I do not own Harry Potter, the Wizarding World, or any canon characters.

Note: I am putting my main note at the end of the chapter so to not spoil anything.

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The Family that Chooses You

Chapter 80 – The Path Divergent

"Katie, do you have a minute?"

Katie looked up at her little sister and her friend. She caught Lyla's tone, her nervous expression, and immediately grew concerned. "Of course Lyla, what's wrong?"

Lyla and Mirabelle looked at each other for a moment. "I think we really upset Harry," Lyla confessed.

"What?" Katie was shocked. "I doubt that you two would do anything like that. What gave you that idea?"

"He was helping us with something and then when we finished, we got really excited about the Halloween Feast tonight. We kept talking about how much we wanted to go and we kept asking him about past feasts," Lyla said hurriedly.

"He was getting more and more quiet and he looked really sad." Mirabelle looked sad herself. "It wasn't until after he left that we realized he was upset."

"He didn't hug us like he normally does. He just patted our arms and left really fast. Does he hate us now?" Lyla's lip quivered.

Katie pulled Lyla into her lap and wrapped an arm around Mirabelle. "No, he would never. He was just…well, Halloween is a rough day for him. You two did nothing wrong and he'd say the same."

"What's going on?" Angelina asked as she walked up. She looked down at the two first year girls with concern. "Everything okay?"

Katie patted Lyla's back soothingly. "Just a misunderstanding. They were excited about Halloween and Harry wasn't so they thought they upset him."

Angelina winced sympathetically. "Oh yeah. No, you two didn't do anything. Harry doesn't love Halloween."

"Why not?" Mirabelle asked.

"I thought he liked candy," Lyla said.

Katie smiled. "Oh he does, especially sugar quills. It's just, well since he started school, every Halloween has been tough for him. First year there was a giant troll. Second year, Mrs. Norris got hurt and some bad things were written on the wall and he was blamed for it."

"Third year we had someone try to break into the tower," Angelina continued. Her face clouded. "Oh, and uh, I just realized something else." She sighed heavily. "His parents."

Katie winced. "I always forget about that and I hate that I do."

The two little girls teared up. "No wonder he's mad at us," Lyla sniffed.

"He's not." Angelina dabbed at their cheeks with a handkerchief. "He was probably just got caught off-guard and got a little overwhelmed. Harry would never be mad at a cute girl," she said with a wink.

"Should we not go to the feast?" Mirabelle asked.

"No, he wouldn't like that at all. I'm sure he'll come down eventually. The Goblet is picking the Tournament Champions tonight after all. I'll go see if he's okay and bring him to the great hall. And he'll tell you that he's fine, don't worry."

"Want me to come with you?" Katie asked.

"You should head down with Lyla and Mirabelle," Angelina said firmly. "Go on, save us some seats. And you two can share some treacle tart with him later. It's his favorite."

The two first year girls smiled at that and Katie mouthed 'thank you' to her friend before she took Lyla's and Mirabelle's hands.

Angelina watched them leave and noticed Ron and Neville enter the common room. "Hey Ron, is Harry in the dorm?"

Ron shook his head. "He was earlier, but I didn't see him when we left."

"Alright, thanks." She watched them leave.

Alicia slid up to Angelina. "I didn't see him come into the common room though," she said softly.

"He's probably hiding up there then. Let's go check."

Angelina and Alicia walked up the stairs and entered the fourth year boys' room. Looking around, it did seem empty. The bathroom was empty as well. The girls pulled his curtains completely open and checked his bed. Angelina even went so far to lift the edge of the bed coverings to check under the bed and saw nothing.

"Hmm, I swore I didn't see him leave," Alicia said as she sat on the bed.

Angelina paused, having heard something when Alicia sat. She knelt on the ground and lifted the edge of the coverings again, staring intently at the space underneath. With her free hand, she gestured at Alicia.

Alicia stood up slightly and sat down with more force.

The bottom of the mattress springs dipped down but a small indent appeared, yet it seemed to touch nothing, bending around something hidden. The tall girl heard the sound again, a muffled grunt. "Rabbit? Are you down there? You know how to do a Disillusion Charm?"

Alicia rolled off the bed and settled beside her friend, staring into the apparently empty space. "No, but he does have an invisibility cloak."

There was a long silence.

"I'll crawl down there if I have to Rabbit and root you out."

Harry sighed invisibly but audibly. "I'm not taking you with me on late night kitchen trips anymore," he muttered to Alicia.

"Hey! You didn't say the cloak was a secret!"

"It was implied!"

Angelina snorted. "Come out Rabbit. I really don't want to have a conversation on my knees like this." She smacked Alicia before she could say anything. "Yeah yeah, I know what I said, shut it." She grinned at an invisible snicker. "Come on. You've grown and while you were probably comfortable before hiding under your bed when you were shrimpy, I doubt it is now."

With a long-suffering sigh, Harry appeared. He wriggled his way out from under the bed but remained lying flat on the ground face down. "I almost got away with it," he murmured.

"Yeah that was really good," Angelina said as she pulled him face up and onto her lap. "If Alicia didn't sit on your bed I would have left."

Alicia took the cloak from Harry and flung it over herself, disappearing. "If you can't see me, you can't blame me."

Harry chuckled. "I definitely can still blame you."

Angelina hugged him. "You okay Rabbit?"

He shrugged. "I'm okay, as okay as I'll ever be on Halloween. I really don't like this day."

"Yeah I don't blame you. Sorry, we kind of forgot about how it affects you."

Harry snorted. "I forgot about it being Halloween until I was reminded. Then everything hit me at once and I got really overwhelmed."

"Lyla and Mirabelle were concerned they upset you," Alicia said, still hidden.

Harry looked pained. "Oh no," he groaned. "I didn't mean to upset them."

"Katie and I sort of explained things. They don't blame you. In fact, they were sorry for making you feel bad." Angelina rested her chin on his head. "We told them you don't blame them either. They were just excited."

"Yeah they were." Harry smiled softly before it faded. "And I ruined it with my baggage." He felt an invisible Alicia pat his arm.

"You did not. And it's not just baggage. It's legitimate feelings that affect you."

Harry looked off into the distance. "I just feel…that something is going to happen. Something always happens on Halloween and never in a good way for me. I'm scared that something bad will happen."

Angelina felt him shiver and she tightened her arms around him. "I get that. I really do and I hate that what should be a fun day for you isn't." She gave a start when she felt someone else hug her and Harry but could not see who before she realized it was Alicia still under the cloak. "Invisible hugs are more creepy than comforting."

Harry smiled. "It still feels like Alicia though, so that helps."

Alicia finally took off the cloak and folded it neatly. "Want us to take you to the Infirmary? I'm sure you can relax there for the feast. We can say you don't feel well. I can even brew something up really fast so you don't have to pretend."

Harry laughed a little. "That's oddly nice that you're willing to poison me."

"What are friends for? At least you know that my poison potion will do exactly what it should."

Angelina rolled her eyes. "Or you can just stay here and we'll tell McGonagall. She'll understand. Or if you're feeling up to it, you can come down to the feast with us, try to ignore the bad feelings for a little bit, eat some treats, and watch me be picked as the Hogwarts Champion for the Tournament."

"Between us, Katie, and the others, I'm sure we have enough positive energy to keep anything too bad from happening," Alicia said sincerely.

Harry smiled weakly. "That…sounds doable. Nice even. Okay, let's do that." He put his cloak in his trunk and gave each girl a tight hug. "Thanks for watching out for me."

"Of course," Angelina said. "You're my Rabbit."

"Only I get to upset you," Alicia said. "No one else."

-0-

The feast was not that bad, Harry found.

When they arrived, he took a few moments to assure Lyla and Mirabelle that they did not upset him. They were finally convinced and he felt much better when he watched them whole-heartedly enjoy the festivities. The food tasted okay to him, not like ash and regret like the previous times he ate at the feast.

He did not relax completely. He never knew if he ever would on this day. However, he was able to enjoy himself a little. The twins showed up still sporting their outrageous beards and they entertained people by changing the colors of them and tried to duel each other by whipping the ends about.

Lyla and Mirabelle had roamed the length of the table and brought back the best-looking treacle tart they could find. They insisted Harry take the whole thing. He laughed and cut an almost indecently-large slice but shared it with the two girls.

Finally, the magical lights in the hall dimmed and the candles sent grasping shadows up the walls. The Goblet of Fire was moved to the center of the hall with all the students moving to sit against the walls. Dumbledore walked up the artifact and waited.

The blue flames within the Goblet provided the only noise. The flames popped and crackled, echoing weirdly. All eyes were drawn to the Goblet as they waited.

Harry shivered.

The fire roared, the flames reaching new heights. A hollow pop filled the air and a slip of burnt parchment shot into the air from within the Goblet. It floated in the air, all eyes drawn to it. Dumbledore plucked it out of the air and he looked down at the words.

"The Durmstrang Champion is…Viktor Krum!"

The hall erupted into cheers and the Durmstrang students roared. Krum stood, the shadows from the Goblet and candles gave his smile a mysterious air. He looked every bit like a Professional Quidditch player, devastatingly self-assured and arrogant. He strode down the length of the hall to applause.

Silence fell again as people looked at the Goblet with baited breath.

The second piece of parchment flew into the air. Dumbledore caught it easily. "The Beauxbatons Champion is…Fleur Delacour!"

Cheers and applause came again but they were less so than the ones Krum got. Curiously, the majority of the Beauxbatons students were reserved, clapping politely and disinterestedly. Some even looked as if they were maligned. Colette and Aimee were some of the only ones that were enthusiastic in their cheering.

Harry looked around, confused at the lack of sincere applause and he tried to add his claps to the noise, to bolster them. His friends did as well once they noticed that he did.

Fleur did not seem to care about the others but she shot her friends a grateful glance. She looked at Harry and his friends with a confused but pleased expression before she walked down the hall herself.

The students fell silent again and this time the tension was thick in the air. Now it was the moment the entire school waited for. Now the Champion of the school would be picked, the one that represented Hogwarts, the face of the students.

The fire blazed. The parchment flew higher into the air than the last two. It drifted down much slower than the other two, teasing them. Dumbledore waited for the parchment to land in his open hand. "The Hogwarts Champion is…Cedric Diggory!"

The Hufflepuffs screamed.

Students in yellow and black danced up and down and the tall boy was mobbed by his own House as they sang in delight. Cedric blushed deeply but he laughed wildly as his House whirled him around and around. It required Dumbledore intervening for them to release their Champion, finally letting him go.

"And there we have it," Dumbledore said warmly. "Our three Champions decided. Let us give a warm applause to the three chosen. The first task will take place in three weeks' time and will take place at our Quidditch Pitch."

The blue flames in the Goblet roiled and undulated, growing higher and higher. Then, with a soft whimper, they died.

"The Goblet sleeps until it is relit," Dumbledore said. "And now, we should all go to our beds to follow its example. Good night everyone, and hope all had a fine Halloween."

"Boo," George said softly but without really meaning it. "Too bad Angie. You would've made a better Champion."

Angelina shrugged. "Nah, Cedric's a good bloke. I don't have any problems with him being Champion. Woulda been nice if it were me, but oh well."

Luna had come over to sit near Harry and everyone else for the choosing of the Champions. She looked at Harry with concern. "Harry, are you okay?"

Harry stared at the Goblet as it was being packed away by Ministry officials. His skin was pale and he continued to shiver. "I don't know," he said faintly. "I feel like I just dodged a Curse but still feel something off."

Luna blinked. "As if, something changed that could have happened?"

Harry looked at her, shocked at her words yet relieved by them. "Yes, that. Like, seeing a direction you could have taken."

Luna smiled gently. "I feel like that a lot. Don't worry."

Harry felt like he should, but Luna's words were comforting. "Is it normal for you?"

She shrugged. "What's normal?" she asked with a teasing lit to her words. Her look became more serious. "I do feel that way here and there. I feel what could have happened but I ignore it. The what could have been is far less pleasant than what is." She hugged Harry tightly.

He hugged her just as firmly. "Glad I'm not the only one," he said softly.

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I am legitimately nervous about this chapter. I know a lot of people are probably going to feel strongly about it and there might be people upset at it. When I first started planning this fic, I knew there was something I wanted to keep the same, hence the first few years being roughly the same save for a few details here and there. Amusingly, there were some people that criticized the lack of canon change. I wanted fourth year to be the year where things really diverge and this is the first chapter that will really do that.

As always, I am a bit unsure how people will take it. To say I am surprised at how well everything has been taken up till now is an understatement. I am not immune to the feeling where you get really into a story to have things change while reading it, and you lose that motivation you had to read it. I sincerely hope that this will not be the case here. I have said from the beginning that I wanted this story to be different, that it isn't a retelling of the canon story with different characters or aspects.

All I ask that your feedback remain kind and constructive, and please follow along for a while longer. Your feedback and kindness up till now has inspired me to try and maintain the level of quality and the tone in every chapter. I will do my best to continue to do my best to provide a quality story for you to enjoy.

Thank you for reading, for your reviews, loves, and follows. They have gotten me through very difficult days and I love hearing when I have made an impact on yours. Have a lovely day!

Imaginer.012 - Thank you so much. I always wanted a few of the Hogwarts students to speak French and I think it'll add some fun into the dynamics. Thinking up of chapter titles is very hard sometimes, especially when I'm trying to be clever or indulging myself in a bad joke.

turanga4 - You saying that you will trust my vision is humbling and gratifying. I read your review with a wry smile because it came right before this chapter, and things will be more different from the canon from now on. I am grateful for your time and hope that the rest fits your tastes and that you continue to enjoy reading.

I thought it would be a fun idea for Fleur to be able to control her Allure a little bit, and wanted to showcase how different Harry and Fleur are while showing how they are more alike.

Hidden Circumstance - Thank you. Fleur is such a strong character, I wanted to do her introduction justice. I want her to be my version of her while staying true to her core personality.

DOOOOOOM Lord of Waffles - Try to hold out a little longer. Say...3 more chapters or so. Not that I know of course. And even then it won't be set in stone, but hopefully it'll help whet the appetite while satisfying somewhat. I'm glad you're still enjoying it and my, inadvertent, teasing is enjoying in its own way. I say inadvertent because I legit don't think I am teasing since I know what I want to happen, but I suppose my writing is adding to the mystery.

Urgwaew - You're so kind, thank you. I don't love characters that are there for a sole purpose a lot of the time. I want each character to have some range, to have motivations, likes, feelings, any sort of personality. It's tough, and OCs are harder and easier in some ways to include, but I want my OCs to feel like people, the important ones anyways.

Fleur is one of my favorite characters. Even in GoF, she had enough facets to show depth and as the series went on, she grew more and more. I want my Fleur to be as real as some truly excellent Fleur's I have read in fanfics and really hope to do her justice. Like many characters, she's so easy to show as a one-dimensional meme of sorts and I like her too much to do that to her. I want her to have depth and character, and not just be a character. I have high hopes for her in my story. I'm glad you liked the French and accent idea too. Sometimes it's so thickly done it's distracting. I like to sometimes leave it up to the reader to imagine the fun bits like that for themselves, it's more approchable.

I have fun thinking of the little things: different potions, how Luna is with others, fleshing out the setting. Glad you like it too. Have a lovely day and hope you continue to enjoy.

anonymous - Thank you for saying you enjoy the story. It is not a Harry/Fleur story. I will put the chapter up in the description like I said I will before of when the main relationship actually happens. I don't want this story to just be defined by the main pairing.

yogibears - Thank you. I have a different angle for Viktor that won't be as fleshed out as Fleur and I hope that will still go over well. Thank you for saying that about the characters. I came to really love Fleur from reading fanfics and wanted my chance to showcase her in a way that still fits her but perhaps show her in a way that I see her to be. I also enjoy seeing characters I did not like before but enjoying them in a different light. As long as you go back to read the title after, it is still worthwhile to me.

Thespianpoet - That was what I was hoping. I like to know some people try to glean meaning from the chapter title, then go back and see if it was what they thought or if it was a good title. I never thought Fleur was a bad person. Rude perhaps, but cultural upbringing makes a lot for that. I never liked how she was shown in HBP. I thought that was super unfair towards her then and still think it now.

I'm glad you like the little magic exploration bits. I love to read about different systems and schools of magic and while that isn't a focus of this story, I like to add it here and there. Make the world feel more involved and deep. Isn't it nice to see Pomfrey not trying to heal something drastic for once?