Malfoy with a blistered and burnt face. The hood covering his head and a good portion of the long blond hair on the right side of his face were now missing after being struck by the acid curse.

Harry muttered "Nice! I wish you'd have taught me that one."

Cedric muttered back "Thanks! I thought it would be useful on the hedges. Never thought I'd use it on a person."

In his fury at being hit, Lucius attacked without abandon and soon had the two younger wizards entirely on defense as the rest of the dark wizards jumped in as well. The two less experienced wizards didn't realize until it was too late that they were being herded to a specific point and once they were there, the Death Eaters were able to close in and dramatically reduce the effectiveness of the boys' attacks.

There was a brief pause in spell fire sudden quiet was enough for everyone to hear a voice hiss out "I only have need of Potter, kill the other. This has gone on long enough."

All at once, flurries of green spells were launched at Cedric. Harry instinctively knew what he had to do and his new wand came up bringing a solid wall of granite in front of Cedric in an attempt to block the spells. The 'Avada Kedavra' curse was known as the killing curse but it was also a spell of complete destruction and even the above average power Harry had along with the power of the wand were not enough to stop this.

When he saw the incoming spells Cedric stepped in front of Harry to protect him but breathed a little in relief when the wall went up. The last thing they heard were the spells impacting the wall before the force of the blast was enough to shatter the granite. Cedric took the full impact of the blast from his position in front of Harry but even with that, both young men were knocked off their feet. It took a moment for Harry's head to clear but when it did, he saw Cedric's body lying on the ground beside him with blood pouring out of the many wounds peppering his body. When he tried to shakily get to his feet, he felt a spell hit him and his world once again went black. It went unseen by his captors as he was lying on the ground but the wand in his hand faded from view only to be replaced by another that was more familiar to them.

He didn't know how long he had been out but Harry awoke to find himself bound to the very tombstone he arrived in front of and was watching as six wizards levitated a huge cauldron to rest atop a roaring fire. Harry's eyes went to the spot where Cedric was lying. He could see the body still barely holding on by the shallow breaths it was taking. He heard a pop of apparition and looked up to see Dobby standing beside Cedric's body. He yelled "Dobby, Cedric needs help. Take him now!"

The black cloaked wizards turned at the sound and watched as the elf grabbed the body and disappeared. One broke away and came to stand in front of Harry. The oily voice of Lucius Malfoy said "I'm so glad you have woken. It will be so much more pleasurable to watch as you observe my master resurrecting and then finally ending the legend of the boy-who-lived."

Harry snarled out "Couldn't do it yourself Lucy? Now I know where Drakey poo gets it from. He always hides behind his two apes or your robes. Tell me, are you going to say 'Wait till my master hears about this'? If you do, the very tiny bit of respect I have for you will be completely shattered."

"You will respect your betters."

"Betters? How can the Lord of a mere Noble house preach to the future Lord of a Most Ancient and Noble House about betters? As far as you are concerned, I left better than you in the toilet this morning after I took my morning dump."

Lucius was fuming but had to back away once he heard the laughing of his master. "I find your being bested by a fourth year quite amusing Lucius. Maybe you are not as powerful as you claim. Silence the boy and be done with it for now. We'll have a chance to catch up later."

With the spells in place that bound and silenced him, Harry could only watch as the cauldron began to bubble. When it was deemed ready, Wormtail stepped up and slid a bundle into the boiling water. He watched as something was said and bones rose from the ground at his feet and was dropped into the cauldron. He next witnessed Peter cutting off his hand and dropping it into the cauldron as he said something else. Harry was watching as all eyes fell on him and Peter came at him with the ritual knife in his hand. He felt the knife sink into his arm and felt the blood flowing out of him. He screamed into the silencing charm as Peter collected his blood on the knife and stepped back over to the cauldron. Once the blood dropped in, the potion inside flashed red and a cloud of steam was released. Harry watched in horror as the cauldron split in two and a very tall but pale body stepped out.

The next words he heard were "My wand Wormtail."

As soon as he was handed the wand, he waved it and robes formed around him out of the shadows of the graveyard. He stood there for a minute before saying "Lucius my friend, I have need of you."

Lucius ran up and knelt in front of his master. Tom said "Your arm Lucius."

When Lucius raised his arm, Tom pushed up his sleeve and pushed his wand into the wriggling snake and skull tattoo that resided there. Lucius sucked in a breath at the pain but did not dare move in fear of the punishment he would receive if he did.

Harry once again watched as black shadows appeared in the graveyard and coalesced into wizards. Tom looked around and frowned before saying "Welcome back my friends, thirteen years it has been since we were last together. Twelve years that were wasted because no one searched for me while you went back to your lives and hid your connection to me."

Wormtail said "I came for you master. I brought you back to your rightful place."

"Yes you did Wormtail, you have been very helpful to me this last year and as promised, you shall be rewarded." He stepped over and pointed his wand at the stump on the end of Peter's arm and a blob of bronze grew out of it and formed itself into a hand.

Peter knelt and said "Thank you master."

"Yes so Wormtail found me and brought me back. He found others who were still loyal to the cause and brought them together resulting in us being here now. They will be rewarded handsomely for their actions along with my ally in Hogwarts."

"I must now confess my greatest mistake. (He pointed at Harry.) This boy did nothing to banish me except for possessing very special blood which I now have coursing through my veins. No my spell was rebounded on me not by the sacrifice of his mud blood mother but by something so much more powerful. Ancient family magic. Even in death, my superior intellect won as my shade realized what was going on and attached a piece of me to the scar on his forehead where I have been absorbing that magic ever since. My most faithful were here to witness me retaking a body and you are here to witness my victory over Harry Potter as I take his life and then absorb his family magic."

Tom stepped over to Harry and as he got closer, he realized the scar was gone. "What have you done? Where is the scar and the magic behind it?"

Harry just looked at him dumbly until Tom realized he was silenced. When he cancelled the spell, Harry said "I absorbed it."

"Impossible! Only a truly momentous sacrifice would overpower the spell."

Harry thought for a second and realized he was probably never going to walk away from this and let his Marauder back out again. "Well, I knew from my research and decided that a sexual sacrifice, like one's virginity, would suffice. I had my victim all picked out but found out from a spell I cast that the person was no longer a virgin. I cast another spell and found out who had taken it out of curiosity and let me tell you Tom, you have some sick bastards for friends."

Tom said "What the hell are you talking about boy?"

"Oh sorry, well I was going to use Draco's virgin arse as the sacrifice but the second spell showed him already having had it taken by his father. I knew you were a sick bastard Lucy but I mean, your own son? If that wasn't enough, it was obvious from the spells that Draco must have enjoyed it as he has been active ever since then."

"You little bastard."

"That's not the case and you know it. I'm merely an orphan since my parents were married unlike Tom's here."

Voldemort screamed "How did you do it boy?"

"Oh, I sacrificed a magical core. It was easy. Now the questions are, when did I do it and have you heard from your children lately?"

Harry saw the Death Eaters shuffle nervously. Voldemort yelled "Wormtail, give him his wand. It is time to put an end to this boy."

As Wormtail slapped the wand into Harry's hand, Tom said "Now bow to your betters."

Harry stood tall and said "I am Harry James Potter, Scion of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter. I have no betters and especially not some jumped up wanna be Dork Lord with delusions of adequacy."

"Then I shall kill you and lay claim to your titles."

Harry laughed "Then you'd better be prepared for a real fight as the line forms behind Dumbledore and goes on for quite a while I imagine."

Voldemort screamed in rage then yelled "Avada Kedavra."

Harry shouted back "Incendio."

The results were unexpected as both spells met and locked each of the wizards into a contest of wills. Magic flowed from the connection of the two wands and a glowing magical golden dome appeared and formed over the two enemies. Tom shouted "Don't interfere. He is mine!"

The Death Eaters watched as the two wizards strained and seemed to be in a magical version of tug of war as they tried to push the connection towards each other. Harry pushed with all his might and felt the connection moving but it was a long and tiring battle. He was slowly winning the battle and before long, specters started appearing out of the connection. The first was an old man who told Harry not to give in to the evil bastard. All at once, two spirits appeared and flew over to land beside Harry. In a voice he had only dreamed of, a female voice said "You're doing great baby. Don't give up."

In a voice he had only heard in a distant dreamed voice, a male voice said "We're going to help you but you have to trust us. We'll attack him and it will give you the chance you need."

Harry motioned his head towards the wizards outside the dome and said "Yeah but what about all them? I can't hold them all off."

His mother replied "Dobby is here and help is coming. We are very proud of you. Just follow your magic and we will see you again. We love you Harry."

"Please don't go. I need you."

James said "Just follow your magic son and it will always lead to us."

As they flew towards Voldemort, the Elder wand ejected into his off hand and was moving of its own accord. As soon as it was pointed in Tom' direction, Harry cast 'diffindo' and a bright blue cutting curse slashed against Tom's chest. It caused Tom to lose his concentration and his spell broke.

The results of the sudden end to Tom's spell caused the dome to explode outward and create a backlash that threw the surrounding Death Eaters from their feet. Harry shook it off quickly and the elder wand moved once more. Harry thought 'crytallinus tectum' and a beam of jade light flew from the wand and impacted Peter in the chest. The effect was quick and caused a block of crystal to encase Wormtail and take him out of the fight.

Just as the Death Eaters were trying to return to their feet from the effects of the blast, they were greeted with the sound of multiple apparition pops close by and the sound of running feet. They could see the red robes of the Aurors heading towards them already throwing stunners. Many of the Death Eaters climbed to their feet as best they could and hastily apparated out knowing that their Dark Marks would allow entrance and exit through the anti transportation wards.

The thought of Death Eaters had the Aurors rather jumpy and they threw stunners at anything moving. As some headed Harry's way, he threw up a quick shield that deflected them and then turned to cast a glare at them. He looked around, he saw Dobby lying on the ground panting hard. His lack of a core was a major disadvantage and he had worn himself out in his attempt to help Harry. Harry knelt down and gently picked up his friend.

Dobby looked up and gave Harry a weak smile. "Dobby just tired Master Harry. Dobby had to fight big snake. Dobby felt badness in it like Master's scar and Dobby killed it."

"Well, why don't I take care of you for a change? You did great today Dobby. I'm proud that you are my friend."

"Dobby proud to have Master call Dobby friend. Dobby thinks Master needs to follow his magic now."

Harry smiled "That's the second time I heard that today. What does it mean?"

Dobby replied "Do like Dobby taught Master and let magic takes you where magic wants you to be."

"So pop like an elf but let my magic be the guiding point?"

Dobby just nodded and then leaned his head against Harry's chest.

As the Aurors grew closer to the site of the battle, they were greeted with several body parts lying on the ground as some of the shaken and hurried Death Eaters managed to splinch their selves and leave evidence of their presence. Connie Hammer came on the scene and noticed an arm with a familiar ring on the pudgy feminine hand. She reached down and pulled up the sleeve of the robe to reveal a Dark Mark half way covered by a pink cardigan. With a slight smile, she directed her investigative team to start photographing, tagging, and bagging everything that was not natural to the environment. She then stepped over to a crystalline cube and was shocked at the individual encased within. She quickly slapped a portkey on it and sent them to a secret DMLE holding facility that was only accessible by the Director and her two chief Aurors.

Connie Hammer was a calm witch most of the time but the next event had her completely rattled. She made it to the center of the battle zone and saw Harry Potter picking up his little elf friend and start talking to it. Just as she spotted him out of the corner of her eye, she caught another figure sit up from his prone position on the ground and point his wand at Harry. Her full attention was now on the man thing in front of her and she immediately knew who it was. Due to her shock, she barely noticed the spell that flew right past her as it made its way to the young man she was just watching. As soon as the spell had been released, the man thing disappeared.

Before she could even blink, Harry blinked out of existence just like a house elf but not before being struck by the curse. She ran towards where he had been standing but there was no sign of him. She looked a little further past where he had been and noticed a dead giant snake that had a place on it that looked as if there had been a fire that burned from the inside out. She marked the snake and then turned back around to give her team their instructions. She left the Aurors of team one to guard the investigators as they did their job and sent team three to St. Mungos and anywhere else they could think of where someone might receive medical attention. The investigators continued until they were satisfied they had everything and once the evidence was processed, a magical trunk was set out and all the objects were placed inside.

**LC**

Harry was calling upon his magic and allowing it to lead him wherever it thought best when the spell impacted him and Dobby at the moment of departure. Under normal circumstances, whenever he traveled like this be it by himself or with Dobby, the trip was calm and fluid. This time, his magic went haywire and the trip was a twisted and panic filled tumble through the ether. He could feel the pull of where his magic originally wanted to take him but that site was bypassed by a stronger pull that was the cause of all his distress. The magic inside him was building and he could feel it reacting to things as he moved towards wherever he was being drawn. In the end, he resigned himself to the fact that his magic would protect him as he clung closely to Dobby in the attempt to not let go of him.

Dobby was doing his best to not let his fear overtake him so he clung tightly to Harry as well. Dobby understood magic and knew there was a higher purpose at this point and held on as he took comfort in the fact that whatever happened, he would be with Harry.

**LC**

Connie Hammer arrived back at Hogwarts by portkey and immediately appeared beside Amelia Bones. Amelia gave her a glance and said "Do you have a report for me Chief Auror Hammer?"

"Yes Ma'am, apparation and portkey wards were in place that deposited us a short distance from the site. We made our way on foot and encountered the remains of a major battle. I ordered our people in and we attempted to stun as many of them as we could."

"How many did your troops bring down?"

"None ma'am. Most of them apparated out as soon as they saw us. We have leads on some as they were not focused and splinched themselves and the scene is being processed as we speak. We have managed to gain possession of several objects that I have placed in an ultra secure location that will require your attention."

"So you're telling me that two teams failed to capture anyone?"

"Yes ma'am."

"What of Mr. Potter?"

"He was there one minute and then he just vanished with his elf but not before being struck by an unrecognized spell. Before you ask, the elf was too exhausted to do it as Mr. Potter was carrying him in his arms. It was my hope that he had returned here."

"So you're telling me that a fifteen year old boy apparated and not only that but did so from under anti apparation and portkey wards?"

"Yes ma'am. I saw him vanish; he did not turn on his heel or leave by portkey. He merely vanished much like a house elf does."

"Theories?"

"Yes ma'am but it doesn't make sense. It looked to me like he used house elf magic."

Amelia looked at her for a minute. "It has been said that most of his time in isolation this year was spent in the company of that elf. Would an elf teach him their kind of magic?"

"Not usually boss, Mr. Potter would have to be exceptionally powerful to be able to do it and the elf would have to have a very uncommon bond with him. "

"What is it you need me to come see?"

"I will not answer that here ma'am."

"Put out an alert for Mr. Potter. He will have to turn up somewhere."

"Yes ma'am and I also need to inform you that Voldemort is indeed truly back. I saw him myself."

Amelia stood there for a minute before saying "Shit. Inform the entire department that there will be a meeting tomorrow at say one in the afternoon. That should give us time to finish up here. It looks like the war will be starting up again."

**LC**

All across England, the magical detectors used to detect underage or any other type of magic were registering off the charts. The people who were on duty in the magical detection office that night watched as there was a large amount of magic detected northward in a town called Little Hangleton that hadn't seen any activity in fifty years. They were made aware that two Hogwarts students were located there and that there would be possible underage magic as they had been kidnapped. They watched as the magical detectors calmed down for a while until there was a huge surge that burnt out every detector in the area. What sent them into a panic was when the magical detectors started burning out along a path that led straight to London and the Ministry.

When Amelia made her call for the Aurors, other departments had stepped up their activities and the secretive Department of Mysteries had recalled their whole staff. This was in part due to Amelia's summons but it mainly had to do with what was happening in the bowels of the Ministry of Magic.

The Head Unspeakable was alerted to irregularities in his department and was in the process of checking them out. He made his way to the Death Chamber that held the Veil of Death because he had been alerted that it was acting strange all day. While this may not have concerned the normal wizard, Croaker knew something was up and it was too coincidental with the happenings in Northern England to be ignored. The Veil had been studied for a long time and they still had no answer as to why it did what it did or even how it operated. Croaker himself had spent much of his time as a researcher trying to figure out its secrets.

The Unspeakables had access to all of the information that was the Ministry of Magic and when the magical detectors started burning out, he had a hunch that whatever was happening would be centered on the Veil. He thought back over his years and it was times like these that he missed his old friend Charlus Potter the most. Charlus had a unique understanding of the Veil and never seemed to be intimidated by it. Croaker found it too coincidental that his friends' grandson was somehow involved so he entered the chamber and sat to wait for the events to unfold.

It wasn't much longer before the reports were coming in that the magical detectors were burning out in London and heading straight for the Ministry. He sat and watched as the Veil started acting, for lack of a better term, more excited and was moving and swirling in patterns that had never been seen before. Croaker felt the magic in the room change and then watched as a young man appeared as if out of thin air but he knew it was just Charlus' old cloak being pulled off. The young man stood there staring at the Veil and what appeared to him as listening to the voices that were undecipherable on the best of days. As he looked more closely at the young man, he could see many cuts through the tears in his clothes. As he continued to watch, he saw the young man's hand had blackened as if being hit by a withering curse. Croaker's eyes moved towards the young man's face and could already see that the withering curse must have been cast by a powerful wizard as the effects had moved up his arm and black tendrils were already showing branches moving up his neck.

Harry Potter took a step towards the Veil and Croaker rose from his seat. As he moved forward, Harry started glowing with a golden aura which grew brighter the closer he came to the arch. The arch reacted to his presence and the mist like substance changed into what looked like water. Harry stepped up on the platform and was standing three feet away from the surface when Croaker reacted and ran towards the young man. He saw Harry say something to the elf in his arms before stepping through the archway. He heard an audible slurp as Harry disappeared and the surface started fading back to the calm mists that had always been present.

**LC**

Back at Hogwarts, the ministers had decided that the task was a bust and ordered the hedges to be removed. As soon as they disappeared, the image of Viktor stuck to a cross left all the spectators in shock. As the crowd gathered around, Fleur along with her family pushed their way through the crowd and stood facing the ministers, judges, and spectators. The Bulgarian minister asked "What is the meaning of this?"

Fleur stepped forward and said "This is repayment for what he tried to do to Harry in the second task along with what he tried to do to me during this one."

The French minister asked "May I ask what he tried to do to you Miss Delacour?"

"As you can see by what is on his chest, the bastard put me in a body bind and then ripped my pants off. He was just about to take me to try and stake a claim on me when Harry and Cedric saw what was happening and came to my rescue."

Albus asked "May I ask why he is like this?"

"It's simple; I would not allow Harry to kill him for his actions as I didn't want that on my conscience or his."

Jean Delacour stepped forward. "I claim reparations for my house as it is clear Mr. Krum attempted line theft as Fleur is the heiress to my house."

Cornelius said "That is stretching the line theft clause a little too much isn't it. After all, she is only Veela."

Several people bristled at that comment and the five Lords who had surrounded Harry stepped forward. Lord Greengrass said "While that may be so, I would act in a similar fashion if the same attempt had been made on my daughter. House Delacour has our full support in this matter and we back his claim for restitution."

Cornelius didn't know what to do and turned to Amelia. She stood there for a second before saying "Since Miss Delacour is the Heiress for House Delacour, ICW Statute 48-C recognizes attempted rape as an attempt at line theft. Under these statutes, the injured party has a claim for restitution. The statutes also are not specific in what they may ask for in restitution so they are well within their rights to ask for anything up to and including the life of the guilty party. As we are dealing with an international situation and all three countries involved are signatories, I think it is best to use these statutes."

She looked at the three ministers and after a few minutes, they all nodded their agreement. She turned to Jean and said "Monsieur Delacour, the three ministers agree to your right of restitution and all I ask is that I be given a pensive memory of the crime in the event we need more evidence to support your claim."

Fleur said "I find that acceptable. You may also want to have several other memories collected to back up my claim."

Amelia responded "Yes, we will obtain memories from Mr. Diggory when he recovers as well as Mr. Potter whenever we locate him."

Everyone turned to her in shock and she realized she had let something that was not known to be public knowledge.

Cornelius turned and said "Explain that last comment!"

With a false sigh of resignation, Amelia explained everything she knew about the recent events to the gasps and amazement of everyone surrounding her. Her eyes briefly caught Lord Greengrass' and she sent him a little smile as he gave her a small nod as if to say 'well played'. He was well aware of the restrictions on what she could say and she had masterly maneuvered Cornelius into asking her to reveal information that would normally be hidden.

When she was done, she asked "Monsieur Delacour, have you reached a decision?"

"Yes I have. I recognize Mr. Krum's importance as a symbol of his country and will not deny them of his talents. It is my hope that they would not support him but I will not force that issue. From what my daughter and our allies have told us, this is not a singular incident and multiple occurrences have happened that I know have resulted in at least two pregnancies. Whether the other incidents were rape or not I cannot say but I feel that to prevent further occurrences, we require emasculation as restitution."

Albus spoke up "Surely Mr. Delacour you would not wish something so permanent on someone so young that may still be able to learn the error of their ways."

"If it had merely been my daughter involved, I would have asked for financial restitution. But as there are several young ladies involved along with the attempted rape of my daughter and coupled with the attempt on Harry Potter's life during the second task for what I understand is revenge for interfering with yet another attempt, I think this is the best possible solution so that he cannot do this to another man's daughter."

Albus said "Very well, I will have Madam Pomfrey comply with your wishes."

Jean said "You will do nothing of the sort. I have the utmost respect for Madam Pomfrey and her abilities but she is a healer and as such should never be put in this position only to have you repair the damage once our backs are turned. No, as this was an attempt on my house, I will determine how the sentence is carried out."

Albus said "But there must be a trial."

Amelia said "Not in this case Headmaster. Once the ministers and I confirm the pensive memories, he will be allowed to proceed. Monsieur Delacour, I ask that you withhold your sentence until we can obtain corroborating memories. Until then, he will have a bracelet placed on his wrist to keep him from leaving the country."

Jean nodded.

Albus placed and asked "How will you do this?"

Jean gave him a feral grin.

**LC**

Cornelius Fudge was not a happy man. He stood pacing in front of the judges' table as the other two ministers stood close by. He finally stopped and said "Your time here is at an end Albus. You were all warned of the consequences should some disaster strike at this task and in my opinion that is exactly what has just happened. I will call for a full inquiry into your actions this year. Don't think we haven't heard of your attack on Heiress Jones. It has also been rumored that you are the cause of all the problems Mr. Potter has been facing this year. I won't stand for someone being purposely mistreated to serve your greater good. I also plan to have quite a few witnesses to your action on the stand under veritaserum if necessary."

Karkaroff said "What about what was done do my champion? Will that act go unpunished?"

Cornelius turned to the Bulgarian minister who said "We are of the opinion that Mr. Krum deserved whatever punishment he receives. After his attack on Mr. Potter, he should be grateful he is still alive. I don't think I or anyone else will hold Mr. Potter responsible for the justice that was visited upon Mr. Krum and I am deeply shamed by the fact that someone we promoted as the finest our country had to offer has done such immoral and despicable things. I'm amazed that he didn't destroy the progress we have made between our three countries. I can assure you Karkaroff that you and Viktor Krum will not be returning home to a hero's welcome. Mr. Krum's contract has already been voided due to morality clauses and I have heard that the International Quidditch Association has a permanent ban on the table concerning him."

McGonagall was standing close by and Cornelius turned to her. "Where were you when all this madness was going on? Where were you when a member of your house needed you? Oh, you don't need to answer those Minerva. You will sit the inquiry as well and if I have my way, your positions as deputy and head of house will be stripped from you for failure in doing your sworn duties."

Cornelius noticed Amelia's assistant come running out of the command post that Amelia had set up and go straight to her. Amelia's hand went up to her mouth and gestured at Cornelius before she and several other Aurors left by portkey. He knew something was wrong and turned as the young Auror approached.

"I'm sorry for interrupting your meeting Minster Fudge but Director Bones told me to inform you that Harry Potter just showed up at the Ministry."

"I'm pleased to hear that, at least we know where he is."

"I'm sorry sir but he just appeared in the DOM where he walked himself and his elf through the Veil in the Death Chamber."

Cornelius paled and activated his emergency portkey that would take him straight to the Ministry. Minerva leaned forward and growled out "This is your fault Albus. His blood is on your hands and I hope James and Lily personally greet you when you die."

"Your hands are not so clean either."

"Yes but I am not so delusional as to believe I am going anywhere but hell for what I have done to that boy."

**LC**

In the critical ward at St. Mungos, they had two beds side by side holding Cedric and Megan. As the healers were cutting off his dragon hide clothing and working to remove the shards of stone, another was pouring a steady stream of blood replenishing potions down Megan's throat. Megan watched the whole thing as yet another healer came in the room pushing what looked like a muggle medical device.

She heard one of the healers say "Thank Merlin he had on dragon hide. There wouldn't have been enough to work with if he hadn't."

The machine was placed in between Megan and Cedric and the healer started preparing both of them for the transference of blood. Another potion was poured down Megan's throat and her last thoughts were of Harry as she drifted off to sleep. As soon as she was out, the healers started inserting the needles needed to start the transfusion between Megan and Cedric.

**LC**

A week had passed since Harry Potter stepped through the Veil. The Unspeakables had somebody monitoring the Veil twenty four hours a day and while the Veil was still acting differently, there was still no sign of Harry Potter or the elf.

**LC**

Albus Dumbledore sat in his office at Hogwarts patiently waiting to be summoned to the Ministry of Magic to answer for his actions this year. He hoped no one looked too deeply and discovered his manipulations concerning the young man as there would be too many questions that Albus did not want to answer. He was probably most upset that Harry had taken certain items behind the Veil with him. Items that Albus desperately needed and wanted as he knew his time was running short. His control over the Potter accounts was a moot point now that the items were gone and if he claimed them with the false will it would only draw more attention to his deeds. Albus had received a letter from Bearclaw everyday since the last task and after the first one; he had taken to ignoring them. He hoped that Bearclaw would take the fall for this leaving him clear but he knew that with the way his luck had run this year, it was very unlikely.

**LC**

Upon returning to the Ministry, Amelia was escorted to the secure holding area by Connie Hammer and was stunned at what she found. When she returned to her office, she cancelled the kiss on sight order on Sirius Black and called in one of her Aurors.

Nymphadora Tonks entered her boss' office and stood at attention. "You called for me ma'am?"

Amelia looked up and said "Yes Auror Tonks. I need you to contact your mother and inform her that I need to speak with her cousin at his earliest convenience. Make it clear that is not an attempt to arrest him but to clear his name. If my information is correct, his Godson left me the means to affect this but only if he is willing to stand trial once again."

Tonks looked at her cautiously and replied "Ma'am, I have no knowledge of my mother being in contact with the escaped convict but I will relay your message."

Amelia glared at her and said "Who do you think you are talking to? I know that Lord Black has summoned his family and I also know there can only be one person who is Lord Black. You will leave now and deliver the message you were just given. I expect you to report back to me within a half hour telling me this task has been done. I also expect to have a message in my hands before lunch tomorrow or all deals are off. Is that understood?"

"Yes ma'am."

**LC**

The mood in the castle was rather somber with the results of the third task. The single champion remaining in the castle refused to be awarded the Tri-Wizard Cup and was seen mostly in the company of Cho Chang who was an emotional wreck over the whole situation and was almost always seen crying ever since that night.

In an unusual move, the Slytherin Ice Queen, Daphne Greengrass, had been sitting at the Ravenclaw table with Fleur and aiding in her attempts at comforting Cho as well as passing on the reports her mother had been sending her about Cedric and Megan.

At the Leaving Feast, desert was interrupted by Lord Greengrass walking in the door holding several pieces of parchment. As he made his way to the head table, Albus rose and asked "Lord Greengrass, may I ask your reason for being here tonight?"

"Of course Mr. Dumbledore, I have come for my daughters, Miss Moon, Miss Davis, Miss Lovegood, and finally Miss Chang."

"This is highly unusual…"

"I have the written permission slips from their parents. They are going to wake Mr. Diggory and Miss Jones tomorrow morning and we thought it would be better to have their family surrounding them as they found out the news of Mr. Potter. Girls, call your elves and have them pack you immediately."

**LC**

The healers at St. Mungos decided that the two sleeping teens in their care were finally ready to be woken from their magically induced sleep. All tests concluded that they were fully recovered from the ordeal and the fact had even been verified by Madam Pomfrey at the request of the families.

They slowly woke up to the comforting feeling of being surrounded by family. Kathleen was sitting there holding her daughter's hand and softly said "Welcome back baby."

Megan muttered out "Cedric?"

"He's fine dear and is waking up now. You did an amazing thing and I'm proud of you."

Megan gave her a small smile and then her eyes spotted Poppy standing across the room. She started suddenly looking around the room and started panicking when she couldn't find Harry. "Where's Harry?"

When nobody answered she asked a little louder "Where's Harry?"

By this time, Cedric was sitting up with his arms around Cho. Daphne moved to Megan's side as she yelled "WHERE'S HARRY?"

Reginald moved forward "Honestly baby we don't know."

She cried out "DOBBY?"

Poppy said "He won't answer sweetie. I've tried."

"What happened?"

"We don't know much. Harry fought Voldemort and according to the Aurors, he was fine. Evidently, Dobby exhausted himself and Harry picked him up. All we know is that they were apparating away and they were hit by a curse from Voldemort. The next time they were seen was when they appeared in the DOM and stepped through the Veil of Death."

Tears were falling down her cheeks as she sat there thinking that she had lost her Harry. Luna sat down on her bed and pulled her into hug. "Can you still feel him?"

Megan closed her eyes and could feel the connection still holding her to him and nodded her head. Luna bluntly said "Then he is still alive somewhere. We will see him again when it is time."

AN: Sorry to say this but the updates will be a bit slower as I've been incredibly busy for the last week and have not had the time I needed to devote to this. Hopefully it will change quickly.