Harry

The Headmaster, or Snape, Harry was never really too sure which, circulated a rumour about an emergency portkey malfunctioning in the face of the Unforgivables, so Harry's little adventure in apparation didn't get out among the student population. He was glad of that, as he didn't want the notoriety that would come from being able to break the 'no one can apparate inside Hogwarts' rule. Harry was pretty sure the rule was a bogus one and that the wards were somehow keyed to let certain people apparate when they needed to, but he didn't want to risk asking Snape, and asking Hermione was a sure-fire way to get your ear chewed off about 'Hogwarts: A History'. As Hermione and Ron both knew that Harry still wore Snape's portkey, neither of his friends found the explanation suspicious.

Snape had issused several strict edicts about Harry's attendance in Defence class – where he would sit and what amount of exposure he was allowed to have to 'that imbecile masquerading as a competent instructor' – as well as informing him that he would be taking private tuition from Snape himself in that class in order to pass his OWL as soon as possible. Harry was pretty sure that the Headmaster hadn't been informed of this plan and certainly didn't intend to mention it himself. If Snape hadn't told the Headmaster that he intended for his Ward to test out of Defence Against the Dark Arts, then Harry could use the knowledge as leverage of sorts. He got along with Snape pretty well these days, but he certainly wasn't going to discard any tool that might help give him an edge when it came to dealing with his Guardian.

In the run up to Halloween – a holiday that Harry was ambivalent about at best – he found himself very busy. The arrival of the two competing schools was barely a blip on his horizon, as was the set up of the Goblet of Fire. He and Snape discussed the magical artefact as part of their studies together, though Snape made it clear that he was not to get anywhere near it. Harry told his Guardian flat out that he wasn't interested in competing in the tournament and saw a rare flash of approval in his Guardian's eyes before the man moved on to other subjects.

Ron developed a case of hero worship over Viktor Krum, and Harry had to admit that he'd been surprised the other boy was still in school, albiet his final year. So was Hermione, though she was more interested in how Krum's sport impacted his study time and wondering if the older teen was merely coasting along on his Quidditch talent. Moody's lessons continued to be… odd, though they had calmed down after that first terrible shock into the more normal pattern of spell theory and practice. If the spells were a bit more combative than they had been in the previous years, the students put it down to Moody's obsession with 'constant vigilance'.

Then it was Halloween and the Feast was timed to coincide with the selection of the Tri Wizard Champions. Harry found himself comfortably squashed between Ron and Hermione, sipping at the spiced, heated pumpkin juice that the house elves had prepared and waiting with the rest of the school to find out who their chapmion would be. He had to admit that he was impressed with the way the artefact made its announcement, and at the way the Headmaster caught the fluttering scraps of paper – the man could have been a Seeker with those reflexes. No one was surprised that Krum was selected for Durmstrang, and Ron was pleased that Fleur Delacore was selected for Beauxbatons. The other girls from her school were not, which amused Hermione anyway. Then Cedric Diggory was chosen from Hufflepuff for the Hogwarts Champion and Harry yelled and cheered as loudly as any of them, pleased for the older teen, though in his heart of hearts he'd have preferred a Gryffindor as one of the Champions.

Which was why his name fluttering from the Goblet was such a shock. He'd never… he wouldn't…

Only Hermione's prodding got him to move and he was aware of Snapes' gaze boring holes into his back as he moved past the teachers into the room where the real Champions were waiting. He'd registered dimly the grief and shock on McGonnagal and Hagrid's faces, which had brought home to him the very real danger he was in. Champions had died in the past – and they were all of Legal Age. They'd had more schooling than him and were much more grown than he was. He didn't stand a chance – and he didn't want to try. He isolated himself from the Champions in the back room, too shocked to answer their questions about his presence.

The Headmasters burst into the room, followed by the Hogwarts Heads of House and there was a lot of shouting and accusations. His protests that he hadn't entered his name in the Goblet were shot down by Crouch, who seemed more than a little off. The mans fanatical insistance that no one could fool the Goblet positvely flew in the face of reason.

Even McGonagall and Snape pairing up together to try and get him out of the mess he was in hadn't worked. Harry locked eyes with his Guardian desperately, and didn't resist the vicious Legilimens probe that swept through his thoughts, confirming that he hadn't attempted to enter despite their discussions. Harry knew that in his heart of hearts Snape was waiting for Harry to betray him somehow, and the teen couldn't blame the man. After all, he was waiting for the same thing from Snape. That thought was also noted and catalogued; embarrassing but not important in the face of the danger Harry was now faciing.

"You'll have to stop those tutoring sessions, Potter," Moody spoke up just as it seemed that everyone was starting to calm down, "Three times a week, it won't do to have you getting favoured treatment now."

Snape had always said that Moody was not to be trusted, a statement that was now bourne out by Moody's apparent intention to see him die in the Tournament – or that is how it felt to Harry. He'd noticed that the two Wizards hated each other and Harry would have had to be very dense indeed not to know that there was some history that stretched back before Hogwarts colouring their reactions to each other. Ron had said that Moody hunted Dark Wizards and part of Harry had wondered if that meant that his Guardian had once been hunted by Moody. Snape did seem to fit the profile of a Dark Wizard – his attitude to certain spells and potions didn't seem entirely Light for a start. Harry was not so naïve anymore as to confuse Dark and Evil as the same thing. He knew there were shades of grey in the world.

In the light of Moody's announcement the other school Head's insisted that he attend no more than his regular lessons. Dumbledore was unprepared for the attack on his tutors, and though the Headmaster was right to point out that the older students were getting specialised instruction, somehow it was made out that Harry should get no more than the instruction expected for a child of his age.

In the space of a few hours every aspect of his life was turned on it's ear. He hadn't expected Snape to help him cheat or anything but he had been hoping that his Guardian would at least find a way to help him come through this alive. Now even that slender comfort was torn from him.

0o0o0o0