[a/n]Frosty Wolf suggested a number of ideas I haven't touched on. The next few are from a pm. 1]Skeeter follows Hagrid when he shows Maxime the Dragons before the first task in fourth year, also spots Karkaroff following them. The two foreign heads and their students get called out for cheating in the tournament, which is something I don't think I've EVER seen.

Harry Does Different CCCDXXIXa

Dragon Scoop

"O'er here Arry! O'er here! Got sommat ter tell ya." The big groundskeeper called out as he thundered down the steps from the Head Table.

Hermione, whom he'd eaten with that night, merely waved her acknowledgement and got out her Runes text. Ron, who was still angry that he hadn't been told how his best mate entered his name, made an attempt to follow.

"Need something, mate?" sneered Harry when he spotted the redhead. He waited before addressing "Hi there Hagrid, what's going on? And why do you look so spiffy?"

A blush on the 8-foot man was a remarkable sight "Never mind that! Listen, it'll be a good iderr if ya get'cher Dad's cloak and foller me an Olympe when we go out."

"Err…right… I'll do that. Can you stall a bit? I'll have to run back to my dorm to get it and I might need to pee." Harry spotted someone he really disliked, but suddenly seemed useful and ran after her. He caught up "Miss Skeeter! Rita! Hey! Listen, can you wait here for me? I might probably have a story for you."

The scandalwitch gave the Boy-Who-Lived a speculative look "Hmmm… don't know, you've been rather loud about me the last couple weeks."

"Look, we can have a hostile relationship, or you can take this as a peace offering. Who knows? You might even write something nice about me. Are you really DOING anything at the moment?" he spoke in a rush. At her nod he took off at a dead run. Returning in just a few minutes he unfurled his cloak and explained briefly "Invisibility. Was my Dad's. There they go. Follow Hagrid and Maxime."

This was a major revelation in itself, Rita knew. In fact, she decided, if he wasted her time, a spectacular article could be had on it alone. For now though, she went along, mind already composing. What she saw in the grove they were led to simply burned it away. She whispered to the boy "Bloody hell! They expect you to fight a dragon?"

"You can come out now Harry." Said Hagrid after the handlers took the dragons away, and Madam Maxime left.

He did so, without revealing Rita and fearfully repeated her comment "Bloody hell! They expect me to fight a dragon? What're they thinking? What's wrong with Dumbledore?!"

"Fesser Dumbledore is a great man Arry." The giant automatically defended his benefactor.

The teen rolled his eyes "Remember, I know about Tom. I know he kept you on after you had to be expelled when he didn't have to. But look at it from my side for a sec. Sure Dumbledore is great, but then in his way, so's Voldemort. Mr. Ollivander told me terrible but great. I'm not saying he's evil, but the Headmaster sure hasn't done me any favors this year."

"I see." He was suddenly less friendly and didn't say another word until they were passing his hut "Think I'll just turn in. You head onto bed.

Once they were sure of not being seen, Rita shrugged off his cloak and said "Here you go. Wouldn't lose that, quite amazing really. Yes Harry, quite the story we have. For one a teacher giving a contestant …well… basically a cheat."

"I'd prefer you didn't mention Hagrid." Said Harry "He's really ok. But Merlin! What'm'I supposed to do against a dragon? I mean I didn't even know they really existed until Professor Lupin's class last year. And that wasn't much, Class XXXXX, very dangerous."

She gaped at him "I knew more than that before I started Hogwarts!"

"Ah. Pureblood, or at least magic-raised." Harry understood at once "See, I wasn't."

Rita could only gape again "What about the books?"

"Books?" he parroted.

She brought out her wand and concentrated. In the air between them an image appeared and she explained "Forgive the roughness. This is a book cover, title The Boy-Who-Lived and the Dragon Egg."

"Well I guess it's good fiction, but 1985? Really? Does everyone know I was five then?" Harry snorted in disgust and talked "Whatever they say, forget it…"

TRIWIZARD CHEAT

November 7 1994

Ah, gentle readers, to say the past week has fascinating would be an understatement. Last night was beyond revealing.

Let me begin by offering a rare apology. I was less than kind to our Tournament's youngest competitor. And let me be specific, that Harry Potter used that word. He, himself, said he doesn't feel he IS a Champion. Why is that? He pointed out to me that, while he is NOT twelve as an error in my first article stated, he has ONLY three years' magical education. It is no more than that as, prior to his arrival at Hogwarts, despite the events reported in The-Boy-Who-Lived series. Harry will forgive me censoring the one word he used to describe the series and call it fiction.

We spoke at great length and I will report that in future articles.

To the topic at hand, however. The long history of the Tournament has established very specific rules of conduct. One of them is Champions do NOT get to know the tasks, except by their own efforts and they do NOT ask someone who knows. I've learned this rule has been broken a hundred ways from Sunday. Harry did not tell me WHO told him, however I do have personal knowledge that Madam Maxime of Beauxbatons has informed her Champion. A source I won't name tells me Headmaster Karkaroff informed Viktor Krum at least three days ago.

Being almost Hufflepuffian in his desire for fairness, Mr. Potter wished me to include, at this point, for the benefit of our Hufflepuff Champion; that the first task involves the stealing of a treasure from each Champion's nesting mother dragon.

Mr. Potter has been accused of cheating. This reporter has proven otherwise. The same cannot be said of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. I must ask the question if, at some point, Headmaster Dumbledore might have cheated for his Champion[s]? And which?

by: Rita Skeeter

Silence reigned in the Great Hall as copies of The Daily Prophet were read. The scandalwitch didn't say a word. She affected an attitude of not noticing the attention.