Chapter 1

ENTER PUZZLEMAN

Summer had passed Harry by all too quickly. It seemed only yesterday he had left the school. Yet here he was, walking through the giant doors at the front of Hogwarts and into his fourth year.

Despite the melancholy nature of the summer being over, he felt good. He was away from the abuse of the Dursleys and back in his real home. There were familiar faces darting all around. First-years were clustered nervously awaiting the sorting ceremony. Cliques of older students were catching up on the events of their summers. The familiar smells of the castles filled him with joy. His world was returning to order.

So much had happened last school year. He had found his godfather and met his favorite teacher, who just happened to be a werewolf. He had learned the truth about his parents and their death. He had gained a patronus and used it to fight off dementors, ridden a hippogriff and experienced time travel. He even got to see Hermione punch out Draco, twice…way too cool. It was difficult to imagine what might be awaiting him this year.

Everything seemed normal as friendships were being rekindled with his fellow Gryffindors. The sorting hat was tending to the sorting of a mass of nervous first-year students. The buzz was electric as they welcomed the newest members of their house and awaited the welcoming feast. It was then Dumbledore stood up and made an announcement that would set the tone for the upcoming year. Hogwarts was going to host something called the TriWizard Tournament.

A few days later they greeted a runway entourage of ladies from the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic that left the boys all gaga, much to the annoyance of their female classmates. They were followed in by an athletic, militaristic group of male students from the Durmstrang Institute into Hogwarts. Their lead student was International Quidditch star Viktor Krum. This caused Ron to share his gaga between the two school groups. These would be the other two schools competing in the TriWizard Tournament.

The entire hall sat in a reserved sense of awe as Dumbledore explained the history, glory and dangers of the tournament. It was only when Dumbledore announced that participants in the tournament would have to be seventeen or older that the room exploded to life.

Students dreaming of being chosen to represent their schools such as Fred and George were outraged. The only happy person in the room was Harry. He was quietly relieved that he was not going to be tossed into yet another situation where his life would be in jeopardy.

The happiness Harry had found in not being old enough to enter the tournament was elevated by the selection of the tournament champions…Viktor Krum of Durmstrang, Fleur Delacour of Beauxbatons, and Cedric Diggory of Hufflepuff at Hogwarts. He was officially out. For once in his life, he was not going to be the center of unwanted attention and drama. Maybe, just maybe, he could enjoy a quiet year of learning and growing at Hogwarts outside of the limelight.

However, this elation was going to prove short-lived. Amidst the celebration of the selection, a fountain of flames suddenly roared up out of the goblet. Then, unexpectedly, a piece of paper with the name of an unprecedented fourth champion shot into the air. Dumbledore retrieved the fluttering note. He viewed it with a surprised expression, finally announcing the name on it to the stunned hall…his. Harry was once more involuntarily finding himself thrust into controversy.

The commotion that followed the announcement led to weeks of anxiety for Harry. He and Ron had a falling out. Most of the school lined up against him. The Slytherins opposed him, even without the urging of his enemy, Draco Malfoy, for no reason more than he was a Gryffindor. The Hufflepuffs sided with their champion, Cedric Diggory. Most of Ravenclaw also sided with Cedric because he was dating their seeker, Cho Chang. Even his own house was split in its support for and against him. As bad as it was, it became even more complex and stressful when Hagrid showed him the dragons that would be part of the first challenge.

The days passed. Professor Moody coached him on how to use his talent as a flyer to battle his dragon. Even so, he was filled with fearful trepidations. He found himself eating breakfast and avoiding Ron on the morning before his battle would take place when Luna approached him.

"Hello, Harry," chimed Luna in her bubbly voice.

"Oh, hi Luna," replied Harry in a somber, remote voice as he barely looked up.

"How are you? You looked stressed."

"I am stressed," was the response. "I have to fight a dragon."

"I imagine that is quite distressing," said Luna in a more clinical than concerned voice. "When I get stressed I like to find a quiet place to clear my mind. I like a place where I can do puzzles or solve mysteries to distract myself. I find it quite helpful."

"I wish I knew a place like that. I would go there right now and hide until this tournament is over," moaned Harry, hardly looking up from the food he was randomly poking around his plate.

"Well, I should leave you alone," said Luna, starting to turn away. "I am going for a walk. I will see you later."

"Yes…uhhhh…yes…bye."

A moment later, Harry got up and walked out of the Great Hall. He was going to battle one of the dragons Hagrid had shown him in a few hours. Even with the encouragement and tips from Professor Moody, he felt unready for the task at hand. It was a dragon, after all. He was just a new fourth year that had got by on luck much of the time.

Harry wandered up into the heights of Hogwarts. Before long he was in an unfamiliar corridor. "I wish I had a place I could go to and escape this world like Luna was talking about. A place where I could forget about things for a while," he thought. Then he thought he heard someone coming and turned back, still thinking about a hiding place. A few seconds later he thought the heck with it and turned to continue on his original path.

There was a noise behind him. He turned to see who was walking up on him. All he saw was a pair of large, ornate doors that had somehow escaped his eyes as he had passed by them seconds earlier.

"I am really out of it," he thought. "I wonder what's behind these doors? I never even saw them."

Out of curiosity, Harry approached the doors. They were ornately decorated. The brass handles had a fancy R embossed on them.

He pulled them open to find a large room with many paintings and unusual items hanging on the walls and standing on pedestals. It looked a bit like a museum. It was, in fact, interesting enough to draw him in for a closer look.

As he took his first steps into the room, dizziness fell over him. He collapsed on the floor and fell into a deep, trance-like sleep. When he finally awoke, he found himself standing in a strangely familiar, but unfamiliar place. It looked a lot like London, but a part he had never visited. The people passing by were all dressed in old fashion clothes. Something did not feel right.

After a couple of minutes of just looking around, he started to slowly walk amidst the flow of pedestrians and carriages. Nothing familiar presented itself save for Big Ben tolling the hour. None of the store names rang a bell, nor did the street names. He could not find a sign for the tube or any other landmark that would help him get oriented. Then he saw a newspaper on the ground against a storefront.

He walked over and picked it up. It looked old fashioned like The Daily Prophet instead of modern. That seemed odd for a muggle newspaper. The headline screamed "Another Dear Boss Letter" with the under headline reading "Jack the Ripper Continues Taunting Scotland Yard". Then he saw the date, 13 October, 1888.

"It must be a souvenir paper they sell to tourists," he thought as he tossed it in frustration back onto the ground. Then he noticed his clothes. They were not his. He was dressed like everyone else. "What the bloody hell is going on?" No wonder he had not drawn any strange looks from passersby. Was this really 1888?

A wave of fear and apprehension ran up his back and into his head. He felt suddenly strange in his clothes. They fit well and were comfortable, but they were not his. He started rifling through the pockets. He found his wand, the apple he had taken from breakfast, a few knuts and a couple of sickles. Then he found a strange, little pouch he did not recognize. Looking inside, he found a fair amount of muggle money.

It was all coins similar to modern pound coins, but with Victoria on them. He assumed it was the Queen Victoria he had read about in his muggle school. All of the coins had dates in the 1880s. Things were getting weirder and weirder.

Finally, he walked up to a lady looking in the window at a bakery. "Excuse me," he said. What is the date?"

"The thirteenth," she replied. "Saturday the thirteenth."

"Thank you," he said as she turned to walk away.

Harry walked into the bakery, having been lured by the smell of its fresh wares. It was full of tempting treats. He purchased a couple of large slices from a bacon badger and a custard tart for dessert on the recommendation of the girl of about his age who was waiting on him. She gave him a flirty smile that might have piqued his interest in a different situation as she handed them to him. He smiled back at her as he paid.

Harry consumed his pastries as he walked down the street. The girl had steered him right. They were delicious. It also helped that he was actually quite hungry, but had not noticed until he took the first couple of bites. They were gone almost too quickly.

He continued walking in hopes something familiar would present itself. But it was a walk in vain. He had not felt this out of place since his first trip to Diagon Alley with Hagrid. Why was he here and what was he supposed to be doing?

As the day passed, he kept hoping for something to make sense. By dinner time he was still completely at a loss for his situation. He found a respectable-looking restaurant and stepped in. It was busy, full of muggles enjoying their meals. He took this as a sign the food was probably going to be good. Maybe he could figure something out on a full stomach.

Because it was Saturday, he was offered a white soup followed by roast beef and pudding with carrots. It also had a slice of crusty bread and a sizable piece of cheddar cheese. For dessert, he was served a sweet, spiced pudding with raisins and almonds.

Some of the patrons at the next table were speaking of someone called Jack the Ripper. It did not seem to mean much. Other than that, nothing else presented itself over dinner other than the notion he should find a room for the night. It seemed his pouch was providing him with an endless stream of money. He asked the waitress for a recommendation on lodging. She suggested an inn on the other side of the park.

Darkness was falling as he passed between the park and several drab buildings. Suddenly something caught his eye in an alleyway. It was a man crouched over a woman. He appeared to be attacking her.

"What are you doing?" he said in a loud voice. Harry stepped forward, his wand at the ready as the man looked up at him.

"Mind yer own business," snarled the man.

He saw a glint of light from what appeared to be a knife blade. "Expelliarmus!" he shouted. Nothing happened, but it seemed to startle the attacker. He stood up and started to flee down the alley.

"Stupify!" shouted Harry. Again, nothing happened. Apparently, magic did not work here.

Harry hurried toward the woman. He almost vomited when he got to her. Blood was covering everything. Her throat had been slit ear-to-ear. Her clothes had been pulled up and apart, and she had been sliced open from the waist to her breastbone. Several of her internal organs, including her intestines, liver, kidneys and pancreas had been pulled out of her body. One of her kidneys was separated from the rest and sitting to the side.

Harry ran back into the street yelling for help. Several people ran to him. After a moment, a pair of bobbies arrived. The situation bordered on chaos as everyone was talking about Jack the Ripper.

Once he answered all of the questions from the bobbies and things calmed down Harry made it to the inn. He paid for the night and went up to his room. As he got into bed his mind was awash with fear and wonder about what tomorrow would bring.

In his young life, he had already faced Voldemort twice. He had fought a basilisk and a dragon. He had saved his godfather through fights with a werewolf and dementors. None of this prepared him for what he had witnessed last night. He felt truly alone for the first time since coming to Hogwarts.

Even though he was still mad at Ron, he wished he was there to crack a joke. Hermione's brains might be able to make sense of all of this craziness. He even thought of Luna, whose unique ways of looking at things just might help.

It took some time to clear the ugliest parts of the horror of what he had seen from his mind. Eventually, he drifted off into sleep wondering how he had gotten here.