While Harry received a heartwarming support from House Gryffindor, things were much more different with the other three Houses and the visiting schools. Harry's claims of not having entered his name in the Goblet of Fire were only accepted by few. Many saw him as nothing more than some has-been celebrity attempting to regain some of his former glory. Harry did not bother explaining why he hated his fame, knowing it wouldn't do any good.
Unsurprisingly, House Slytherin was quick to pledge its full support behind Cedric, who they called the 'True Hogwarts Champion'. As for Harry, they called him an attention-seeking liar. Ravenclaw, unsurprisingly, quickly followed a step behind. While the Ravenclaws were mixed, at first, they quickly came to support Cedric while denouncing Harry. They, just like the rest of the school — excluding the Gryffindors — believed Harry had cheated his way in the Tri-Wizard Tournament.
Despite Cedric believing him, the worst of Harry's opposition came from House Hufflepuff. It wasn't exactly surprising from Harry's point of view. He had known the moment his name had come out of the Goblet of Fire that he would be hated by the badgers. While he did not like it, Harry understood why the Hufflepuffs felt cheated. Their House was usually a background House, with all the major events and important characters of the daily school year belonging to either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. For a long time, Hufflepuff had been seen as a House of rejects, one for duffers. That the Hogwarts champion came from their House gave them a lot of pride.
And then, the name of Harry Potter, Gryffindor's Golden Boy, had come out of the Goblet of Fire.
This had angered the Hufflepuffs. While the truth was that Harry was an unwilling participant in the Tri-Wizard Tournament, something the Gryffindors knew, the Hufflepuffs didn't see it that way. For them, Harry came in and swept the glory of having one of their own represent the school in an international event from under their feet. Now, they were angry. Not only did they have to share the spotlight with House Gryffindor — who was most often than not already under it — but they had to do so with the world-famous Harry Potter as well. In comparison, Cedric was a nobody.
Just like how everyone was seeing Hufflepuff. A House of nobodies.
So, Harry understood why the Hufflepuffs were angry. It did not mean he wished it was otherwise, but her understood. Unfortunately for him, Hufflepuff wanted some payback. They wanted revenge. And they set their sight on Harry himself. The Gryffindors were, of course, ready to defend their own champion.
As a result, the day following Harry's selection as fourth champion, the relationship between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff deteriorated into something Harry would later compare to the cold war. Neither the Gryffindors nor Hufflepuffs trusted each other. Harry and Cedric had to watch on as the tension between the two Houses increased, turning more and more hostile. Both attempted to calm things down from their own sides, but it didn't work. The Hufflepuffs wouldn't hear the truth, even if Cedric was the one to tell it. The Gryffindors were only ready to back down if the Hufflepuffs did first. Slytherin, Ravenclaw and the visiting schools watched on as, for a time, both sides acted like angry cats, hissing and spitting at each other. Neither House knew which side would take the first hit. The question in everybody's mind was: Who was going to strike first?
And the answer was Gryffindor.
It all began during the first Gryffindor/Hufflepuff Herbology class of November. As Harry, Hermione and Ron arrived to the greenhouses — which they shared with the Hufflepuff — they noticed that two trio of girls were facing each other down. On one side was Gryffindors Parvati Patil, Lavender Brown and Fay Dunbar while Hufflepuffs Susan Bones, Hannah Abbot and Megan Jones were on the other side. Behind both trio were their fellow house-mates pleading their silent support to them.
Harry, Ron and Hermione had shared resigned glances before Harry courageously asked what was going on.
Susan turned to look at him. She sneered. "Oh, it's you. The cheater." she spit.
"Harry didn't cheat his way in!" yelled Lavender.
The Hufflepuffs all laughed. "Like we would believe that." snarled Hannah.
"What's next? You defeated a Basilisk? Oh, wait, you already did so!" said Megan sarcastically.
"What are you on about?" asked Harry, frowning.
"Well, there's always these big rumours about you every year? What's to say you didn't start any of them?" asked Susan.
"Why would I do that?" asked Harry, angry. "Why would I tell lies about myself?"
Susan shrugged. "I don't know how your brain works, Potter. All I know is that something big always happen every year and you always coincidentally happen to be in the middle of it."
"It's not like Harry asked to be in the middle of it!" said Ron, coming to his best friend's defence.
"Well, all we know is that something big and dangerous always happen every year just in time for Harry Potter to save the day! It's like with the Chamber of Secrets in second year. Just as the school is about to close down, Potter comes in and defeat Slytherin's monster, a supposed Basilisk!"
"What are you trying to say?" asked Harry.
"Well, I think it's awfully convenient that Potter end up saving the dangerous 'Heir of Slytherin' just as it's about to close down. After all, we all know Potter hate living with his muggle relatives."
The Gryffindors became thunderous at the hinted accusation. Almost as one, they began yelling at the Hufflepuffs. Harry couldn't understand what they were yelling. He only heard the words Hermione said.
"You're still onto that!?" she shrieked over their house-mates. "Harry would never attack muggleborns!
"My own mother is muggleborn! Hermione, the girl I see as my sister in all but blood is muggleborn! Why would I attack muggleborns!" yelled Harry angrily.
As a result of the yelling of the Gryffindors, the Hufflepuffs began yelling back. Then, it became physical as each houses began pushing the other away. Fortunately, before it could escalade into hits and hexes, the door of the greenhouse opened, revealing Professor Sprout. Unfortunately, she didn't appear to be in a good mood.
"What is going on here?" she asked sternly. She seemed to take one look at the students, who had frozen into place, before saying "Twenty points from Gryffindor. Everyone inside, now!"
The Gryffindors stared at the teacher with shock. For a moment, it had felt like Snape had just come in and defended the Slytherin but, instead, it was Sprout and her Hufflepuffs. The House of the Lions immediately started protesting outrageously. "What about them?" said a Gryffindor.
"Inside!" repeated Sprout, nearly hissing the word. The Hufflepuffs sent smug looks to the Gryffindors, further enraging them.
The anger the Gryffindors felt only worsened during the lesson. They were enraged that one of the professors had taken a side while they were supposed to be impartial. They knew that their own head of house, Professor McGonagall, wouldn't take a side since it wouldn't be proper for a member of the staff. Unfortunately, Sprout didn't appear to have any such reservations. During the class, Sprout seemed to have decided to emulate Snape, giving many undeserved points to the Hufflepuffs while the Gryffindors lost theirs at the smallest of offence. It seemed like Hermione was the only one from their House who kept her head cool — at least up until the last few minutes of the class where Sprout asked a question and Hermione, being Hermione, raised her hand.
"Miss Granger! Let others answer the questions for once! Stop acting like an insufferable know-it-all!" she barked.
The Gryffindors gasped. Professor Sprout, who was usually so happy to have Hermione answer her questions, had just snapped at her and insulted her. Harry and Ron had a very hard time not blowing up, especially when they saw Hermione lower her hand, tears in her eyes. If the Gryffindors could lit something on fire with their eyes, Sprout would have already burned to a crisp.
"I can't believe Sprout said that!" snapped Harry as they entered the common room following the end of the class. Noticing Sarah and her friend natalie sitting in one corner, Harry led Ron and Hermione toward them. "She shouldn't be taking a side but she did! I always though highly of Sprout but now she turned into Snape just because of a stupid Tournament."
"What's going on?" asked Sarah, seeing the anger in Harry and Ron's face while Hermione was looking very sad.
"Hufflepuff, that's what happened!" said Ron angrily before he and Harry proceeded to recount what had happened in Herbology. They weren't the only ones either. All around the common room, groups of fourth years told older and younger students what had happened. At the end of Harry and Ron's tale, Sarah was as angry as them.
"How could she!? How could she say that to Hermione!?" snapped Sarah. "That — that — bitch!"
"Language, Sarah." mumbled Hermione. Harry's eyes widened at hearing her language.
"Professor Sprout was always so nice to me." said Natalie, looking like she was about to cry. "Why would she do that?"
"Because she's a Hufflepuff at heart. Hufflepuffs are very loyal to one another. She, just like the rest of her House, must be seeing my name coming out of the Goblet as an insult to her House, especially when the whole of Gryffindor came and supported me. Because of this, she's taking it out on us." grumbled Harry.
"What are we going to do?" asked Sarah, fire in her eyes.
"Us? Nothing." answered Harry. To his side, Hermione nodded in agreement.
"What? Why not?" protested Ron.
"Ron, how do you think people would see it if me or my friends started causing trouble to the Hufflepuffs?" he asked.
"Not well." answered the redhead boy. "Still, it doesn't mean we have to ignore it!"
Harry smiled mischievously. "I never said anything about ignoring it, Ron. I simply said that we wouldn't do anything ourselves." At Ron's confused expression, he continued. "What? Do you think the rest of Gryffindor is going to let this one slide?"
Ron's eyes widened as he began grinning. "You won't say anything to discourage them?"
"'Course not." said Harry. "Hufflepuff deserves it." He hadn't wanted his and Cedric's Houses to turn hostile toward each other but that attitude had changed. The accusation of the fourth year Hufflepuffs had angered him, but it was Sprout's insult toward Hermione that had broken the dam. As far as he was concerned, Hufflepuff could go and stuff it.
Nobody messed with the girl Harry saw as his sister.
"I can't wait to see what Fred and George will do." said Ron, chuckling darkly.
And let it slide, Gryffindor did not. The following morning, as everyone was eating breakfast, a large bang was heard across the Great Hall. At the same time, large clouds of colourful smoke appeared around the Hufflepuff table, hiding all of the badgers under it.
"What is going on?" asked Hermione, wide-eyed.
Harry smirked. "I think we're seeing Gryffindor's retaliation for yesterday."
"This should be good." muttered Ron.
Suddenly, the clouds of smoke vanished, revealing the Hufflepuff students. Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw and the students of the visiting schools burst into loud laughter. Harry and his friends joined in when they understood what had happened.
The hair of all the badgers had been turned red with golden stripes. Covering their Hufflepuff robes were bright red shirts with gold lettering on it. The message on it was rather obvious.
GRYFFINDOR RULES
HUFFLEPUFF SUCKS
The Hufflepuffs glared at the laughing Gryffindors while angrily removing or tearing down their shirts. The rest of the school laughed at them. They felt humiliated. It didn't matter if Professor McGonagall removed points from her House. They wanted revenge.
The Gryffindors had struck first.
War between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff had broke out.
Harry and his friends had just exited the Great Hall and were going back to their common room to prepare for their classes — Charms for Sarah and Potions for the other three — when they were stopped by someone.
"Harry! Wait!" said Cedric behind him. Harry turned to see Cedric sporting red and gold hair running toward them. He seemed to the only Hufflepuff who hadn't removed his 'Gryffindor Rules' shirt.
"Go on." he said to Ron, Hermione and Sarah. "I'll join you later." Hermione nodded before she led Ron and Sarah away. He turned back toward the other Hogwarts champion. "Nice hairstyle, Cedric." he commented as if he was talking about the weather. Cedric laughed.
"Ah — yes. I do believe it fits me quite well." he said, passing a hand in his coloured hair. Then, looking more concerned, he said "Are you okay? I heard what happened in your Herbology class yesterday."
Harry grimaced. "I'm fine. Angry, but fine. I mean, Susan Bones all but called me the Heir of Slytherin once again and Professor Sprout called Hermione an insufferable know-it-all when she raised her hand to answer a question! She did just like Snape did the previous year in DADA!" he said angrily.
"Yeah..." muttered Cedric. "I really don't understand what's going on with my House. You would believe they would listen to me since, as champion, I'm their proud figurehead and leader. Yet, they didn't listen to me when I told them you didn't enter your name in the Goblet of Fire, nor when I told them not to push the Gryffindors as they were bound to snap and strike back — as today proved. But, they didn't listen to me." he said, shaking his head sadly.
"What about you?" asked Harry. At his confused expression, he added "I mean the prank."
"Oh, that?" he said with a chuckle. "I think it's rather funny, as a matter of fact. I believe the Hufflepuffs deserve it. Like I said, they pushed the Gryffindors. They would have expected them to push back." His eyes became sad for a moment before he said "I always wore my Hufflepuff colours proudly. I always defended the House when others insulted us, never letting their word get to me. These last few days though... I'm not proud of being called a Hufflepuff."
"You could ask for a resorting." joked Harry.
Cedric gave a laugh. "I don't think it's going that far. At least I hope it doesn't..." he said. Then, Cedric looked at the shirt he was wearing. "I think I'll wear it the entire day. Hopefully, it will pass on a message to my fellow Hufflepuffs."
"And if it doesn't?" asked Harry.
Cedric sighed. "Well, we'll see when we get there."
Sarah had just finished her Potions class. For once, she had done a perfect potion, so perfect that Snape didn't even attempt to grade it down. In fact, Snape had even given her a point! It wasn't much but, coming from Snape, it was huge!
So, Sarah was very happy when she began walking back toward the Gryffindor common room. Her happiness motivated her to do her Potions homework as soon as possible, so she instead turned and went toward the library.
As she was crossing a rather unknown passage, one that Harry had shown her earlier in the year, someone spoke up.
"Well, well, well... If it isn't Potter's little fan-girl." drawled someone behind her. Turning around, she saw Harry's school rival Draco Malfoy, surrounded by his bookends Crabbe and Goyle.
Sarah took a step back, remembering very well how he had looked at her on the Hogwarts Express. While she couldn't put a name on the look he had given her that day, it had scared her. "What do you want?" she asked more bravely than she felt. She feared they were going to attack her. She cursed the fact that her training lightsaber was in her bag. Sure, it wouldn't injure the other three but it would be enough to divert any spells they would cast on her. Instead, she leaned toward her wand.
Malfoy grinned. His smile made her shudder. "Well... Sarah, is it? I want to send a message to the cheater Potter. I want him to know that anyone who support him will have to bear the cost."
"What does that mean?" barked Sarah. "You're going to attack defenceless first years just to get at Harry?"
"Not any first years." said Malfoy. "No, just you."
"Why?" asked Sarah.
"Well, you're rather close to Potter." Then, his smile turned predatory. "That and you're a rather attractive girl."
Sarah felt herself turned sick before she immediately went for her wand. Before she could raise it and cast at Malfoy, she was disarmed before she was hit by a Full-Body Bind Curse. Her limbs snapped into place as she fell on her back.
"Oh, she's fiery! I think I will enjoy this."
Sarah's eyes turned wet. 'Please, Harry. Please help me, before it's too late!' she pleaded.
Harry was walking back from the library alongside Ron and Hermione when he felt something... wrong. He couldn't pinpoint exactly what was wrong. The feeling reminded him of how he had felt on the day of the World Cup when he hard heard Fleur and Gabrielle Delacour cry in terror in the woods. He knew in his soul though that something very wrong was going on. And his gut feelings were telling him to run toward the dungeons, specifically toward the corridor he and his friends used when they went from Potions to the library.
"I need to do something." he blurted. "I'll see you later!" Harry immediately turned and ran toward the dungeons.
"Harry, wait!" yelled Hermione. She made to begin running after him when Ron grabbed her arm.
"Nevermind him. You know how Harry is sometimes." he said with amusement.
"It's just... I feel something is wrong." said Hermione. Ron frowned.
"I think I feel it too. Unfortunately, we don't know where he's going. We'll just have to trust him. He has his lightsaber with him so he shouldn't be too much in danger." he said.
"I hope you're right."
Meanwhile, Harry was running inside a series of narrow corridors, a shortcut that lead him to his final destination. When he arrived, he hid behind a corner. He found Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle. They were standing in front of someone in a body-bind. Sarah! "Oh, she's fiery! I think I will enjoy this." said Malfoy with glee.
Harry snapped. He saw red. During the previous few days, many things had happened that made him very angry. Harry had heard people insult him. They were calling him a glory-hound. They hexed him the back, attempted to sabottage his work in class. He had all kept it inside but this attack on Sarah was the straw that broke the camel's back. So enraged he was at was he was saying that he wasn't even thinking clearly. He revealed himself. "Potter!" exclaimed Malfoy in shock. He, Crabbe and Goyle all pointed their wands toward him. Burning with anger, Harry extended his right hand toward them in a grip-like gesture. The three Slytherins began turning red as their hands all flew to their throats. They were choking.
Harry then raised his hand and Sarah's attackers began levitating in the air, still held by the throat. He saw the faces of the three Slytherins turn purple.
Sarah jumped in Harry's field of view, putting herself between the Slytherins and Harry. "Harry! Stop!" she cried. He blinked in confusion. Her words had managed to pierce the veil of anger that had covered Harry's mind. "Let it go, Harry. Let go of your anger." said the redhead softly.
Harry released his hold on the three Slytherins. All three fell back on the ground, coughing and spluttering. Malfoy was the first one to rise. He helped Crabbe and Goyle on their feet before all three ran away. Harry fell on his knees as the shock of what had just happened hit him.
"My god..." he gasped. "What have I done?" He couldn't believe he had just 'force choked' someone. He had always seen it as a badass villain gesture done by Darth Vader in the movies. He had never imagined his magic would go wild and allow him to do the same thing in anger! Did it make him as bad as Darth Vader? "What have I done?" he repeated before he started sobbing.
Harry felt himself being grabbed in a hug. Even though he couldn't see properly because of the tears, he recognized Sarah. She had a surprisingly strong grip for her size. Neither said anything, simply holding the embrace and comforting each other as they dealt with what had just happened to them.
Harry knew one thing for sure, though. He should never let his anger rule him. If he did, he feared what would happen. If it wasn't for Sarah, Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle would most likely be bodies at his feet. It terrified him that he had this kind of power, that he could strange someone to death like Darth Vader.
Eventually, Harry slowly leaned away from the embrace. "Are you okay?" she asked.
"I should be the one to ask you, Sarah!" said Harry. "After what almost happened!"
"But, it didn't." said Sarah softly. "You saved me before they could do anything."
"By turning into Darth Vader." said Harry emotionally. "I let my anger control me. I let my magic go wild. If it wasn't for you, I would have killed them."
"But they didn't. They're fine... mostly." said the girl with copper hair. "They would have deserved it anyway." she said.
"Maybe. But we aren't jury and executioner. We shouldn't kill unless it was self-defence. Here, I had them at my mercy and almost killed them."
Sarah didn't really know what more to add, so she simply grabbed him back in a hug. Her embrace was rather comforting for Harry. It allowed him to calm down enough to a state where he could think clearly and not wallow in his emotions.
Eventually, they were forced to rise back on their feet. It was starting to be late and dinner in the Great Hall was soon about to begin.
"Thanks." he whispered when they released each other.
"No problems." she said. "Now, I'm hungry. Let's go eat!"
Harry started to chuckle. Even with everything that had just happened, she still thought about food. He wondered if she was growing to be just like Ron in that aspect.
A/N: Authors always treat Hufflepuffs so nicely. I had to do it the other way. x)
Also, the last section of this chapter is a prelude to the darker aspect the story will have in the future.