A/N: My apologies for this taking so long; life's been... Well, not going to lie, life's been a bitch recently, and sounds a bit like a country song. My dog had to be put down because of cancer in the brain, and then my transmission went out in my car, so I haven't really had the wherewithal to actually focus on the story. However! Recently, life's been a little less like a country song and more like that one Dido song where things were sucking but now they're getting better. I have a shiny new car (aptly named Patronus since it's silver and will protect me), I'll finally be able to apply for graduation at college, and I found my new favorite Pixar short (Piper, the one before Finding Dory). All said and done, I should be back to relatively regular updates. So... On with the show!
Five days after the ill-fated selection of the four Triwizard champions, there was a hubbub at the beginning of dinner that night as the three missing Hogwarts students returned from the hospital. All three looked rather pale, though not deathly ill and shaking as they had been when they left. Cedric watched as almost all of the younger students of the Hogwarts student body gathered around the three fourth years, chattering happily and sneaking small, innocent touches on the young men where they could. Eventually Cedric gently shooed them away, and, once he was able to, reached out and placed a hand on Harry's shoulder, though he looked at all three of them as he spoke.
"How're you three doing? We've all been worried sick, even if most of the Slytherins won't show it outright."
Draco let out a short huff of laughter. "Of course they wouldn't," he said as Cedric let his hand drop away. "We're trained to keep our emotions inside- well, at least the ones in our year and above have. The younger ones seem to have ignored that, and for the better."
"Definitely," Cedric agreed. "I'm glad you're back. How're you doing?"
"Better," Harry replied. "Have they said anything about the first task?"
Cedric shook his head. "No. Apparently they're testing our bravery and ability to think under pressure, so they haven't told us anything except when it will be, which is mid-November."
Harry rolled his eyes. "That's not exactly helpful. Look, this competition is supposed to be about fostering international relationships and all that, right?"
"Right," Cedric said. "Why?"
"Well, why don't we cooperate with our fellow champions and help one another brush up on things we're not the best at?" Harry suggested. "Besides, I'm only fourteen. I don't exactly have the same advantages as you three do."
Cedric considered this for a moment and then nodded. "We can always ask," he said. "If nothing else, you and I can help one another since it'd be a win for Hogwarts and Hufflepuff either way."
"Thanks," Harry said, giving him a tired smile. "How about tomorrow? I think we're just going to settle in tonight and try to get back into the swing of things over the weekend."
"Sure thing. I'll talk to them and then get back to you later," Cedric said. "It really is good to see all three of you again."
"It's good to be back." Neville gave him a smile before he and his bondmates headed over to the Ravenclaw table, sitting near Luna. She smiled brilliantly at them.
"Welcome back."
"Thank you," Harry replied. "For the greeting and the letter."
Luna nodded. "I could help, so I did," she said simply. With that, she started eating her dinner, humming happily to herself. Harry shrugged and then started serving himself food. Neville and Draco did the same, though none of them had a large appetite.
After dinner was over, they were shown to a suite of rooms on the third floor. The healers at Saint Mungo's had discovered that the three boys were unable to sleep in separate rooms, let alone separate beds, so they'd recommended for them to be given a private room where they could sleep peacefully. Dumbledore hadn't been particularly happy about it, but he'd given in eventually once Professors Sprout, Babbling, and McGonagall had pressed the matter, with Madam Pomfrey chiming in as well. That particular suite of rooms was usually used for important guests, especially around OWL and NEWT testing time, but as that was well in the future (and there was much more space in the castle to accommodate the testers than just that one suite), there wasn't much of a reason for Dumbledore to refuse them the use of it.
The suite was located behind a large painting of a regal-looking sphinx. They set the password to 'Queen of Serpents' in Parseltongue for their own use and instructed the sphinx not to otherwise let anyone in who wasn't approved, even if they could answer a riddle she posed them. At the top of that list, was, naturally, Albus Dumbledore and any of his sycophants. Sirius, Remus, Dobby, and Domie scanned the room to find any charms or spells that might be used to spy on the three boys. They also removed any and all paintings that might report back to Dumbledore, even if Lady Hogwarts said that she'd be able to keep them from doing so. The paintings were stored in the Room of Requirement's 'Room of Hidden Things' version, making all they could see be piles of useless garbage.
Anything valuable in there had long since been removed by the house elves under Lady Hogwarts' command, with the various books (save for those dealing with Black Arts) going to their appropriate places in either the classrooms or the library; the clothes going to the charity bin run by Professor Sprout for those who couldn't afford them or who had lost something; the gems and other precious items going into the vaults set aside for the running of Hogwarts that Dumbledore had yet to figure out how to use for his own gain; and the few complete suits of armor fixed and placed back in the halls. All that was left was broken junk that had absolutely no use whatsoever, making it a very dull place indeed. As such, the portraits' inhabitants were often found elsewhere, no doubt frustrating Dumbledore to no end.
Time passed until the day of the Weighing of the Wands was upon the four contestants. They were pulled from their classes (the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang contingents held their classes in their respective conveyances to Hogwarts) and taken to a classroom to have their wands examined by Garrick Ollivander. Harry wasn't particularly happy about the whole thing, as he'd been in the middle of a complex potion in class, but he couldn't exactly get out of it. It went better than in the previous timeline, as Rita wasn't looking for a tell-all scoop, though Ollivander spent quite a bit of time examining Harry's wand before he used it to conjure a delicate glass ornament in the shape of a badger. Harry took it and his wand from Ollivander, putting both in his dimensional store to keep them safe.
By the time the twenty-fourth had rolled around, the four contestants had met several times, mostly during meals, and had gotten to know one another some. Harry was pleased to find that Fleur and Viktor were far more friendly once they'd gotten over the shock of him being forced into the Tournament, and the two of them had agreed wholeheartedly to working with him and Cedric in between tasks.
"After all," Viktor mused two nights before the first task as they all sat together at the Hufflepuff table eating dessert, "we are meant to be having fun and promoting international cooperation, yes? The prize money..." He shrugged carelessly. "Eh. I don't care. I earn that much for playing one Quidditch match. It will be going to charity if I win anyways."
"Oh? What charity would you donate it to?" Fleur asked.
"A local magical charity from my hometown. It is called New Sun," Viktor replied. "It helps those..." He searched for the right words in English, "...those unable to help themselves, especially children, elderly, and Squibs."
"A worthy cause," Cedric said. "We have something like that here." He nodded at Harry. "Harry's family helped found the Wyvern Foundation. They do a lot of philanthropic work, including working to help those afflicted with lycanthropy. One of our professors is actually a werewolf, and his husband is the lead potions master for the Foundation."
"Which one?"
"Professor Lupin-Snape," Harry replied, gesturing at the head table in response to Fleur's question. "He's the one currently speaking with your headmaster. If, for some unknown reason, I win against you three, I'll be donating the winnings to the orphanage the Foundation runs. They need it more than I do."
Fleur laughed. "That's one way to make us all look bad," she joked. "Look, why don't we make a deal with one another? Regardless of who wins, we get together and portion the money out into four parts. We then donate that money to the charities of our choice. Harry's Foundation, Viktor's New Sun, and so on. Perhaps we can add a little more to each so it comes out to five hundred Galleons per donation. Would that work?"
"Maybe," Cedric said, looking thoughtful. "Or... Hm. You know, the Daily Prophet did an okay job with our photos, but what if we got together and had some printed up ourselves? We could offer them for sale in the paper, with the proceeds going to the four charities we want to support. Whoever wins can then do with their winnings as they like."
"I like it!" Viktor said, one hand coming down against the table with a sharp thump. "We will be living up to the spirit of the Tournament, as well as helping others." He grinned, looking very pleased. "I doubt our Ministries will be happy, but they are the ones who put this together, no? They can deal with it."
"It's free publicity for them, technically," Harry pointed out, and then smirked. "Assuming they get in on it at the right time. We just won't tell them when that is."
The laughter from the four contestants rang out through the hall, drawing attention briefly until it faded away.
~/~
The day of the first task was crisp and bright, with more than a hint of autumn chill to the air. The four contestants were taken to a tent located on the edge of a large clearing at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. The clearing itself was surrounded by tall viewing stands that resembled those surrounding the Quidditch pitch, blocking any sight of the interior of the clearing itself. Ludo Bagman was waiting for them in the tent, as well as Daniel Weatherby. Bagman gave the quartet a brilliant smile when he spotted them. He was wearing his old Wimbourne Wasps robes, the fabric stretched taut over his portly frame. A purple silk sack was in his hand, but it seemed far flatter than Harry remembered it being in the previous timeline. Perhaps they didn't have to fight dragons this time around.
"Ah, welcome, welcome!" he said brightly. "When the audience has finished assembling, I'll be offering each of you this bag, and my associate here will be offering you one of his own. You'll draw out the order you're going in from mine and the variety of the trial from his. The goal of your trials today is to get to the prize in the fastest time. There'll be obstacles along the way, so don't think you'll have an easy go of it! It will take a little time to reset between each trial, so don't worry about the time spent then. It won't count towards your scores. Speaking of, those will be given once everyone's gone through the trials."
Definitely not dragons, then, Harry thought. Interesting.
The sound of the crowd pouring into the stands resembled a dull roar flowing around them. Harry took a seat, figuring it would be some time until the crowd had finished sitting down. The others followed his example, clustering their chairs in close in an unconscious need for mutual support. Harry gave them a wan smile, one that Fleur returned, though she looked rather pale. Harry reached out for the comfort of his bondmates over the bond, but all he got was a distant echo of the usual warmth and love they shared.
It made Harry's heart and soul hurt.
At least he knew where Neville and Draco were; Sirius didn't have the same luxury. The house elves were working in rotating shifts to find James and Lily, but it was slow going even with their near-instant traveling abilities. Sirius had already come up with a detailed plan to absolutely (and mostly legally) ruin whoever had stolen his bondmates from him. Remus and Severus had promised to help, as had Narcissa and the three adult Longbottoms.
Remus had forwarded the opinion that it may have been Dumbledore who was behind it, as he'd already meddled with his and Severus' bond, and Harry agreed. It made the most sense, but they couldn't prove anything until they found the missing Potters. Harry was drawn out of his thoughts by Daniel Weatherby clearing his throat softly.
"Alright," he said as he stepped forward. "Let's get this started." He presented his bag to them. "Ladies first, please."
Fleur stood and then put her hand in the green silk bag. She drew out a token that had a light blue snowflake on it from within it, a small frown forming as she looked down at it.
"Now me!" Ludo said eagerly, shaking his bag at Fleur. She repeated her actions, drawing out a token with the number two on it from the bag.
"Mister Krum?"
Viktor got to his feet, drawing out a token with a brown leaf and the number one from the two bags. Cedric drew the number three and a token with a picture of an orange campfire on it. Harry stepped forward to take his turn, taking the number four and a token with a blue water drop on it.
"Now that you've all drawn your tokens, we'll explain them," Daniel said. "The numbers are the order in which you'll complete the task, and the other tokens represent the element you'll be dealing with during your task. You will be judged on how long the task takes you, the creativity with which you use to solve the task, and if you can retrieve the object of the task."
"That object," Ludo broke in, "can be found at the end of the task. It'll be the same for all of you." He grinned. "I can't wait to see how you do it. Mr. Krum, please come with us. The rest of you will go in order each time the bell signaling the next round sounds."
"Good luck, Viktor," Cedric said as Viktor followed Ludo and Daniel out of the tent. Harry and Fleur echoed the sentiment, watching them go. Time passed oddly for Harry after that. It seemed to speed up double-time as Viktor and then Cedric and Fleur went to undergo their tasks, and then it slowed to where it felt like it was being stretched like warm taffy. Harry startled when the bell rang out one last time and slowly got to his feet, adrenaline starting to course through his veins.
"And now, our fourth and final contestant: Harry Potter for Hogwarts!" Ludo announced cheerfully as Harry emerged from the tent. Daniel was waiting at the entrance of the tent and guided him to where he needed to be, which turned out to be a platform at one end of the clearing. There was a deep trench in the middle of the clearing that looked to be about fifty feet wide and spanned the entire width of the clearing itself. It was filled with water, and on the other side was the twin of the platform Harry was standing on; there was a wooden post with what looked like a box on top of it.
"Alright," Ludo said happily, "the challenge is as same as the others, but for Mister Potter's benefit, I'll explain it again. All he has to do is get from one side of the clearing to the other. Points are awarded for style, creativity, and how long it takes him to complete his task. The only tool he'll have available to him is his wand. Mister Potter, when you're ready, begin!"
Harry frowned before drawing his wand from its dimensional store. A simple Glacius would allow him to freeze the water and cross it, but he doubted that it would be that easy, nor would it get him a lot of points. Then again, he'd much rather be watching the tasks than participating in them, so the amount of points didn't really matter. With a shrug, Harry began casting at the water, freezing it carefully so he could move across it. As soon as one section was frozen to his satisfaction, he put a charm on his shoes to keep them from slipping and stepped out, freezing the still-open water ahead of him.
When he was halfway across, Harry paused to gauge just how much farther he had to go. That nearly proved to be his undoing, as several whip-thin red tendrils emerged from the water and tried to grab for him. Harry quickly backpedaled and shot a Stunner at the tendrils as he struggled to keep his footing, even with the charms on his shoes. It looked like this wasn't going to be as easy as he thought. He grinned, the expression almost feral. Alright, fine. If they wanted a performance, then they'd get it.
He cast several Severing Charms at the water in an attempt to drive off whatever was producing the tendrils before throwing an overpowered Glacius at the nearest patch of open water, forming a solid patch of ice. It wouldn't last very long, but it would be long enough.
Hopefully.
Harry couldn't help but laugh a little manically as he kept moving from hastily conjured ice platform to ice platform, avoiding the grasping tendrils as much as he could. He felt like he was playing the world's most dangerous game of leapfrog. He doubted the judges would let him die, but grievous bodily harm unfortunately wasn't out of the question. Harry barely made it to the wooden surface of the platform ahead of the tendrils. There were at least fifty of the blood-red things that slapped against the platform as Harry rolled away, panting heavily. There was a disappointed harsh cry that bubbled up from under the water as the tendrils slid back and then disappeared.
Harry took a moment to catch his breath before he heaved himself to his feet. His legs felt like rubber as he staggered to the wooden post and retrieved the wooden box from its top. The box turned out to be more a decorated cube than an actual box, as it didn't have a visible lid. Harry shrugged and then tucked it under his arm. Fuck it. He'd figure it out later. Right now all he wanted was to go lay down and sleep for at least twelve hours straight.
A wall of sound suddenly hit his ears as the crowd went wild. Harry winced and then subtly gestured with his wand, applying a mild Silencing Charm to his ears. The roar of the crowd went down to a tolerable rumble as Harry made his way to where Madam Pomfrey was waiting for him at the exit of the clearing. She led him to a tent where Fleur, Cedric, and Viktor were sitting; the latter two had minor injuries that were being treated by potion-soaked bandages. Fleur had several heavy blankets wrapped around her, but was shivering greatly nonetheless. There were three cubes identical to Harry's on a side table. Harry put his next to the others and then sank down onto an open bed near Fleur's.
Madam Pomfrey cast several diagnostic spells on Harry, her mouth pulled in a tight line. "Well, besides a mild case of magical exhaustion, you're doing alright," she said finally. "Better than I expected, given your circumstances."
Harry shrugged. "That's fine. Can I go now?"
Madam Pomfrey looked like she was about to refuse, but was interrupted by Ludo coming into the tent, beaming brightly.
"Alright, everyone ready to get their scores?" he asked, clapping his hands together sharply. He just barely stopped from rubbing them together like a cartoonish miser eager to count his wealth. Madam Pomfrey glared at him.
"Their scores can wait until they're healed," she told him, sparks coming from her wand in her annoyance. Ludo eyed the wand warily before stepping back.
"Alright, alright," he said, holding up a hand. "I'm sure we can wait... Uh, how long?"
"Ten minutes at the least," Madam Pomfrey replied firmly. "Now go."
Ludo's shoulders and face fell a little as he turned and went, making him look like a golden retriever denied a treat after performing a simple trick. Harry bit his lip in a bid to hold back his laughter while Ludo was still in the tent, but let it out once Ludo was gone. The others joined in not long after, the adrenaline rush of the first task starting to drain away now that the need for it was gone.
~/~
Once they were all healed and able to move, the four contestants headed back out to the clearing, which had by then been returned to its normal state. The judges were seated on a raised platform in the middle of the clearing, with Dumbledore at the center in his golden seat. The Ministry officials were to either side of him, with the remaining two Heads of Durmstrang and Beauxbatons at either end of the platform. Ludo bounced to his feet when he saw the four of them, his megawatt grin back on his face.
"And here are our four champions!" he announced, his Sonorus-enhanced voice ringing around the clearing. "We'll go in order of performance, so first up is Viktor Krum of Durmstrang!"
Viktor stepped forward, his sharp gaze focused on the judges. Madame Maxime went first, firing a ribbon into the air that twisted into a seven. Lysenko paused before sending up an eight, with Dumbledore echoing him a few seconds later. Ludo sent up a nine, while Daniel put up a seven.
"Thirty-nine out of fifty," Harry muttered to the others. "Not too bad."
"His injury wasn't too bad," Fleur replied as she clapped politely along with the crowd. "He took a half hour to get through his task, which is likely why the Madame and Monsieur Weatherby scored him so low. He got tangled in a Devil's Snare and tried to fight his way out before remembering himself."
Harry winced at that. He knew how badly Devil's Snare could harm someone if they struggled. Next up was Fleur, who got a thirty-five out of fifty, and then Cedric, who received forty points in total. Harry stepped forward, wishing he could make out his family amongst the crowd, and focused on the judges. Four out of the five gave him eights; it was Dumbledore who changed it up in the end. The Hogwarts Headmaster paused for a long moment before sending up his score.
"A ten?" Harry spluttered amidst the raucous cheering from the Hogwarts supporters in the crowd. "The hell is he playing at?"
"Don't ask me," Cedric replied as the four of them headed back to the tent to retrieve their cubes, which Madam Pomfrey had been guarding. "Still, you did finish the fastest out of all of us. You barely took ten minutes to get across."
"I had sufficient impetus. To be honest, I just want to get through these tasks without dying. I don't care if I win," Harry said.
"Maybe not," Viktor replied, holding the tent flap back for the others as they went inside, "but you still did a good job. I believe you got your score fairly. Besides, you were the only one who was not injured."
"Fleur wasn't."
"I don't do well with the cold," Fleur told him. "As part Veela, it affects me more greatly. We are creatures of fire and air, not cold and wet."
Harry nodded, absently wondering if that was why she'd had such trouble with the second task in the prior timeline. The grindylows were certainly a part of it, but the fact that she'd been submerged in freezing cold water couldn't have helped matters any.
"Do you guys want to come back to my quarters for a little while?" Harry asked before they left the tent. "It'll be far quieter than the parties that are undoubtedly going to be raging by the time we get back."
"Merlin, that sounds amazing," Cedric said almost instantly, with Fleur and Viktor agreeing as well.
"I just want some peace and quiet," Viktor said. "The noise of the crowd- I'm used to it because of Quidditch, but I could use some rest before I face the others." He hefted his cube in one hand. "And perhaps we can start figuring these out together?"
"Then let's get out of here before someone stops us." Harry led the way out of the tent and back up to the school, relying on sending a message via his communications mirror to let Sirius (and by extension, the rest of the Potter-Black-Longbottom family and close friends, as well as Gabrielle Delacour, who had been almost instantly adopted into the group by Luna) know what was going on and to not worry if they couldn't find him immediately.
The castle was quiet for the moment as the four of them headed to their destination, which was a merciful break indeed. They made it into the living room beyond the sphinx's portrait just in time, as Lady Hogwarts reported to Harry. Thankfully, that was one thing the Goblet of Fire hadn't managed to touch, as the bond with the castle was so intertwined with the wards and the other Founders' magics that it couldn't be muted as much as the trichromatic bond. That, and as the hosting school, Hogwarts was given a little more leeway in being able to maintain its protective magics, which meant that Lady Hogwarts was able to give Harry and Neville (and, by extension, Draco) some relief from the ache of the incomplete ache of the muted bond.
Harry directed Fleur to the armchair closest to the fire before he took a seat on the loveseat opposite her. Cedric and Viktor sprawling out on various other seats nearby. The four contestants reveled in the peace and quiet, the puzzling cubes laying forgotten on the low coffee table in the middle of the seating area. They could figure them out later. For the time being, none of them cared about the Tournament. They didn't need to, after all. They'd gotten through the first task and had lived to tell the tale.