Chapter 12: Goblet of Fire
"Well. I think we should start our Fourth year today before we go to bed." Hermione started. "It started when Harry had a dream about Voldemort. He was in the Riddle House in LIttle Hangleton."
Dumbledore leant forward slightly. Eager to learn as much as possible about Voldemort.
"Harry overheard a conversation between Voldemort and Pettigrew." There was a chorus of growing at the name. "They were talking about using Harry for something. He overheard this through the ears of the muggle caretaker, after the Riddles were murdered a long time ago. The caretaker had been blamed, even though it was decided it was impossible for him to have done it. They were murdered by magic, which leaves no traces." Hermione explained.
"Were they murdered by Voldemort?" Sirius asked. Hermione nodded.
"But weren't they his family?" Lily gasped.
"You think Voldemort cared for his muggle side of the family?" Dumbledore asked with a raised eyebrow. Lily paused and then shook her head.
"They spoke about Bertha Jorkins going missing and providing him with useful information. It also was discussed, that a faithful servant with rejoin Voldemort soon, Voldemort killed the muggle and Harry woke up from his dream with his scar hurting."
"He saw all that in a dream? How is that even possible?" James asked, looking horrified. They all looked at Dumbledore. He looked just as curious as the others.
"I have my suspicions, but I do not know." He told them all gravely. If Tom Riddle had indeed gone down the route that he suspected, killing him would be almost impossible. He had suspected after hearing about the diary, but this was just further proof.
"He didn't really want to tell me or Ron about it, because he seemed to know how we would react. It probably wouldn't have been much help either as none of us knew what we were dealing with. He also didn't want to confide in Dumbledore because he thought it sounded ridiculous that he was having these bad dreams and he didn't know if they meant anything."
"Poor boy." McGonagall said, sadly.
"Harry had a big problem asking others for help. Either he didn't think they could help or he didn't want to put them in danger." Hermione told them all fondly.
"Sometimes you need help though." Sirius argued.
"Ron and I tried to tell him that many times." She told him.
"He didn't listen?" James chuckled. Hermione just shook her head.
"So, he wrote to Sirius."
"Awesome!" Sirius cheered. "At least now I can be there for him." Remus looked a little put out that Harry hadn't considered him. Something of his emotions must have shown on his face because Hermione looked over at him.
"Remus, you have to remember that, although you were friends with James in school, Harry had only ever seen you in a professor role. He thought of Sirius as a godfather and his dads best friends. Knowing he was innocent meant that was the only way Harry could perceive him. You were much more of a teacher to him than anything else. Although you two did become closer friends later on." He looked cheered by this thought.
"Thanks 'Mione." He muttered gratefully.
"Now this summer the Dursley's got told by the school that Dudley had to go on a diet because the uniform wasn't made big enough for him."
Everyone laughed, except Lily and McGonagall who both looked horrified at the thought of such a large child.
"So Harry had written to us all to provide him proper food, which we did, so he didn't starve. For a change he actually had more food than his cousin."
"Good." Said James firmly.
"'Bout time." Remus agreed.
"Before finishing the letter, Harry went down for breakfast. During breakfast the postman rang the bell to deliver a letter. It was from the Weasley's inviting Harry to theirs to go to the Quidditch world cup with them."
"Yes! He has to go." James cried.
"Vernon didn't want him too, but Harry threatened him by saying he was writing a letter to Sirius. who they thought was a deranged criminal who could use magic against them."
"That's me." Sirius laughed.
"Definitely deranged." Lily agreed with a giggle. James chuckled as well. Sirius pouted and turned to Hermione.
"I agree with Lily." She said, trying to bite back her laughter.
"Traitor." SIrius muttered.
"He obviously didn't want that, so he agreed to let Harry go. Ron's owl was waiting upstairs saying they were picking him up whether the Dursley's gave permission or not."
"Wicked." James and Sirius grinned.
"The Weasley's tried to arrive by floo powder, but the Dursley's fireplace was electric so the fireplace was blocked up. Mr Weasley had to blast the whole thing apart to get out."
Lily giggled, picturing Vernon and Petunia's perfect living room blasted apart. Everyone else laughed with her.
"He had brought Fred, George and Ron with him. Fred and George went to get Harry's things while Mr Weasley did try to make conversation with the Dursley's, but they were very happy. Just before he left, Fred spilled a bag of sweets. Once he got them gathered up, he left with George and the trunk. Then Ron left. Before Harry left however, he saw that Dudley was a huge purple thing protruding from his mouth. Apparently he had eaten one of the sweets Fred had dropped and it was enlarging his tongue."
"Brilliant!" James and Sirius cried together, howling with laughter. "Those twins are incredible. I think we should offer to babysit for Molly a few times." James said to Sirius with a grin.
"No way." Lily said immediately. "We do not need copies of you two running around." They both pouted. McGonagall threw Lily a grateful look.
"Harry left and Mr Weasley tried to fix Dudley. Back at the Burrow, the twins said they had invented the sweets themselves."
"Wow. Those two are geniuses." James said.
"I think they can be honorary marauders." Sirius agreed.
"Agreed." Remus put in with a grin. McGonagall groaned into her hands.
"What did I do to deserve this, Albus we need to discuss my retirement." She said, only half joking. Dumbledore looked amused.
"They seem very intelligent men Minerva. Why would you not wish to teach them." He said with a twinkle in his eyes.
"I had quite enough trouble with these three, I don't need them teaching future people who seem quite capable of doing a wonderful job on their own." She moaned.
"So, Mr Weasley's wasn't happy with the twins but Molly overheard their argument and made the twins throw out all the sweets."
"What?!" Yelped James.
"How could she?" Sirius cried.
"Thank you Molly." McGonagall said.
"This year, Percy had graduated so he was working in the Ministry under Barty Crouch in the Department of Magical Cooperation. Bill and Charlie were there too with me for the Quidditch cup. At dinner that night, they were talking about Bertha Jorkins' disappearance. They were also talking about a top secret event after the world cup."
"I wonder what that could be?" Lily mused.
"No idea." James said, frowning.
"Shut up and we might find out." Remus told them both. James stuck his tongue out.
"The next morning we had to get up at the crack of dawn to get the portkey to the world cup. They explained to Harry and me what Portkeys were and how they worked. We met up with the Diggory's, who were getting the same Portkey. Amos kept making comments about how Cedric had beaten Harry at Quidditch last year."
"Dementors made Harry fall off his broom?" Remus frowned.
"That didn't matter to him. Just that Cedric had won." Hermione explained.
"Stupid idiot." James muttered.
"Never liked Amos." Sirius growled.
"Mr Weasley had to get Harry to deal with the money because the gatekeepers were muggles, where the tents were stationed. Harry, Ron and I went to get water while they lit a fire for some food. Loads of our friends were there, so we enjoyed looking at all the tents. The old Gryffindor Keeper, Oliver Wood, was now playing for Puddlemere United reserves."
"Yes!" Go Puddlemere!" James cheered. "So we get a decent keeper in the future, nice." He grinned.
"When we got back, Mr Weasley was having trouble with the matches, so I had to light the fire himself. Sitting outside, we met Ludo Bagman and Barty Crouch."
"Bagman? Isn't he that beater for the Wasps?" James asked. Hermione nodded. "He was a few years above us. Good beater, one of the best Hufflepuff ever had."
"Crouch kept calling Percy, Weatherby instead of Weasley, which we all found really funny because Percy would have licked his boots clean I think. Thought the sun shone out of him."
"Idiot." Sirius said, rolling his eyes.
"Bagman was the head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports. Apparently Bertha was in his department but he wasn't that interested in finding her to be honest."
McGonagall sighed in exasperation.
"They mentioned the event again, apparently it was happening at HOgwarts, but Mr Crouch dragged Bagman away before he could tell us what it was."
"Awww!" Chorused James and Sirius.
"Then we went to look at the merchandise. Harry got us all some omnioculars. Ron bought a figure of Viktor Krum, the Bulgarian seeker." She blushed slightly when she said his name and Sirius watched her, suddenly feeling slightly jealous. "Harry bought an Irish hat that squeaked the names of the players."
"Ireland? Wow. They are really bad at the moment." Sirius said.
"We had tickets in the top box."
"Wow." James said, practically drooling. Sirius had the same dreamy expression on his face.
"Now, the match was quite good, but I'm not telling you who won." Hermione said strictly. The boys all groaned. "There was a house-elf there, apparently saving a seat for Crouch, but he never showed up. The Malfoys were there with Fudge and Bagman."
"Nice crowd." Sirius said sarcastically.
"That night, there was loads of noise in camp. Apparently some death eaters were levitating the muggles from the gates for their amusement. Their families as well."
"At the world cup? What is the Ministry coming to, allowing that to happen?" McGonagall said sharply.
"Not a lot." Hermione replied grimly. "Myself, Harry and the Weasley's all ran to the forest, where Harry discovered he had lost his wand."
"What?" James barked.
"How could he be so careless." Lily moaned, hiding her face his her hands.
"Us three got separated."
"Of course you did." Groaned Remus.
"Then we saw Winky, Mr Crouch's house elf. She was running strangely, but we thought nothing of it because a few seconds later someone close to us conjured the dark mark."
Everyone gasped.
"Nobody died." Hermione hurried to assure them. "We got found by Ministry wizards. They thought we had done it."
"Ridiculous." Remus snorted.
"Like Harry would have conjured that filthy mark." James growled in disgust.
"Well, Mr Weasley vouched for us, and we told them we had heard a voice and they shot stunners into the forest. When someone went to check, they found Winky, with Harry's wand."
"What?" Gasped James. "House elves aren't allowed wands. Nor would she conjure the dark mark, especially working for someone like Crouch."
"I agree James. But nobody else did. It was proven that the wand had done the spell. When Harry it was his and he lost it, they assumed Winky had stolen it in the top box and used it."
"Ignorant fools." Sirius spat.
"When they searched, nobody else was found so Crouch dismissed Winky, who was horrified by that. We went back to the tent where Mr Weasley explained what had happened and what the dark mark meant, because Harry didn't know."
"Honestly. If you want Harry to fight old mouldy shorts, you could at least tell him important facts. How is he supposed to fight without knowing what he is fighting." Sirius growled.
"Because as much as Harry seems to be portrayed to be the man fighting Voldemort, he is still a fouteen year old boy. He also needs to have some things kept off his shoulders." Dumbledore said calmly.
"A fourteen year old boy who has beaten Voldemort three times already." James put in. I agree with Sirius, he needs to know these things. It's probably part of the reason he doesn't ask people for help. They never tell him anything." Everyone seemed to be agreeing with James and Sirius, so Hermione carried on quickly before there could be an argument.
"Next morning, we went back to the Burrow where Mrs Weasley was frantic because Rita Skeeter had put in the prophet about the death eaters. Mr Weasley and Percy were working overtime after that because the Ministry was trying to deal with the fact that death eaters appeared at the world cup and none were caught."
"They didn't even get caught? Wow." Remus marvelled.
"Harry then finally told us about his dream and his writing to Sirius. Ron and I were both a bit worried about him, but Harry brushed it off as usual. Mrs Weasley had bought all our school things, this year we had dress robes."
"Dress robes? For school?" Sirius asked, looking aghast. Dumbledore and McGonagall exchanged worried glances.
"The next morning, Mr Weasley had to rush off because there was a disturbance at Mad-eye Moody's place, so Mrs Weasley tooks us to the station with Bill and Charlie. Percy had work. Bill and Charlie kept dropping hints about the event at Hogwarts but refused to tell us. The boys were all discussing the cup until Malfoy came in."
"Oh great. They haven't even gotten to school yet. Where is Remus when you need him." Groaned James.
"He really does attract trouble, our boy." Lily winced.
"Malfoy kept asking if we were going to enter because his father had told him everything about what was going on. He enjoyed the fact that we didn't know and taunted Ron that his dad probably wasn't important enough to know."
"Slimeball." Remus scowled.
"Then, we arrived at Hogwarts, in torrential rain." Hermione announced. "I think we should all get some rest."
"Just four years left." Sirius groaned.
"I'm not sure my heart will last." Lily grimaced. "My poor boy." With that, she went to check on Harry.
"We shall be back tomorrow." Dumbledore and McGonagall said.
"I may have to remain at Hogwarts tomorrow. Both of us can't keep disappearing. Maybe I could send another teacher with Minerva?" Dumbledore asked, looking at Hermione. She nodded.
"Please fill them in on what has happened so far before they arrive." She request. He nodded and then the teachers left.
"We better make a move too Padfoot." Remus sighed. Sirius looked reluctantly at Hermione.
"Yeah, off to bed you two." She teased. He squeezed her hand and then he and Remus disapparated.
"Wow." James said. "I can't believe Harry has done this much stuff and he is only fourteen."
"We couldn't either."
"I'm glad you all made it through." He said, patting her shoulder. Hermione winced slightly, thinking of all those who hadn't. "I meant you, Harry and Ron." James clarified quickly. She nodded.
"Well, I had better be getting to bed." She said.
"Wait, 'Mione, you don't have anything do you? I mean you can't use your own family money as it will go to younger you." He asked. Hermione bit her lip. She hadn't really thought that far ahead.
"I hadn't thought about it yet. I was only really focused on getting rid of Voldemort."
"Understandable. But, if you want, you are perfectly welcome to part of the Potter fortune. We have more than we could ever spend anyway. As a thank you for everything you did for my son. Even if you won't have to do it in this time." He offered. Hermione teared up slightly.
"Thank you James. That is very generous of you. I could probably do with getting some things of my own if I'm staying in this time permanently, which I'm pretty sure I am."
"Tomorrow morning we could go to Diagon Alley before we start and get you your own clothes at least, unless you want to keep Lily's." He grinned. "You will need a new name as well. Given that your name belongs to someone in this time already."
"True." She admitted, it was surprising that James had considered these things before she had.
"I can ask Remus about being a distant cousin of his if you like."
"I would be very grateful." Hermione said.
"I know, surprised I thought of something so practical?" He laughed, reading her expression.
"Yeah." She blushed. "You were kind of just known as the parent of Harry Potter. A troublemaker at school, although plenty of people told us you were a really skilled wizard, clearly very brave too."
"I like to think I'm brave and skilled. But I will always be a troublemaker deep down. Even though I have grown up slightly, I guess I died before many people could see that."
"Well, we are going to make sure it doesn't happen this time around." Hermione assured him. He gave her a grateful smile and they both went upstairs to bed.
(A/N Hey guys, hope you like it. I summarised quite a bit in this chapter because from now on the books get really thick and I want to get to what they change in that time. I won't miss out important details thought, I promise. Anyway, I'm going on holiday tomorrow so I won't update for a while. Keep reviewing, it makes my day :) )
