"Attention," Dumbledore called out to the great hall, quieting the four house tables immediately. "It is time to talk more about the Triwizard Tournament. Today, we will be bringing out the Goblet of Fire. I will use age-restriction charms to secure the area so that only those that are of age will be able to place their name in the goblet. To those that are considering competing: this is not a decision to take lightly. People have been injured severely in the past, so be sure that you are absolutely ready to make sacrifices in the name of glory and honor." Dumbledore smiled knowingly at the crowd before gesturing at Filch, who was carrying in the Goblet of Fire.

It had been a few weeks since the students had arrived and school had been going relatively well for Harry. He had started to get the hang of summoning charms, but still did not have it as well as Hermione and the Ravenclaw students. Sirius promised to work with him during weekends to improve and told him not to stress about learning it just yet. During his free time, Harry hung out with Ron and Hermione or visited Sirius, Remus, and Hagrid. Sirius would often take him out to the quidditch pitch on the weekends to practice flying since the tournament canceled quidditch for the year. Harry treasured every moment spent with his godfather and tried to spend as much time with him as possible. If Sirius minded this, he didn't show it, and equally sought Harry's company throughout the weeks.

"Now that the Goblet of Fire is in place, I will inform you that our guests will be arriving this Friday, so classes will be cut short after lunch. I expect each of you to arrive and give our guests a proper Hogwarts welcome. The Goblet of Fire will choose the Champion's that evening, once everyone has placed their name inside it." Dumbledore then stepped down from the podium and The Great Hall immediately grew loud with chatter about the tournament.

"Wonder how we can get around that age limit?" Fred whispered to George across from Harry.

"You can't," Hermione said, amused. "You really think Dumbledore will make it so you two can get past that line? If you two could figure it out, anyone could enter."

"Oi, you of little faith. Just wait and see, we'll figure it out." George said, winking at Harry.

"Well if you do, let us know. I'd love the chance to compete." Ron said to his brothers excitedly.

Hermione scowled and then stood up. "And where are you going?" Ron asked.

"To potions of course, Snape won't be happy if we're late." Hermione snapped, walking out of the Great Hall.


The week passed by quickly and before anyone realized, it was Friday and the foreign schools were arriving that evening. Most of the Hogwarts students that wanted to compete had placed their names in the Goblet of Fire, with a few younger kids (Fred and George included) failing miserably in their attempts. Because they had double charms on Monday mornings, Harry, Ron, and Hermione did not have lessons that Friday, so they chose to go visit Hagrid.

"Can' wait to see the other schools, can ya?" Hagrid said, placing down his infamous rock cakes in front of the three once they had gotten inside.

"Do you know much about Durmstrang and Beauxbatons?" Hermione asked, politely taking a rock cake but then feeding it to Fang discreetly.

"No, 'm afraid I don', but they're supposed ter be bringin' me some beautiful creatures. 'M excited bout that. What abou you three? Aren' you excited for the tournament?" Hagrid asked, gesturing towards the arena that was being built on the grounds for the first task.

They nodded, looking out at the arena as well. "I wonder who the Hogwart's Champion will be?" Hermione asked, looking out the window in awe.

"Whoever it is, I hope they're good. This is the first tournament in ages, it'd be terrible if we lost." Ron said dramatically, causing Harry to laugh and Hermione to scowl at him before she politely picked up another rock cake for Fang.


Soon the sun was setting against the horizon, and the students were lined up outside to greet their foreign peers. Harry was standing with the fourth year Gryffindor's, McGonagall and Sirius in front of them counting them off. Harry still hadn't gotten used to seeing Sirius in such a formal setting, and snickered at him in his Gryffindor dress robes. Sirius noticed this and smirked back before returning his attention to McGonagall counting off the first years.

After about thirty more minutes of anticipation, one second year Hufflepuff spotted the first sign of a school arriving. Far back in the sky, a large blue carriage was coming towards Hogwarts, being pulled by gigantic flying stallions. The teacher's rushed to greet what Harry assumed to be Beauxbatons and Hagrid immediately took to caring for the Stallions as the French students walked inside to enter their names in the Goblet of Fire and find seats.

Almost immediately following the French's entrance, the second school was spotted. Durmstrang traveled by ship and came splashing out of the Hogwarts lake. Students yelled and shouted their surprise as the teacher's repeated their welcoming gesture of greeting the headmaster. Once those students had been escorted inside to insert their own names, the Hogwarts students were allowed to join them.

Everyone settled into their house tables and the teachers sat up at the head table with the two new headmasters. Hagrid sat close to the Beauxbatons headmaster and Harry noticed how large she was compared to the normal teachers - she was even taller than Hagrid! He couldn't help but notice how excited Hagrid seemed to find someone similar to himself, and smiled. If anyone deserved to be happy, it was Hagrid.

Harry's thought process was interrupted as Dumbledore stood to give his speech. "Greetings to our foreign guests of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. We welcome you to Hogwarts and hope that you will enjoy your time with us. So as not to deprive us of our feast, let's go ahead and do what I'm sure we've all been waiting for. The selection of the champions!"

Hushed whispers came across the students as the Goblet of Fire turned blue and spit out a name. "The Durmstrang Champion is… Victor Krum!" Dumbledore announced to cheering from all the students.

"Blimey, Harry! He played in the Cup this summer! It's Victor Krum!" Ron looked so excited he might faint, and Harry couldn't help but chuckle at his bewildered expression.

Before Harry could retort, the Goblet of Fire turned blue once more, and a second name shot out. "The Beauxbaton's Champion will be… Fleur Delacour!"

Harry watched as an extremely beautiful French girl emerged from the crowd, walking up towards the champion waiting room and, not to Harry's surprise, giving Sirius a particularly kind smile on her way.

The Goblet of Fire turned blue once more and out popped a third name. The room was very tense; this would be who would bring Hogwarts the glory. "The Hogwarts Champion will be… Cedric Diggory!" Dumbledore announced with a smile, gesturing for Cedric to follow the other champions to the waiting room. Cedric stood to a roaring applause from almost every student and teacher and disappeared through the door to the champion's quarters.

"Ah, yes, and now that that's sorted-" Dumbledore was cut off by the Goblet of Fire blazing blue once more. The Great Hall immediately quieted as everyone turned an astonished eye to the cup. A fourth paper shot out from the goblet and Dumbledore grabbed it, then gulped before whispering, "Harry Potter."

Harry froze in his seat, not meeting anyone's gaze. No, how? He wasn't old enough, he hadn't even attempted to put his name in the goblet. But everyone was staring, waiting for him to get up and meet his destiny.

"Harry," Dumbledore said, slight impatience in his voice. Hermione nudged him up and Harry stumbled towards the waiting room, feeling terribly anxious. Dumbledore looked at him kindly but wearily and as Harry approached the teacher's table, he received a concerned look from Remus. What worried him most of all, however, was that his godfather had his face buried in his hands and wouldn't look up. Harry shakily opened the doors to the Champion's room and stepped inside.

"What iz it, do zey want us back?" Fleur asked, approaching Harry. Before Harry could respond, the doors reopened and the three headmasters, along with McGonagall, Sirius, Remus, Moody, and Snape, walked inside.

"Harry," Dumbledore said gently, but urgently. "Did you put your name in the goblet?"

"No, I promise I didn't," Harry said, begging Dumbledore to believe him. Dumbledore nodded, but the Beauxbatons headmistress spoke up. "Surely he iz lying, Dumblydore."

Sirius walked up to Harry. His features looked angry and at first Harry was worried the anger was directed at him; however, when he looked into his godfather's eyes, he saw the same familiar expression of love and knew, deep down, that things would be okay. Sirius put an arm around Harry and Remus walked and stood on Harry's other side, waiting to hear what Dumbledore had to say.

"Yes," Snape drawled, capturing the attention of the room. "Potter does seem to have an affinity for… breaking the rules."

Sirius tensed and was about to snap back at Snape, but Dumbledore beat him to it. "Severus," Dumbledore warned. "I believe Harry, and he could not have placed his name in it, by himself at least. And… I'm afraid after talking to the Barty Crouch… Harry has to compete."

Everyone in the room, especially Sirius and Remus, began to protest. The other schools were angry that they did not get two champions, and McGonagall was practically in tears over the thought of a child competing in such a dangerous competition. Harry stood silent, looking at his feet, trying to tune out everything. It was all too much to think about.

Dumbledore silenced them all with a wave of his hand. "Trust me, I am no happier about this than any of you. But there's no way out of it, he's under binding magical contract. He has to compete. Harry," Dumbledore said, turning to him. "You'll give it your best?"

Harry nodded and felt Sirius squeeze his shoulder.

"Alright then," Dumbledore said, turning to everyone else. I suppose we should get back out there and take care of the feast. Sirius, Remus… why don't you two take Harry tonight?"

Harry felt Sirius lead him out a different door, and soon the three were walking down the corridors towards Sirius's room. They all remained silent until they reached the painting and Sirius gave his password. Once inside, Sirius lead Harry over to the couch and sat him down.

"Something you want to tell me?" He asked sternly, searching his godson's eyes for any implication of a lie.

"Wha- you don't believe me?" Harry squeaked out, shocked that his godfather would even question him.

Sirius surprisingly smiled, and then nodded. "I do believe you, Harry, I just wanted to be sure. Now, I'm not going to lie to you and tell you I'm not worried. I'm very scared, Harry. Things are getting strange, and I don't think your name is in there by coincidence or practical joke. Someone wants you killed, and I'm going to do everything in my power to protect you, okay puppy?"

Harry nodded and looked back down at the floor, weighing the meaning of Sirius's words. "Harry, look at me." Sirius mumbled, meeting Harry's green eyes as he said it. "You're going to make me proud, kid." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. Sirius had total confidence in Harry's ability, and it made him feel a million times better at being forced into the situation.

Harry threw himself into his godfather's embrace and felt Sirius began to rub his back soothingly.

Despite the severity of the situation, Remus smiled from where he was standing in the corner. "Since we missed the feast, I'll call for the house elves to bring some food out." Sirius didn't let go of Harry, but nodded in Remus's direction. He was scared to let go of Harry, worried that when he did, the situation would be too real. His godson, practically his own son, would have to compete in one of the most dangerous tournaments in the wizarding world. His small, young, fourteen year old boy would be competing against kids with about three years of experience on him. His chances of dying were not only increased by his age, but also, Sirius was convinced, because someone was after him.


"You handled that better than I had expected you to," Remus said to Sirius after Harry had gone back to his dorm. "I thought you were either going to yell at Harry or threaten Dumbledore."

"Well, at first I was angry with Harry. I thought he had done it… that would have been just like James, he would have been arrogant enough to think he could compete in that competition at fourteen... of course, I would have done the same thing. James and I both loved that kind of glory at his age." Sirius paused, a pained expression on his face. "Then, I reminded myself that Harry is not his father, and though they are similar, attention is where they differ. Harry hates his fame, and he would never have done that on purpose. He's not going to want any of the attention he's going to get, good or bad. It will be a tough year for him. Hopefully the Gryffindor's will be civil-"

Before Sirius could finish his thought, Harry had stormed back through the portrait hole of Sirius's quarters, looking angrier than Sirius had ever seen him. They watched him pace back and forth for a few minutes before he finally spoke up. "Can I stay in my room here? I know I said I wanted to go back to the dorm, but… I've changed my mind. I'll go back tomorrow."

"Of course, Harry." Sirius said, getting up and walking to him. "Can I ask why the abrupt change in heart?"

Harry looked down and mumbled something. "What's wrong, kiddo?" Remus said, joining the two in the entryway.

"It's Ron," Harry said at last, still looking angry but accepting his guardian's concern. "He doesn't believe me. He thinks I entered myself… I just thought my best mate would… well, you know."

Sirius and Remus both nodded in understanding before moving back to the living room to try and talk with Harry. "What exactly did Ron say?" Remus asked, sitting to Harry's right and looking at him. Sirius sat down in the arm chair opposite the two.

"At first I thought he was joking… he asked me why I didn't tell my best mate how to enter… then he accused me of wanting attention. I didn't ask for this though! I didn't ask for any of this, the scar, my parents dying, being abused-" Harry stopped abruptly from his rant and looked down, flushing red. He still didn't like to talk about his aunt and uncle and he had just blurted his feelings out without even thinking.

Sirius and Remus shared a look and then turned back to Harry. "I'm sorry all this is happening to you, Harry. It's not fair, but you know what?" Sirius asked, moving over to join Remus and Harry on the couch. "You're a great person and Ron is going to miss having you around soon. He'll realize his mistake, and he'll believe you. Just give it time. Until then, you know we're both always here for you, right?"

Harry nodded but kept looking down at the floor. "I don't want pity," he mumbled. "What if I get hurt badly in the tournament? Everyone will think I-"

"To hell with what they think," Sirius said, throwing an arm around Harry and ignoring Remus's eye roll. "What matters is that we'll get you through this. I already told Dumbledore we're helping you, rules be damned. I'm not going to let anything happen to you, pup."

"Nor will I," Remus added, smiling down at Harry, who was now snuggling up to Sirius's side, clearly emotionally exhausted.

They stayed like that for a few minutes before Sirius realized Harry had fallen asleep. "Poor kid," he murmured, looking down at Harry's first peaceful expression of the day. "He's right, it's always him with these kind of things."

Remus nodded and stroked Harry's bangs off his forehead. "Well if anyone can do it, he can. Think of all that he's been through, he's incredible. And with two great mentors like us, nothing can go wrong."

Sirius chuckled, then attempted to get up. Harry's dead weight on top of him made it impossible for him to move without disturbing the boy, so Sirius sighed and summoned two blankets and a pillow over to the couch. He readjusted himself so he was lying on his back and Harry was under his arm with his head resting on Sirius's chest.

Remus stood up and smiled at the two, then said, "We could wake him up and move him, you know."

"We could," Sirius replied, closing his eyes and pulling Harry closer, "but I want to hang on to this moment. Who knows what the future holds? You can stay here in Harry's room if you'd like Remus, we can get breakfast and walk around the grounds tomorrow since it's Saturday. I have a feeling Harry will need all the support he can get if Ron's not talking to him. I hope Hermione will treat him better."

Remus nodded, despite Sirius's eyes being closed, then silently walked into Harry's room to get ready for bed himself.