A/N: I wished I owned Harry Potter. Alas, I do not. Ms. Rowling, I'd be happy to take it off your hands

A/N: A bunch of people have commented that Victor's score was not mentioned. Given the events of last chapter, it would have made no sense given the viewpoints of the characters. Have no fear, his points will be revealed sooner rather than later.

Chapter 23: Aftermath

November 24th, 1994

"Oh great," Harry said as he opened his eyes. The infirmary was a common sight for him, and he could tell with only a moment of clarity where he was. His muscles were on fire, and for a second, Harry hoped that the dragon had killed him so that the pain would stop. But as he tried to rise, he felt pressure on his chest.

He was literally strapped to the bed, a restraining band keeping his chest pressed to the bed. Harry took a moment to examine the band but saw nothing special about it. He flexed his arm, and could feel that there were no weights attached, invisible or otherwise. He grabbed the band and with a simple twist and pull tore it apart. Harry swung his feet off to the side of the bed and felt his legs muscles cry out in protest.

"Easy there," Akira said, swinging open the door and slowly lowering Harry back onto the bed. "You need a few minutes to let the muscles recover."

"Does this always happen when I take the weights off?" Harry asked, letting Akira put him back on the bed.

"Just the first few times," Akira said. "Granted, once you reach real mastery your fights will be too dangerous to ever have the weights on. Neither my father or Nambung Sa Bum wear weights."

"Both of them are so far in the distance I wouldn't use them for benchmarks," Harry responded, and Akira nodded in agreement. "How long was I out?"

"Not as long as you usually are, I'd bet."

"Less than a day?"

"Only 3 hours," Akira said. "It's late afternoon, but still the 24th."

"I guess that is good news," Harry said.

"Yeah, there are quite a few angry people who want to talk to you. Not all of them are angry, so Minerva and I divided them up into bigger groups to save you some time."

"How many?" Harry asked, the pain from his leg muscles quieting silently. "I need to work the kinks in my leg muscles out."

"Don't bother," Akira said, handing him a cup. Harry glanced inside and saw a green liquid. "Just drink it." Harry sighed and took a sip. It took a lot of self-control to not spit it out. "Yeah I know, but medicine is not supposed to taste good. It inspires you to get better. Now, the whole cup."

"That's rubbish," Harry said after he complied. "What is it?"

"One more," Akira said, holding up the weights. Harry extended his limbs and Akira snapped the weights back on. The Japanese wizard took out a wand and with a few muttered words the weights vanished. "There, all set."

"All set?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, by the time you are done talking to everyone your muscles will be good as new. It might take a few minutes on your feet to readjust to the weights but give it 20 minutes in bed and the aches and pains should be gone. You might be able to get out morning training tomorrow but on Friday we are starting again in earnest."

"Going to teach me that spell you used to beat up a dragon?" Harry asked with a sideways glance.

"I'm going to ask my dad if I'm allowed to," Akira admitted. "It's a bit advanced, but we are living in strange times."

"Fair. How about teaching me about that spell Dumbledore used, the giant dome?

"I don't know that spell, and even if I did I doubt I would be powerful enough to cast it," Akira told Harry. "I may not be his biggest fan, but he is still a very powerful wizard." He glanced at his watch and grimaced. "Some of the people waiting are in groups, but some are singular. How about we start with an easy group?"

"Dividing well-wishers and concerned citizens feels unusual," Harry said.

"Probably because you haven't had so many people to visit before," Akira said. "Trust me, your grandmother and I do have a method to the madness. Do you want me to hide and listen in?"

"Is Draco waiting outside?" Akira laughed a little. "I should be fine then." Akira nodded and swung the door open, leaving the room and closing it behind him. A few minutes later the door was opened with so much force it slammed into the wall it was attached to. Harry smiled as Lavender, Dean, Fred and George poured into the room.

"That was wicked Harry!" Dean said, hi-fiving Harry. "How the hell did you dodge a dragon for 5 minutes!

"You will be in first place, deservedly so!" Lavender added.

"Check this out Harry," the twins said in unison. One of them withdrew a small item from their backpack. It was a miniature version of Harry and his dragon. There was a small button which the other pressed, and the dragon swung its tail, which the figurine of Harry ducked. He pressed it again, and the dragon swiped at Harry, who jumped over it.

"We have had to work overtime on them," Fred said. Harry noticed they had their Weasley jumpers on, with a letter denoting which twin was which. Knowing them, there was a decent chance they switched them but for now Harry was less than interested in unraveling that mystery.

"Sold out the first batch," George. "Our dad bought one and we are even selling some to ministry employees."

"You are joking," Harry said. Dean held up a newspaper, it showed Harry dodging the dragon for a few moves and scooping up the egg before the picture repeated.

"Special edition," Dean said. "Came out 30 minutes ago." Harry looked at the headline and saw the name Rita Skeeter. "Rita Skeeter put a pretty nasty spin on it, but no one cares all that much."

"Seriously, how did you dodge all those attacks?" Lavender asked. "You looked like you were going to be dragon toast when it started using fire, but you still dodged it all."

"I'll admit the fire had me a little worried but it all worked out in the end. Speaking of the first task," Harry looked around, "do any of you have any idea where my egg is? Barty Crouch said it had a clue for the second task, and after that nightmare I'd prefer to avoid an unpleasant surprise."

"No idea," Dean said. "You aren't going to take a break? These two jokers," he indicated Fred and George, "have a giant party planned for tonight, since Madam Pomfrey said you don't have to stay overnight."

"So everyone is done worrying about the fact that I cheated?" Harry asked, some bitterness creeping into his voice.

"Done and dusted," George said. "No one in their right mind wants to face a dragon. I think our girlfriends want to be first to apologize, if Katie Bell doesn't beat them to it.

"That bodes well for quidditch next year," Fred and George said in concert.

"True," Harry added. He was surprised as soon as the word came out of his match. Given the tournament, he knew that even if quidditch was in season, he wouldn't have time. But he was surprised to realize he missed it, especially the camaraderie between his teammates. He had not spoken to any of the three chasers since his name had been entered, but if all three were planning to apologize Harry would be thrilled. They would be on a very short-list of people Harry was actually willing to forgive for ostracizing him the last month.

"Well, we will get out of your hair," Lavender said. "From what I understand, you have quite a few well-wishers and we shouldn't tire you out. I understand you had quite a long night." She gave him a pointed look.

"Yeah, we can talk about last night later," Harry said. "It got a little crazy." Lavender nodded and all four filled out of the room. Harry groaned once they left the room. With all the craziness, he had forgotten about the four Ravenclaws he had put in the infirmary. He glanced around but didn't see them. "One more thing to worry about," Harry said to himself. Hufflepuff might not hate him anymore, but Ravenclaws were sure to not be thrilled.

"I'd say," Neville said as he poked his head in. Harry gave a giant smile. He had not had a chance to talk to a lot of people since he learned about the dragons, and Neville was one of the few Harry really missed the last few days. To his surprise, Hannah was right next to him, hand in hand. "From what I hear, last night was crazier than the dragon."

"Hey Nev," Harry said. "I think you missed letting me in on something too." He stared pointedly at the hand that Hannah held, and Neville started blushing.

"Isn't he adorable when he gets embarrassed!" Hannah said, and Harry laughed at Neville's obvious embarrassment. "He asked me to be his girlfriend yesterday, and I don't plan on letting him out of my sight!"

"Good to know," Harry said. "Now, if we can only get him to stand up to Slytherin."

"Don't you worry," Hannah told Harry. "I'll get his confidence up by day's end. I have an interesting reward system I'll put in place." Neville blushed even more, which caused Harry to laugh even harder.

"Hey Harry, you know that stuff with Professor Hayashi?" Neville asked. Harry nodded. "And the guy you mentioned at the beginning of the year? Hayashi-Sensei, was it?"

"I'm surprised you remember that name," Harry admitted. "That was a long time ago."

"It was a big deal to me," Neville said. "Besides, it can't be bigger news than the other thing we discussed." Harry realized he was referring to the identity of his grandmother. "But were they the two that taught you how to dodge the dragon?"

"They were part of it," Harry explained. "If you have been working on the stuff he showed you, why don't you join us Friday morning?"

"You mean it?" Harry nodded. "Absolutely!" Neville looked positively thrilled.

"Neville, what is he talking about?" Hannah asked.

"Hannah, I bet you could get all of those secrets out of Neville," Harry said. "But give him a pass for a little while."

"He's my boyfriend," Hannah argued. "He shouldn't keep big secrets from me."

"And I'm sure you are willing to tell Neville all your secrets too?" Harry asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Point taken," Hannah said. "Nevertheless, I better get started on the reward system." She started to drag Neville out of the room.

"See you tonight at the party Harry!" Neville called over his shoulder.

"Harry!" Hermione yelled, barging Neville out of the way and throwing her arms around him. Harry grunted in pain from the impact and Hermione instantly jumped back. "Sorry, did I hurt you?"

"Don't worry about it," Harry lied. Apparently the medicine Akira had given him had not kicked in yet. It was slowing down, but his torso felt like it was on fire. Apparently, taking the weights off and moving at top speed didn't just bruise his legs. "I assume you will be the first to yell at me."

"I thought we agreed on a plan," Hermione said. "You gave your best plan to Cedric!"

"I assume you would be happy he is ok," Harry said mildly. "You gone with him to Hogsmeade twice if memory serves me right."

"Cedric is just being nice," Hermione said, instantly looking away. Even turning away couldn't hide the massive blush creeping up her neck.

"I bet you a galleon he asks you to the Yuletide ball," Harry said with a laugh, "which you should say yes to. I'm a big fan of the real Hogwarts champion. The more time I spend with him, the more I respect him."

"I am not here to talk about Cedric!" Hermione shouted. "I am here to talk about your insane idea to play tag with a giant dragon." Harry heaved himself out of bed, ignoring the protest his legs made.

"Hermione, while I appreciate the concern, you chose not to ever come to my morning sessions," Harry pointed out. "It's much harder to avoid a punch from Akira than a dragon, and I do ok at that." Hermione gave a small sound of discontent that could be best described as a "hmph." "Hermione, it reared back every time before it attacked. If you have learned what to look for, it's not actually too hard."

"What about that dome after it broke free? I was one of the few who stayed around, and when Dumbledore dissolved the dome I saw Professor Hayashi pick you up and vanish. I thought you were dead!"

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that one," Harry said. "Akira didn't exactly consult me about that. But he didn't really put me in danger. I wouldn't yell at him though. He is a professor after all. If you like I can yell at him for you."

"No, please don't do that," Hermione begged. "Your informality with Professor Hayashi and Professor McGonagall is hard enough. If you yelled at them I might have a heart attack." Hermione grinned sheepishly at him. "I'm not really mad at you. I'm just happy you are safe. Promise not to do anything so crazy without telling me next time?"

"I'll try," Harry said. "But crazy brave stuff is kind of par for the course."

"Just so you know," Hermione called over her shoulder as she started walking out, "she is pretty mad. I'd start by apologizing." She opened the door and Harry heard her say "go easy on him." Daphne walked in and Harry gave a half smile. Daphne was stone-faced and Harry sat down on the bed. Daphne sat down next to him and they stayed there in silence for a few minutes.

"I guessing sorry won't cut it?" Harry asked. It was more of a statement.

"No, it won't," Daphne said. She turned to Harry, and Harry could see she was clearly hurt. "Look, I know Hermione is your best friend. But cutting me out for two days to spend all your time with her is not ok. No matter what."

"Are you madder at me for that or for my tactics for the dragon?"

"The dragon, definitely," Daphne said. "But that is not out of character. If I had a problem with recklessness and bravery we never would have been dating." Daphne sighed and leaned her head against Harry. "Harry, you know I really like you. But I was talking with Tracey, and she gave me some good advice."

"Tracey?"

"Tracey Davis," Daphne explained, "my best friend. She is a Slytherin, but she doesn't have an irrational hate of you. You might actually be surprised by how many people in Slytherin don't hate you."

"If it's more than you, I would be surprised," Harry said.

"That's not the point," Daphne said. "Tracey said…" Daphne looked away, and Harry hesitated. "She said maybe we should break up."

"Woah," Harry said. He was floored. "Is this about Hermione? I thought you were cool with her." Daphne didn't say anything. "Seriously?"

"Harry, it actually has nothing to do with that," Daphne said. "If anything, after I calm down, I'm sure I will like you more. But you are still so closed off about so many things. I know you don't like bullies but attacking half of Ravenclaw tells me more is going on than that."

"Ok, I know that's not why you want to break up," Harry said.

"It's not really a break-up," Daphne said. "It's more like a break. Hopefully temporarily, though I can bet that after today girls will be throwing themselves at you, and I won't stop you from going out with any of them and falling in love." Daphne turned away and muttered "even if that would kill me."

Daphne had come in intending to do this but the look in Harry's eyes, the total shock and unbelievable hurt made her hesitate. What's more, the moment Daphne had said it, she realized that if she did this, she probably would never get him back. It might not be a breakup by her definition, but this would be it for them, and that was sure to be harder on him in the long run.

When she had ranted to Tracey after seeing her boyfriend toy with death, seemingly with a smile on his face Tracey had just let her go off. Daphne finally calmed down and Tracey had looked at curiously.

"Daphne, I know you said you like him, but you wouldn't be so mad if you just liked him. It sounds like this is just classic Harry Potter. That's why you are yelling with me instead of at him."

"It's not like I want to break up with him," Daphne had said. "But if I am his girlfriend it feels like everyday I am going to be worried he is going to do something stupid and die, and I don't know that I could take that. Honestly I am surprised by how much I like him, and how good he is for me. He is the only person besides you I don't have to be the ice princess with."

"Yeah, I can see," Tracey said. "It shows with other people too. Even before you started dating, he and Neville were changing you, bit by bit. Ask Astoria and she will tell you the same thing. I do have a suggestion though."

"I think medication might be the best solution." Daphne said, plopping down next to Tracey.

"How about you take a break?" Tracey said. Daphne looked at her blankly. "A temporary break up."

"Are you insane?" Daphne shrieked. "If we are apart for even a day, someone else will snap him up. You have to admit that even if it was crazy, it was super cool seeing him do that."

"Oh no doubt," Tracey said. "I have no interest in Potter, but it was still super hot seeing him do that. Have some confidence in yourself. I doubt he will go out with the first girl to ask him out."

"Yeah," Daphne said reluctantly. "But he is a lot more vulnerable than most people think. If we break-up, I doubt he will ever let me back in."

"Look, when you date someone, you have to ask yourself three fundamental questions," Tracey said. "First, can you see a future with him?" Daphne nodded. "Second, do you see yourself loving them in the future." Daphne hid a blush but after a hard stare from Tracey she gave a tiny nod. "Really? That's a surprise."

"Every day I spend with him is better than the last," Daphne said. "He makes me really happy."

"Maybe I should get to know him," Tracey said. "Apparently he is going to be single soon." Daphne threw a pillow at her. "The third question is does the potential pain outweigh the potential good? Right now, it sounds like it doesn't. You clearly have a problem with something that is fundamental to Potter, and even if you explain it to him he won't change."

"If it is fundamental to him, wouldn't that just mean we won't ever work?" Daphne asked.

"If we were 25, I'd say yes," Tracey said. "At the moment, I think that problem is there because we are too immature." Daphne opened her mouth but Tracey shused her. "Look, we are 14. We will continue to change and evolve. To be fair, probably not in 3 months. So if you want, call it a break-up. But if Harry feels the same way as you, and he is single before we graduate, I'm sure you can give it another chance."

"Everything about this sounds wrong," Daphne said.

"Look, do you think you can stay friends?"

"It will be weird at first. His friends certainly won't want me around. I know Cedric is crazy about Hermione, so she won't steal Harry. But Susan likes him, and she is really cool. She will try to kick me out, and she is smart."

"I gave you my advice," Tracey said. "I can't make you do anything. Go see him when he wakes up. I bet you'll know when you see him."

Sitting down across from him, Daphne did know. She couldn't watch Harry fight with death, not this year. The tournament would drive her distraction, and she wasn't willing to sacrifice a year of school for Harry, not yet. If he was truly a man who always charge into danger, then they would never work.

"Ok." Harry said, and Daphne looked up surprise. Harry had obviously been surprised, but he seemed to be taking it in stride. "But this isn't really a break, is it?"

"Yeah," Daphne admitted. She picked her head off his shoulder. "Are we too stubborn? I feel like if we don't compromise, we will never work."

"I don't know," Harry said. Daphne stood up and walked away. "Daphne?" She didn't turn around. She didn't want Harry to see the tears running down her face. If he had that look in his eyes, the look that let her summon her patronus, she would pray for him to take her back that instant. "Still friends, right?"

"Forever," Daphne said, closing the door behind her. The tears were flowing easily now, and she saw Professor Hayashi standing there, looking at her curiously. She broke away down the hall, racing back to her dorm.

"Uh, Harry?" Akira said, stepping into the room. "Any reason your girlfriend just ran out this room in tears?"

"Ex-girlfriend," Harry said with a grimace.

"You broke up with her?" Akira said, shock obvious on his face.

"Other way around," Harry said. "Honestly I can't even process it right now. Maybe later tonight I'll go blow up a classroom, but right now…" Harry shrugged. "If I saw her later, I'd probably still try to give her a hello kiss."

"Well, that's surprising," Akira said. "We have two more people, but if you want, I can send them away.

"Who?"

"Cedric and Krum." Harry really didn't want to see anyone at the moment. But maybe he needed a distraction.

"Together?" Akira nodded. "Yeah sure." Akira whistled, and his grandmother stepped into the room with the Hogwarts champion and the Bulgarian seeker. "Hey guys."

"Harry, I told Krum earlier that I got the idea from you and your knowledge of dragons," Cedric said.

"Ok. Why?"

"Well, I had an idea," Krum said. "Dragons were an insane idea. From what Cedric tells me, without you he would have gone with the dog, and probably would have died."

"I'm sure it would have been fine," Harry said.

"Trust me," Cedric said, "it wanted no part of the dog. I'd be burned to a crisp." Krum held up an arm, showing a jagged cut. "Krum and I were talking in the box they set up for us, and we realized that the tasks are only going to get worse."

"Cedric, I feel like you are trying to slow walk me to an idea. Would you mind jumping there? I've had a long 24 hours." Harry saw hurt flicker over the older boy's face at Harry's harsh tone. "Look, I don't mean any offense. Just…" Cedric's eyes showed understanding and Harry breathed a silent sigh of relief. The last thing he needed was to alienate Cedric.

"Sure. Should we all team up?"

"What?" Harry was still reeling from his new status as single, but this was almost as stunning.

"Look, I didn't do much better than Cedric, and all of us paled in comparison to your performance. I spoke quite strongly to my headmaster about his scoring, but I am not his favorite pupil right now," Krum said. "I did not want to be in this tournament, or really come to England at all. After that madness, I am more concerned with my life. We tried to talk to Fleur, but since we did not do much better than her, she wasn't interested. We were hoping you would agree and would be able to convince her. That is, if you agree."

"We would understand if you aren't interested, and it wouldn't change anything," Cedric said. "You clearly are the frontrunner."

"Cedric, if I could drop out tomorrow I would," Harry said. "If we get to the end of this and I'm in the lead, I'll let the second person win. I shouldn't be here anyways. You are the real Hogwarts champion." Harry looked at his grandmother. "Professor McGonagall, you agree?" She nodded. "Ok, I'm in." Cedric and Krum looked at each other with smiles. "So we try with Fleur again?"

"Just you," Cedric said. "She turned us down flat. But even she was amazed by your performance, and when your dragon broke out she couldn't get out of the stadium fast enough."

"Don't forget I saw your real skill in the dome," Krum said. "Cedric said he has been on the receiving end of your abilities in practices, and I admit I would like to see it myself. I can only hope that the second and third task do not involve dueling. Though hopefully if we get to know each other, we will not feel the need to be overly aggressive."

"Alright," Harry said. "Where is Fleur?" Cedric and Krum looked at each other. "You don't know? Akira," Harry said, but Akira was already tossing him his bag. Harry fished the map out, pointed his wand, and said "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." The map instantly came to life and Harry started looking around. He saw an odd name but ignored the presence of Rita Skeeter near Dumbledore's office, and then found Fleur outside, right next to Susan. Apparently Susan had been telling the truth about their friendship.

Harry was on the verge of clearing the map when he saw something that made him pause. He looked closer to make sure he had read it right.

"Either of you know Maxwell Passan is?" Harry asked, clearing the map with a quick "Mischief managed."

"I think he is one of the students from Beauxbatons who didn't get chosen," Krum said. "Why?"

"Because Fleur is in trouble," Harry said, racing out of the room. He heard the two other champions behind him but he was easily able to outpace them. The hospital floor was on the first floor, and as tempted as Harry was to head straight for, his training kicked in and he flew up a staircase and raced to the space on the second floor where he could see the front line. He heard footsteps behind and he saw Remus there.

"Any reason that a patient from the infirmary just raced out of it?" Remus asked.

"Can you keep up?" Harry asked.

"After you spent a summer with Hayashi-san?" Remus shook his head. "I doubt it." Harry nodded and then picked up the pace, leaving Remus in his dust. It took him a minute to reach the opening, and he saw the map hadn't lied. There was a boy in a Beauxbatons uniform talking to Fleur and Susan, but next to him was Draco Malfoy, flanked by his two cronies and another Slytherin that Harry recognized as Theodore Nott. He judged the distance to the ground. It couldn't be more than 15 feet.

"The legs didn't hurt when I ran," Harry said to himself, and took a few steps back. He heard Remus behind him, but he couldn't hesitate. He ran full speed at the opening and leapt.