Chapter 34 – Anything but Calm

Fourth Year

After the events of the Quidditch Cup, Tawny, Remus, and Sirius were all hesitant at letting Harry return to Hogwarts. The following day, Arthur Weasley and Albus Dumbledore came by the house to discuss what the Cup meant about Voldemort and his potential return to the Wizarding World. Arthur talked about how after the Dark Mark appeared in the sky, the death eaters had disapparated almost immediately, indicating they too were afraid of what the mark meant.

Albus had met with the Magical Law Enforcement Department at the ministry to discuss the night's events and to see if there had been any other signs of Voldemort's return. The department had come up empty, stating the cup had been an isolated event. To be certain that Hogwarts would be protected, Albus recruited Auror Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody to fill the vacant Defense Against the Dark Arts position at the school. Mad-Eye promised to instill constant vigilance in the children as well as teach them spells that would protect them in case the threat was real.

With the Triwizard Tournament being held at Hogwarts this year, the school would have extra protection already. Increased security came from members of the Magical Sports and Games Department of the Ministry that would be at the school to plan and execute the three tasks. Also, with two other schools participating in the tournament, the headmistress of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic (Madame Maxime) and headmaster of the Durmstrang Institute (Igor Karkaroff) would also be present at the school.

Sirius was hesitant about Karkaroff's presence at the school, knowing that back during the war he had been at Voldemort's beck and call as a death eater. However, Dumbledore assured him that Karkaroff should not be an issue due to his post-war betrayal of Voldemort and other death eaters. If Voldemort had returned, Karkaroff would also have to fear the Dark Lord for turning his back on him to save his own skin. Even with the thought of Voldemort vaporizing Karkaroff for his betrayal, he still didn't fully trust the headmaster. Luckily, Harry wasn't only under his guidance and would still have Dumbledore, McGonagall and plenty of other professors that would give their lives to protect his godson.

Finally, after Dumbledore promised to report anything even remotely concerning about Harry or dark activity going on at Hogwarts to them, they decided that Hogwarts they decided that depriving Harry of going back to school, to learn from Mad-Eye, and to see this Triwizard Tournament – an event that even made them incredibly excited – wasn't worth it. So, they buried their overprotective parental concerns down deep and took Harry to King's Cross to send him back to school another year, each of them giving their boy an extra long hug before letting him get on the express.

A week later, Harry wrote home to the three of them, updating them about his new Defense Against the Dark Art's teacher.

Tawny, Sirius, and Uncle Remus,

Fourth-year is off to quite the interesting start. First of all, I can't believe you three kept the secret of the Triwizard Tournament from me all summer! Don't worry, as much as I'd like to compete, I can't. You've got to be seventeen to put your name in the goblet of fire. But, for once I think I might actually enjoy just watching the chaos rather than being a part of it. Dumbledore says that two other schools are going to be competing as well: Durmstrang and Beauxbatons I think. Their students don't arrive until late October, so we will have to wait a while before we see who gets to compete, but it's going to be wicked, I just know it! Do you think any of you will get the chance to come to watch?

What else has been going on? Oh, Hermione has taken it upon herself to single-handedly save the house-elves. She has started an organization she calls, S.P.E.W (Society for the Protection of Elfish Welfare). If you're wondering what the buttons are, I attached to this letter, that's what they are. She made be send them. So, next time you see her, wear one to make her happy, will you? Merlin knows Ron and I don't have a choice, so we've been wearing them with our robes.

Having Professor Moody around has been quite the change… I don't know what to think of him. Let me explain. The other day, Malfoy and I got into a bit of a row. Okay, quite a large one. But that's not the point, during the fight, Moody came barging in and turned Malfoy into a ferret! I bloody ferret! Can you believe it? He had him flying in the air and dancing around. He would've kept going, but Professor McGonagall came rushing in and stopped him. He had everyone around him laughing their arses off, and I know for a fact Malfoy will likely stay clear of him for a while.

While watching that was fun, the one thing that surprised me was our first lesson. To kick start the year, Moody began with the three Unforgivable Curses. I had no idea those were going to be taught this year, or any year really. Hermione had a fit about him demonstrating the curses on a spider during class. And Neville… I've never seen him so uncomfortable in my life. Tawny, I know you told me about his parents being permanent residents at Mungo's, but I didn't realize why. Just watching Moody use the Cruciatus Curse on the spider was bad enough. I can't imagine what it would do to a person if used enough times. Have any of you had the Cruciatus curse used on you?

Love you lot,

Harry

To hear about the curses being taught surprised all three of them. They couldn't believe that Moody was covering such content with such young children. Remus pointed out that teaching the curses, regardless of how gruesome they are, would be a good way of preparing the kids if Voldemort had returned. Most of the kids didn't know anything about the curses and would have no idea what was happening if they saw them, particularly the muggle-born kids. Remus didn't approve of teaching the kids how to use them, but making them familiar with them, and how to defend themselves from them would keep them safe. If only he knew that a later lesson would entail the kids having the curses used on them… Harry left that detail out of his next letter, knowing that the moment Tawny hear about it, she would be at Hogwarts to raise hell, and likely murder, Mad-Eye Moody.

As the weeks passed by in October, Tawny, Remus, and Sirius moved forward with their lives. Sirius continued to see Aurora Delaney on a weekly basis to keep him progressing in his recovery. She was coming through so much, that Sirius had even sent an owl to Kingsley to ask if he thought Sirius had a shot at returning to his old job at the ministry. He wasn't ready just yet to go back, but he hoped when he was, Kingsley would be able to make that happen for him.

Without surprise, Remus was denied the tutoring job he had been hoping for. Tawny eagerly searched for a job at Mungo's for him, and eventually, after a few weeks found someone on in the Department of Creature Induced Injuries willing to take him on, Damian Foster. Damian recognized that Remus's werewolf side could be an asset to the department. His background with treating injuries caused by magical creatures, himself, would be a perfect resource for the department. Although many people at the hospital still feared Remus and his kind, Damian hired at Remus for his skillset. Since he wasn't a trained healer, Remus couldn't directly treat patients. Instead, he had Remus in charge of research of rare creature induced injuries and experimental treatments. He allowed Remus to take over the potions room on the first floor to allow him to brew new potions and test healing spells from his research.

While Remus was busy researching, Tawny was busy teaching. The new class of potential healers had been coming in for the on the job training rotations at the hospital. The students would rotate through the departments, learning new skills every couple of weeks. As the department head, Tawny had the most flexible schedule, allowing her to take on more students to shadow her. She had been working herself to death trying to take on the students as well as balance her patients. Most nights she hadn't returned home until nearly 10 PM. With Sirius's free time, he had been practicing more cooking spells, trying out new recipes every night for dinner. Only him and Remus really got to enjoy them, since by the time Tawny arrived home, they had already eaten, and she was too tired to care what she was shoveling in her mouth before passing out.

By the time Halloween rolled around, Tawny was exhausted. Sirius noticed how hard she had been working and convinced her for one day to just take a break and give herself the day off. It was a weekend anyway, so her students wouldn't be shadowing anyway, and any patients she had left could be passed off to the other healers on her floor. Knowing, she needed a break she took the day to spend with Sirius and Remus.

Even if Tawny and Remus had taken the day off, Halloween a the Lovegood-Lupin-Potter-Black house would never be normal with it being the anniversary of James and Lily's death. Instead of staying home, they took the day to return to Godric's Hollow and chat with their dearly departed mates. They stayed for a few hours, talking about everything that had been happening since their last visit, including the Cup and their concerns about it. The longer the stayed there it ended up turning into a memory sharing session and talked about their favorite memories of James and Lily from their days at Hogwarts.

Afterward, they all went to the Three Broomsticks and took up their old booth and ordered butterbeer, firewhiskey, burgers, and endless chips and just enjoyed each other's company. As they sat in the pub, laughed and they listened to the music Rosemerta played Tawny couldn't help but think that this was the first time she had truly enjoyed a Halloween in a long time. It was nearly ten and the crowd at the pub, began to die down, only a few stragglers besides them, occupying the booth on the other side of the room. Rosemerta had begun levitating the chairs to stack upside down on the tables while her broom swept the floor itself. A slow song began playing, and Rosemerta smiled while looking over at the three of them. She threw Sirius a wink and flicked her wand at the radio, raising the volume.

Sirius slid out of his seat and extended his hand to Tawny, asking for a dance. She agreed, tucking her wand in her pocket and taking his hand. Sirius led her to the middle of the room, while Moony magicked the Tables out the way, allowing them to have some more space. Sirius placed on hand on Tawny's waist to hold her close. With his other hand, he intertwined his fingers with hers as they swayed to the beat. Occasionally, he would spin her around a few times causing her flowy skirt to flair the same way a ballerinas' tutus would during a performance.

"Thank you for making me do this, I needed it, especially today of all days." Tawny whispered in his ear when he pulled her close again.

"No need to thank me, love. You know I'd do anything to see you smile." Sirius said, dipping her. With her hair being cut to her shoulders, it wasn't long enough to brush the floor like it had when they were kids. Like her hair, a lot of things had changed over the years, but not the feelings she had every time she was with Sirius. Every time he touched her or held her close, her heart skipped a beat. Sirius raised her back up slowly, pulling her in so that their foreheads pressed together. "I love you, Tawny Lovegood."

"I love you too, Sirius Black." With that, she leaned forward, pressing her lips to his gently. Sirius let go of her hand and slipped it around her waist to join his other. Tawny kissed him deeper, placing her hand on his cheek, casually rubbing her thumb across his left cheekbone.

"Oi! You're not the only ones in the room!" Remus said, rolling his eyes. Sirius, without breaking the kiss, held up one finger, rudely gesturing to his mate. Tawny smiled against his lips, purposefully slipping her tongue in his mouth just to irritate Remus. "Um, guys, what is that?" Remus asked, pointing at the window of the pub.

Sirius and Tawny broke apart, directing their attention outside. Quickly approaching the pub seemed to be a Patronus. Next thing they knew, a silvery-white phoenix, flew directly through the window of the Three Broomsticks and circled the two twice before landing on the back of a chair in-between them and Remus, its silvery tail hanging off the table, shimmering in the light of the Pub's lanterns. Before any of them could ask, the Phoenix opened its beak, and Albus Dumbledore's voice spoke, "I'd like to speak with all of you. Come to my office at once. Mr. Potter and I await your arrival." The moment he finished speaking, the bird dissolved into a shimmering mist right before their eyes.

"What's happened now?" Remus asked, getting up from the booth.

"Nothing good." Sirius finished, taking Tawny's hand and headed out the door, with Remus on his heels.

Hagrid had met the trio at the gate to Hogwarts, letting them onto school grounds and informing them of the new password to Dumbledore's office. They rushed inside, taking the secret passageways to get to the office as fast as they could.

Tawny felt the anxiety building in her as they ran. She knew that if Dumbledore was summoning them, it couldn't be good. "Mr. Potter and I await your arrival." She thought, remembering Albus's words. Harry was okay – alive at the least.

"What's going on?" were the first words out of Tawny's mouth as she walked through the doorway of Dumbledore's office, completely interrupting Harry and the headmaster's conversation.

"Tawny, Sirius, Remus, welcome. Please, take a seat." Dumbledore said, waving to the armchairs next to Harry. All three of them remained standing, staring directly at the headmaster. "Please." He insisted, and they reluctantly sunk into their chairs.

"As you know, Hogwarts is hosting the Triwizard Tournament this year at Hogwarts." Tawny felt her stomach tense at his words. "Due to fatalities in the past, this year the ministry has declared that the competition only be eligible for students seventeen years of age and older to compete. To ensure this, I personally cast an age line around the goblet of fire, to ensure only seventh years and a few our older sixth years were able to put their names in the goblet of fire." Tawny breathed a small sigh of relief, knowing that due to his age Harry wouldn't be able to place his name in the goblet for selection.

"Tonight, at Halloween feast, the goblet produced the names of the tournament champions. From Durmstrang, Mr. Victor Krum." Sirius whispered a quick, 'I knew it,' in-between Dumbledore's champion announcements. "From, Beauxbatons, Mrs. Fleur Delacour, and from Hogwarts, Mr. Cedric Diggory."

"If Amos Diggory's son is the Hogwarts champion why are we here, Albus?" Remus asked, gripping the arm of his chair to brace himself for the news.

"This evening – to everyone's surprise – the goblet produced another name… a fourth champion: Harry Potter."

"Shit," Remus swore quietly, before letting his face fall into his hands.

"HARRY JAMES POTTER HOW DARE YOU PUT YOUR NAME IN THE GOBLET OF FIRE? HAVE YOU GONE ABSOLUTELY MAD?" Tawny yelled with a tone that was anything but calm. She had risen from her chair, nearly towering over her godson.

"Tawny, I didn't-" Harry stammered, trying to sink farther back into his chair.

"DO YOU UNDERSTAND HOW DANGEROUS THIS TOURNAMENT IS? CHILDREN HAVE DIED, HARRY! CHILDREN OLDER THAN YOU, WITH MORE EXPERIENCE! WE SENT YOU BACK TO SCHOOL THIS YEAR SO THAT YOU COULD WATCH THIS TOURNAMENT NOT ENTER IT!"

"Tawny, I didn't put my name in!"

"DON'T LIE TO ME HARRY! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING DOING SOMETHING SO RECKLESS? HAVE THE LAST FEW YEARS AT SCHOOL TAUGHT YOU NOTHING ABOUT BEING SAFE? CAN YOU NOT GO ONE BLOODY YEAR WITHOUT TRYING TO GET YOURSELF KILLED?!"

"Tawny," Dumbledore said, stealing her attention away from Harry. "Harry has assured me that he has not put his name in the goblet, nor did he have one of the older students put his name in. I have consulted with Alastor Moody about this and he believes that Harry was not capable of – how did he put it – 'hoodwinking' such a powerful magical relic like the goblet. It would take spell work that is far more advanced than that of a budding fourth-year student."

"Who would do something like this?" Remus asked.

"Bloody Karkaroff, that's who!" Sirius scoffed. "I told you we couldn't trust him. I don't give a damn if he's the headmaster of Durmstrang. Once a death eater, always a death eater."

"On the contrary, Sirius, Headmaster Karkaroff was infuriated by the news that Harry was chosen as another champion. He even suggested that Durmstrang not compete in tournament entirely because of Harry's name being chosen." Dumbledore pointed out, but Sirius only huffed and crossed his arms, still not convinced.

"If not Karkaroff then who, Albus?"

"As of the moment, we are unsure. I have placed Alastor in charge of conducting the investigation. I can only hope that he will be able to provide us with answers."

"Okay, Harry's name came out of the goblet of fire. What does this mean?" Remus asked, trying to wrap his head around all this new information.

"It means for the first time in nearly seven hundred years the Triwizard Tournament will have four champions. Harry will become Hogwarts second champion and he will compete in the tournament alongside the other three."

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Tawny bellowed.

"Placing your name – or in this case, having your name placed – in the goblet of fire is magically binding. Anyone chosen by the goblet is contractionary obligated to participate in the tournament."

"He's only fourteen!" Sirius spoke up, his voice laced with concern.

"Who in charge of this? Ludo Bagman? I am going to his office, right now!" Tawny declared, heading straight for the floo.

"Mr. Bagman cannot change the rules of the tournament, Tawny. While this is not anyone's first choice, Harry must compete."

"YOU!" Tawny yelled, pointing her wand directly at the headmaster. "YOU TOLD ME THAT IF WE SENT HIM BACK TO SCHOOL THAT HE WOULD BE SAFE! NOW, TWO MONTHS INTO THE SCHOOL YEAR AND HE IS SIGNED UP FOR A TOURNAMENT THIS IS GOING TO GET HIM KILLED! I SHOULD HAVE NEVER TRUSTED YOU, ALBUS!"

"ENOUGH!" Harry yelled, rising from his chair and silencing his godmother. "I get it, you're terrified about losing me! But have you stopped for one second to think about how I feel about this? I am the one competing, not you! And you standing here, yelling about how scared and worried you are, stating that I am going to die is only making me feel worse! Whether you like it or not I have to compete in this tournament. So, you can either keep yelling about how unfair this is or you can get it together, support me, and figure out how to help me survive!" Without another word, Harry stormed out of the office, heading straight for his dormitory.

"Harry is right, Tawn. We are only making things worse."

"I just… I can't lose him." Tawny choked out, sinking to her knees. Things had been going well for the past two months… She thought, maybe the commotion at the cup was just a fluke. But now… all of her worries came flooding back. This tournament had been discontinued for nearly 250 years because of how dangerous it was, and now the first year they bring it back her fourteen-year-old was going to have to compete. Was it too much to ask for one normal year at Hogwarts?

"As a judge of this tournament, I must remind you that Harry is supposed to stand alone in this tournament and not receive help from others," Dumbledore said, addressing all three of them. "As a friend, I will also remind you that the floo network is available for communication by fire at all hours of the day and night and that I am not your only friend here at Hogwarts. Do with that information what you will."