I do not own Harry Potter. Direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire will be in bold. Harry Potter belongs to the wonderful J.K Rowling.

Something Strange Is Going On

"Hey, Harry!"

The Hufflepuff glanced up at the sound of his name. He set down his History of Magic homework as his sister walked over to him. Despite it being lunchtime, the library was pretty empty, leaving the boy to do his essay in peace.

"What's up?" he asked.

Charlie dropped into a wooden chair situated across the table from Harry. "Well, I was going to ask if you were busy, but it seems like you are, so I won't ask."

"I'd like a break, to be honest." Harry rolled up his parchment. "I'm halfway through the essay and my brain feels like it's going to drip out of ears."

"When did you start it?"

"This morning," replied Harry with a sheepish grin. "I should have started it last night like Hermione said to, but Ron dragged me over to the Owlery so he could send his letter to Percy. When I got back to the Hufflepuff Common Room, it was filled with giggling first year girls. So I didn't even bother with homework and went straight to bed."

"I've finished mine, so I can help you with it later," offered Charlie.

"Best friend ever," declared Harry, flinging his book and paper into his bag. "What do you want to do?"

"I figured we could continue working on our telepathy," she said in a low voice, in case anyone was lingering in the stacks.

"Sounds good," Harry agreed. "I think one more bonding session should do it and then we can work on speaking to each other with our minds. I mean, we're already experiencing each other's pain and emotions. We can't be too far away from our goal."

"I thought we could do some trust exercises."

Harry glanced at her in confusion. "Trust exercises?"

"Yeah. Things we do to help improve our trust of each other. For example, there's an exercise where one of us falls and we have to trust the other to catch us," explained Charlie.

"That sounds okay." Harry stood up and slung his bag over his shoulder. "Where do you wanna go?"

"It's pretty nice outside."

Since the approach of March, the snow was slowly melting into a slushy mess and the sun was in the bluish grey sky. It wasn't terribly warm, but the lack of bitter wind made it bearable. The two teens headed down the corridor and into the Entrance Hall. Harry shoved open the large wooden doors and stepped on the slick stone step. "Where to?"

"You stay there," she instructed. She hurried down the steps and went around to the side, where Harry towered over her. She glanced up at him. "Turn around and fall."

Harry arched an eyebrow. While he wasn't terribly far from the ground, the impact would still hurt should Charlie fail to catch him. "Fall?"

"Yeah. Just keep leaning back until you fall over the edge. I'll catch you."

"Alright. But if I get a concussion, you get to tell Madame Pomfrey what happened." Harry turned around and stood precariously close to the edge of the top stone step. He allowed himself to keep leaning backwards until he pitched off the edge completely. A second of rushing wind was halted by a soft oof as Charlie caught him, her arms wrapped around his waist.

"That went well," she said, regaining her footing. "Now it's my turn!"

"Do Muggles really do these things as trust exercises?" Harry asked.

"Yeah. Why?"

"It seems a bit too…simple."

Charlie got to the top step and got near the edge. She promptly turned and fell, leaving to Harry to scramble to catch his sister. The force combined with his unpreparedness nearly sent them both to the ground, but Harry managed to right himself.

"Well, it's supposed to be simple," Charlie said, pulling herself from her brother's grip. "I mean, you can't do anything complicated when you're starting to build trust."

"But we already trust each other," pointed out Harry. "I think we need to step it up a notch."

"Like?"

Harry pointed to the Black Lake. "What if I levitated you over the water? You'd have to trust that I have the power and concentration to make sure you'd get to bank safe and dry."

"That is definitely extreme," agreed Charlie, slightly amused. "Much too extreme for a Hufflepuff to come up with."

"I have my moments." Harry grinned.

Even though she had a feeling that, despite their well-intentions, something was going to go wrong, she followed Harry to the lake anyway. He took his position near the bank and pointed his wand at Charlie. "Ready?"

"Fire away."

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

Charlie was slowly lifted off her feet and hovered over the water. She tried to stay as still as possible, but she couldn't resist a glance over her shoulder. Harry was stock still, his wand pointed at her. His face was twisted up in concentration as he guided Charlie over the water.

Just as she reached the halfway point, a crack of thunder sounded, startling Harry out of his concentration. Charlie had a split second to think blast and then she was tumbling through the air, crashing into the chilly water below.

The second she submerged Harry was already charging through the water. When he was waist-high he dove under the surface and started kicking madly. He soon reached his sister, who yet to move due to the shock of the cold, grabbed her hand and yanked her back to the bank.

"Okay," she wheezed, spluttering out water. "I'm getting tired of that lake."

"I'm so sorry," her brother panted, collapsing into the mud beside her. "Remind me not to have another idea again."

Charlie laughed. "Hey, we're even now. I saved you from merpeople and you saved me from possibly drowning. That's a great trust exercise. Nothing better than saving someone from death."

The rain started then, pelting the siblings with frigid drops. Soaked, shivering and covered in mud, they made their way back to the castle.

"So," spoke Charlie. "Which one of us gets the honor of explaining this to Madame Pomfrey?"

"Can't we just succumb to hyperthermia?"

Charlie snorted. "With my track record? No thanks. There's no way I'm dying from anything other than Voldemort. Or the Tournament. Whichever gets to me first."

…

Madame Pomfrey wasn't at all happy with them. Not wanting to give the true reason for their little accident, Charlie merely said that they had gotten too close to the lake and stumbled in. A dose of Pepper-Up Potion, a warming spell and a lecture later, the twins were released.

"We don't have classes this afternoon." Harry brushed a chunk of mud from his robes. "How about we get changed and do something with Ron and Hermione?"

"Hermione's probably helping Ron with his essay. We can meet them in the library after I give Dobby his present, if you want."

"Are you delivering it personally?" Harry asked.

"Yeah. He might be busy, so I don't want to call him away."

"Then I'll meet you in the kitchen."

Charlie nodded. "Sounds good. See you soon."

The raven-haired girl hurried to her dorm, changed and grabbed Dobby's present. Hermione was nowhere to be found, so she knew that her assumption was correct-the girl was indeed in the library, most likely with Ron.

She hurried to the portrait that served as the entrance to the kitchen, tickled the pear and was granted access. She entered the kitchen to see dozens and dozens of house-elves scurrying about. The second they noticed her they all dipped into a bow and chorused, "Good afternoon!"

"Good afternoon," she returned with a smile. She went over to Harry, who was happily eating éclairs from a silver platter. "You got right into it, didn't you?"

"I love these things," Harry said through a mouthful of pastry. "Want one?"

"No thanks. Have you seen Dobby?"

His name had barely left her lips when the small creature hurtled forwards. "Mistress has come to see Dobby!"

"I have." Charlie bent down and handed him the bag. "This a present to say thanks for the Gillyweed."

Dobby's bright green eyes lit up as he rifled through the pairs of multicoloured socks. "Dobby loves socks almost as much as he loves Charlotte Potter!"

Touched beyond words, she gave him a tight hug. "Anything for you. Although, if you're going to get me something and that something belongs to another person, could you ask permission first?"

Dobby nodded rapidly. "Dobby will!"

Satisfied, Charlie stood. "Great!" Her gaze wandered and she spotted Winky sitting in front of the fire, a bottle of Butterbeer clutched in her small hand. She was swaying from side to side, her eyes slightly unfocussed. "Um…how is she doing?"

"Not good," Dobby said in low tones. "She be going through six bottles of Butterbeer a day. It's very strong to us house-elves. She is taking loss of her master very hard. She doesn't understand that Professor Dumbledore is her master now."

"Hey, Winky," called Harry. "Do you know why Mr. Crouch has stopped coming to the Tournament?"

Charlie slapped her forehead. "Not the time," she hissed.

Winky turned to look at them. "Master has stopped coming?"

"Since the first task," confirmed Harry, ignoring Charlie's gestures for him to be quiet. "The Daily Prophet says he's ill."

Winky's eyes started to water. "Master cannot manage without Winky! He is ill, he needs Winky to look after him!"

"I'm sure he's fine," Charlie said quickly. "Can't really trust the Prophet these days."

"And Mr. Crouch can look after himself," added Harry. "The guy can do his own housework. So don't worry."

But that only served to make Winky whimper. "Master does not need Winky for just housework!" she cried indigently. "He is trusting me with his most important secret!"

"What's that?" Harry asked interestedly. Charlie glared. She really needed to teach him when to quit.

As she expected, Winky grew defensive. "You stop nosing into master's life!"

Dobby whirled and glared. "Winky will not talk that way to Loopy! Loopy is Charlotte Potter's greatest friend, a most noble wizard! He shall be treated with respect!"

Harry's face grew red, from embarrassment or pleasure, Charlie didn't know.

"Winky will talk how she likes! Winky only takes orders from master! Winky will keep master's secrets! Winky will-"

She did not get to finish her sentence, as she suddenly tipped out of her chair and fell asleep on the stone floor, snoring softly. A few house-elves hurried forwards and covered the poor creature with a tablecloth, hiding her from sight.

"Come now, I'm sure that's not necessary," persuaded Charlie. "I mean, the poor thing just lost her master, who she loved dearly. You ought to give her time, cheer her up, not hide her."

"Winky should be happy!" One house-elf said earnestly. "She is working for a great master, and there is work to be done!"

"Don't tell Hermione that one," she muttered to Harry. Turning to the group of house-elves, she smiled. "Thank you, for allowing our intrusion."

"No intrusion at all!" a house-elf said happily. "Charlotte Potter and friends are always welcome here!"

"Thanks." Charlie bent down and whispered in Dobby's ear, "Do you think you could keep an eye on Winky? Perhaps make her feel comfortable, cheer her up?"

"Dobby will do his best," he said determinedly.

"I know you will." Charlie straightened and waved. "Goodbye! Thank you for all your hard work!"

"Thank you for the present!" Dobby waved madly.

Charlie and Harry left the kitchen. "What do you think Winky's secret is?" Harry asked.

The girl heaved a sigh. "Whatever it is, I have a horrible feeling that it might explain Mr. Crouch's strange behaviour."

Harry eyed his sister knowingly. "You don't think it's a good secret, do you?"

"No secrets in this place are ever good," she grumbled.

…

"Albus, have you read article in Witch Weekly?"

The esteemed Headmaster of Hogwarts turned to his Herbology teacher. "I can't say I have. I haven't much time for reading, to be honest."

"It's a horrible article," Filius said, an uncharacteristic note of bitterness in his voice. "Rita painted poor Miss Granger to look like a scarlet woman."

"How do you mean?" Albus questioned.

"Apparently, Miss Granger is stealing any male who shows even a semblance of interest in Miss Potter," informed Filius, stabbing at his potatoes. "It's utterly preposterous."

"I thought you banned her from the grounds?" Minerva asked, eyes narrowed.

"I have." Albus looked thoughtful. "I do not know how she continues to get these interviews, but the moment I have an inkling I will put a stop to it. How is Miss Granger taking this unjust slander?"

"Remarkably well," informed Filius. "She hasn't come to me with any complaints, so I believe no one is taking it seriously. No one in this castle, at least."

"With the exception of the Slytherins," added Pomona. "I've heard many a remark on that blasted article."

Severus gave a shrug as a few pairs of eyes fell on him. "I cannot control the words that come from the mouths of my Snakes. If there is a situation where I need to intervene, then I shall."

"Oh dear."

Pomona's eyes were locked on the swarm of owls descending on the Ravenclaw table, jostling to land near Hermione Granger. "I think this a situation where intervention may be needed," she said.

The eyes of Filius, Severus, Albus, Minerva and Pomona were locked on the bushy-haired girl. By the red flush that intensified with each letter she read, it was obvious that the contents were less than flattering.

"Poor thing," said Minerva sympathetically. "Girl doesn't deserve this treatment."

Horrified gasps erupted when Hermione opened the last envelope, which resulted in Undiluted Bubotuber pus splattering all over her hands. Before anyone could react, she jumped up from the bench and flew from the Great Hall, rubbing her hands madly.

"Ooh, if I find out who sent that…"Filius grumbled and hopped from his stack of cushions, scurrying out of the Hall to aid his Eagle.

"Foolish girl," Pomona suddenly snapped, getting out of her seat as quickly as Filius. She was over at the Ravenclaw table in an instant, her fingers wrapping around Charlie's wrist before she could harm herself by touching the yellowish-green liquid. "Did you not just see what happened to Granger?"

Emerald eyes wide, Charlie stared at her Herbology professor. "Um…not really," she said. "She ran out without an explanation."

"And you still were going to touch it?"

A faint blush crept up the girl's neck. "No!" She said quickly. "I was just going to flip the envelope over to see who sent it."

"I assure you, no address will be written. Not unless the sender was a complete idiot." Pomona tapped the envelope with her wand and the pus disappeared.

"Professor? What does this stuff do?"

"Causes painful sores to appear on the area of skin that was contaminated," explained Pomona. "She'll be fine, so long as she went straight to Madame Pomfrey."

"Oh. Um…I don't think she'll be in Herbology this morning, ma'am."

An amused smile crossed Pomona's face despite her efforts to hold it back. "I gathered that, Miss Potter."

…

It was well into Care of Magical Creatures when Hermione returned, her hands wrapped up in bandages. The rest of the class were too engrossed in finding coins with the Nifflers that had been given to them. Taking her eyes off of her Niffler, Charlie went over to her friend. "How're you feeling?"

"Fine," she muttered. "But I swear I'm going to get Rita Skeeter back if it's the last thing I do!"

"She's going to get herself thrown in Azkaban," Ron whispered, causing Harry to grin.

"Hermione! Where have yeh been?" Hagrid asked, coming over to them.

"Hospital wing. Someone sent me Undiluted Bubotuber pus in an envelope," Hermione sighed. "It's all thanks to Skeeter."

"Don't open anymore letters," warned Hagrid. "I went through the same thing. People can be cruel, but don't take it teh heart."

Hermione gave a nod of agreement. Hagrid then turned to the rest of the class and called for them to bring over their Nifflers. As the creatures had a talent for sniffing out gold and other shiny treasures, the students were holding the coins their Niffler had found. Ron had the most leprechaun gold coins and was rewarded with a slab of chocolate.

"Man, I wish I had a Niffler," Ron said wistfully as he and his friends walked back to the castle after helping Hagrid pack the Nifflers in their boxes. "It would solve all my problems."

"They tear up the house, you know," reminded Harry. "I don't think your mother would be too pleased to find her kitchen torn apart."

"I can dream, can't I?" Ron took a bite of his chocolate.

"You gonna share that?" Harry asked.

"Nope."

…

Hermione disposed of all hate mail over the following week, but she couldn't do much about the Howlers. She was forced to sit stiffly as the insults were screamed at her, her eyes burning with fire. With each passing day she grew more determined to get her revenge on Rita Skeeter.

"Look, what she does is horrible, but I don't think tangling with her is going to make this situation any better," Charlie tried to reason one day as they walked from their Defense Against the Dark Arts class. It had been a test of hex-deflecting, and she had managed to go through the whole class without getting struck.

"Oh no, she's not getting away with this," said Hermione furiously. "I don't understand how she's getting on the grounds without getting noticed!"

"Invisibility Cloak?" Ron suggested.

"No, I asked Professor Moody after class when you guys were packing up. He said he hasn't seen her since the first task."

"You're going to get hung up on this, aren't you?" Ron asked warily.

"It's killing me! I need to know how she's doing it. And once I find out, she's going to feel my wrath!"

She stormed off, no doubt to the library, which was always her go-to when a difficult problem arose. Charlie looked after her and shook her head. "Skeeter better watch it."

"You think she'll figure it out?" Ron questioned.

"It's Hermione. She always figures it out."

They didn't see much of the bushy-haired girl for the next few weeks, but they were grateful that she wasn't pulling them into her investigation. When the Easter holidays rolled around, Percy's answer to Ron's letter finally arrived during the Easter feast.

The ginger came over to the Ravenclaw table with the letter and a package. He waved Harry over and the bespectacled boy hurried across the Great Hall. The boys crouched behind their female friends, who abandoned their forks. "What'd he say?" Charlie asked eagerly.

"He's being his usually pratty self," Ron muttered with a scowl. "He says that he hasn't actually seen Crouch lately, but he keeps sending instructions by owl. Apparently, Crouch is taking a break."

"I guess that's the only answer we're going to get," Hermione sighed. "What's in the package?"

Ron tore it open, revealing four chocolate eggs. Three of them were rather large and the last was rather tiny. Hermione picked the tiny egg up and stared at it sadly. "I'm guessing your mom has read the Prophet?"

Ron gave an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry. I can talk to her, if you'd like."

"No, it's fine." Hermione glumly shoved the egg into her mouth and ate it in a few bites.

"You can share mine," offered Charlie. "It's too much chocolate for me to eat alone."

"And toffee," added Harry, who had split his egg open to reveal dozens of toffees.

With a scowl, Hermione snatched a toffee from Harry's egg and munched on it. "Mark my words, I will get Skeeter if it's the last thing I do."

…

The last week of May arrived quicker than Charlie would have liked. Flitwick sent her to the Quidditch field at nine in the evening, where Ludo Bagman would inform her and the other champions of the third and final task.

Charlie shuffled across the grass, wishing that she could be practicing Quidditch with her Ravenclaw teammates. When she reached the pitch, it was to see that the normally flat surface was filled with twisting hedges.

"Any idea with this is about?"

Angelina came up to her, face a mask of confusion. Charlie shook her head. "Sorry, no clue."

"Hello, Champions!" Ludo greeted cheerfully. "Come on over!"

The man was standing on the other side of the pitch. Krum and Fleur were already there, and the Beauxbatons girl gave Charlie a dazzling smile. She smiled back and started climbing over the hedges with Angelina. "Do you think the hedges will stay the same size?"

Angelina grinned. "Nah. That'd be too easy."

They climbed over the last hedge and joined the others. Ludo clapped his hands together. "Hagrid is doing a wonderful job with these hedges. In a month they'll be twenty feet high!"

Angelina jabbed Charlie in the side with her elbow. "Told you," she whispered.

"Any guesses as to what the next task will be?" Ludo asked.

"A maze?" Charlie guessed, eyeing the way the hedges snaked about.

"That's it!" Ludo beamed. "The Triwizard Cup will be in the very center, and the first person to reach it will get full marks! Of course, Hagrid will be supplying creatures to put in the maze, and there will be spells and other obstacles."

"Sounds simple enough," Fleur stated.

You haven't seen the kinds of creatures Hagrid's in love with, thought Charlie warily.

"Now, Charlotte and Angelina will go first, then Viktor and then Fleur. You'll all have a fair chance, of course, so don't fret. Any questions?"

The four champions shook their heads. Ludo nodded. "Alright, then, back up to the castle."

As they started to wind their way through the hedges, Charlie could see Ludo coming towards her out of the corner of her eye. Before he got close, however, a hand fell on her shoulder. "Can I talk vith you?" Krum asked.

Surprised, Charlie nodded. "Yeah, sure."

"Can ve take a valk?"

"Sure," she repeated, slightly baffled. She and Krum had not spoken much since the beginning of the Tournament, so this was new.

They walked towards the Forbidden Forest, stopping just at the edge. Krum took a look around to ensure they were alone. "Charlotte, can you tell me something?"

"I'll try," she promised. "What's up?"

"Does Herm-own-ninny like your two friends?"

Realization struck Charlie and she managed to resist the urge to laugh. "No," she said reassuringly. "Harry and Ron are just her friends. Nothing more. Rita Skeeter likes to write about lies." When Krum still looked dubious, she added, "I promise, nothing is going on between Hermione and Harry or Hermione and Ron."

Krum nodded slowly, looking a bit happier. "That is good to know. You are a good flyer, Charlotte. I vas vatching the vay you handled the dragon."

"Thanks." Charlie smiled. "You're really amazing, too. You were so cool at the Quidditch World Cup. The way you-"

A sudden rustling came from the Forest and Charlie froze. She motioned for Krum to move around her and she pulled out her wand, staring at the foliage intently. Krum stared over her shoulder anxiously. "Vot is in there?"

"Lots of unfriendly things," she muttered, eyes locked on the shadowy figure.

Soon it stumbled into view, revealing itself to be a man. Charlie squinted to see who it was and her emerald eyes grew wide. "Mr. Crouch?"

The man looked horrible. The knees of his robes were ripped and blood stained the frays. His face was covered in angry red scratches and his face was grey. He moved about the edge of the forest, chattering madly and making rapid hand motions.

"…Weatherby, I need you to send an owl to Dumbledore. Karkaroff has just informed me of the amount of Durmstrang students that will be attending, the number is twelve…"He instructed a great oak tree.

"Isn't he a judge?" Krum whispered.

Charlie nodded, her stomach flipping as she observed Crouch. Something was horribly wrong, and she knew in that instant that there was much, much more to the mystery of Mr. Crouch than she initially thought.

"Mr. Crouch?" she said softly, carefully moving over to the man.

"And to be sure to tell Madame Maxime the amount of students Karkaroff is bringing," he continued. "She'll want to bring the number up, no doubt. Do that for, Weatherby, please. Please?"

He then dropped to his knees and Charlie hurried to his side, worry twisting her gut. "Mr. Crouch, sir, are you alright?" she asked anxiously.

"I need to see Dumbledore!" he gasped, hand shooting forwards and grabbing at Charlie's blue Ravenclaw robes. "Right…away!"

"Okay," she said soothingly, placing her hand over his. "We'll go get Dumbledore, you just have to stand up."

"I've done…horrible thing," he muttered, eyes staring over Charlie's shoulder. "Must tell Dumbledore right away."

"We'll do that, sir, you just need-"

Crouch's eyes focussed and he stared at the raven-haired girl sitting by his side. "Who're you?"

"I'm Charlotte," she informed, slightly alarmed by the memory damage Crouch was displaying. "I'm a Ravenclaw student."

"One of Dumbledore's?"

Charlie nodded. "That's right."

"I need to see him," Crouch said hoarsely. Then he went into another fit of senseless babbling, delivering instructions to the non-present Percy.

"You stay here, I'll go get Dumbledore."

"He is out of his mind," Krum said, eyeing Crouch warily.

"I know, but we need to get help." She moved to stand, but Crouch's grip increased and he pulled her back down. His eyes were wide and fearful, and he was staring at her in desperation.

"Please don't leave," he croaked. "Must warn Dumbledore…horrible thing…escaped…must tell Dumbledore…Bertha dead…my fault…Dark Lord stronger…my fault…help me, Charlotte Potter."

Her heart squeezed and she lowered herself to the grass, taking Crouch's hand in a firm grip. "Krum, do you know where Dumbledore's office is?"

"Yes," Krum said. "He summoned Fleur and I there a few days after ve vere chosen as champions."

"I need you to go there, get Dumbledore, and tell him we've found Mr. Crouch and that something is wrong. If you don't know the password, start screaming, shouting, make a racket. Someone will come."

Krum nodded and he took off, sprinting for the castle. Charlie patted Crouch's hand, and the man seemed to be calmer at her presence. "Everything will be fine, Mr. Crouch, don't you worry."

"You'll stay?" Crouch croaked.

"Yes, I'll stay. My friend has gone to get help, Dumbledore will be here soon. Everything will be fine."

No sooner were the words out of her mouth when a soft Stupefy reached her ears.

A split second later, she was drowning in darkness, with absolutely no clue as to who her assailant was, and no way to help the defenseless Bartemius Crouch.