Chapter 2

Harry was one of two minds.

Elation from not partaking in the TriWizard Tournament. He knew he would not have come out of it alive, as he knew from the dreams that Voldemort was going to kill him in the Third Task. He was also massively surprised when the Goblet of Fire selected Albus Dumbledore as a TriWizard Champion.

He had rigged the Goblet of Fire to spew the names of the people who were intending to use him for the TriWizard Tournament. He knew that the names of Tom Riddle, Peter Pettigrew and Barty Crouch would appear.

But to have the name of Albus Dumbledore come forth as well set off a round of questions in his head. What did the old man have to gain from trying to place his name in the tournament? What were his intentions? Did he know that Barty Crouch Junior was at Hogwarts?

He made his way to the Room of Requirement. Dobby had told him about this room back at the beginning of the school year. He sequestered himself into a comfy chair in the room he wanted, which was a resemblance to the Gryffindor common room.

He thought about the events of the past few years. About the Philosopher's Stone, protected by mediocre traps that children got by. The Chamber of Secrets; how could Dumbledore not know it was a basilisk. Sirius Black escaping from Azkaban. His final thought were on Privet Drive. Year after year he was sent back there without getting any help or counselling for the events that had transpired in the castle walls. He knew quite well that Dumbledore was the one whom had left him at the Dursley's as Hagrid had told him.

Something else clicked in his mind, something that refused to leave his head until he checked up on it. Using the magic of the room, he found a book on the Fidelius Charm. It was light and contained only twenty-two pages. When he had finished he book he was furious. He had already heard that Dumbledore cast the charm to hide his parents from Voldemort's reign of terror. The old man knew that Sirius was not the Secret-Keeper, yet he sent him to Azkaban.

He finally came to the conclusion that was running in his mind. Dumbledore was trying to control him.

IlIlIlI

Beyond the wards of Hogwarts, a curly haired blonde woman had Disapparated away back home to her apartment.

Rita Skeeter was overjoyed with the information she had retrieved. She had snuck into Hogwarts in her Animagus form, as the Headmaster always tried his best to get her evicted. However, because of the event that was transpiring at Hogwarts this year, she had perfect access to the castle without raising suspicion. She was very much hoping to use the opportunity to get an interview with Harry Potter, the most famous student at Hogwarts.

Instead she had gold on her hands. Everyone knew how the Goblet of Fire worked. Everyone knew the Goblet of Fire would only accept people who were living. Rita knew what this meant. It meant that Peter Pettigrew and Barty Crouch Junior were both still alive. She had no idea who Tom Riddle was though.

And the best to happen. Albus Dumbledore, the incompetent Headmaster of Hogwarts and the one to activate the Goblet of Fire, had entered himself into the Tournament. It was pretty obvious as the old man didn't say or do anything to deny it. She knew to herself that writing the article on this development would be fun.

As she used her Quick Quotes Quill for the article she wondered how much chaos would commence.

IlIlIlI

Albus Dumbledore sat in his office pondering how things went so wrong.

Once the hall had emptied itself of students and the castle's guests he had tried to check what charms he could find on the Goblet of Fire. He had cast every complicated charm he knew to try and discern what had caused it to behave the way it did, only to find nothing. There was already too much magic on the Goblet to find any tampering.

As there was no sign of tampering, it would not let him leave the tournament. Signs of tampering would get the named participants out of the tournament. Everyone was going to believe he put his name in the Goblet. The year of isolation he was planning for Harry Potter would be turned on him instead, he realised. Damn Harry Potter.

All he could hope for now was that someone other than Rita Skeeter would publish the fiasco first.

IlIlIlI

"Hey Hermione, where's Harry?" Ron asked, looking around the common room for his friend.

"I don't know, Ron," she said exasperatedly. "He'll be back soon. Just play some chess for the time being."

Shrugging, Ron went over to the nearest table and set up his chess set. Soon he was playing a full game with Seamus Finnegan.

IlIlIlI

Later on that night, a very excited House-elf named Dobby was making his way to the bed that his master Harry Potter had set up.

Dobby loved his friend. No one had ever shown him respect or kindness in his life. The poor elf was treated to a poor life of beatings and tossed into open furnaces by the Malfoy's.

Dobby knew the elder Malfoy's biggest secrets. While out in public Lucius and Narcissa would both be considered one of the best couples in the Wizarding World, their marriage considered unbreakable. Behind the closed doors in their Manor the couple would be constantly arguing. Narcissa had five years ago discovered a better use of the frying pan in her kitchen. Next to being a common visitor handing galleons to the Minister For Magic he was a common visitor at St Mungo's as he didn't know healing spells.

Everything had changed for the elf when he visited Harry Potter in his bedroom two years prior. He remembered being asked to sit down. He had nearly broken down from that question. No one had ever asked him a question before or spoken to him kindly before. He quickly devoted himself to the first person to ever show him kindness. Once he started to know Harry Potter better he realised they weren't so different. Both of them, forced to work and punished if they argued with the forcer about anything.

Dobby was appalled at how the leader of the light, Albus Dumbledore, condemned Harry Potter with a disgusting family. Dumbledore had himself told the magical community he had hid Harry away and was watching him himself. Dobby quickly realised the old man had an agenda. It had intensified in the past hour when he hid himself in the old man's office and overheard his musings. He was quite sure Harry Potter would want to know what was going on.

Dobby found his bed and was about to get in when something caught his eye. He made his way to a wrapped package that was lying on a small table. There was a label on it that merely said DOBBY. Dobby tore open the fabric felt package. Out fell some socks and a note. Dobby picked up the note.

Dobby, thank you for all your help with everything. As a token of my gratitude, I got you these socks. Enjoy.
-Your Friend Harry
Potter

Dobby picked up the bundle of socks. There was at least ten pairs. Nearly all of them were brightly coloured with tints of red and gold over them. There were a few plain ones too, but that still mattered a lot to Dobby.

Tears in his large green tennis ball eyes from the gesture, Dobby climbed into his bed, holding onto his bundle of socks.

"You're my best friend Harry Potter."

IlIlIlI

The next morning saw several owls fly in to the Great Hall with the Daily Prophet in their talons.

Hermione picked up the one delivered to her and spewed out the pumpkin juice she was drinking, dousing Ron and his food.

Harry peered over and read the article Hermione was looking at.

ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
"SEEKING GLORY"
by Rita Skeeter

Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, is up to his tricks again.

Last night, the 31st of October, Hogwarts played host to revealing the names that came out of the Goblet of Fire for the TriWizard Tournament.

Representing Beauxbatons Academy of Magic is Fleur Delacour, daughter of the former French Minister For Magic, Julien Delacour. Representing Durmstrang Institute is Viktor Krum of the Bulgarian National Quidditch Team with whom he is Seeker.

However, Hogwarts seems to have selected five champions. However, I must tell my readers a certain rule in regarding the Goblet of Fire. From the books I have read about the Tournament, if someone tries to enter a name of someone who is dead it will not be accepted. Therefore there was a huge surprise when the names of Peter Pettigrew and Barty Crouch Junior came out of the Goblet of Fire. Another named Tom Riddle came out, yet no information has been found on this character. Cedric Diggory of Hufflepuff House was selected for Hogwarts, who is very much alive.

The biggest surprise was the fifth name. Albus Dumbledore's name came out of the Goblet of Fire. The man whom celebrates many titles: Chief Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, defeater of Grindelwald, Flamel's apprentice, and Headmaster among many others, was selected to partake in the tournament. Albus Dumbledore is clearly seeking out more glory for himself, as it is well known he is obsessed with his fame. He is also known to be quite barmy. Maybe he is seeking the prize money to buy his favourite sweets and has stopped stealing money from private vaults.

In regards to the two supposed dead people I call on the Ministry of Magic to investigate how they could be alive.

This reporter will bring you more of the news of the supreme champion Albus Dumbledore as it unfolds.

IlIlIlI

Albus Dumbledore sat up at the Head Table, glaring at the article in the paper. With this information out in the open, Rita would undoubtedly seek information on Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew. Once she would find that there was no trial, he would be in very deep trouble.

How dare Rita suggest he wanted fame. He didn't need any more. He already knew that he was the best and most famous wizard in the world.

I do not steal from vaults, he thought angrily. Except for Harry's. But it's not like he needs it. Hmmm, a thousand galleons would buy me plenty of sweets. I am definitely entering this tournament.

IlIlIlI

In Little Hangleton Tom Riddle AKA Lord Voldemort heard the most disconcerting news. The previous night at a late time Barty Crouch informed him what had happened with the Goblet of Fire.
Voldemort was undoubtedly furious with the outing of his name in the tournament, knowing full well what it meant if he didn't participate.

Wormtail had retrieved the Daily Prophet for him from Barty. Everything was now going down the drain. Not only was his filthy Muggle father's name exposed as his, but his two most useful spies had been ousted as alive. The least he could hope for was for Dumbledore to get himself killed in the task.

Now he was being lowered into a cauldron in front of his father's grave. He needed to get the ritual done now. As he knew Wormtail was only with him for protection he was absolutely convinced that his blood would be forcibly taken after his hand would be chopped off.

Wormtail raised his wand, closed his eyes, and spoke to the night.

"Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son!"
The surface of the grave cracked. What looked like human bones were lowered into the cauldron. The diamond surface of the water broke and hissed; it sent sparks in all directions and turned a vivid, sickly looking green
And now Wormtail was whimpering. He pulled a long, thin, shining silver dagger from inside his cloak. His voice broke into petrified sobs.
"Flesh — of the servant — w-willingly given — you will — revive — your master."
He stretched his right hand out in front of him — the hand with the missing finger. He gripped the dagger very tightly in his left hand and swung it upward before bringing it down on his arm.
He screamed long into the night with the pain that had been brought upon him.
"B-blood of the enemy … forcibly taken … you will … resurrect your foe."
He had to pretend and force the idea that he was the enemy to make this work. He didn't notice the colour in the cauldron was already going wrong. When he had eventually pierced his skin and dropped a trickle of blood into the cauldron he noticed the colour difference.

The cauldron was now spitting red and purple sparks in the air above the cauldron, while the liquid inside was pale brown. Wormtail was becoming terrified. It wasn't supposed to be this colour. It was supposed to be white.
Quickly he conjured a ladle and started stirring the contents inside the cauldron hoping to get it to turn white. Instead it turned from brown to dark pink.

Wormtail was suddenly tossed several feet as the cauldron exploded with the content that was in it.

The cauldron tipped over, flattening Nagini and tossing a very unusual figure out.
Right now the Dark Lord Voldemort was unconscious. He would be for some time. Wormtail hadn't realised it, but he had attempted his Animagus transformation unconsciously in his mind just before he chopped his hand off. The bones of the skunk that was placed in the cauldron coincided with the small arm of the rat. The excessive amount of years as a rat had made the blood Peter had withdrawn from himself made it a combination of skunk, rat's arm, and rat's blood.

The Dark Lord was a sight to behold. The appearance of the man was now half rat from the waist up while from the waist down he was now a skunk. As Wormtail had started stirring the potion in the ritual the magic belonging to Lord Voldemort was brushed and thrashed around before it was supposed to enter him. As the cauldron exploded before his magic had re-entered him he had lost the magicks of his body.

Lord Voldemort turned into a squib.