Chapter Twenty-Five!
31th of October 1994
During the next day classes continued as normal, but no one paid their schoolwork any mind, instead focusing on who was going to be in the Tournament. Ron had been telling anybody that would listen that the blond-haired Beauxbatons girl who had briefly visited their table to take a portion of one of the trays that wasn't at the Ravenclaw table was a Veela. Harry really didn't see what the big deal was. Sure, she was quite good-looking, but it wasn't like she was some sort of modern day Cleopatra or Helen of Troy or something, he had fucked better-looking girls, Hermione, Luna and Medusa, only naming a few. Maybe it was the Veela Allure he'd heard so much about that made seemingly every male aside from himself and a scant handful of others hallucinate? Whatever it was, if he heard another one of his fellow classmates wax poetical about her unmatched beauty he was going to be sorely tempted to turn her into his pet or something just to prove she was nothing special.
They found out that the Durmstrang and the Beauxbatons students had put their names in the Goblet the night before. There was a rumour that some of Hogwarts students put their name in it the night before as well, but nobody was talking - which was just downright bizarre considering how fast gossip spread in Hogwarts. Another piece of news was that while the two foreign schools sat with the Ravens and Snakes, they were still sleeping and spending most of their time in their respective transportation vehicles.
The only students below 17 that had openly admitted to trying to enter their names were the Weasley twins and Lee Jordan, who were sporting long Dumbledore-like beards. This wouldn't have been too bad if they hadn't been stroking them in disturbing manners all day…
Harry thought their actions were rather foolish. He might not trust the Headmaster much these days, but he knew that an Aging Potion wouldn't fool Dumbledore's Age Line. He laughed along with Hermione when they'd caught sight of the two full-time and one part-time pranksters with identical long white beards. Harry hoped it would teach the trio to think things through first.
All of last night and most of that day, Harry and those near him had to deal with Ron bitching about Cedric Diggory putting his name in the Goblet. The fool never did like Diggory for taking the snitch in their third year from Harry, even though it was a fair take. Harry might not like it, but he had to admit that Diggory found a chance and he took it when those awful soul eating bastards, the Dementors, entered the pitch, causing Harry black out. Harry would freely admit he'd have done the same - it was part of the game, finding the chance to win.
For Harry and Hermione, it was just a normal day, they didn't care about who or who wasn't going to be in the Tournament - although they were supportive of Angelina, who entered her name. If her name was pulled out and she won, getting things for his tribe would be easier for her, being Triwizard Tournament Champion would grant her quite a bit of leeway.
Lastly, Hermione, Luna and Medusa had been briefed about his libido problems being solved for the most part. The girls were relieved, happy nothing was wrong with him. Hermione found the idea very funny once she was sure everything was alright. The idea that she was making a part of her Alpha jealous was flattering. She hatched a plan to seduce him when and if he ever made a human/wolf hybrid form to make sure it was known that she was Harry's; belonging to all of him.
By half past five it was growing dark, and Harry and Hermione were in the Great Hall early so they could get the best seats. They didn't care about who entered the Tournament, but that didn't mean that they didn't want to see who entered. And should Angelina's name come out, they wanted to cheer her on.
When they entered the candlelit Great Hall it was almost full. The Goblet of Fire had been moved; it was now standing in front of Dumbledore's empty chair at the teachers' table. Fred and George - clean-shaven again - seemed to have taken their disappointment fairly well.
"Hope it's Angelina." Fred spoke up as he and his twin brother sat down near Harry and Hermione.
"So do I." Hermione agreed.
The Halloween feast seemed to take much longer than usual.
Perhaps because it was their second feast in two days, Harry didn't seem to fancy the extravagantly prepared food as much as he would have normally. Like everyone else in the Hall, judging by the constantly craning necks, the impatient expressions on every face, the fidgeting, and the standing up to see whether Dumbledore had finished eating yet, Harry simply wanted the plates to clear, and to hear who had been selected as Champions.
At long last, the golden plates returned to their original spotless state and there was a sharp upswing in the level of noise within the Hall, which died away almost instantly as Dumbledore got to his feet. On either side of him, Professor Karkaroff and Madame Maxime looked as tense and expectant as anyone. Ludo Bagman was beaming and winking at various students. Mr. Crouch, however, looked quite uninterested, almost bored.
"Well, the Goblet is almost ready to make its decision," said Dumbledore. "I estimate that it requires one more minute before it activates. Now, when the champions' names are called, do not be alarmed by what happens. When all of the champions are selected we shall all go through into the next chamber," He indicated the door behind the staff table, "Where instructions for the first task will be given."
He took out his wand and gave a great sweeping wave with it; at once, all the candles except those inside the carved pumpkins were extinguished, plunging them into a state of semi-darkness. The Goblet of Fire now shone more brightly than anything in the whole Hall, the sparkling bright, bluey-whiteness of the flames almost painful on the eyes. Everyone watched, waiting. A few of the more impatient people kept checking their watches.
"Any second now…" Lee Jordan whispered, a few seats away from Harry.
The flames inside the goblet turned suddenly red again. Sparks began to fly from it. A moment later a tongue of flame shot into the air, a charred piece of parchment fluttered out of it - the whole room gasped.
Dumbledore caught the piece of parchment and held it at arm's length, so that he could read it by the light of the flames, which had turned back to blue-white.
"The champion for Durmstrang…" He read, in a strong, clear voice. To the surprise of everyone in the Hall, Victor in particular, Viktor Krum appeared in a column of blue-white fire in front of the goblet, looking very surprised and slightly disoriented. "…Will be Viktor Krum." Dumbledore finished.
"No surprises there!" yelled Ron as a storm of applause and cheering swept the Hall.
"Bravo, Viktor!" Karkaroff boomed, so loudly that everyone could hear him, even over all the applause. "Knew you had it in you!"
The clapping and chatting died down as everyone's attention was focused again on the Goblet, which, seconds later, turned red once more. A second piece of parchment shot out of it, propelled by the flames. "The champion for Beauxbatons…" Dumbledore started again, pausing as Fleur Delacour stepped out of a column of fire gracefully next to Viktor, "…Is Fleur Delacour!"
"It's her, Ron!" Dean shouted as the girl who Ron claimed was a Veela was chosen.
"Oh my, they look terribly disappointed." Hermione said over the noise, nodding toward the remainder of the Beauxbatons party.
Disappointed was a bit of an understatement, Harry thought. Two of the girls who had apparently entered their names and had not been chosen dissolved into tears, sobbing with their heads on their arms.
As Harry was rolling his eyes at the two drama queens the Goblet of Fire turned red once more; sparks showered out of it; the tongue of flame shot high into the air, and from its tip Dumbledore pulled the third piece of parchment. "The Hogwarts champion…" A dazed looking Cedric Diggory was spat out from a flash of flames. A second later he beamed, happy to be chosen, "…Is Cedric Diggory!"
"No!" Ron exclaimed loudly, but nobody heard him as the uproar from the next table was too great. Every single Hufflepuff had jumped to his or her feet, screaming and stamping their feet, as Cedric waved at them from his position next to Fleur.
Harry was somewhat sad that Angelina name hadn't been picked, but he was happy for Diggory, for once Hufflepuff had the spot light, and he had to nothing to worry about.
"Harry… why aren't the Champions lined up properly?" Hermione asked slowly.
"What do you mean, Hermione?" Harry replied, trying to see what she meant.
"Well, there's three Champions all lined up in front of the Goblet perfectly, it stands to reason that Fleur, the middle Champion, would be standing exactly in front of the cup, but the cup is exactly in the middle of Fleur and Cedric, suggesting that there's one more person…" She explained.
Harry's brain processed her argument and noticed that yes, the Champions were lined up crooked. He rubbed the bridge of his nose as a sinking feeling made itself known in his gut, "Oh bloody fucking damn it." He muttered as he felt something latch onto his magic.
"What's wrong, Harry?" Hermione asked, concerned for her Alpha, but all he did, was glumly point towards the cup. Her mind quickly latched onto the same vein of thought his had and she mirrored his glum look as she began to suspect what was going to happen. She had to wonder why it was always her Alpha getting into these sorts of things…
The rest of the hall was ignorant of their conversation, not caring or not being able to hear them over the other students talking, and Dumbledore continued, "Excellent!" He called happily as at last the tumult died down. "Well, we now have our three champions. I am sure I can count on all of you, including the remaining students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, to give your Champions every ounce of support you can muster. By cheering your Champion on, you will contribute in a very real -"
But Dumbledore suddenly stopped speaking, and it was apparent to everybody what had distracted him.
The fire in the goblet had just turned red again. Sparks were flying out of it. A long flame shot suddenly into the air, and borne upon it was another piece of parchment.
Automatically, it seemed, Dumbledore reached out a long hand and seized the parchment. He held it out and stared at the name written upon it. There was a long pause, during which Dumbledore stared at the slip in his hands, and everyone in the room stared at Dumbledore. The old Headmaster cleared his throat and was about to speak when Harry's vision flipped inside out and he found himself standing next to Cedric. "…What the bloody hell just happened?" He asked dazedly. While his exclamation was relatively quiet the entire Hall heard him because it was still deathly silent. Harry grimaced and rubbed his shoulder. Broken wings don't heal overnight and it was still quite tender.
"Harry Potter." Dumbledore finished lamely.
The silence was broken, not by applause, but by a quickly building buzzing, as though of angry bees were starting to fill the Hall; some students were standing up to get a better look at Harry, not believing he was standing there.
A little bit behind the Champions Professor McGonagall got to her feet and swept past Ludo Bagman and Professor Karkaroff to whisper urgently to Professor Dumbledore, who bent his ear toward her, frowning slightly.
The buzzing increased as the two professors had a whispered conversation, McGonagall looking furious, before they finally parted. Dumbledore walked over to the Champions and gestured towards the door "Please proceed into the next chamber, we'll discuss what just happened inside." He said tiredly.
Harry stayed there although he could feel the 'weight' of the Goblet's magic on him. He looked into Hermione's eyes as she quickly made her way towards him, ignoring the other students, "Hermione, you need to know that I didn't put my name in the Goblet." He told her once she reached him.
"I know, Harry," Hermione said, "You wanted a 'normal' year for once, I know you wouldn't do this. At least unless you talked about it to me and Luna."
"Harry Potter." Dumbledore said from behind him, almost impatiently. "Up here, if you please. We need to deal with what is going on."
"Go on," Hermione whispered, giving Harry a hug before giving him a slight push, "We'll talk about this when you get back. To see what we can do to make sure you live through this.
As Hermione made her way back to her seat Dumbledore lead Harry to the door to the chamber that they meant to be in, "Well… through the door, Harry." Dumbledore gestured.
He looked around the room as he entered it, finding a small room with around a dozen magical portraits hanging on the walls and a cosy fire already lit in the fireplace. The faces in the portraits turned to look at him as he entered. He saw a wizened witch flit out of the frame of her picture and into the one next to it, which contained a wizard with a walrus moustache. The witch started whispering in his ear. Harry felt the urge to blow the painting up with a Reducto or two. The witch's gossiping was rather Petunia-like and the wizard's walrus moustache and plump build made him look too much like Vernon for Harry's liking.
As he entered the chamber his fellow Champions were giving him nasty looks and it looked like Dumbledore was either too stunned by what happened to think properly or the man was trying to turn people against him. His lack of reaction was damning to them.
Harry felt someone grab his arm and start to drag him towards the fireplace where the other Champions were standing. "It's official, we have a fourth Champion in the Tri-wizard tournament, marvellous!" The person dragging Harry - Ludo Bagman - said without a hint of sarcasm.
"Madame Maxime!" Fleur said first, marching over to her vertically gifted Headmistress, "Zere must be some mistake. 'E is but a little boy, much too young to compete!" She complained.
Harry felt his eye twitch due to her declaration. But he didn't say anything right now; forgiving her because she was upset about all this. He couldn't guarantee he would allow anymore comments though, upset or not.
"I don't know, Fleur, but I'm going to find out," said Madame Maxime, "What's going on 'ere, Dumbly-dorr? 'Ow is it zat you've got two students in zis tournament?"
"I'd rather like to know that myself, Dumbledore." Professor Karkaroff added irritably. He was wearing a steely smile, and his blue eyes were like chips of ice. "Two Hogwarts champions? I don't remember anyone telling me the host school is allowed two champions - or have I not read the rules carefully enough?"
"C'est impossible," said Madame Maxime, whose enormous hand with its many superb opals was resting upon Fleur's shoulder. "'Ogwarts cannot 'ave two champions. It is most unjust."
"We were under the impression that your Age Line would keep out younger contestants, Dumbledore." Karkaroff accused, his steely smile still in place, though his eyes were colder than ever. "Otherwise, we would, of course, have brought along a wider selection of candidates from our own schools."
"It's no one's fault but Potter's, Karkaroff." Snape snarled softly. His black eyes were alight with malice. "Don't go blaming Dumbledore for Potter's determination to break rules. He has been crossing lines ever since he arrived here -"
"I think we know what you think of me, Snape," Harry interrupted him, speaking for the first time he got in there, "You've hated me since I started Hogwarts all because of what my father and his friends did to you whilst you were at school, and yet you have the gall to call me childish, despite the petty grudge you seem hell bent on holding. My dad won, my mum never loved you, get over it."
"Harry Potter," Dumbledore warned, "Show some respect to Professor Snape."
"Oh but I am showing him respect," Harry reasoned, "If I showed him how I really felt about him I would have defenestrated him a long time ago. He is the one that's always blaming me for things that I had no hand in. Even the few things I'm punished for that I actually did I had real reasons for. If I didn't do what I did, the school would have closed down by now." His declaration was met with many confused looks; all wondering what he meant.
Snape, predictably, responded with his patented sneer; one that told Harry he would have to deal with Snape watching him like a hawk and punishing him for the littlest of things he could get away with nowadays. 'Yeah, what else is new.' Harry thought with a snort. Dumbledore looked like he wanted to press the issue, but Harry moved the conversation along. "As for my name coming out of the Goblet; I didn't put my name in it, and before you ask; I didn't ask an older student put my name in it in my stead." Harry added the last part quickly to cut off any arguments from forming… well, any more arguments then necessary.
"Ah, but of course 'e is lying!" Madame Maxime cried. Snape seemed to have learned his lesson as he remained silent, shaking his head as his lips curled further.
"He could not have crossed the Age Line." Professor McGonagall said sharply. "I am sure we are all agreed on that -"
"Dumbly-dorr must 'ave made a mistake wiz ze line." Madame Maxime interjected with a careless shrug.
"It is possible, of course." Dumbledore replied politely.
"Oh please," Harry scoffed at this, "Everyone here saw what happened to the Weasley Twins and Lee Jordan when they couldn't pass your Age Line with an Ageing Potions, they weren't exactly subtle about their new facial hair, how do you think a fourth year student would be able to do what they could not?"
"Mr. Crouch… Mr. Bagman," Karkaroff said, his voice unctuous once more, "You are our - err - impartial judges. Surely you will agree that this is most irregular?"
Bagman wiped his round, boyish face with his handkerchief and looked at Mr. Crouch, who was standing outside the circle of the firelight, his face half hidden in shadow. He looked slightly eerie, the half darkness making him look much older, giving him an almost skull-like appearance. When he spoke, however, it was in his usual curt voice.
"We must follow the rules, and the rules state clearly that those people whose names come out of the Goblet of Fire are bound to compete in the tournament."
"Well, Barty knows the rule book back to front!" Bagman said, beaming and turning back to Karkaroff and Madame Maxime, as though the matter was now closed.
"So you're saying that you can't declare the tournament as a draw and then restart the Goblet of Fire?" Harry asked slowly, sick of being all but ignored so far.
"I'm sorry to say, my boy, that we can't." Dumbledore said with a sigh. Harry noticed something, though: his eyes were twinkling again. The old bastard was up to something, and it was getting on Harry's rapidly degrading last nerve. Bagman and Crouch had also agreed with Dumbledore, something he knew wasn't legal.
This was exactly what Harry wanted to hear, though, he knew the rules just fine and he knew that they could declare the tournament a draw, and as long as he didn't agree to anything they still could. This made things a bit easier for what he wanted to happen next, so, with a smirk, Harry continued, "So, the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, the Heads of the Department of Magical Games and Sports, and the Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation are all telling me that I have to complete in this tournament and there's no way out of it, right?" He asked, mostly as set-up for what was next
"I'm afraid so, my boy." Dumbledore answered; now worried at what the child was up to. The way Potter had said all this made it look like he knew something they didn't and had a plan of some sort.
"Well, in that case…" Harry said with a growing smile, "According to the law where the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and/or Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards and at least two Heads of the Ministry of Magic declare an underage wizard or witch fit to undertake an underage contest or tournament, as magic is my witness I declare myself of age and Lord Potter of the House of Potter." There was a flash of light after his declaration, signifying the magic doing his will.
All the School Heads objected to his action and the other adults were quick to follow. It was Snape that was the loudest for once as he said, starting with his standard line, "You're as arrogant as your father if you think you this light show makes you of age. You're not fooling anyone."
Harry just smirked as he held his hand out and called out, "As the Head of House Potter I call upon Lord Potter's Ring." There was another flash of light, but this time it was much smaller and focused on his hand, clearing to reveal a ring sitting in the palm of his hand. It was a platinum band with a ruby set in it, inside the ruby one could almost make out the form of a griffin because of the cut of the gem. As he handed it to Crouch he said, "Mr. Crouch, could you confirm this is the ring of House Potter."
Harry handed the Ring over to Crouch, who proceeded to cast a number of spells on it and give it a thorough examination before he handed it back to Harry and replied, "The ring's real, it is the Lord's Ring for the House of Potter, which means that Mr. - excuse me - Lord Potter wasn't lying, he is now an adult."
"Now that it's proven that I was telling the truth and I am now Lord Potter, I'm more than willing to enter this stupid tournament," Harry said with a smile, "but get one thing straight, I did not put my name in the Goblet or voluntarily enter myself in any way just so I could become an adult. All I wanted this year was a normal year, one where I didn't have to risk my life or anything. So the one thing I want to get to the bottom of is who put my name in tournament and why."
"And for what reason would you think someone would put your name in this tournament, Mr. Potter?" Professor McGonagall asked, no longer sceptical and now simply curious.
"Evidently, someone 'oo wished to give 'Ogwarts two bites at ze apple!" Madame Maxime interrupted.
"I quite agree, Madame Maxime." Karkaroff added, bowing to her. "I shall be lodging complaints with the Ministry of Magic and the International Confederation of Wizards about this. This was meant to being our three schools together once again, I'll make sure that this is looked into, and make sure that we do nothing with Hogwarts again."
"Maybe that's what they want, Karkaroff?" Growled a voice from near the door. "Splitting the schools up so that when dark times come, we won't be as strong. Or maybe whoever put Potter's name in that Goblet, would have to compete in his place and needs him to accept willingly?"
"And if zat's true, zen why other zan to give 'Ogwarts two bites at ze apple, would zey enter ze boys name into ze tournament?" Madame Maxime asked.
"I must agree with Madame Maxime," Fleur Delacour burst, stamping her foot. "And why wouldn't 'e want to be in ze tournament, 'e 'as ze chance to compete, 'asn't 'e? We 'ave all been 'oping to be chosen for weeks and weeks! Ze honor for our schools! A thousand Galleons in prize money - zis is a chance many would die for! So why wouldn't zelittle boywant to be in the tournament."
"Little boy, little boy?!" Harry hissed incredulously, a bolt of anger shooting through him. One insult he would allow, but that's that, he'd been through quite enough without her condescending attitude. His magic flared, causing the people closest to him to stumble backwards a step and everybody's shoulders to slump as a heavy weight set itself upon them, 'That's it, miss high and mighty is going to be on her hands and knees licking my cum off the dirty fucking floor by the end of the year. I was content to ignore the hype about her if she was at least pleasant to be around, but this is the last straw. We'll see who's 'little' after you're a drooling well-fucked mess.' He was not in the mood to deal with her haughty arrogance right now, and he really felt it was about time she was put in her place. Goal in mind, in a blink Harry pinned Fleur to the wall with his magic, her body being pushed back several feet into the wall by his will alone before he held her in place with both magic and a livid stare, "Who do you think you're calling little boy, little girl!" Harry hissed the last two words, "I've faced mortal peril at least five times since I was born, more times than most people face in their lives, and lived." The count was probably higher, be he'd be damned if he told these people about the Dursleys.
"The first was when I was fifteen months old, when Voldemort tried to kill me and made me famous." The fools apart from Dumbledore flinched at the name, even Moody, someone who Harry was told didn't flinch at the name; another mark against him. It would have to wait for now, as he went on to say, "The next two were in my first year, first when I faced a wraith in the Forbidden Forest during a detention at night, and again facing Voldemort again when he was using an ex-professor's body to get something that wasn't his. Then once again at the end of my second year where I had to face a memory of Voldemort and a Basilisk that was under the school. Finally, last year when over a hundred Dementors tried to liberate me of my soul. These are only the major events I can think of right now, there could be more. And any one of those five would have caused you to scream and pass out if you were in my place. So don't call me a little boy, little girl, as I've been through too much to be called that."
By now the other professors and the people from the Ministry were trying to fight through the magical force that was keeping them back, only Dumbledore could get anywhere near Harry. As he got nearer, he called out, "Harry Potter! Calm down and let young Miss Delacour go, if you don't I'll be forced to restrain you."
This caught Harry attention, "Fine, I'll let her go, but she should be careful what she says to me. I'm Lord Potter now, and I won't allow anyone bad-mouth me or my family." He sent a dark look right at Snape. Before letting Fleur down, Harry leaned forward and whispered, "And the last time I checked ten inches was not little." Into Fleur's ear before he let her go, his magical aura dropping.
Fear from his words, terror from his aura focusing almost completely on her, and puzzlement that was quickly replaced with arousal warred on Fleur's face as she stared up at Harry as he backed away. Her haughty attitude obliterated by the trio of emotions, at least for now.
"Now as Professor McGonagall asked and before I could answer her," Harry continued like nothing happened, "The reason I think that someone would put my name in the Goblet of Fire is that they either wanted me dead, or for some other, similarly sinister reason that we don't know about right now."
An extremely tense silence followed these words. Ludo Bagman, who was looking very anxious indeed, bounced nervously up and down on his feet and said, "Who do you think would do that to you, Mr. - I mean Lord Potter?"
"Oh I can think of a few people," Harry said calmly, "And few of them are even in this very room. The first is Snape, he might not want to kill me, but I'm sure he'd be more than happy to see me hurt or out of the way for a while because of his hatred for me. He is, or was, a Death Eater, so it might look good for him should something happens to me. Next is Karkaroff, like Snape, he too was a Death Eater and to get his ass free from Azkaban, he got a pardon by giving names. So having me killed would put him back in his Master's good books should he return, and also get other Death Eaters off his back and not have him killed. The next is Dumble-" In a blur of motion Harry had his wand out and called out, "Stupefy!" Causing a red bolt of magic to impact Moody. Since he was reaching for his flask, Moody was caught off guard and couldn't move fast enough to move out of the way. His limp body slumped to the floor as the spell rendered him unconscious.
"Potter, what do you think you're doing?" Snape snarled, unhappy that the damn brat ratted him out. Dumbledore didn't look that happy either, and a few people were giving Snape and Karkaroff looks that worried the pair.
"If I'm right, I'm capturing the one that put my name in the Goblet." Harry said, his eyes never leaving the downed man.
"What do you mean 'if you're right'?" Professor McGonagall asked.
"Well, I could be wrong," Harry admitted, "But considering the facts I learned about Moody's behaviour I don't think this is the real Mad-Eye Moody that people talk about. Don't you think, Professor McGonagall?"
"Well I admit that there are a few things about him that are off." McGonagall conceded, "There isn't any proof to say otherwise or I would have done something. But if you're right, who do you think it is, my Lord."It felt right for McGonagall to call Harry that, in more ways than one. Not only because that's who he was now, but because she could now address him by a proper title in public instead of keeping it private.
"I don't know, to be honest, but we'll find out in, at most, an hour" Harry answered, content that the man wasn't faking being passed out.
"Lord Potter, why do you think that this isn't the real Mad-Eye Moody?" Bagman asked nervously.
"I'll tell you all once the Aurors are here, I'd like to tell everyone everything I need to at once." Just as Harry said this Crouch tried to attack Harry. But Harry, who was still on edge, took action before Crouch could do much damage and dodged the lightning quick Diffindo and returned fire with another Stupefy.
"Now that is interesting," Harry muttered mainly to himself, "Looks like whoever this Mad-Eye is cursed Crouch, so that should he be found out, Crouch would help him escape. It makes you wonder, though, who is he to be able to curse Crouch. Now would someone call the damned Aurors." The last sentence was said much louder than his musings, causing Bagman to flinch and run over to the fireplace and called the Aurors. As he was making the Floo call Harry went on to say, "We'll probably be here a while, so someone should probably go fill in the students in the hall of the situation." Harry shook his head. He couldn't believe he was the one taking the control and not one of the professors. He should be getting paid for this…
Seeing no one else offering Minerva stepped forward, "I'll do it. Please excuse me."
"Could you inform Hermione and the rest of the Gryffindors that I won't be coming back to the dorm tonight? They'll most likely want to party because of my appointment as Champion, no matter the circumstances, and I have no desire to attempt to sleep with such a racket." Seeing everyone's confused looks, and guessing that what they were thinking, he went on to say, "I'm a Lord now, a position that grants me my own quarters, something I plan on taking advantage of to finally get away from all the snoring… among other things."
Professor McGonagall nodded, knowing the rule, and left to go make the announcement whilst everyone looked at him in shock. Harry had to admit he was acting rather bold, but everything he was doing was well within his rights. He was only taking control of the situation because no one else seemed to want to, or rather, no one that would do anything of significance.
"You're as arrogant as your father," Snape opened his mouth, committing the worst crime Harry could think of. "Demanding your own room, ordering use around? All proof."
"First off, you greasy bat, one more word about my parents or any of their friends and I'll challenge you to an Honour Duel, which as you'll note, I can do now." Harry sneered at his former Potion Professor, "Personally I think you have no honour, as you prove time and time again, but a duel is a duel. Decide to duel me and you'll lose more than you would like, I've got a few things to settle with you."
The rest of the room's conscious occupants looked stunned at his supposed audacity, but much less so than they should have been after being around the unpleasant man for more than a few minutes as they had.
Before Snape could launch into a verbal tirade a look from Dumbledore stopped him in his tracks and he kept his mouth shut. Seeing this, Harry went on to say, "I wouldn't have to be the one in control if people had done something before now. The room isn't me being arrogant, it is my right as a Lord of a Most Ancient and Noble House. As long as my Head of House and the Headmaster or Deputy Head know where the room I pick is, and are able to get to me should the need arise. Because Professor McGonagall holds both of the needed positions I only need to inform her of where I'll be staying after we're done, as I already have an ideal area in mind." Seeing as the matter was wrapped up everyone was more than happy to move on with the conversation, aside from a fuming Snape and a minutely frowning Dumbledore.
Just as he said this, Professor McGonagall entered the chamber again and informed them that the students had left to return to their dorms or wherever the foreign schools were staying. She also informed Harry that Hermione said she would see him tomorrow, and hoped everything would work itself out, causing Harry to smile at her level head in such a situation. Shortly after she was done explaining Bagman returned with news that the Aurors would be there soon.
Harry was happy to hear the news, "If I'm right whoever this fake Mad-Eye is, would be using Polyjuice Potion and he would need the real Mad-Eye Moody nearby - hmm…" Harry paused for a moment as a thought occurred to him of a good place to hide a body, "Professor Dumbledore, could you send a House-Elf to get Moody's trunk? If I'm right the real Moody could be locked in there."
Unhappy at being told what to do, but needing to keep face; not wanting to do anything to tip off anybody that he knew full well his old friend was a fake all along he did as Harry asked. "Flopsy!" He called.
A male elf appeared wearing an off-yellow tablecloth fashioned into a toga with a pop, "You is calling Flopsy, Professy Whiskers?" He said.
Dumbledore scowled behind his beard as he heard muffled snickers behind him. That damnable elf Dobby had started calling him that and it was quickly adopted by the school's House-Elf population. "Yes, I need you to go get Professor Moody's trunk, we have a suspicion that needs to be confirmed."
Flopsy nodded and Popped away for a few seconds before coming back with a large but entirely nondescript trunk.
As the elf brought the trunk, something came to Harry and he said, "Professor McGonagall, could you get Madam Pomfrey? If I'm right and Mad-Eye is in here, he'll need her help."
Realizing the truth behind the young Lord's words, she used the Floo to call her friend. By the time Madam Pomfrey got there, Dumbledore had opened the seventh compartment of the magical trunk and down at the bottom they found the real Mad-Eye. At once Harry summoned the peg leg and magical eye from the fake Moody and started to clean them for the real Moody as Madam Pomfrey checked the ex-captive over.
Harry couldn't help but wonder aloud, "So I was right. In that case, who's the fake and what was he up to?" Although Harry feared the answer already, he wanted to know fully what the plan was.
The question that Harry asked, was the one that all of them wanted to know and about half an hour later, during which time Madam Pomfrey made sure that the real Moody was fine, the fake Moody started to transform back into whoever he was. The person that was in front of them was a pale young man with straw-coloured hair and freckles. Harry didn't recognize him, but something about him struck a familiar chord.
As the person transformed into his true form there were surprised gasps from behind the group. Without a second's hesitation Harry pulled his wand out and pointed it towards where the extra gasps came from. As he turned around, he saw three people in scarlet coloured robes. Knowing what the Auror uniform looked like, he kept his wand raised just in case. "Who are you three?"
Harry heard a chuckle behind him, "Good work, laddie." He turned his head to find it was Moody. The now recovered man went on to say, "You'll do well as an Auror should you decide to become one. Anyway, the elderly lass is Madam Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, my former boss before I retired last year." He then pointed to a broad, square-jawed witch with very short gray hair, thick eyebrows and a monocle. The lady nodded, as Moody went on to say, "The man with them is Senior Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt." The tall, bald black wizard who had a single gold hooped earring nodded in recognition. "And lastly there's Trainee Auror Nymphadora Tonks." As her name was called Harry saw a pink-haired witch with a heart-shaped face give Moody a dirty look. Moody chuckled, "She doesn't like being called by her name, so you should call her Tonks if you don't want her to Hex you."
"Can someone tell me what is going on?" Madam Bones demanded evenly, "And why a supposedly dead Death Eater, Barty Crouch, Jr., is laying on the floor while his unconscious father is next to him?"
"The Crouchs are unconscious because of me." Harry said, putting his wand away.
"And you are?" Madam Bones asked, "And why are they unconscious?"
"I'm Lord Harry James Potter," Harry introduced himself, "And they are unconscious because Crouch Jr. was pretending to be Moody, and his father is unconscious because he tried to attack me."
Madam Bones was silent for several seconds before she once again demanded, "Will someone explain what's going on here?"
Harry, seeing the woman's confusion and dislike at being confused, explained what happened that night; how his name was pulled out of the Goblet of Fire, and how he became a Lord. Amelia was familiar with the law, and after her surprised expression fell, which was mirrored by the Aurors next to her she sent a glare at Dumbledore and Bagman, "Did you know that the tournament could have been declared a draw and the Goblet of Fire could have been relit?" she asked after Harry was done. This caused Maxime and Karkaroff to give the two dirty looks. At that point all the people whose names had been drawn had already agreed to complete in the tournament, and so the Goblet of Fire couldn't be relit until the current tournament, whose Tasks were already chosen, is over; which wouldn't be until someone won the cup and seven years had passed. They really hated the English Ministry of Magic and Dumbledore in particular at that moment.
"Of course," Harry said with a smirk, shocking Dumbledore and Bagman, "But I allow them to play whatever games they were playing, most likely using me as bait to draw out the person who put my name in the Goblet. I felt it was unfair that they were getting something out of this and I'm getting less than nothing. And I just so happened to know a law I could enact for my benefit."
They heard a chuckle from Moody, "Very impressive, Lad, and if you can pull one over Albus you must be good. I think what both me and Madam Bones would like to know is why you stunned my fake, and what gave him away?"
"Indeed, I would like to know as well." Madam Bones agreed with a smile.
"I've suspected something was off about him for a while," Harry said honestly, "But like Professor McGonagall, who was suspicious of him as well, we had no proof he wasn't who we thought he was. Yes, he was acting strangely, but he was a relatively good teacher, even if he did put us under the Imperius." The Aurors and the real Moody looked outraged at this, and so Harry went on to say, "He did get a waiver to do so from the Minister of Magic, so if you want to blame somebody blame the Headmaster, who put in the request, and the Minister, who allowed it. There were a number of other things that were off, but I couldn't do anything without proof of wrongdoing. Even my status as the Boy-Who-Lived wouldn't do much if I just upped and declared the infamous Mad-Eye Moody was an imposter without any real proof."
"So why did you act now?" The deep slow voice Senior Auror Shacklebolt asked.
"Well up 'til now no one was hurt, and people ARE learning how to fight off the Imperius." Harry said grimly but honestly, "But the moment my name was pulled out of the Goblet I knew I had to do something. To find out what the fake's plans was for putting my name into the tournament. If he kept doing a good job at teaching, and didn't hurt anyone, I probably wouldn't have done anything and just left him alone. I wanted a normal year for once, without danger of being attacked or forced to get into something that I shouldn't simply because no one else will and it needs to be done."
Snape just scoffed at his reasoning as the Aurors and Mad-Eye nodded in understanding. Then Mad-Eye asked out of curiosity, "I'm curious, lad, what made him suspicious to you? No one else apart from McGonagall felt something was wrong, even my so-called good friend Albus Dumbledore was completely clueless, or so his silence implies." Moody gave Albus a suspicious look.
"A few things, really, the first is that when your home was attacked you didn't seem to do anything to find out who was behind it." Harry explained, "I was told that you were a paranoid person, so I would have thought you, even if the other Aurors didn't, would look into who might have tried to attack you when you had free time from teaching, even if you didn't find anything. I am a bit ashamed and worried that the Aurors didn't look into this themselves, it makes it hard to be patriotic when your government isn't doing its duty."
"We have reports of this happening at Moody's home at least once a week." Senior Auror Shacklebolt insisted, "It would be a waste of time, money and manpower to go out to his house every time he reported an attack."
Harry shook his head, his lips curling in clear disgust. "You're the magical police, it's your job to investigate crimes, to capture criminals and that. To use a metaphor; you can't just let the little boy who cried wolf die because he's keeping you awake. That's how revolutions get started. You also forget that Moody's put a lot of Death Eaters and Dark Wizards and Witches in Azkaban. There are many of their friends and family who'd like to get some payback on Moody. He's paranoid for a reason. If he says he was attacked, it's likely something really did trip a ward or a physical trap and got away before you showed up."
The Aurors looked down in shame, "Well said, Lord Potter, always be on your guard. Now tell me, what else made you suspicious of Crouch Jr?" Moody said with a smile.
"Well apart from not looking into who might have attacked you, and putting students under the Imperius, I can think of a two other things." Harry said thoughtful, "One is that he was coddling students, or at least one of them; Neville Longbottom. Crouch Jr. here was showing us the three Unforgivables when Neville reacted badly. After class he gave him a book on Herbology, which is his favourite subject. When I asked around, people said it was a strange thing to do because it's not exactly something you're known for."
"No, I wouldn't," Moody growled, "I wouldn't have done a thing about it. This is a dark world, some would like to think otherwise, but I believe that if he can't handle it then tough shit. And if he was one of my Trainee Auror Cadets I would have told him if he couldn't handle it he should quit and rethink his career choice"
"I thought that would be the case with you." Harry admitted. "As for the other things, he was drinking nearly on the hour, so I suspected Polyjuice Potion, which was proven true tonight. Really it was either that or some form of healing potion, or pain relief potion that only lasted an hour."
"If you suspected him to be under Polyjuice Potion why didn't you tell someone about it?" This time it was Madam Bones who asked.
"I kept meaning to," Harry admitted sheepishly, "But with some personal things that happened along with my own personal training that I started to get fit and stronger I honestly forget to say something. As I said, he wasn't doing any harm." Madam Bones nodded before Harry went on to say, "Anyway, back to the reason you're here. Crouch Jr. wants me in this tournament for some reason, and I'm sure everyone here is at least curious."
"Auror Shacklebolt!" Amelia barked, causing the large man to jump. "I'm going to need the vial in you hidden pocket." She instructed.
Kingsley looked decidedly nervous. "Relax, Auror Shacklebolt, you're not the first Auror to keep a vial of Veritaserum on you and you won't be the last. Hand it over fast enough and I'll become confused as to where I gained the vial from." She said.
Kingsley nodded, regaining his colour, and quickly slapped the vial of clear liquid into her palm.
"Well, since this Veritserum just mysteriously appeared in my hand I think we can commence the interrogation." Amelia commented airily.
"Veritaserum?" Harry inquired. "Isn't that one of the strongest Truth Potions out there?"
"Yes it is, Lord Potter." Amelia answered. "You're well informed for a fourth year, I didn't think they taught about Veritaserum until sixth year."
"That might be true, but I'm taking Independent Potion Classes." Harry replied. Seeing the confused looks he went on to say, "Snape can't teach to save his life, and add the fact that he hates me for something my father and his friends did to him when he was here at school, well, I finally had enough and decided to learn Potions independently - and I read a lot of potions books to catch up on what I missed, one of the potion I read about was Veritaserum. Sometimes I have to wonder why the Headmaster allows an EX-Death Eater to teach. I understand that he wants to give people second chances, that's fair enough, but first they need to pay for their first chance going wrong, which I don't think Snape has. Add in the fact that he HATES anyone who's not in his own house and it seems to me like he isn't being punished at all, and is allowed to enjoy failing everyone as harshly as possible. I wouldn't be surprised if the national average of students with NEWT's in Potions had plummeted since he started teaching…"
Harry had to hide his smirk at the looks that Snape was getting from Mad-Eye and the Aurors in the room. While it wasn't common knowledge it also wasn't exactly a secret that you needed a NEWTs in Potions to become an Auror Trainee. What WAS a secret was that the Ministry wouldn't give the DMLE the needed funding to allow them to hire a potions master to teach the trainees so they could accept students without NEWTs. Susan had been quite forthcoming about information as long as Harry was willing to not bring up the fact that she had a crush on him and stayed away from the topic. "I think I'll have to look into this once we deal with Crouch Jr. here…" The Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement said slowly. Meanwhile, she bound Crouch Jr. in ropes and cast an Enervate on him.
As Crouch Jr. awoke to find himself bound he tried to get himself free as he remembered the last thing that happened to him. But before he could, he heard a growled, "I wouldn't try, Death Eater, there's three Aurors here for you."
As Crouch Jr. turned to see the voice he was shocked to see the real Eye-Mad Moody looking at him, and nearby was Madam Bones and two Aurors with her. He knew the game was up. But before he could say anything, he heard the Potter brat's voice, who he now remembered stunning him, say, "Madam Bones, can I ask; is Minister Fudge coming?"
"Yes he is, it's why we took so long to get here; he wanted to come but he was taking so long we came without him," Madam Bones replied. She tensed as the young Lord casually pulled out his wand again after hearing her answer. "What's wrong Lord Potter?"
"I've seen how Minister Fudge works, Madam, in my second year he sent our Grounds Keeper to Azkaban without a trial simply because he 'needed to be seen doing something', and Dumbledore, the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, didn't stop him." Harry replied, the Patronus on his lips if needed. He smirked internally, loving the fact that he was making trouble for a number of people he hated (I LOVE the trouble Harry is causing). "Then last year he was going to give Black a Dementor's Kiss without a trial, or even proper questioning. The Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot once again refused to do anything, even though we knew that Black was innocent." Amelia looked confused by his last claim, which made sense, so he explained.
"I've met the real person who betrayed my parents and murdered the Muggles all those years ago: Peter Pettigrew. That night I learnt that Sirius Black was my Godfather, and that he swapped as Secret Keeper seeing that people would suspect him and would go after him because everybody knew Sirius and my father were brothers in all but blood. But they thought that Peter would be the less obvious choice. When Sirius found out about my parents' death, in a moment of grief induced desperation, went after him. The rest you know, mostly; Peter shouted out that Sirius was to blame for my parents' death and then he killed the Muggles. I tried to explain this, but Snape, because of his hatred for him, my father and the others, told Fudge me and my friends were under a Confundus Charm, and so Fudge wouldn't believe anything we said - he didn't even check if we were under the Charm or not."
Madam Bones was angry. Fudge was stretching the bounds of what he could and couldn't do and what he needed to report to her dangerously far, but there was little she could do unless he crossed a certain line. The asshole had Lucius Malfoy and other old Purebloods backing him. As for Albus, he was basically untouchable unless she did everything perfectly. It was possible she may have to make a Deal With the Devil of sorts with Lucius Malfoy. There was also Black to deal with, and sadly she couldn't do much without proof. "I'm sorry to say that I can't do much about Fudge; too many people are protecting him. While the outcry of the citizens could get him kicked out of office, I don't think that's likely unless he does something stupid… more stupid than usual, and I can call him on it. As for Black, I'm sorry to say that I can't help, Snape's claims of you being under the Confundus can't be fought after this much time, there's no way to prove it either way. So unless we have Peter Pettigrew himself, I can't do much. Most of the Wizengamot has to agree to the use of Veritaserum before it can be legally allowed as evidence. Even now, using it on Crouch Jr. is largely useless, it could easily be thrown out of court. I simply wish to hear his reasons for myself, something I'm sure we have in common."
Harry massaged the bridge of his nose and sighed. "I feared that was the case. I really hate the magical world sometimes, maybe even more than I hate politics."
Amelia snorted, "Preaching to the choir, Lord Potter. Let's get the show on the road though, maybe we can get a decent enough answer out of him before Fudge gets here."
As she said this Harry saw the shocked faces of the people around them at the direction the conversation had headed. He hoped that this would make things easier, but he really doubted it. He knew Dumbledore and Snape would want nothing more than to gut him for what he has revealed to Madam Bones. He watched silently as Madam Bones poured the potion down Crouch Jr's throat before asking, "What is your name?"
"Bartemius "Barty" Crouch Junior," Barty answered promptly, his voice blank and flat.
"Is your father named Bartemius Crouch Senior?"
"Yes,"
"Are you a Death Eater?"
"Yes,"
"The potion is working, now we can start the real questioning." Amelia declared, seemingly more for protocol's sake than anything. "How is it you are not as dead as most are lead to believe?" She worded carefully.
"Shortly after I was sent to Azkaban I was visited by my father and mother." Barty started, "They came because my mother had begged my father for her to take my place, as she was slowly dying and she wanted to do something for me; so I wouldn't have to suffer Azkaban. So she used Polyjuice Potion to become me until she died. From the moment I was freed, my father placed me under the Imperius Curse to control me and make sure I wouldn't return to my Master. It wasn't until this summer I was able to break free and my Master came to me for help."
"Who is your Master?" Madam Bones asked. She already had a good idea, but confirmation was important.
"The Dark Lord, who you call You-Know-Who," Barty replied.
Everyone in the room paled, even Harry, as his words sunk in; the most feared Dark Lord was alive and Barty was working for him. "What does your Master want from you?" Madam Bones demanded, almost fearing the answer.
Barty tried to fight the Truth Potion, but after a few moments, he listlessly replied, "I was to take Mad-Eye Moody's place, who was going to be the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor this year, and place Potter's name in the Goblet of Fire."
"Why?" This time it was Harry who asked the question.
"I was to help Potter get past the tasks and get him to the Cup, where I would have turned it into a Portkey, where he would lead him to my Master. Once there my Master would have used his blood for a ritual to gain a stronger and more powerful body. After which he would most assuredly torture Potter before killing him, along with anyone elseon the off chancesomeone else grabbed the Cup at the same time, all in the hope to cover up that he is back. Fudge is an idiot, he will shove his head underground at the barest whisper of my Master, giving Him all the time he needs to re-gather his forces."The truth potion wasn't forcing him to say the last detail, but it did compel him to give incriminating details when Barty meant to simply brag about the Dark Lord's cunning.
Before anyone could say or ask anything else Minister Fudge along with two Aurors arrived.
"You shouldn't have left ahead of me, Madame Bones, the Ministry should project an allied front!" Minister Fudge whined. "Now what's going on here?"
Barty spoke, still under the truth serum, "Potter saw through my disguise, pretending to be Mad-Eye Moody, using Polyjuice Potion. They are now interrogating me to learn of my motives. He answered, his voice still flat.
The two Aurors with the Minister Stunned the Death Eater right away, despite the fact that the man was already tied up securely. "May I ask why a supposed dead Death Eater is here?"
Before Madam Bones could say anything Harry intervened. "Greetings, Minister Fudge, nice to see you again."
"Greetings, Mr. Potter," Fudge replied on instinct before asking again, "What's going on here?"
"I prefer Lord Potter, Minister." said Harry with a smirk, causing Fudge to pale lightly, "As for the situation, this person is Crouch Jr. and it seems that Mr. Crouch had helped his son escape Azkaban because of his wife's dying wish. For the last few years Crouch has been periodically placing his son under the Imperius Curse to control him so he wouldn't go looking for his Master. Then someone claiming to be his Master, and calling himself the Dark Lord Voldemort-" Everyone apart from himself, Moody and Albus shivered, "Came to him and made him take on the role of a Fake Mad-Eye Moody so he could put my name in the Goblet of Fire. Once that was done Barty here was meant to help me get to the end of the tournament where I would get hold of the Cup, which would be disguised as a Portkey, that would take me somewhere where this so-called Dark Lord planned to use me for a ritual. From what I've gathered from Barty's explanation, the ritual would no doubt be dark and highly illegal in nature, using my blood as a medium to craft this would-be Dark Lord a stronger, faster and all around better body. But the truth is we won't truly ever know what the ritual was really meant to do." Harry ignored the looks he was getting from everyone apart from Snape. He wasn't technically lying. It could be the real Voldemort, or it could very well be a person claiming to be him. As long as Barty believed that was what his name was, that's what answer he would give under Veritaserum.
"Impossible," Fudge purpled, "The Dark Lord is dead, you killed him all those years ago."
"I said 'claiming' to be the Dark Lord, Minister." Harry said with intentional slowness. "Anyone can claim to be the Dark Lord reborn with the knowledge of what he looked like and the ability to cast a Glamour Charm. We should find out from Barty where this so-called Dark Lord is and see who else is working with him. We don't know if someone might to pick up where he left off should he be caught."
"No, he is an escaped Death Eater, and after Black it was decided that any other Death Eaters found to escape would be kissed at once!" Fudge said with stubborn petulance. Turning to his Aurors he said, "Take him away, and see to it that he is Kissed."
"Cornelius!" Amelia warned sharply, glaring at the fool in front of her, "We must find out who he's working with, and for; Lord Potter's life could still be at risk. All we know right now is the failed plan Barty was currently perpetrating, he could also have information on other plans, and more information on who the pretender is."
"Amelia, this is within my right." Fudge said arrogantly, causing the woman's glare to double in strength at the outright refusal. "We need to make sure this Death Eater doesn't cause more trouble. As for Lord Potter, hmm…" Fudge's face screwed up as if in thought. Harry just thought he looked constipated.
Fudge debated with himself; he didn't want to look bad, but at the same time he didn't want to use the Aurors to protect one boy. After some thought, he made his decision, "Well we could give him an Auror Bodyguard, maybe Trainee Auror Tonks that you have here? This could be her final exam; protecting Lord Potter." His decision was also based on the fact that he could blame any mistakes on her and have her fired so he could hire her personally if he so desired. She was an attractive enough young woman and she would surely be honoured to work as a freelance bodyguard for the Minister. "I'll leave the arrangement to you and Lord Potter." and with that the Minister left.
"Well, seeing as things seem to be somewhat settled here and knowing that I wasn't the one to enter this stupid tournament, could everyone leave?" Harry requested. Although he hoped that this would stop the stupid rumours from starting, he somewhat doubted he could stop from once again becoming a social pariah. Thankfully, sort of anyway, it could only get better. There really wasn't much worse than being hated by everyone around you. "I have business with the Aurors. I'd like it if the Headmaster and my Head of House stays behind for reasons that involve the talk we'll be having."
The people there didn't like being dismissed by a student, but they knew that they had no other choice. One by one, the last to leave being Moody with the school healer. Before he left he turned to Harry and said, "It was a good try of getting the fool Fudge to look into what Crouch Jr. told us, shame it didn't work. At least you were able to get a bodyguard out of all this. I'll see you in class, Lord Potter," before he hobbled out.
Madam Bones was the next to speak, voicing her agreement, "Yeah, it was a good try, but why didn't you tell him it was really the Dark Lord that was after you?"
"You saw how he acted when I said it was possible that it could have been the Dark Lord." Harry reasoned. "He dismissed it outright. What do you think would happen if I told him it really was the Dark Lord that was after me?"
Madam Bones grimaced at the thought, Fudge would try and keep a tight lid on things so he wouldn't get any bad publicity and would do whatever it took to not look bad. "I understand, Lord Potter. Now, onto the bodyguard detail…"
"Before we do, I want a vow from each of you." Harry declared. "One from Trainee Auror Tonks to the effect that she'll report to you and only you. I am a Lord and I have a personal life; this naturally includes a few things I don't want others to know. From you I want a vow saying you won't reveal any of the information she gives you unless it pertains to an actual crime."
"Oh you and Moody will get along just fine…" Madam Bones laughed. "But I understand, and I'll agree to your terms."
For the next hour they talked about the bodyguard detail and what was expected of both parties. It was agreed that Tonks would take a few days to sort a few things out, but after that she would stay with Harry from that day onward until the end of the year. After they were done and the Oaths were given, the only ones that were left in the Chamber were Dumbledore, McGonagall and Harry.
"Well, this has been a busy night…" Professor McGonagall sighed, "I think we should all turn in for the night."
However, Dumbledore interjected. "I would like a few words with Mr. - I mean Lord Potter first. Apart from needing to know where he's going to be staying, I must express how ashamed I am of your actions tonight."
"Professor, forgive me saying this, but I don't give a damn what you think about my actions tonight." Harry responded with a glare, "I did what I had to do to make my life easier and try and get Voldemort in the open. As for where I'm staying, you don't need to know. Like I said, only my Head of House and the Deputy Headmistress needs that information, and I will be telling her shortly." Turning towards McGonagall he asked her, "Would you like me to show you where my new quarters are tonight, or would you like to save that until tomorrow?"
"I would like it if you showed me tonight." McGonagall answered, "I need to have a few words with you anyway."
"Of course, Professor." He replied before turning and giving a quick, "Goodnight, Headmaster," over his shoulder at the man before he and McGonagall left. Dumbledore was left silently fuming and wondering how the last Potter had slipped so far out of his control. He needed some way to regain control of him…
o0OoO0o
As they were ending down to Moaning Myrtle bathroom Harry said, "Minerva, I have to warn you the entrance to the place I'm going to stay isn't exactly normal, nor is the place itself."
"What do you mean, Harry?" Minerva asked.
"You'll see, Minerva, you'll see," Harry said with a smile, a smile that reminded Minerva of Harry's father when he was planning a prank. Remembering his necklace and what it could do he sent a massage through it to Medusa telling her to hide and tell the same to Sara and Remedy, as he was bringing a Professor with him.
Before long they got to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Minerva looked at Harry suspiciously, "Is this some kind of joke, Harry?"
"You wound me, Minerva," Harry said with mock hurt, "I'm not a person for jokes about where I'm going to be living. This is the entrance to my new home. Just watch." Smile in place Harry entered the bathroom followed by a curious Minerva.
She saw Harry walk over to a specific wall and hissed ?'Open'.? Minerva was shocked to see the wall opening
Minerva suddenly realized where they were going, "We're going down to the Chamber of Secrets, aren't we? It makes sense now I think about it, why else would you need to speak Parseltongue to open a wall that leads who know where. The only place that I can think of is Salazar's Chamber."
"Yep." Harry answered simply. He almost chuckled at the fact that he seemed to attract smart women who always seemed to work out where he was going before he could say anything. "It won't take long," he said as they ventured deeper.
True to his word, it didn't take long for them to reach the bottom. When they entered the Chamber of Secrets Minerva reacted similar to the rest of the girls when he'd brought down here; in awe at what she saw, never suspecting anything like this was underneath the school.
Harry lead Minerva through the outer chamber as she looked at everything. When they entered the Throne Room Minerva asked, "Is there a common room here, so we can talk?"
"Yeah, follow me." said Harry. It was true, he'd done up one of the empty rooms into a common room so that his friends and the people he brought down had somewhere to sit and talk.
"It looks like the Gryffindor Common Room," Minerva commented as they entered.
Harry nodded, "If I ever invite people from other Houses down here I'll try to incorporate them as well, but Gryffindor is what I know." While that wasn't completely true, he'd been in the Slytherin Common Room before, he hadn't really put much time into the room yet, so Gryffindor was all he'd had time to do. He sat down on one of the recliners, "So what did you want to talk to me about?" He asked.
"First off I want to say I love it down here, this isn't anything like what I expected," Minerva complimented, "Next I want to know how long you've been an Animagus?"
'My Encroaching Doom Syndrome is acting up.' Harry noted. "Since this summer," he answered honestly, though a bit shocked. He had to wonder what gave him away, it's not like he'd done anything to give away his identity. Black cats with green eyes weren't exactly a rarity, so he felt he had a little bit of anonymity.
Minerva sighed. "First let me say how disappointed I am that you undertook such a task illegally."
"I'm sorry, Minerva," Harry apologized, "But I learnt a few things over the summer that forced me to do things I wouldn't normally do. This information all but forced me to train and grow up faster. I can't say what right now, but soon I'll tell you."
Minerva sighed, she knew that he wasn't going to tell her right now, so she decided to continue on with her talk, "You do know how dangerous it was to learn something like this on your own?"
"I know the risks, Minerva," Harry admitted, "But I didn't learn it alone. You remember me telling you about Patrick Footman? He's the one who taught me how to become one. He said because of what I found out about this summer I should not inform the Ministry of Magic until I was of age, even then only if the risk isn't as high. People not knowing that I'm an Animagus would be an advantage, as I could use that against the people who might come after me."
As much as Minerva wanted to disagree she couldn't, with the Death Eaters still out there, proved by what happened tonight, Harry would need all the advantages he could get.
"Now I need to know how long have you known that you were fucking me in your cat form?" Minerva asked without emotion.
Harry could only gape at her; she had found out about one of his forms. Knowing that he was busted he said, "About two weeks."
"Did you like making fun of me, knowing that you were fucking me and I didn't know it was you?" Minerva asked with a hint of anger.
"It isn't like that, you have my word on that." Harry said seriously, "However, I did like fucking you in both forms we had sex in, I can't and won't deny that. You can't tell me that you didn't like it either, the number of times that I made you cum over the last few weeks. I have to say you look very hot when you're without those charms that you wear." Minerva blushed, not only because of his comment about her beauty, but because she was caught; she was the one who came back to him. He had only tracked her down the second time they had sex, and he could have just as easily mounted a random cat he found. She zoned back in as Harry asked, "So how did you find out it was me?"
"I found out about a week ago when I met with Poppy Pomfrey." Minerva began, "I wasn't feeling well for a while and I went to see her to find out what was wrong. Well… I found out why alright; I'm pregnant."
The gears slowly cranked in Harry's mind. She didn't know who he was, then she found out she was pregnant, no doubt taking some kind of test to find out who the father was, and now she knew who he wa-…
Harry James Potter's mind activated the emergency shutdown as it hit a critical error, causing Harry to collapse in a dead faint.
TO BE CONTINUED!
Authors Note: Here is another repost, I hope new and old readers will review and let me know what you think and any ideas you might have. As I suspect the old readers might have some thought as to what they would like to see to happen. I would like to hear what you think of this story so far apart for it is great, enjoying the story, can't wait to read more and all that...
Omakes Wanted: Seeing how much I liked the Omake by CatWrite, I challenge you all to write your own Omakes. It can be for any of the chapters you read so far. Try to keep them short, but don't hack it to pieces just to follow this request - I would like at least 1000 words or so. Please email me at dark_harry_fan hotmail . com
Omake by FluffyNevyn: This is a VERY small one that he sent me…
*Great Hall, Breakfast*
Harry was about to take a bite of his breakfast when he stiffened, sensing the marks left on the two elemental wolves. Looking up he saw the Greengrass sisters gingerly entering the Great Hall.
Harry groaned and rubbed his face. "Oh for the love of… again?! How is it I always manage to find Animagi when I'm out looking for fun. Are there no actual animals left around here?!"
*Later*
"What do you want, Harry, it's not like you to talk to us when we're not at a Quidditch game or practice." Daphne said.
Harry sighed again, holding up his hand and creating a ball of shadow, "You two need to come with me, it's time to meet the others." He explained before he grabbed the two BSOD'ing sisters towards the Chamber.
Omake End: As I said, very small.
PLEASE LEAVE A GOOD SIZE REVIEW!