AN: If I haven't told before, fourth year's end will be where actual divergence from the original series starts.

Chapter 10

The day of the first task had been a very interesting one for Harry. First, because of the task itself. Second, because of the meeting of Remus and Narcissa. His father had told him that Lucius had tried to establish a relationship with him in order to further himself in France, but he had given him false assurances which he would get rid of in time. But the best news from the meeting had been the fact that Draco was not his godbrother and now he didn't have any inhibitions he previously held about hurting him.

But the last and most interesting part of the day had been, ironically, the night. He had a nightmare about Voldemort, after a lot of time. But this time, he could actually remember parts of it clearly. Still he had written in his diary. He remembered that the devilish baby Voldemort was angry at a young man, probably the same man from before. He was yelling at him in his high cold voice that he had almost failed in his mission and then as a reminder of what was the punishment, he promplty tortured him under the cruciatus curse. This just showed how cruel was Voldemort. He would torture his most devoted followers for mistakes.

He could also remember something about 'resurrection' or something along those lines. That was the most he could remember, but it was better than almost nothing, which he was previously able to remember. He didn't tell anyone yet about those dreams as he didn't want to worry people about something, just in case, it was a false alarm. Although he was pretty sure that it was genuine. But without the details, it would not prove useful.

He was just talking to Draco right now a week after the task.

"Anyway, I would like to thank you for helping me keep the idiot twins off of my back. I owe you one for that. I would have dealt with them earlier but the task was on my mind, and they had become a major annoyance for me." Harry thanked him for the help Draco gave him the week before the task.

"You're welcome. They are an annoyance to the whole school and not just you so it was a bonus for me as well. But now that the second task is a long time away, what are you going to do about them?" Draco inquired.

"I can't tell you right now, but I can promise you a good show. Let's just say that this will be my way of saying thank you for the help." Harry shot him a slightly maliciously smile, which was returned by Draco. Draco was just about to say something, when a Hogwarts boy came towards Harry, definitely older than him, and said "Harry Potter, the Headmaster would like to meet with you at your earliest convenience. Would you like to go now?" Knowing that refusing would be very impolite, especially so considering that the head host was calling him. It would look very bad for Madam Maxime, so he gave a nod and started to follow the boy.

When he the outside of the Headmaster's office, he could recognise it from the gargoyles described by Remus. The staircase started moving up without the password so he assumed that it must be based on the will of Headmaster, at least when he was inside his office.

"Sir, you asked for me?"

"Of course, Mr. Potter. Please take a seat." After Harry sat down, Dumbledore offered him the sweets that he offered to everyone who entered his office.

Harry knew that he had a calculating expression on his face, but he couldn't help it. Hewasn't about to let his guard down against this powerful person. And that much was evident from the sigh that the headmaster gave and said, "Mr. Potter, I am not going to beat around the bush. I have called you here for a very specific reason. You and I both understand that Voldemort is not permanently gone and can and will return from the 'dead'. I didn't do anything covert to know that you know about this. I know that the French ministry of magic is competent enough not to ignore important details. Anyway, I asked you here because I wanted to warn you about Mr. Malfoy. His father was one of the top Death Eaters, one of the few, who were recognised by Voldemort himself. And although he claimed to be under the imperious curse, I am certain that he wasn't. Now, I know that you are smart and powerful enough to defend yourself, but I just wanted you to be safe because your family was a target before the war and when Voldemort returns, he will want to complete the set and being lax around Mr. Malfoy could be very risky." Dumbledore finished seriously.

Harry had a very serious face by the end but his calculating expression had risen even higher. "Sir, if I may ask, why are you warning me against one of your own students? After all, you always say that everyone deserves a second chance."

It seemed that Dumbledore had expected this question, for he almost immediately said, "Mr. Potter, just because I believe that everyone has good in them doesn't mean that they always act upon the good part. Even though he is my student and as such I feel responsible for his future to some extent, I cannot allow him to inflict harm upon anyone." After a minute of silence, he added, "I hope you know what you are doing by consorting with Mr. Malfoy. Have a good day, Mr. Potter."

"Good day, Sir" As Harry was leaving, he could see that there was a calculating expression on headmaster's face, but acknowledged that after such a meeting, he couldn't expect anything else of him. Even he was a bit confused. The man almost seemed genuine in his concern for him.

After a week, Harry again started to train for the tournament. Fleur had only been relaxed for two days before she started training again, but everyone understood the pressure Harry had been under when he was training.

Right now, he was trying to figure out what the egg could mean, and beside him was his sister, who also wanted to have a shot at trying to figure out the clue. They were inside his room in the carriage.

"This is getting very frustrating. I can't even handle not knowing the clue for one day, how am I going to keep trying to figure it out?" Harry moaned in distress.

"Harry, you have to be patient. The task was designed with 17 year olds in mind." Abella told him gently.

"Can't I ask Fleur about the clue? She found out about it in two days, so it cannot be all that big."

"Yes, but that is all the more reason why you should try it for yourself. You will find and study much more if you don't know what is it that you are looking for." Abella took a breath, then continued, "Look Harry, I'm also trying to get the clue with you so that you will not be bored. Besides, if you are unable to find the clue by New Year, she is going to tell you anyway. At least, you can respect her wishes. She is not teasing you by not telling you; she only intends to help."

"I know, sorry. But it's very frustrating, you can't deny that." Harry said in a slightly dejected voice, and then suddenly remembered another piece of information that he had only received this morning, "And do you know that there is a yule ball? A ball in which champions have to open the dance."

"What? Who told you this?"

"Madam Maxime. This morning, she called me and Fleur to her office and then told us about the ball. She said that because we were the champions and that she trusted us, she was telling us beforehand. She cannot tell anyone else, because then everyone else will know including the outsiders. She also said that we could tell you because she trusts you as well. But now I have to also think about the ball and who I am going to ask to the ball."

"Ok, well, thank you for telling me. But there are so many girls that you can ask to the ball. Why are you so tense about it?" She asked him, confused why he couldn't find a date for the ball.

"Well, who would I ask? It's not like I know many girls to ask, do I?"

"What about Gabrielle, you idiot?" When Abella seriously asked him this question, Harry was surprised that she wasn't teasing him about this; at times, he was almost sure that Abella was hinting at something. Right now, he knew that he had to make up an excuse and fast, and then he remembered,

"But it would look so awkward; I mean she is taller than me. She would obviously prefer to go with someone taller." Abella stared at him for a moment, before conceding that he had a point. "Well look, you obviously have to have a date. And I can tell you this that ever since the first task, your reputation has gone up, at least in our school. So you can get a date easily enough."

"But I don't really want to go with someone I don't quite know. But you are right, I don't have any other option."

Harry and Abella both kept working on the egg for some time. They only made small progress, but then again, it wasn't meant to be easy for them.

In the coming two weeks, Harry was finally able to decipher what the clue in the egg was. Abella had already done so a week ago. When he had tried sound dampening charm so that he could listen to the sound without damaging his ears, he noticed that it had stopped shrieking. It was still incomprehensible but it wasn't shrieking so much as it was saying something in a muffled voice that he could simply not understand.

After that, he tried as many ways as he could think of to dampen the sound of the egg. And one day, he hit the gold.

But now that the trouble of figuring out the egg was over, he had to focus on whom to ask for the yule ball before starting work on a solution to the second task. It had been announced a week ago. Gabrielle was out of question, not only because he didn't want to take her but because she had already been asked; although, she wasn't telling who had asked her, at least that's what Fleur said.

He had already tried with two of his friends, but both had already said yes. It seemed that being friends with a champion also had its perks. Now he knew that he would have to ask an acquaintance for the yule ball. And if he wasn't fast enough, soon he would be left with only strangers. So decided to swallow his nervousness and went up to a girl that he knew was shy and was generally found alone, but she was very beautiful and very kind. She was sitting in the library on a bench by herself.

"Hey Marie, I wanted to ask you something, if you have some time?" He asked, expectantly.

"Hi Harry, please sit down. Now what did you want to talk to me about?" She asked quietly.

"Well, I was wondering if you would like to go the ball with me?" He sounded confident on the outside, but inside he knew that if she said no, he wouldn't be left with many options.

"Uh, sure Harry, but you haven't got a date yet?"

"No, actually I was too busy with figuring out the clue to the second task that I didn't get time to ask anyone." Harry finished a bit lamely. "So I'll pick you up at 7:45, then?"

"Sure, Harry." Before she turned again to her books, Harry couldn't help but ask, "Marie, how is it that no one asked you, yet? I was almost sure that I would be disappointed by asking you this late?"

She smiled a bit and then said, "If I am not wrong, you are the ninth person to ask me for the yule ball, Harry. And thank you for the latter comment."

Harry was a bit surprised her revelation. "Well then, why didn't you say no to me?"

"Because, unlike so many others, you didn't ask me after seeing my face. This whole tournament is a formality for you, which means that you will look for companionship rather than time-waste. And I know you enough to know that I will like your company, which is all I'm interested in right now."

Harry left after a few more words.

Today was the yule ball and Harry was excited. But his excitement wasn't limited to the company of Marie. Today, he would exact his revenge on the Weasley twins. He had everything he would need, ready. It was only a matter of execution. But it would require some stealth, because not only was he noticeable, but he was probably being spied upon. After all, he had been dragged into this tournament in the first place.

With the help of Remus, he had made another Marauders' Map and also learnt how to make yourself disappear from the map and then he had used his recently recovered Invisibility cloak to retrieve the other Marauders' Map from the twins. They could be seen sulking and bullying slytherin first years for a lot of time, which obviously earned a lot of detentions.

As for the invisibility cloak, Remus had told him about it. They had rightly assumed that Dumbledore must be having it. They had assumed that he must have taken it after the death of the Potters. Remus with the help of Harry's assent had threatened to sue Dumbledore, when he declined to help them. Both the parties knew that it was essential to keep the secret of the cloak safe, no matter who had the cloak. Dumbledore finally acquiesced when Adrian had showed up one day at his office, making him finally believe that they would act up on the threat if he didn't agree.

Anyway, right now he was inside the Gryffindor tower, executing his plans. He had made sure to use such items that could not be dispelled, instead you had to wait for them to run out of magic. With a grin, he made his way back to his own room in the carriage, where he got dressed and then came out at 7:40 to wait for his date. He was happy that his date also wanted to go with him as friends only, but he would not be ignoring the etiquettes, of course.

As soon as Marie came into sight, he stood and walked up to her, and offered her his hand with a slight bow. She clearly didn't expect this, because for a moment, she just stared before going into the role. She also courtesied and looped her arm through his.

While walking towards the castle, Harry whispered into her ear, "I hope I am not going overboard with this. You know... the formality?"

She chuckled lightly, "No, It's OK. I didn't expect this, but it's alright. I like it actually. Hope you know how to dance as well. People would hate to see their beloved champion trip over his own two feet." She said jokingly.

Harry put on mock outraged expression. "The nerve of you, young lady! I am an excellent dancer, and I will treated with nothing short of absolute respect." He said haughtily, and after a moment, both started laughing.

"But in all seriousness, " Harry started, and after taking a look at his surroundings to ensure that no body was hearing him said that, "I'm going to play a prank, which will start after a few songs. So I hope, you don't get too disappointed if the dance part of the night is cut short."

"Heavens no, as much as I like dance and music, it's more of a way of loosening up. I'm not interested in a ball dance with so many people. We can dance outside in the park as well, if we are upto it." She had just finished speaking as they were entering the Entrance Hall.

They were ushered to the side along with the other champions and their dates. Everything happened as expected for some time. They were given some instructions about their role in the ball, then led inside to the champions table, where they had dinner; they danced for 5 songs before the first unexpected thing happened.

Harry could hear laughter, that he knew the reason for. Everyone stopped dancing except for the twins, who also stopped shortly after hearing laughter. Harry could see that the twins had yet to realise that they were wearing nothing except for their undergarments. This was the result of a charm that he placed upon their garments, which would become invisible and then vanish when the wearers realise what had happened.

Then to increase the laughter in the Hall, both their bodies became red as their hair along with their undergarments. Even their dates had separated from them and laughing with the rest of the population.

And for the final trick, Harry wanted to include pain in their mockery, because their pranks hadn't been harmless either and he wanted to make an impression, even if he couldn't be placed responsible for this.

The twins started scratching their crotches vigorously because of the itch and pain they were experiencing. They were almost able to forget the embarassment from their semi-naked state, but the increasing laughter and the disgusted sounds that came from other occupants of the room was too much to ignore. They ran from the Hall holding their clothed crothes, and as they were leaving, even those who hadn't yet laughed, started laughing.

This was a mission successful for Harry knew that they wouldn't be out of their misery for at least half a day. The itch was given using a special spell. If this spell was tampered with before it had run its course, the chances were that the body part, where the itch was happening would be affected negatively. And this was something that every healer knew.

After ten minutes of laughter, everything was once again almost normal. People started dancing again, or went to for some fresh air. Harry was amongst those who went out and continued his dance with Marie.

"So, how did you like the prank?" Harry had a smile on his face.

"It was hilarious and well deserved, I might add. I saw some of the pranks that they played on you. And that wasn't funny. But what you did absolutely was. Except for the last part. Did you really have to make it so gross?" She frowned.

"Well, the gross part was half the fun. It had to be humiliating and painful, " Harry said mirthfully, but his face dropped a little when saying the next part, "just like they did to me. Anyway, we are not going to talk about those two idiots anymore. I hope you enjoyed the night as much as I did."

"I did, more than I had expected in fact. Thank you for an enjoyable company, Harry. You are a really good person. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise." The last part was said a bit more seriously than the rest. They made small talk for the rest of the night before heading to their rooms.

Harry placed a light kiss on her cheek and turned. He was very thankful for his newfound friend and he knew that she also considered him a friend only. He was sure that she would be very helpful in getting him through the tournament, he just didn't know how much. Right now, the only people who he felt comfortable sharing things with were his sisters and uncles and father, and they were not his age, which left him feeling a bit alone. And now he had a good friend to talk to.

AN: I'm going to assume that you know the clue in the egg.

Please, read and suggest changes if you think of any.