Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter or its characters, a misguided author called JKR does...

I sincerely thank each and every one of you, who takes the time to read these chapters to review or point out my mistakes. And I'm sorry about my crude way of writing regarding the past, the present and the future perspectives, in my defence, I try to write the chapters from how I feel and how I think of it as, so it may feel rather crude to you. Despite that, I'm working on correcting it, but it's a trial and error sort of way, it's undoubtedly working because my standard and style of writing have improved when compared to my first fanfic till now.


With the judges-

All the judges were in a dilemma, how were they supposed to assess the Champions' skills and reward points if Harry Potter completely destroyed one of the obstacles while concurrently facilitating the task for his fellow champions.

They understood that the boy had some extraordinary talents, but what they couldn't accept was the boy showing off his skills while making their jobs difficult in the process.

Needless to say, Igor Karkaroff was not happy, "Potter was supposed to use the underwater tunnels to bypass the series of eddies, not destroy those eddies to get through them. Deducting points from the other champions' scores, just because of Potter's actions is not right." The Durmstrang headmaster complained to his fellow judges.

"No, the boy was supposed to think his way through the obstacles and he did just that, we have no right to judge him for 'how' the boy did it so. Nevertheless, Mister Karkaroff is right; deducting points from the other Champions just because of Potter's performance is wrong." Mister Baker justified Harry's actions and additionally gave reason to the Durmstrang Headmaster's implying speech.

"I too agree with, Anthony." Ludo Bagman expressed his thoughts to his fellow judges.

"I zink, ze boy's actions shouldn't stop us from our duties. We must judge zem all equally." Madam Maxime commented on the situation neutrally.

Meanwhile, Barty Crouch, Sr was unusually quiet about the whole issue; hence he didn't add his thoughts on the situation. Baker, Karkaroff, Bagman, Maxime and Crouch all looked to Dumbledore for the century-old wizard's opinions on the matter, since he was the one who usually made the final decision and also because he did it so fairly.

Dumbledore gazed at the judges with his eyes twinkling like jewels and then he spoke, "I agree with your thoughts, so here's what we do…"


May 24th (Quidditch pitch)-

Harry had the most points in the tournament. In the second round, the consolidated score of the judges with the exception of Mr Baker was twenty-five out of thirty. Since he directly interfered in one of the obstacles of the task, Mr Baker award all the Champions a bonus of ten points in order to make the event fair. As such, he got a solid score of thirty-five out of forty, leaving him a grand total of ninety points out of one hundred.

In the second task, Krum finished just behind him, and scored thirty-two out of forty with a grand total of eighty-two out of one-hundred, placing him as third in the scoreboard.

Finally, Cedric and Fleur arrived third and finished last, but they did it simultaneously. Fleur earned thirty out of forty and a grand total of eighty-five out of one-hundred, which placed her at the second of the scoreboard. Meanwhile, Cedric earned thirty-two points out of forty for the event.

Cedric earned extra points for showing moral fibre since he helped Fleur battle a school of Shrake when in a dire situation. Hence, the Hufflepuff Champion scored the same number of points as Krum, higher than of Fleur's even if they both arrived together. In the end, Cedric acquired the grand total of eighty-two points out of one-hundred, again tying with Krum in third place.

Today, right after dinner, he and the rest of the Champions were escorted out of the Great Hall. Then they were all led to the Quidditch pitch, where they watched 'the-soon-to-be-maze' shrubs that were growing nicely. Bagman was explaining that within a month's time, the maze will be ready for the third task.

However, he was more interested to find out why Cedric was giving him curious glances. And just as soon as Bagman finished with the explanation, he dismissed them all back to the castle. Cedric immediately approached him and asked in a whispering tone, "Harry can we talk privately for a few minutes?"

"Of course, Cedric…" He replied instantly.

"What is it?" He asked sounding interested.

Cedric led him away from the others and began sounding serious, "I'll be blunt, Harry. Yesterday I got a letter from my father."

"Okay…"

The Hufflepuff boy spoke hurriedly, "In it, he had detailed the particulars of misfortunes that have happened since before the Tournament began. Last summer, Ludo Bagman's secretary, Bertha Jorkins disappeared on her vacation to Albania, that woman is apparently known for her forgetfulness, at first they supposed that she had just forgotten the date of her return and simply lost track of time, but now the DMLE thinks that she is dead. She is one of the few who knew the specifics of the Triwizard Tournament; the DMLE believes that someone might have murdered her to get that information. A few days ago, Barty Crouch went missing too…"

He interrupted the older boy, in order to feign his shock, "Barty Crouch, as in one of our judges."

"Yes, him… Nobody knows where he is, the DMLE considers that he too may be dead, but they're being unusually optimistic that he may indeed return. In any case, my father believes that the people and the timings of these disappearances, the attack on Quidditch World Cup and your subsequent entry into the Triwizard Tournament are no accidents and that they are somehow connected. However, the Ministry is strictly denying everything to be just an uncanny coincidence." Cedric paused for a moment to view his reaction carefully.

"If the Ministry denied such a story, then this is classified information. If that's so, why tell me this…?" He asked sounding curious while feigning a dumbstruck look.

Cedric stated in an obvious tone, "I reckoned I owed you."

He nodded his head accepting the boy's reply and then he asked curiously, "If what your father mentioned was true, then I have to be extra careful in the upcoming task. And so do you, my friend."

Cedric advised him, "In the letter, he told me to learn spells that will help me in navigation and also spells to defend myself against curses and hexes. I suggest you do the same."

He replied back with a grateful nod, "Thank you…"

"It was nothing." Cedric shook it off and looked around as he spoke, "Fleur is waiting for me. I'll see you later, Harry."

"Bye Cedric…" With that, he turned around and kept walking back to the castle all the while in deep thought. The hit-wizards who were following behind him in the shadows weren't helping; they were making too much noise in a silent meadow. But since, they were protecting him and the other Champions, by the order of the DMLE, something he positively knew it to be Amelia's handiwork.


Gryffindor Common Room-

Hermione was sitting with Harry in front of the fire in the common room and they both were going through their notes for the end of year exams. As soon as Harry came back from the Quidditch pitch, he sat with her and started reading through his notes.

They both had no need for any additional study materials because her mind alone was the information bank they needed. Personally, she would be satisfied if her boyfriend trained for the tournament than spending most of his time studying with her. She was worried about him. Meanwhile, her boyfriend wasn't the least bit worried about the potential possibility of facing Voldemort in the upcoming task, just because he was confident that he could come out of it unharmed.

Slowly time passed, one by one, the common room emptied as it was getting late. And finally, the only ones in the common room were them and some seventh years who were diligently preparing for their NEWTs.

She glanced at her boyfriend who was gesturing her to open a psychic link. He was sitting on the ground before her and she opened her Occulumency barriers and used her Legilimency to talk with him, while not taking her eyes off of her notes, "What is it?"

"Crouch Sr has gone missing. Cedric's father, Mister Diggory, believes that he is dead, but the Ministry is strictly denying any such allegations." He replied, without facing her or even acknowledging her that they were communicating, it was how they communicated when conversing sensitive information.

She asked him seriously, "So, it's happening…"

"It would seem so..." He replied back honestly.

"Did this happen in the second timeline, you came from?" She asked him being interested in his knowledge of the events.

"Yes, it did, but earlier, sometime around the middle of March, not now."

She assessed his answer for a few minutes and then she replied, "Then, it's obvious that something changed this time around. I'll add that to the list that we have to investigate this summer."

"Yes, ma'am…"

She voiced her thoughts out of concern, "One more thing, I'll be happy if you trained for the next task than for our exams. I want you to be safe."

"I'll be fine, Mione, don't worry."

She began sounding stern, "You're being too overoptimistic, honey."

He replied rather casually, "With good reason…"

"That may be, but still it won't hurt if you're careful." She advised him and again he replied, "Yes, ma'am…" And with that, they too retired to their dorms for a good night's sleep.


Next Evening-

Currently, he was walking to the Headmaster's office. After their Transfiguration class today, professor McGonagall had called him aside and told him that the Headmaster wants to see him. He was intrigued by the situation because, this time around, he hadn't gone to visit the Headmaster's office as often as he had in his first timeline. The only time he can remember entering the office was with Hermione when they went to inform the professors about the Basilisk being the monster in the 'Chamber of Secrets'.

He reached the Headmaster's Tower, but he didn't know the password to access the Griffin Stairwell, but to his surprise, as soon as he reached the statue, the gargoyle statue moved away, beckoning him to step on the winding staircase. As soon as he stepped on it, the Griffin Stairwell moved and took him up to the door of the Headmaster's office

The door of the Headmaster's office was open. He took it as a sign and walked in, he heard a voice on his right; he turned to find the century-old Headmaster standing there, "Harry…"

"Headmaster…" He replied respectfully for appearance's sake.

Dumbledore led him to the seat before the man's desk, "Take a seat."

Albus walked around the desk, to his own seat and asked, "How are you doing, my boy?"

"Fine, sir…"

"Good, good…" To him, it seemed like the headmaster was stalling for time.

Albus sighed as he knew that there was no easy way to put this to the young boy, "There has been an incident, early morning today."

As the man began, his interest peaked higher, so he asked, "An incident, sir?"

"Yes, an unfortunate incident in 'Privet Drive'…" Dumbledore replied sombrely. The reply shocked him because he hadn't expected anything regarding 'Privet Drive' in the very least.

"What kind of incident?" He asked after he managed to school his features.

"A fire, which incinerated the house to ashes…" Dumbledore gave him a brief answer.

"Any casualties, sir…?" He asked sounding hesitant but curious.

"Three…, your aunt, uncle and your cousin…"

Something about the casualties didn't seem right and so he asked, "My cousin, he should have been in school, why was he at home?"

"Apparently, he had gone back home last weekend on special permission from his school. He had stretched the days of his leave of absence and stayed at home for a few more days." Albus explained what he had found in his investigation.

And then, there was a long silence in the room. "The funeral is in two days. If you want to go, I can arrange safe transport." Albus offered the boy being genuinely regretful.

"I have no interest in attending it. They were never really my family and that sentiment shouldn't mean anything now." He replied indifferently, but his eyes betrayed him. He felt a little guilty since they died because of him, as he left them to stay with Sirius, thus nullifying the protection around their house. But, most parts of the fault lied with Dumbledore because his relatives never wanted anything to do with him and it was the old fool's fault that he lived with them in the first place.

Meanwhile, Albus had expected such a reply from the boy, since he knew of the abuse the boy was put through with his relatives. As such, he wasn't surprised when the boy chose not to attend the funeral.

"Thank you, for informing this to me." He thanked the man sounding more disappointed than sad and with that, he stood up from his chair and moved to walk away.

But he was interrupted by a stern statement, "I'm not finished, Harry." He turned around to see the man had no twinkle in his eyes, which meant that the Headmaster was serious.

He sat down again and Dumbledore continued, "What I am about to tell you may sound implausible but nevertheless you will have to accept it."

He feigned a look of confusion and asked uncertainly, "Sir…?"

"Voldemort is still alive." The century-old wizard stated rather bluntly.

He, in turn, also replied very bluntly feigning disbelief, "You must be joking."

"I understand, it must be hard to digest such a revelation, but it's the truth." The headmaster insisted firmly.

"Voldemort is dead, he died thirteen years ago."

"I'm afraid not. Voldemort didn't die thirteen years ago; he was temporarily banished for a time. And now, he has returned." Albus explained to the boy sitting in front of him.

The century-old headmaster also noticed that the boy didn't believe him, so he decided to elaborate with some proof, "Do you remember your first defence professor, Quirinus Quirrell?"

"Yes…"

"He was possessed by Voldemort and was forced to do his bidding. We, professors, found out his condition and confronted him, he fought us and when defeated, the possession ended and he died. When the possession ended, we witnessed Voldemort's spirit escaping Quirrell's body and that's why I'm positive about Voldemort's rebirth." Dumbledore efficiently lied to him, while sounding calm and patient.

"You're serious?" He asked feigning shock.

"Completely…"

"Why are you telling me this…, I mean, why now?" After a long pause, he asked directly not wanting to sugar-coat anything.

"Because I believe that the fire in your relatives' house was no accident, it was a targeted attack. I'm positive that it was Voldemort and his men; they killed your relatives in order to hurt you. And also because I suspect that your entry into the Triwizard Tournament may also be his deed." The headmaster reasoned carefully.

"You believe…?" He questioned in an attempt to make the conversation genuine.

"The Ministry doesn't involve themselves in the matters of the muggle world unless absolutely necessary." Dumbledore made it clear to him that nobody in the magical world knew about the death of his relatives.

He asked since it was a little too obvious, "You knew this all along, didn't you Professor?"

"I had my suspicions, my boy. But seeing how all of this leads to you, it is now clear." The Headmaster spoke elusively.

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" He carefully replicated a tenor of outrage as he asked.

The headmaster tried to derail him by speaking in a grandfatherly tone, "You were just a boy. No matter how intelligent or resourceful you are, you were still a child. And these are things no child should trouble himself with…"

"But a teen can?" He intentionally asked in order to start a quarrel. Albus kept quiet realising that the boy was just too upset so that he can't think rationally.

They both sat in silence for many minutes, he made it seem like he was processing the revelations with difficulty and then he questioned again, "You said that Voldemort had possessed Quirrell, but for what purpose?"

"Vengeance…"

"Upon me…?" He asked seeming hesitant.

"Yes…" Albus replied back confidently.

"And that leads me to this question... Why did he even come after me in the first place, professor? I mean thirteen years ago." He clarified the question to the old wizard.

Just as he asked, Dumbledore's mind unconsciously eased, because till now he was worried about the possibility of Sirius elucidating the prophecy to the boy, before he managed to 'Imperius' Sirius. Since they couldn't clarify that doubt by searching through Sirius's mind, he was uncertain about it to a certain extent. Now, he was convinced that the boy knew nothing of the prophecy and still within his clutches.

"He wasn't after you, Harry. He was after your entire family." Dumbledore lied again. And with that, Harry knew that the man had no intention of sharing the prophecy with him anytime soon.

"You mean he has tried to murder my family before?"

Albus reasoned carefully, "On three separate occasions, before you were even born. And each time he personally led the assault."

"Why…, why such an interest in my family…?" He asked sounding rushed.

"Voldemort tried to recruit your parents and induct them into his ranks. And when they refused, he wanted them dead."

"And now, he wants me dead because not only that I survived that night's ordeal and I also 'somehow' managed to banish him thirteen years ago." He tiredly stated that to himself.

Albus added his comment to the boy's last statement, "Precisely…"

"Again, you knew this all along and not once did you think it would be prudent to reveal this to me." He specified it while sounding almost as if he was both upset and bored.

Albus didn't reply because he knew what was about to erupt, he was expecting outraged yell and anger, but what followed put him out of balance, "Thank you, Headmaster." This time, Harry stood up and walked out the door without bothering to turn back once.


The Room-

After classes, he had spent the whole day by the lake, lost in thought, wandering around aimlessly all the while searching for anything that might distract him. The day ended and night approached, he sighed as he decided to walk back towards the castle since the aurors who were protecting him from a distance were getting restless, and he could literally feel their nerves wound up too tight setting them on the edge.

As soon as he reached the castle, he made his way up to his dorm and wrote a letter to Sirius detailing everything he had learned while asking his godfather to verify it for him if it's true.

And when it was almost time for dinner, he made his way to 'the room' and opened the door only to see his girlfriend practising spells. The aurors never followed him into the castle, as they stood guard around the castle when the Champions are in the safety of Hogwarts. As such, he was positive that he was alone.

He stood there admiring his girlfriend's duelling forms for a few minutes until he was broken of thoughts, "What did Dumbledore want?"

He replied with a dry chuckle with no humour in his expressions, "For some reason, he tried to frighten me and break my morale."

"Why…?" She asked curiously, as she felt his unease.

"I don't know, maybe he feels that I am too strong for a person my age." He supposed thoughtfully.

Hermione asked being equally amused as her boyfriend about the situation, "What did he say?"

"A well-concocted story filled with half-truths, so that he can claim technicality, claim that he didn't lie when questioned in the future." He elaborated just a little.

"Are you alright? You look troubled…" She asked him because something about her boyfriend's mood and behaviour piqued her interest.

"I'm fine." He lied to her evasively. She knew that he was lying to her since she knew him better than anyone. However, she also knew that if he wanted to inform her, then he would on his own volition, and it would be best if she didn't push for an answer.

She walked towards him and circled her arms around his neck and gave him a peck on his lips and whispered with a smile, "I'm starving, let's go to the kitchen, shall we?"

He replied with a slight half-grin, feeling elevated after seeing her smile, "Okay…"

She pulled him by his hand and led him to the kitchen. They reached the kitchen corridor and tickled the pear in the portrait, revealing the doorknob leading into the kitchen. As they walked in, the door closed behind them and he pulled Hermione from moving forward making her turn and face him.

He viewed into her eyes for a brief moment until he averted it and then he said softly, "Dumbledore also mentioned something else…" He paused for another brief moment and then he continued, "…my relatives are dead."

"What…? How…?" Hermione was stunned beyond belief. She had expected something troubling, but she hadn't expected such news in the least, she was at a loss on how to comfort the boy standing in front of her.

"Voldemort is more active than we thought. He apparently thought it would be fun to burn my relatives along with their house to crisp." He replied with a dry chuckle with his voice devoid of emotions.

She closed the distance between them and hugged his midsection tightly and asked, "Oh, Harry…I'm so sorry."

They stood there in a soft embrace for a few minutes while he derived comfort from her soothing presence. She reluctantly separated from their embrace in order to ease him of his disturbing thoughts she was sure that was circling in his mind. Hence willed herself to ask him but if only hesitantly, since the question she was about to ask him may seem insensitive, "How are you feeling?"

He gently caught her right hand with his left and led her to a table near the fireplace and took his seat. She sat beside him so that she can offer some comfort. He began speaking his thoughts to her, "I'm not sad that they are dead, but I feel guilty about their deaths. I'm happy that I walked away from them, but at the same time, I regret choosing to walk away. Does that make any sense to you?"

She circled her hands around his right arm and laid her head on his shoulder as she whispered, "Our lives have always been very complicated, honey. The only thing, you can do is put all of this behind you and move on."

He nodded in agreement giving heed to her counsel, but she wasn't finished, "There is nothing for you to be guilty about. Voldemort is the one to blame because he was the one who murdered the Dursleys. Besides, you only did what the Dursleys wanted you to do, you moved away so not to bother them again. And above all, Dumbledore was the one who placed you in the care of the Dursleys, in the first place, so he should be the one who must regret his actions because their deaths are on his head, not yours."

"Now, have something to eat, it'll help." She said to him concernedly. She then asked the house elves to bring them something satisfying and helped him eat, as he had lost his appetite.

"Should I go to the funeral, Mione?" He asked uncertainly, as his thoughts were turbulent.

"I don't want you to go. Don't torture yourself, Harry. If you don't want to go, then don't, but if it is something you have to do, then I'll understand." She replied confidently since she didn't want him to go not by a longshot.

Seeing him sigh in exhaustion, she helped him calm down in a soothing voice, "Everything will be just fine."


A Few Days Later-

He was sitting on his bed, leaning on the pillows. He gingerly opened the letter Sirius had sent him, which had arrived just moments ago.


Harry,

You were right about Crouch, pup. I checked with a few of my contacts in the Ministry. The man has gone missing. Amy thinks that Crouch was onto something and that he repeatedly tried to contact Dumbledore just before he went missing.

And I also checked with the other thing you asked me. It's true. Your relatives' house in Privet Drive is nothing more than ash, now. And there were three casualties in the fire, your uncle, aunt and cousin. Fortunately, Dumbledore has done a great job at keeping the Ministry away from the incident. And more importantly, someone in the Ministry is trying to bring the incident to light. I've also asked Amy to involve her Department to contain it from the media, at all costs, so don't worry.

Prepare for the third task and be safe, no matter how experienced you are, you're still human and that makes you prone to making mistakes. I'm not saying that you will, but be careful nevertheless.

Sirius


As soon as he finished reading the letter, he looked out the window gazing into the horizon. He was tired of life because his life was a never-ending series of problems. Hermione and the people he held dear were his only comfort and keeping them safe was his sole purpose and the meaning of his life.

The next task is what will make everything clear. It will be what defines the historical turning point of the magical world. He just needed to be a little more patient.


Sorry for the very short chapter. The third task begins in the next chapter, so stay tuned.

Until next time,

Thank You…