He woke up feeling good after a great night's sleep. He still wasn't happy about today, the tournament was not something he was looking forward yet he had to face it.
No one had told him a thing about today so he decided to follow Cedric after Breakfast. Showering and looking over himself he prepped for the first task.
He was wearing his new Bracelets of Shielding and they had tested them a little bit this morning. The updated Suspenders of Flying were on, and his Time Healer ring was on his right pointer finger. The Amulet of Retribution was tucked away and he felt good to go.
Stuffing the horn into his bag they both made their way to breakfast. While nervous he still managed to get some food down.
Dumbledore called for the champions to head down to the pitch which was now an arena to the Champions Tent.
Harry followed after Cedric and was waiting in the tent. Luna had given him a solid hug before wishing him well just before he entered the tent.
Inside the four champions were standing around waiting for the next part when Crouch showed up.
He began by saying they would each draw from the bag to determine the order and what they would be facing.
Harry was not going to let himself get the leftovers and pushed ahead drawing from the bag before anyone else. The startled sounds that came from everyone as he did so surprised him slightly.
Did they expect him to just wait around to be pushed to the back? Harry was not going to let others push him around if he could help it.
Drawing out a green dragon statue he looked at Crouch for an explanation as he stepped back.
Crouch was switching between staring at the bag and the dragon in Harry's hand when the other champions started drawing theirs as well.
Fleur drew a red dragon, Krum a large blue and white one, with Cedric drawing a massive beast that looked to be more spikes than anything else.
Crouch finally snapped out of his fugue and explained the order along with the task. Leaving he was mumbling to himself about something or other as he went out.
Harry felt no need to talk to the other champions and so made his way to a chair beside the door staring out it waiting for his turn.
The other champions soon forgot about him as they started formulating plans of their own.
Harry was deep in thought when some ministry person put their head in the tent yelling about Harry going first.
Standing up he gripped the Horn in his left-hand plan half-formed. He stepped into the arena, ready as he could be.
Looking about the stands he felt his stomach drop some. Here watching, judging and sneering were many of his schoolmates. It still felt like shit to be treated like this, though he had made peace with it.
That was until he heard a few voices yelling above everything else.
Luna was cheering him on with an infectious smile. He knew she would always be there for him.
What surprised him the most was the yells from Ron and Hermione. They were screaming at him to not get hurt and they wanted to talk after, wishing him good luck.
The twins flying Harry Potter flags and being silly fools was to expected, bringing a laugh from him.
Feeling much better he stepped forward towards the dragon raising the horn to his mouth.
A piercing tone cut through the stands as he blew. It silenced everyone as they each felt it deep within. Some felt fear and terror at the sound. Others were uplifted by it, feeling rallied by the call.
A large skull with bone banner pole appeared in the arena behind Harry. A thick heavy banner with the name of Potter below a coat of arms hung solemnly from it.
With the appearance of them the feelings from the call of the horn doubled. They felt themselves facing truths about themselves and their actions towards Harry Potter.
It was not just a few who gasped in horror at their actions, at how they had been making themselves an enemy of Harry Potter.
Ron and Hermione felt good though there were a few minor actions they regretted most of all they felt happy for their friend.
Those who could honestly call themselves a friend of Harry Potter all cheered loudly. The call had not been one of terror for them, it had been a rallying cry. A call to arms as Harry Potter planned to battle this day, allies more than welcome.
Harry looked over the Dragon and was not sure how to feel. It had clearly not been an enemy nor had it been judged a friend. Simply an animal, a beast, a mother, defending hers from outsiders.
He could not in good faith bring any great harm to the dragon. Yet he could not skip this task; his life and magic were on the line.
He began casting a rune chain he devised for the dragon on the spot. He took the time to use the disguising portions of it as he wanted it to seem like an unusual spell instead of a rune.
"Dragon Mother rest your eyes for minutes five" The runes shined brightly, an illegible mess of light and overly elaborate script. A calligrapher would be hard-pressed to make sense of the words.
The runes splashed off the dragonhide, breaking apart into nothingness. His experience with the Basilisk bone encouraged him to try again with more power.
He cast again this time pumping it full rather fast exhausting himself some. This time the light was harsh to look at and he had to shield his eyes from the runes.
They managed to overcome the dragon's natural resistance as the dragon fell asleep rather fast. Still, it was not a deep sleep and he feared it would not last long at all. Running to the nest he grabbed the golden egg and sped towards the exit.
He entered the tent only to see the school nurse waiting around. She looked up and sighed before moving over to her potion cabinet. Handing him a calming draught she moved him along informing him to rest and he would be fine. Ministry folk had been coming in all day asking for calming potions, it was a routine at this point.
Ron and Hermione had been anxious for the past few days. No one had seen Harry since the day he skipped out on the Weighing of the Wands ceremony.
As it was not a task he technically had not been required to show up. Of course, the headmaster had called for them both at the time. Honestly not knowing where he was they had said as much.
The headmaster had set the castle a buzz looking for Harry. He had disappeared, though the headmaster was sure he was still in the castle somehow.
Even so, with both Dumbledore and the ministry being unable to locate him they had gone on without him. Both Dumbledore and the ministry made it clear the incident of Harry being missing at the ceremony was to be kept quiet.
Even that ugly reporter Skeeter had seemed to understand that she was to keep mum about it.
Ron and Hermione had figured Harry was taking a day or two to collect himself. He had disappeared off and on the second year as well to calm down. They would usually find him in a hidden closet somewhere curled up in thought.
After searching the castle for a few days they began to get worried. Talking to the staff had been useless as well. A few minor encouragements and a promise Dumbledore was taking care of it did not help their calm at all.
Ron and Hermione had talked it out a bit over the last few days before the task. While Harry was always quick to rush headlong into something, he always was honest about owning up to it.
While not fully convinced they were fairly certain he would have owned up to it at least. The little doubt remaining came from his bragging with the boys the night before about wishing he could enter the tournament.
When Ron told Hermione that Hagrid had offered to escort Harry out to see what the task would be in the Forbidden Forest they knew it was important.
If Hagrid felt Harry needed an escort, the same Hagrid that sent them first year after a Unicorn killer and second year into an Acromantula nest, well, it was going to dangerous as hell.
They hadn't found Harry but Ron had snuck along anyways to find out. Nesting mother dragons, Harry had to face certain death.
They had started scouring the castle for Harry after that. Even skipping classes to search for him though no sign of Harry was found.
They spent those last few meals before the task desperately searching for him and making plans to help.
Ron didn't care if Harry entered himself or not, he didn't want his best mate to die.
When the day of the first task arrived they had still no luck finding Harry. Making their way down to the arena they were prepared for the worst.
They didn't know when Harry had stepped into the arena, somehow not noticing him enter it. Well after he blew that war horn of his they certainly noticed him.
Ginny had gasped out loud and started crying when she saw the huge skull appear holding the flag pole.
They managed to get the reason out of her soon enough and it caused everyone who heard to blanch in fear.
That was the skull of the Basilisk Harry killed the second year. The largest Basilisk to date had only been over a meter long, the skull was almost two meters wide.
Ron summed it up best with a muttered "Bloody Hell"
It was the coat of arms that drew their attention. Hermione had checked and the Magical House of Potter did not have one. She had researched all the families her second year trying to find the heir.
So where had Harry found their coat of arms then? It dawned on her as she looked at it.
"The stag, that's his Patronus, Harry must have made designed it himself."
Ron nodded and then noticed something else that struck him.
"Harry changed his hair, it's the same red as the banner. Wasn't his mom a redhead? I bet the green matches his eye color as well."
Everyone nodded at that, Ron had seen Harry's family album more than anyone else in the group. If anyone knew the color of Harry's mother's hair in the group it would be him.
"Either way the thing is intimidating as hell, makes me want to jump into the arena it does. I can feel it, wanting to fight side by side with Harry, it's deep magic. I wonder where Harry got it from? That's powerful magic it is."
Hermione had to agree, whatever it was had Harry's friends all riled up. They felt a charge in them ready to be unleashed.
"Look at Malfoy, he looks terrified. Most of the school does actually, what is going on?"
Hermione was always one to catch the little details and these hadn't passed her by. Her brain was trying to put the pieces together into something she could make sense of.
The twins provided the answer though, their reverant and quiet tone far from the norm.
"War magic, Harry's found himself some war magic somehow. That's powerful stuff, used to inspire allies and strike fear into your enemies. That's not something most people ever hear about, much less learn to use."
Ron figured out the implications of what war magic could mean before the rest.
"That would change the whole battlefield. Spells that affect entire armies, bet there is more than controlling emotions though. That's the type of stuff you hear about in legends. Blimey Harry, that's some powerful stuff."
Hermione had started calculating the numbers present and that all of them seemed affected. She gasped when the numbers finalized in her head.
"Over a thousand people here right now. Including some of the most powerful witches and wizards alive. Every single one of us is affected."
Hermione then realized what this meant for Harry. Surely magic like this was restricted, kept secure. If Voldemort had access to something like this he would have steamrolled across Britain.
"War magic, the ministry is going to come down on Harry like a ton of bricks over this."
The twins chimed in again with that declaration.
"If the ICW doesn't first, this is broadcast internationally. They will figure out what happened soon enough, and then Harry is going to be in for it."
They all hoped Harry would talk to them about after the task. This was far more important now than making up.
Crouch Sr. was not pleased at all, in fact, he knew he was screwed. The Delacour head had made it clear his daughter was to have an easy time of it. When the Administrator to the President of Magical France made a comment, you paid attention.
Crouch had charmed the bag so the first draw would be the Welsh Green. Compared to the other dragons it was easy, compared to the Horntail it was a kitten.
That little shit Potter had stepped out of nowhere and drawn first before he could start his Ladies First speech. To make matters worse he had charmed it so the last draw was the Horntail.
Someone had tipped him off that Potter was talking to Black, and that Black was innocent.
If Potter came out with that information he would be lucky to avoid life in Azkaban. Added in the stress of his son still wandering around and it was all an Erumpent horn waiting to explode in his face.
Diggory had gotten the damn Horntail and his father was a division head of the Department of Creature Control. Damn it all to hell and back, this was a mess. He could only hope the French bint made it through fine and Diggory didn't die.
After the first task, Crouch held his head in his hands as he tried to figure out what to do. Potter had made the task look easy while scaring the hell out of nearly everyone. The Delacour girl was lucky to have survived at all.
She had tried her allure on the Chinese Fireball, an already energetic dragon, and gotten a wall of fire in return. The healers were still trying to keep the girl stable.
Krum had spammed Conjunctivitis curses until one finally stuck. That had pissed the dragon off something fierce and he had lost an arm for his trouble.
Diggory had transfigured some rocks into animals, which anyone who knew anything about Horntails would tell him was stupid.
The dragon's breath had broken the Transfiguration and it had decided he would make an excellent replacement for the missed meal.
There wasn't enough left of the boy to fit in a matchbox.
Crouch was screwed royally, the Delacour family, and thus the French Ministry, were out for his head. The Bulgarians would want him for ending Krum's quidditch career.
Amos Diggory would be after him with wand drawn. None of that was even considering his errant son running about doing who knows what.
Making his decision he left and started packing. Rumor had it the Goblins had recently gotten hold of a Changing Mirror which could be used for a steep fee.
After paying for a new identity and face he could hide out as a volunteer in the Northern Encampment for a few years. Service granted citizenship after all.
Albus had been frustrated for over a week. Harry was missing and he had no luck in finding the boy. His tracking and monitoring charms had all failed the same day as the Weighing of the Wands ceremony.
That had been a disaster as well, especially getting Skeeter to stay quiet about it. He was forced to use some blackmail he had on her to keep it quiet.
The elves, portraits, ghosts, teachers and Harry's friends had all been useless. Luckily the boy had at least shown up for the task.
Albus had startled at the War Horns call. It had labeled him as a wary supporter, neither enemy nor a friend of House Potter. It was honestly the best he had hoped for, though the truth field that accompanied it was dangerous as well.
That had forced all the judges to judge fairly and honestly. That meant Harry had gotten almost full Mark's across the board.
Still he had paled as he realized the boy had somehow come across War Magic. The War Banner made of bones of an enemy slain had made that clear enough.
He had tried to think of anything else it could be but failed to find an excuse that would work. The ICW would be expecting his report soon enough. War Magic was not something they took lightly.
The sheer number of international laws and treaties on War Magic was frightening. Harry Potter had just upgraded himself from a minor hero of a country to a major asset on the world stage.
This was going to be a shit storm. Which led to the most important question, where had the boy learned it?
More frightening was had the boy discovered it himself somehow? If so that means it was likely new magic he was still refining. The potential of it would make Harry Potter a prime target by everyone if that was the case.
If countries couldn't get control of him or make sure he was under tight ICW control they would be seeking to kill him. A weapon not under your control was a potential threat to you after all.
Damn it all, Harry what have you done now? At least the boy was well hidden. A glance over at his friends he noticed they were on the right track already. No need for him to nudge them in the direction of preparing for the ICW.
Even better after they had judged his score that blasted banner had vanished away. At least he didn't have to try and confiscate it.
Harry was waiting in their room for Luna after the first task was over. It was with a morbid curiosity he wanted to hear who things had gone. He hated having to compete but wanted to see how well he stacked up.
Luna came in crying and it took an hour for her to get the full story out. He was the only one who had gotten his egg. Fleur Delacour would be lucky to be moving by the second task. Victor Krum's quidditch career was over and Cedric Diggory was dead.
"Bloody hell, this thing is a death game. Luna, we have to work out the next task no matter what."
Harry had thought about his friends wanting to talk to him and decided to pull them aside before dinner tonight.
He had gotten extremely lucky today compared to the others. He was also sure he had hidden his rune magic well enough no one would figure it out. At least he didn't have to worry about the ICW coming down on his ass.
Harry had created a quick rune scheme attached to the room near the great hall that would cause honesty and keep secrets. Luna was in the room waiting for him already.
He saw Ron, Hermione, Ginny and the twins looking around for him as the walked towards the great hall. Stepping out he called them over and led them to the room.
Once inside he closed the door and added a locking charm to it.
Turning back from the door Hermione latched onto him with one of her powerful hugs. Ron reached out and gripped his shoulder.
"Harry, I don't care anymore if you entered your name, this death tournament and you surviving is more important. You're my best mate, I've missed seeing you."
Ginny added her hug to Hermione's and the twins nodded along to Ron's speech.
Hermione stepped back and began talking in a worried tone.
"Harry where have you been, we haven't seen you in over a week!? We were so worried about you! We spent the last two days looking for you even harder. We knew what the task was and wanted to tell you."
Harry was confused and it showed on his face.
"What are you talking about? You've been ignoring me for days now."
That startled Hermione and Ron clearly as they had not been avoiding him at all.
"Nah mate, we've turned the castle upside down trying to find you."
Harry tried to lie real quick and couldn't, so the truth runes where working. So what was going on?
"I've been in class with you all and eating near you for most meals. Well until last Friday anyways, now I've been hanging out with Luna instead."
He gestured over towards Luna and they looked not seeing anyone there.
The twins spoke up at that point.
"Harry unless you're having us on there is no one over there. You're sure you didn't hit your head?"
Luna lifted up her ring and pointed at it causing Harry to face palm.
"You knew they wouldn't see you so why didn't you take it off already?"
She skipped over and took his hand smiling at him.
"I figured out what was going on this morning during the task. No one saw you before you blew the horn Harry. You had to see it happen with others before you would understand."
She took off her ring and everyone jumped in shock as she appeared in front of them holding Harry's hand. They hadn't even noticed he was holding someone's hand.
"Blimey, what the hell was that!? Where did you come from?"
"I was here all along Ronald, you couldn't know I was here. Harry hide me so no one could know."
Hermione had her eyes widen in realization at what had likely happened with Harry. Cutting her off before she got started Luna nodded to the other girl and started talking.
"Harry leave the room for a few seconds and then come back okay? Don't say anything just walk out, close the door, and then come back in okay?"
Harry had no idea what she was going on about but trusted Luna so he did so.
Hermione started to check with Luna that she was correct before the girl asked her to wait just a bit.
After a little bit, Luna called their attention before reaching up into the air. Next thing they knew she was holding Harry's glasses in her hands and he had appeared out of thin air again.
"How did he do it though? Of course, he would do it to himself somehow on accident and not realize it, but how did he do it?"
Harry was confused and clearly began to say so before Luna cut him off again. She was doing that a lot right now and he had no idea why.
"Potter Family Secret, that is final. He can agree to share with Family Friends but it will be a Potter Family Secrets."
The gathered Weasley family members gulped. Family Secrets were big things, to share them with someone that person had to be close, or even closer, than family.
Ron started thinking about Luna announcing Family Secrets and not Harry. Looking he saw her hand in his again, well that cleared up that question.
Hermione had not come across Family Secrets in her studies, they were not the type of thing to be written about after all.
"Family Secrets, what is that and why do you know them then?"
Luna was straightforward in her answer to Hermione, well aware of the truth rune scheme in play.
"I know them as he told me without realizing how important what he had discovered was. I call them Potter Family Secrets as he is lacking still in magic social rules. I claim them as only Potter Family Secrets as I plan to marry him and become Mrs. Potter, thus the secrets will stay in the family."
Harry started coughing at the announcement Luna had just given off. He liked Luna, she was someone he had found himself caring for. To marry her though, he thought about it and was forced to be honest to himself.
"I'm not ready for marriage but I care for her a great deal. Not soon, but one day, we could get married I am sure."
He started blushing horribly at the thought of what he had said and looked down. Luna gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek that broke his embarrassment.
Eyes wide with wonder he touched the cheek she had kissed. A silly smile breaking across his face.
Hermione clearly uncomfortable decided to push on with the conversation.
"Okay, but what are Family Secrets? The name says a great deal but there is something more to it than just that it seems."
The Twins took over from here having recently learned some of the Prewitt Family Secrets involving twin magic.
"Olivanders wand creation and magic are Ollivander Family Secrets. Ogden's Fire Whiskey brewing is an Ogden Family Secret. Family Secrets are something the family has discovered that makes them unique. Something that gives them some advantage or is so dangerous to the public it must be kept secret."
They looked at Harry and remembered Luna just appearing out of nowhere. Harry had been talking to her and Luna to him yet they couldn't even guess she was actually there. Looking at each other they nodded together.
"We bet that Harry's magic is both types. Something that Harry figured out that is amazing, also incredibly dangerous if discovered by others."
"We all thought it was War Magic, but now we think it's something more than even that. Something more dangerous than War Magic, Harry whatever this is keep it quiet and protect it with everything you can."
"We are dying to know but we don't want to die for knowing. Find a way to keep that knowledge safe. It's dangerous enough to kill for just from what we have seen right now."
Ron had been dealing with the twins long enough to figure out what they were talking about.
"Bloody hell, Luna was there in front of us talking to Harry and we couldn't see or hear her. If an assassin or robber got hold of that magic no one would be able to stop them. Harry mate, this is serious, it's like having a Queen on the chessboard that ignores all the rules and can win before the game begins."
Harry looked to Luna and she nodded. Harry realized he may have hidden his rune magic but it wasn't much better. Which reminded him.
"War Magic, what's that?"
After a few minutes, he had a clear idea of what they were talking about. He also realized he was likely going to be under ICW investigation.
Stupid banner, it had seemed so cool at the time. A way of telling everyone how angry he was and to scare off types like Malfoy.
Now it was a noose around his neck, one he had put there and tightened himself!
They all agreed that until Harry found a way to keep his secrets safe it was best for their safety if they didn't learn more about it.
Luna and the Twins grabbed some food for everyone from the great hall as they all sat around catching up. It was nice having his friends back and knowing they hadn't abandoned him.
He smiled late into the night talking with his friends and holding the hand of Luna.
A/N
Merry Christmas from my family and I. Enjoy the story this day, now I am going back to having fun and playing Uno with my daughter.
Ron and Hermione are just kids, and kids are flawed and silly people, same as all adults as well. They make mistakes but are always there for him in the books in some fashion or the other. I'm glad the posting schedule let me get this nice make up chapter out today.