Disclaimer: I own nothing.
A/N: Sorry updates are a bit sporadic. Work is really busy right now.
Dumbledore was hit with the wave of a purple spell. He sighed, having been hit with that spell multiple times in the past from this same person. "No Poppy, I don't have dementia. I'm perfectly healthy…"
Another spell hit him, this one a bit less common but not unexpected. "And I'm definitely me, not someone polyjuiced as me."
"Then you must just be a bloody idiot then," Madam Pomfrey growled sternly at her employer from where they were tensely facing off in her office.
Frankly, he wasn't angry; he agreed with her. "I tried, Poppy, I promise. I might have a lot of titles, but they come with less power than you would think. I was outvoted by the committee," he pleaded for her understanding. "Something is wrong with the bloody cup and it listed off deceased people for Harry instead of those he would truly miss. You were the only one early on in the list that was still living."
"Oh really," a gleam entered Poppy's eye. If Dumbledore had to guess, she seemed pleased. "How early on? Who was in front of me?" She asked with the look in her eye that he remembered her professors had been afraid of when she'd been a student. That look usually proceeded detention…for someone not Poppy Pomfrey, somehow nothing ever did come back on her. The look was probably worse now than back then.
"Lily Potter was the only one listed before you," he responded tentatively, not knowing where this was going. "I know Harry has spent quite a bit of time in the infirmary over the years, but I really didn't know you were that close."
Poppy's grin was answer enough that they were though. "Ha! I only got beaten out by his mother! Take that James Potter!" She laughed. Dumbledore was starting to wonder if he needed to use her own diagnostic spells on her.
"Really Poppy," he said in admonishment. "Obviously there was something wrong with the cup…"
Poppy was pacing excitedly now. "Who was third?" She stopped to ask.
"Er…your house elf, Dobby isn't it?" He frowned.
Her grin got even wider at that if it were possible. "This is brilliant!" She laughed. "I have to tell Dobby!"
"So…you'll be the hostage then?" Dumbledore asked tentatively. This was going much better than he thought it would.
"Merlin, no! What gave you that impression?!" She scoffed and then gave him a glare for good measure. "I'm your only medical professional at this tournament. What are you going to do if someone is injured? You are supposed to be mitigating the danger to the champions not making it worse!"
Dumbledore frowned. He agreed with her that this was a bad idea, but he was actually trying to take care of the students. He hadn't known that calling Harry up when his name came out of the goblet would seal his participation in the tournament, and he'd done his best to try to keep things as safe as possible. "Poppy, I would never leave us without a medical professional. We would get a healer from St. Mungo's. I really am trying."
"It's been a rough, few years, Albus. You have to admit that Harry has been in more danger than he should have been," she glared at him. "I don't want to trust my kids in the hands of someone I don't know."
"You can choose the healer yourself then," he sighed tiredly. She was right; it had been a rough, few years. "Besides, if you don't do this, then it'll be Ronald Weasley. Wouldn't you rather be a hostage than having another student subjected to it?"
"I don't like this, Albus," she crossed her arms and made her position clear. "This is emotional manipulation."
He just shrugged. Yes, that's exactly what he was trying to do. "Well, it might be fun…"
She paced across her office a few times before rounding on him again. "I can pick whatever healer I want, and the ministry will pay for them?"
"Yes, of course," he nodded, hopeful she was coming around.
There was that grin again that made his spine shiver a bit. "Well…I suppose it might be a bit of fun then," she chuckled. "I'll give my good friend Octavius a floo call then…"
She turned on her heel and strode towards the floo as the name sank in with Dumbledore. "Wait…"
"You said anyone," she reminded him with a smirk from where her hand was already in the jar of floo powder.
"I didn't think you meant the Head Healer of the ICW!"
"You said anyone…" she called back in a sing-song voice before the flames danced green in the grate.
"The next task is tomorrow…shouldn't I be doing something to prepare or whatever?" Harry sighed as he followed Salazar Slytherin through the castle and into a few secret passages that hadn't even been on the Marauder's Map.
"Why? You had Black owl order you the gillyweed, right?" He turned around with a frown.
"Well, yeah…"
"And it's come in the mail?"
"Yeah…but still…"
"I don't see what you have to prepare then," Salazar smirked at him before giving the teen's arm a tug to get him to continue following. "All you do is eat the vile plant and jump in the water. I don't see how even you can mess that up."
"Hey!" Harry sputtered in indignation. "I'm the one helping you out here!"
"And I really do thank you for that," Slytherin smiled back at the boy he would definitely call his friend at this point. "I think this will most assuredly be an ongoing project. We'll need to come back multiple times."
"Sure…" Harry trailed off as he stared in awe at the room they had just entered. It was magnificent. The walls were covered in runes and amplifying crystals that glittered in the light of the magical fire that burned brightly in a recessed bowl in the middle of the room. "Wow…I thought the ward-stone would be an actual stone?"
"Normally it would be, but Hogwarts has become more sentient over the years than a manor home would be. She's alive and her heart has become a flame," Salazar looked on at the flame with the smile a proud father would give their only child.
"She's beautiful…" Harry breathed out and felt the magic thrum approvingly through his body from the castle.
"That she is…" The two of them just stood there and stared for a long moment, appreciating Hogwarts for who she was.
Harry eventually pulled out his wand and looked over at his companion. "Do I just cast the ward-sight on myself now then?"
Salazar nodded and waited until Harry had cast the spell to help him see the wards and their placement within Hogwarts' core. "Now, you will be unable to help strengthen a few of the wards because of how your magic is, but I would like to work today on the curse identifying ward. I think there is a way to keep anyone from being physically able to cast one of the Unforgiveables in the castle."
"Really? That would be brilliant!" Harry smiled. Professor Moody's lesson had been very illuminating into those three spells, but it had also been concerning that the man had even been able to cast them in the castle, even if it was on spiders. Slytherin was still adamantly arguing for getting him fired, but Harry wasn't sure how to do that. Frankly, he'd been a bit distracted by the tournament.
"Right…what color is the ward?" Harry gazed at the lines of various brilliant colors that wove in and out of the fire and brushed up against the crystals and runes on the walls.
"Cerulean," the spirit responded as he also searched for the necessary runes on the wall.
"Er…and what color is that?" The teen frowned in confusion.
"Blue…" Salazar sighed. "Like the sky…I swear…peasants," he grumbled at the end.
"Hey! It's not my fault I was raised in a cupboard," Harry protested, but he did try to find a line that was as blue as the sky.
"No, I'm very clear on whose fault that is," the man growled dangerously. "They had better not end up in our area of the afterlife…not that I see that as even a possibility."
"Hmm," Harry hummed as he ran a finger along the brilliantly blue ward-line he'd found and felt it shiver with magic. "Poppy is so amazing. I really do hope I get kidnapped again this summer…"
Harry frowned at the bound group of hostages in the underwater city. Oh, he knew exactly who his hostage was, and it made perfect sense now that he was faced with it. He was just wondering who she was going to hex once he got her to land. There was absolutely no way that Poppy Pomfrey would be fine with being held hostage underwater. Actually, no, it wasn't Poppy he needed to worry about, he decided once he realized the little blonde girl must be Fleur's sister. His new friend was going to go full veela on someone for taking her kid-sister…even if she was only half-veela.
On that note, he decided it would be best to wait and make sure that Fleur got to her sister safely. It's not like he wanted to win anyway, and he sure didn't want to be the one that had to face her wrath. His gillyweed wouldn't wear off for a long-time, not that he actually needed to breathe underwater anyway; it was all for the show. Being first, he swam over and patted Poppy's hand comfortingly and waited, glaring at the merpeople challengingly over to where they were currently hiding from him.
It was almost hilarious, no it really was hilarious. He smelt just as dead, if not more dead, to the creatures underwater than he did to the ones on land. The grindylows all ran shrieking from him and the merpeople looked like they were staring at a demon incarnate. None of them could be persuaded to move an inch closer to the dead teenager. Because he was who he was for better or worse, he gave them a little taunting wave and a smirk as he waited.
Viktor was the first that showed up, half-transformed into a shark. Harry was impressed. Viktor had told them in their now common 'let's make sure everyone has a plan and doesn't die' meetings (they really needed a shorter name) that he was working on human transfiguration. Granted, he hadn't gotten his entire body, but it was still really impressive and effective.
Viktor paused as he approached Hermione and looked over at his friend. Harry had smirked when he saw Krum's hostage, he'd been subjected to the Bulgarian's effusive ramblings about Hermione's beauty, intelligence, and kindness ever since the Yule Ball. Ron was going to be upset, but Harry was happy for his other two friends anyway. The shark tilted its head questioningly, and Harry couldn't help a giggle at the image. He waved his hand over to Fleur's sister though in explanation for why he was hanging around still.
The shark looked over to the little girl and back to Harry. With a nod, Krum drifted over to Hermione and settled in to wait. Harry just rolled his eyes and motioned for Krum to go ahead and leave, but he just motioned vehemently right back at the girl. The message was very clear…no one wanted to deal with Fleur's wrath for leaving her sister.
Cedric was next with his excellent bubble-head charm. Harry smiled and waved at his confused friend who looked between all of the champions just hanging out with their hostages. Victor and Harry both motioned to Fleur's sister, causing Cedric to nod in understanding. "Let's just take her with us," Cedric said to them, being the only one who was able to speak underwater. "I saw Fleur struggling with a grindylow, so I don't know how long she'll be."
Harry and Krum nodded to each other before moving to their hostages. Before he got too close, Harry smacked Krum across his shark nose with a sharp rap. The shark actually looked confused again, but there was no way Harry was going to let Krum try to saw through Hermione's bindings with his teeth. Cedric laughed at them and handed Harry his pocket-knife after he cut Cho free. "Well, they aren't much help, are they?" Cedric motioned to the merpeople who all seemed to be hiding behind a nearby building.
Krum snapped his jaws at the group, causing them to retreat behind the building even further. Harry rolled his eyes at both of them before passing Hermione over to Krum and taking ahold of Madam Pomfrey. Because of Krum's current, awkward shape, Harry and Cedric ended up having to take Fleur's sister between them before they all headed back to the surface. Harry really hoped Fleur was ok, but she had cast a bubble-head charm, so she shouldn't be out of air at least.
For himself, Harry's gillyweed stopped working well before they reached the surface. He was never more thankful to already be dead in his (life?). All three of the champions and four hostages emerged from the water at almost the exact same time. Harry couldn't help a smirk at the confusion that was going to cause the judges. "Merlin, the water is cold!" Poppy sputtered from where she woke up treading water beside Harry.
"Hey! Sorry you got kidnapped," Harry said sheepishly to the woman beside him.
"Don't worry dear," she looked around and laughed at seeing the group all swimming together. "I made sure that I worked it all in our favor…we have the absolute best healer in Britain to help with all our hypothermia once we get back to the dock, and I at least remembered to cast warming charms on all the hostages before they put us to sleep. The judges hadn't even thought of it! Not to mention my healer friend is the one assessing Hogwarts' safety, so this was the perfect opportunity to get him to campus."
"Gabrielle!" Fleur was frantically yelling. She didn't even wait for her sister to make it to the dock, she jumped straight into the water and swam over to hug her.
"Ze boys brought me with zim," the little girl clung to her sister and explained.
"Ms. Chang, please help me with the girls," Madam Pomfrey enlisted the Ravenclaw to help her haul Gabrielle and Fleur back to the dock. "You're both fine…it'll be all right," she assured them, trying to calm the two.
Sirius, aka Professor Gray, met them at the dock and helped to pull everyone out of the water. An older man in healer robes immediately put thick blankets over each person and began casting diagnostic spells. "Thank you, Octavius," Poppy smiled at him and accepted the blanket gratefully while also expertly distracting him from casting any diagnostics at Harry. "Please look over the elder Ms. Delacour…she may need a calming draught."
"Ze hell, I do!" Fleur shouted. "You took my sister!" She yelled at the judges. "She is a child! She did not volunteer for this tournament!"
"Oh dear," the healer sighed and chased after the screaming champion who was now reaming out her own headmistress for letting this happen.
"Hey, I'm Harry. It's good to meet you," Harry offered Fleur's sister a hand and a smile.
The blonde girl smiled brightly at him and shook his hand. "Fleur 'as told me good things about you all."
"What all happened while we were asleep?" Hermione asked Krum in confusion since the judges all seemed to be frantic and Fleur was yelling at everyone and the students in the stand were all just laughing and enjoying the show.
"None of us wanted Fleur to be mad at us," Cedric told her before Krum could answer.
"Yes, she is quite terrifying…for good reason though," Krum nodded. "We waited, but when she didn't show, we brought her sister with us…which means we all got back at the same time."
"Ah," Hermione nodded and laughed. "Yes, I do suppose that would be confusing for the judges."
"Hmm, I do love a good hot chocolate," Madam Pomfrey leaned against Harry's side and enjoyed the drink that Dobby had just popped in to hand out to everyone.
"Thanks Dobby," Harry smiled at his friend.
Sirius pouted and plopped on the ground beside them. "I can't believe I wasn't chosen for your hostage," he grumbled.
Poppy smacked him on the back of the head. "You couldn't have done it anyway," she reminded him in a quiet hiss.
"I'm sure you would have been chosen if you could though, er, Professor," Harry assured him with a bump of his shoulder.
Poppy hid her smirk behind the rim of her mug, knowing just who the first three picks for Harry had been, and being quite smug about it. Dobby turned to wink at her before handing Hermione her mug of hot chocolate. "Mistress Grangy…"
"Thanks Dobby," Hermione smiled at him as they all sat and waited for the scores.
Harry really couldn't care less. Instead, he turned and started talking to Cho about quidditch. Who cared what his scores were anyway? It's not like he was planning on winning this thing. "Merlin, I miss quidditch," he told Cho emphatically as Ludo Bagman pompously cleared his throat and addressed the crowd.
"So…pup…I got a letter yesterday," Sirius tentatively told Harry who was playing chess with him in his quarters. The man currently looked like Sirius Black, having taken off all his disguise.
"Hm?" Harry grunted, focusing more on his next move than what his godfather was saying.
"Erm…I'd like to maybe reply to it," he said with a grimace. "My healer thought it would be a good idea…"
Harry looked up at that and frowned, taking in his godfather's nervous look. It didn't take long for the connotation to click for why he would be nervous. "It's from Lupin, isn't it?"
"Yeah…" Sirius cleared his throat and couldn't meet Harry's eyes.
Harry just shook his head and moved his bishop. "You should meet him…I told you that I'm fine with you being friends…that doesn't mean I have to like him."
Sirius sighed and ran his hand over his face. "I know, but it matters to me."
"Hey! Anyone around?!" Harry called out into the room. "Dead people?!"
"What are you doing?" The History professor chuckled and wondered if his godson might need to visit his mind-healer.
Harry rolled his eyes at the man when James Potter appeared over on Sirius's couch. "Hey, just the spirit I was looking for," Harry smiled over to his dad. "Your friend is being a stubborn git," he motioned to Sirius.
James laughed loudly and came to stand over behind his friend. "Well, Padfoot was always that way, so I'm not sure how I can help."
"Hey…a spirit is actually here?" Sirius looked around the room questioningly. "That's awesome!"
"Er…Yeah. Hey, Dad, could you please tell Sirius that it's ok if he wants to be friends with Lupin. That has nothing to do with me," Harry said, taking Sirius's pawn he'd just moved with his knight.
James shrugged. "No can do. I'm still angry."
"Sirius needs friends, and Dobby and Poppy hover too much. He needs someone who doesn't treat him like he's ill…even if he still is," Harry looked back to his godfather who always tried to do more than his delicate constitution would handle.
"Fine…!" Harry's dad sighed loudly. "If he wants to be friends with the git, then he can have my blessing!"
"See!" Harry beamed at his godfather before moving his bishop again.
"See what? You do realize you're the only one that knows what's going on, right?" Sirius barked a laugh. "I don't even know who's here with us."
"Oh yeah…forgot," he laughed. "Dad said you have his blessing to be friends with Lupin. He agrees you need friends too."
"Just don't bring him around Harry," he instructed his living friend.
"I don't know about friends…not yet anyway," the fugitive shook his head sadly. "I think I'll just get coffee and see what he has to say. My healer said that it'd be good to either get closure or work through our issues. Erm...hey Prongs..."
"Hey Padfoot...you're looking much better..."
"Dad says you look less like death or something like that," Harry snorted. Both men glared at him.
"Even after that, I miss you my friend," Sirius sighed sadly, looking dejected.
James rolled his eyes dramatically. "Fine, yes, I see that he needs friends."
"I'm always right," Harry grinned back at his father.
Sirius and James both snorted in amusement before simultaneously listing off all the times he'd been wrong over the years. Harry just ignored him and moved his queen. "Check!" Harry grinned. He might never win against Ron, but Sirius was crap at wizard's chess.
"So…how's life?" Harry plopped into the armchair in front of Professor Snape's desk and put a large vial of basilisk venom on the desk.
"Is the venom payment for me listening to your inane chatter?" Snape asked. He came up with a new theory for why Harry was giving him expensive potions ingredients every time he came to visit.
Harry shrugged and smiled at the man. "Or…I could just be looking to chat with a friend."
"I'm not your friend Potter. I'm barely your Professor based on your abysmal Potions skills," he sneered, but still took the vial.
"Eh…I'm not a big fan of school," Harry said dismissively, getting another glare from his professor. "So…you and Karkaroff have some Dark Mark issues? What do you think is going on?"
The professor stared at the teen blankly, not knowing how to respond to that. "You don't know what you're talking about Potter…"
Harry tapped the side of his head with a significant look. "Dobby thinks my mind is linked to Voldemort's. He's doing something based on the visions I've been getting. I think he might be trying to come back to a human-ish form anyway. Then you and the Durmstrang guy have this suspicious conversation where anyone could sneak by invisible and listen to you…"
"Potter!"
"What? I didn't say it was me," Harry gave him a wide grin. "It could have been anyone with an invisibility cloak."
"If you know I'm a Death Eater…" Snape began with a distressed pinch to the bridge of his nose. "Why are you visiting me all alone in my office? Especially confronting me with this. Do you have a death-wish?!"
"Eh," Harry shrugged and leaned back in the chair. "You saved my life…I trust you. Now…Voldy. Is he coming back or just messing with you? How would a wraith get a body anyway? Quirrell didn't fare well with the whole thing. Can he make one out of clay or something?"
"I will not be talking to you about this, Potter," he growled in either anger or fear, Harry wasn't sure which.
"It's not healthy to bottle things up…or so I'm told," Harry informed him seriously. "You should talk to someone, and not Karkaroff, he's a prat. Krum really didn't want to do the tournament, and he basically forced him into it."
"Potter, if you don't leave my office right now, I'll take a hundred points from Gryffindor and give you a month of detention!"
"Fine, fine," Harry sighed and stood. "You should talk to Professor Gray though. I think you'd be great friends," he said with a grin in parting.
Harry, Cedric, Fleur, and Viktor all stood outside the towering hedges of the maze they were about to be sent into. "I don't like this," Cedric breathed out quietly beside Harry.
"No…we couldn't prepare," Krum agreed. "I don't like not being prepared."
"We all make it out," Fleur looked at each of them for their agreement.
Cedric and Viktor nodded, and Harry shrugged. "Sure, I'll try. You three leave me though if you're in danger. Save yourself."
All three scoffed at him and gave him matching glares. "We're all in this together, Harry. No matter which school wins," Viktor assured him. "Besides, Hermione would kill me if anything happened to you."
"Gabrielle wants you to visit this summer. You're going to be alive to come to France," Fleur nodded.
Ludo Bagman was making his way over to the four champions and Harry looked around them. He found his little family sitting on the front row of the stands. Poppy was sitting with the audience, having called her healer friend back in so that she could just stress over him as an audience member instead of as a healer, and beside her were Sirius, Dobby, and Hagrid. They waved at him, putting fake smiles on their faces to encourage him, but he saw past the façade. He waved anyway though, hoping to set them at ease some.
"My dad still doesn't realize how dangerous this is," Cedric commented from where he motioned to his father who was giving him a thumbs up from the stands. "He also said some not-so-nice things about you…we're going to have to have a long talk after all this," he sighed deeply.
Harry patted his friend's back before giving him a one-armed hug. "Like Fleur said…we're all making it out…" the words felt empty to him even as he said them though.
A canon fired behind them causing all four champions to jump before looking back at the maze they were about to enter together.
Up Next: Lily Potter comes for a visit...