Another chapter for you all. Please leave a review, whether it is on how I can improve, or what you like about this fanfic. Unfortuantely, it may be a fortnight before another chapter, an unexpected move is going to leave me without internet. Sorry.
Anyway, please do read on.
1st (Thomas)
I was unsure of how it happened but somehow time managed to consume me once more. Every morning at exactly five fifty-nine I wake; at exactly six fifteen Harry and I run around the entire circumference of the castle twice; by seven we start training Harry's defence; by eight we have showered and moved to the great hall; we enjoy our breakfast with with Fleur, Hermione and Ronald; then we split up as they have their classes to attend; so by nine in the morning, I am back to training myself back to full strength.
It's the night before the cup will announce the champions, Fleur retired to her living quarters, to anxious to converse with anyone. Ron had been silent for the most part, spending time with a boy named Seamus, it seemed he needed to train his chess skills. Hermione wanted to join Harry and I while we trained. I wasn't sure at first, the training was getting more and more brutal each time and Hermione was only going to slow them down. So I agreed under the condition that she stays out of our way. She agreed, barely.
Surprisingly Harry had gained a lot of structure and skill for casting shields. As shown now.
"Bombarda!" The explosive spell went straight towards Harry, weakening his shield excessively, "Incendio" A flame blew towards Harry's shield, it wasn't long before the shield dissipated and Harry dropped to his knees. "That was grand. You've really got the hang of defensive shields."
Harry glanced up at me, he was a pitiful sight, "It's been weeks and I've barely lasted longer than five minutes."
If he thought he would be some grand warlock in a few weeks than he over thought his ability to learn. "Five minutes more than most. Harry, if you want to last longer then you need to work on your offence, using only defence will burn away at your core."
Harry stood up with little grace and moved to the side where Hermione sat reading. "Harry, I see you've lost your focus, you can go. First thing tomorrow I have something new to teach you, so be ready by five."
Harry stared at me in silence before nodding his head. "Fine."
Harry nudged Hermione, "Hermione?" Didn't even gain an ounce of her attention, "Come on." Finally allowing his frustration to show, he picked Hermione up and threw her over his shoulder effortlessly. They seem to be growing closer, courting one another without realising it, hopefully it won't become a problem.
"Harry!" She half shouted half squealed. "Put me down." I watched as the messed around, finally graced with peace and quiet I took a seat on my sofa. I hadn't had much time for fun and relaxation, I've spent weeks working on Harry and then on myself. I've put every spare moment into training myself excessively hard.
Three knocks roused me from my thoughts. I considered pretending to be out, just wait for them to go away but my hearing picked up a familiar breathing pattern. It was the one person that I didn't seem to mind being around, Fleur.
I had grown accustomed to the girl, I was actually quite fond of her presence, too fond. I stared at the door considering my options I shouldn't indulge her crush, I shouldn't even allow the thought to ponder in her beautiful mind, but I didn't want to hurt her feelings either. We could never even talk about the two of us being together, never mind to actually be with one another. I won't see her hurt.
I could her the familiar beat of an anxious heart, I shouldn't answer the door, but that didn't seem to stop my body from moving anyway, a familiar flick of the wrist opened the door gracefully. My heart and mind stopped completely, the sight of her, sometimes you can't always resist temptation.
"Fleur." I barely managed to raise my voice to a mere whisper. She smiled shyly. This wasn't a good idea.
"Tom." She paused, she seemed to like the dramatic moments, "I was hoping you might take a walk around the lake with me, I couldn't sleep." Her messy hair and the little make up upon her face, made her look like a new kind of divine being, as well as proving her words are true.
"You walked up seven flights of stairs to ask me to go on a walk with you?" I could tell that a dubious expression covered my face, she nodded awkwardly. "Very well. I'll just grab my coat." I turned quickly, reaching for my coat as it flew across the room to me. "Let's go."
The journey to the lake was quiet, not a single word was said, it was starting to be tedious. I quite enjoyed listening to her voice, there was something tranquil and warming about it. It wasn't five minutes before I found myself breaking the silence.
"I enjoy the occasional silence, but as peaceful as it might be, I would be very thankful if you would announce your inner thoughts." She looked at me and smiled.
"I'm just really nervous about tomorrow but I'm excited as well."
"Why?"
"Well what if I don't get chosen? Then I can't prove that I'm more than a Veela." She almost spat the word out. How could she hate being a Veela that much?
"Zelene was a Veela." Silence echoed for miles. She gave me a look, a look of encouragement and curiosity. "She was most definitely seen as more than just a Veela, I could name hundreds of thousands of men and women who had more respect for her, then their king. She embraced her nature, used it to convince evil to simply hand themselves over to the guards, she sang to the dying to take away their pain for as long as they needed, she helped the scared children fall asleep with the most beautiful lullaby. You don't need to win a tournament as stupid as this one to prove yourself, you just need to embrace your nature and use it for what it is, a gift. A gift that will allow you to help so many people." Zelene hadn't left my thoughts for a single moment, if only my brother could have wiped my memory once more before he sent me here. It's never as painful when I remember it again, it's as though I'm remembering another man's life, which is so much easier than knowing it's my memories completely.
Fleur paused before giving me a gentle kiss to the side of my cheek. "Thank you." We continued walking slowly, we neared the carriages.
"You'll be fine to sleep now?"
She shook her head simply, "I doubt it. I feel much more relaxed so the odds are definitely higher. Thanks to you."
"Well than m'lady, I shall bid you fair well. Goodnight and sweet dreams." Her melodic giggle surrounded me.
"Goodnight." She kissed me once more on both cheeks before walking away into her carriage. Isn't it funny how I'm the one who now has to climb the stairs, I could just apparate up there, but that cunning old man would use it against me.
After a long, dull, tedious journey back to my living quarters, I found myself collapsing into my bed. Tomorrow I'm teaching Harry Legilimency, I could have him learn during our nightly sessions but his mind will be filled with adrenaline after a long run.
As the sun rose, Harry and I ran at a relaxed speed, it wasn't long before Harry stared to lag behind. I paused noticing how his breathing was starting to get better, he wasn't breathing like somebody with failing lungs, he was taking steady breaths, his stamina and endurance was improving steadily. I waited until his breathing was more stabilized before approaching the new topic.
"You're going to learn Legilimency."
Harry nodded, "So we're finished with shields, what time are we meeting tonight then?"
A chuckled escaped my mouth, "Oh no. We're adding morning sessions, hence why you're up an hour earlier than normal." Harry grimaced. "Problem?"
"It's just that we've been working so hard that I don't have time for fun. I wake up and I'm going for a run, I barely have time for a shower, I then have classes all day, then I have to do my assignments straight away because I have our sessions throughout most of the night. Now your making me get up even earlier." His rant was finally over.
"Harry. My father started to teach me how to wield a sword the second I could take my first step, you're what? Fifteen? You're fifteen years behind schedule."
"Schedule for what? I asked you to teach me, not take my life away." He's a fool.
"Schedule." I got in his face, he stumbled back slightly, surprised at the forcefulness of my movements. "I'll tell you what for. There's a war coming Harry, a war that everyone is expecting you to win. I have no idea who Voldermort is or why he is so scary, but whatever it is he can do, it has one of the most powerful wizards cowering in fear, hiding away in that castle. You think I'm taking your life, you wait until you watch the people you love and care for die right in front of you. You think this war is going to be like a fairy tale? Like a story you can read about? It won't be. Somebody you care for will die, they will, it's not a possibility, it's not a chance, it will happen. That's war. If we don't get you ready, everyone is going to take a step back and look at you, they'll die because you wanted a life. You wanted to play wizard's chess, you wanted to court Hermione, you didn't want to put in the effort to look after them," Admittedly my anger took hold for a moment, the vault I built not long ago wasn't working, all of my emotions flooded back into my system. I stared at him with disappointment, defeat pouring through my tone at my next few words. "but hey, what's that matter. You deserve to play silly little games and date the pretty girls, you're Harry Potter, the saviour. I thought there was more to you than a trouble maker, I thought that you were the boy who wanted to help people, maybe you just wanted fame, maybe you just wanted some attention."
Harry's glare intensified, "I do want to help people. I don't want attention, I never wanted attention, I just want to be left alone. The silly little games and the spending time with the pretty girl, that's for them, that's so that I have some people I can depend on."
"Very well. No morning sessions, but when you find yourself on the losing side of the war, when you watch those people you care for die right in front of you, I want you to think about what hundreds of hours training with me can have done. You could have saved them, stop thinking short term, start thinking long term."
"That's easy for you to say, you have no friends, no family that you're close to. The closest thing to somebody you need to look after is Fleur and Gabrielle, but even with them you keep them at arms length. You don't have anyone, I don't want that, I need my friends."
"One day Harry, one day you'll think back to that comment, you'll realise that if you had left them here to train, you could have saved there lives. You'll realise that turning off your emotions, keeping yourself away from feeling anything for people , that's to save yourself from the grief of watching them die. Now excuse me, I have a few more hours of training I need to attend to, I guess I'll be saving everyone's ass but please do have a game of wizards chess on me."
When lunch came, the tension covering the hall was almost thick enough to grab. I must admit I was silently wishing that Fleur would not be chosen, I'm unaware of what this tournament is like now, but when I was placed in it, well, lets just say it's a time to be forgotten.
"Viktor Krum." The man's facade slipped across his face, an excited smile, he glanced towards me and nodded. I nodded back awkwardly. He moved to another section of the castle, towards the trophy room most likely. Fleur's heart rate picked up forcefully as somebody from her school was about to be announced. I moved my hand on top of hers and gave it a gentle squeeze, a slight smile showed her appreciation.
"Fleur Delacour." I'm surprised she didn't fall at the speed she jumped to her feet, her excited expression all to real. I would be training her now, whether she liked it or not. Soon she vanished and Dumbledore was ready to read the Hogwarts champion. I searched the hall, there are very few who I would chose, not that I ever would.
"Harry Potter." Silence was suddenly very unsettling. Harry was right, somebody wants him killed and they must of placed him within the cup. Hermione grabbed him and started to push him up, Ron seemed shocked by the entire thing, it's a good job I've already been training him. I watched his expression, the funny thing being that even though he looked surprised, it wasn't outrage he was holding back, it was excitement. The old man didn't seem surprised by the name, his expression showed that he wasn't happy about it, but there was a very hopeful look in his eyes.
I stood up, ready to see the two new champions, the goblet lit up once more. Everybody started to mumble, Dumbledore looked almost too happy by the new development. The burned paper floated down to his grasp. He turned with an expectant expression. "Thomas of Celestial." Everybody glanced around the room, seeing me on my feet made them realise I wasn't who I said I was. Hermione and Ron started to whisper.
"I didn't put my name in that goblet." Why would he put my name in the cup, It had to have been him, who else?
"We can talk about this in,"
I flicked my wrist, summoning the paper to me, much to the shock of everyone else. "We'll talk about it now." My voice had took on a much colder tone. This was how he was going to get Harry to require him again, but he was mistaken if he thought a magical contract would force me into something I didn't want to do. More gasps and mumbles filtered through the hall.
"Follow me now!" The man was a fool. A stupid, powerful, once good fool. I moved towards him.
"I wouldn't want to explain why I fixed a magically binding cup either." I walked away, quickly finding myself in the room with three other champions.
"Thomas?" It was almost an echo, if you took away Viktor's accent and Fleur's feminine tone.
"It would seem that like Harry, somebody wanted me in this tournament, fear not, I will not be competing." Five aggressive pairs of footsteps captured my interest.
"Headmaster. I didn't put my name in that cup." A man with an excited expression shook his head, I already didn't like him.
"I believe you Harry but there's nothing I can do." The old man glanced in my direction. "You can't back out or receive any help, you're in a magical contract Harry, you'll lose your magic."
"Well then old man." My tone was bitter and cold, Fleur wrapped her hand around my arm. "Perhaps you shouldn't have put his name in there in the first place! If you think I won't help Harry during this tournament you're wrong."
A man with an excited expression strode forward. "Are you saying that you're ready to lose your magic? I'm Ludo Bagman, the official running this tournament,"
"Stop. I don't care who you are. Here." I pulled my wand out and snapped it in half. "Unlike the rest of the brainwashed students here, I don't need a wand." My emotions seemed to be getting worse. My animagus was once more clawing its way out. "Think it's best if I go for a walk."
"I'll come too." I shouldn't let her, I know I shouldn't, we're getting too close and yet a found a smile crawl onto my face as I walked away.
"What's wrong?" Her hold on me tightened, "I've never seen you this angry."
I paused before shaking my head. "The first time I was in this tournament, I was thirteen, I watched a hundred men get slaughtered before the second task." Her skin paled, "Don't be scared, it's no where near as bad now, I wouldn't have let you put your name in that goblet without telling you first if it was. I was forced into it, like Harry now is, because some people can't handle power, because it corrupts them. I was told Albus Dumbledore was a respectful, prestigious warlock, one of the most power-fullest men in this time, I don't see it."
"You'll teach Harry, he'll be fine." I stared at her, she saw completely through me, I'm worried. I've grown use to having Harry around, he's somebody I know could be a great friend , as well as a new apprentice. Not that I would explain that to anybody, I didn't want to see him lose his or anybody of his friends lives. I may not seem it but I am human, and even though I wanted them gone, I do have feelings.
"I'll be teaching you too."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Choose what time and what days, at least three days a week, not past nine, that's Harry's time."
"Can I get back to you?"
"You have until tonight, I said it's not as bad, I didn't say this tournament was going to be easy." She nodded in understanding, we slowly started to walk again.
Soon Harry found us and explained what was happening with the first task, well the date, not what the task actually was. He actually pulled me to one side, much to my dismay, I actually didn't want to leave Fleur, she seemed to keep my emotions in control.
"You broke your wand." His incredulous look was slightly amusing.
"Like I said in there, I don't need a wand for my magic."
"But you broke it because Dumbledore placed you in it?" I didn't realise just how much the old man meant to Harry, "Are you sure?"
"Yes. I wish I could say to you that I wasn't but his intentions were clear. He wants me to be unable to help you, so that you need to rely on him, which is why I think he placed your name in there too." There was a bond there once, "Don't give up on him, he has this idea that your going to be the decisive player in this war, so he wants you to be ready. He cares about you."
Harry shrugged with an awkward expression. "He's the closest connection I have other than Sirius to my family." He sighed awkwardly, "Actually I wanted to apologise about this morning, I think I might have crossed the line, I was hoping I could do those morning lessons."
"Don't worry about it. You know things are going to become more intense now right, not just our lessons but your friends and the people around you, they're going to think that you planned this."
"Yeah. They always do, I'm always the bad guy, the next dark lord." It was obvious that he found it slightly amusing, even if there was a slight bit of anger in his tone. I was about to train Harry Potter, I'm going to need to get rid of the boy who lived, the victim, because if he holds that bitterness in, that anger in, one day, I'll have to kill him.
Not much happened in this chapter, sorry, I've been trying to build their relationships up so that future chapters will go smoother. Anyway, I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as my internet gets set up in the new place, let me know what you thought of this chapter.