Chapter 15

The Rise of Potter

The following week passed much more comfortably, and the anticipation of the first Hogsmeade weekend permeated the castle. Cody spent more meals than usual at the Ravenclaw table, with Michael. Not so much to plan anything, but more to calm his friend's twitchy nerves. Michael outrightly refused to go sit at the Hufflepuff table throughout the week, he didn't trust Cody not to say something embarrassing about him and Hannah, he was probably right. That left Cody the responsibility of setting up the meetup with Susan, which he did Friday afternoon during their defence lesson.

They all met in the Entrance Hall late Saturday morning and walked down to the carriages together. Both girls had obviously spent some extra time getting ready this morning, and the boys definitely noticed, though Cody was the only one to make it known. Even his polite little compliment made them blush. This was his first ride in the carriages that were evidently pulled by nothing. Magic, he thought, and didn't bother to ask confirmation.

They gave him a tour of the first half of the quaint village, describing the stores, many of which had counterparts in Diagon Alley. They browsed, and picked out small necessities, and Cody appreciated the little bits of advice that they passed on. They ended up at the Three Broomsticks for lunch, as planned, the raucous atmosphere of the pub was just as enjoyable as the food. So far, with all four of them sticking together and ample topics to discuss, there hadn't been any truly awkward moments.

That changed as the couples went their separate ways after lunch. This was something Cody and Susan had orchestrated, so he wasn't anticipating the sudden change in demeanor. They went to a couple other stores, before ending up at Honeydukes.

'What flavor do you want?' he asked as they reached the ice cream counter.

'Huh?' Susan replied, bringing her attention back to the present.

'You're my date. Convention says I buy you dessert, not to mention my mom would probably kill me if she found out I didn't.'

'Oh, right. Strawberry, please,' she said softly. He didn't even have to use any mind reading to notice she was feeling conflicted. The last thing he wanted from today was to send the wrong message, or have her start acting awkward around him. They had such easy conversations and she was a great teacher for defence, he had much to lose by complicating this relationship.

'Can we go outside and find somewhere to eat? Do you know any spots?'

'Yeah, I know somewhere.' They walked in a less unpleasant silence, considering they were both enjoying ice cream as they made their way to a bench shaded by a large tree.

'So, I've had a lot of fun today,' Cody said with a minor hesitation.

'Yeah, me too,' Susan's hesitation mirrored his.

'But, I think I need to clear something up.'

'Really? What?' she responded, a slightly perplexed look on her face.

'Well, there's no reason to beat around the bush, and I wasn't just being nice earlier today either, you really are cute. But I'm not trying to make you my girlfriend.'

'You're not?' she asked, more in shock at the bluntness than the actual question.

'No, I really like our relationship the way it is, and if we were to try to be more, I would almost be guaranteed to mess it up somehow. So, I'd like it if we could just stay as friends, though I wouldn't be opposed to going on some more dates to help Hannah and Michael get more comfortable, if nothing else.'

Susan let out a big breath she had been holding in. 'That's a relief. I'd like that too.'

'You don't have to sound too happy about it. I wouldn't be the worst choice for a boyfriend,' he said with mock hurt.

'No, I don't mean it like that. At first, I thought this was all to get Hannah and Michael together. Then, somewhere along the way, I started to wonder if you just used that as an excuse for a date. But I'm glad we are on the same page.'

'Yeah, me too. You definitely weren't yourself after we split off from them.'

'Well, yeah, I just didn't want to lead you on when I kind of already fancy someone else,' she said timidly.

'Oh, really? Anyone I know?' he asked with a grin.

'I don't think so,' she said tentatively.

'Great! So you can tell me and you don't have to worry about me saying anything,' he said persuasively, and she knew she was caught.

'Theo Nott.' His pensive look told her he couldn't quite place the name. 'He's in Slytherin, but I don't think he even knows I exist.' A bit of recognition registered on Cody's face.

'I guarantee he knows you exist. But the whole house system thing is definitely playing against you. You need to give him an opportunity to create some interaction, that's how you'll know he has interest.'

'We interact in some classes together,' she claimed.

'Ok, that's a start, and he's the soft spoken quiet type, right?'

'Yeah, that's one thing I like about him, no offense.'

'None taken, that's what makes me good friend material, not boyfriend. No, what you need is a little bit of drama to give him an opportunity to talk to you about things other than school,' he said mischievously.

'Drama? No! It's hard enough to avoid drama already,' she protested.

'Not real drama, just the illusion. What was that tea shop you pointed out earlier?' his grin growing.

'Puddifoot's? But that's just where couples go to snog, and you said—'

'Listen, we're just gonna get some tea, or whatever else they have there, no funny business, I promise. If the place is anything like you said, no one will pay attention to what we actually do there, but they'll notice our presence,' he explained calmly.

'And what about all the rumors?' she asked nervously.

'We tell Hannah, and any of your other friends, but otherwise just let the rumors go. I'll bet it'll come up with Daphne and Tracey tonight at Astronomy. I just won't give them all the details, it should get back to Theo one way or another. Then, when it comes up between you two, you can direct the conversation the way you want. See what happens from there.'

'I feel weird tricking him though,' she said with some hesitation.

'You're not, you're just setting up a conversation starter. If he cares about the rumors about you, he probably cares about you too. And here's the honest truth, I want to see the inside of this place, but I don't think I'll ever be able to bring myself to ask a girl to go there with me. This could be my only real chance.' He added some pouty eyes and lips to emphasize his plight.

'Ok, fine. This sounds crazy, but it might be kinda fun too,' she said with a small smile and shaking her head in disbelief she might actually go along with this plan.

'If he's like my friend, and I think he is, and he shows a little interest, you're gonna have to be a little bold so he knows he's on the right track,' Cody added.

'How do you mean?' she asked, flirting had always been more of Hannah's thing. They headed off, arm in arm, to Puddifoot's perfect pink paradise, where Cody continued giving tips to Susan.

That night he met up with Daphne and Tracey for his Astronomy lesson.

'How was your date?' Tracey asked playfully, with a little smirk.

'Really good,' he said with a couple nods of the head.

'Hogsmeade isn't that exciting. Where'd you go?'

'Some place called Puddifoot's.' Eyebrows disappeared.

'You didn't,' she challenged in disbelief.

'Sure did. I'm still seeing pink dots when I close my eyes.'

'I'll be honest, I'm a little surprised Susan would go to Puddifoot's on the first date. What else did you do?' Tracey asked suggestively.

'There's nothing else to say. I had a good time, that's all,' he said trying to add finality.

Tracey kept trying to get him to elaborate on what happened, but he continued to rebuff her. Daphne kept quiet on the whole topic, only offering opinions and thoughts on the stars and planets they were looking at.

The school was in an overall more joyous mood that week, or perhaps it was just a collective sugar high from being all stocked up on sweets. The week passed uneventful until Friday when he entered the abandoned classroom used for his defence training sessions to find a beaming Susan.

'You are a genius,' she said enthusiastically.

'I'm glad you're finally realizing this. What tipped the scale?' he responded with a gracious smile.

'Theo.'

'Oh, that happened already?' he asked with a hint of surprise.

'Yup, it was the first thing he brought up when we had a minute to talk. Well, I kinda helped bring it up, I don't know, it just came up,' she said fumbling her words a bit.

'So, he is interested, and he knows you exist,' Cody stated in a teasing manner.

'Yeah, I guess so,' she said with a small blush.

'And it went well?' he prompted.

'It went perfect,' she declared happily.

'Well, are you going to tell me about it, or what?'

'Ok, so we had just finished our assignment for Arithmancy. . .'

~Begin Flashback~

'So, what's new?' Susan asked.

'Nothing, what's new with you?' Theo responded.

'Nothing.'

'Nothing?' He cocked a questioning eyebrow.

'Yeah, nothing. Why?' she playfully defended.

'That's not what I heard,' he said somewhat knowingly.

'Oh yeah? And what did you hear?' she asked with a tilt of the head.

'Just that you made a little trip to Puddifoot's.'

'And what if I did?' She couldn't deny that part, and she was fighting to keep her grin from splitting her face.

'So it is true. And how was it?' A hint of disappointment in his voice.

'Honestly, the cakes were too sweet and the tea, would you believe it, too hot,' she answered casually.

'Well, most people are otherwise occupied while they are there, hence giving their tea time to cool. Or so I've been told.' His implication wasn't particularly veiled.

'Well, I am not most people.' Her slightly narrowed eyes shut down any premise of accusation, even with the corners of her mouth slightly turned up.

'Are you saying you went to Puddifoot's just for the cakes and tea?' he asked skeptically.

'That is exactly what I am saying. Cody wanted the full Hogsmeade experience, and I was his guide,' she said with an air of dignity.

'If all you did was have tea then you can't say you gave him the full Hogsmeade experience,' he added in playful accusation.

'No, we are just friends,' she confirmed. 'I'm saving that for another wizard,' she added coquettishly. Cody had been adamant that she say something flirty like that if he seemed at all interested in the topic, and it had taken all her will power to get it out.

'Is there another wizard in particular you had in mind?' he replied hesitantly.

'There is,' she said with a smile, fighting back the blush.

'And you'd go on your next trip to Hogsmeade with him?'

'I would, if he asked me properly,' a hint of a challenge entering her voice.

~End Flashback~

'So, we aren't official or anything yet, we'll see how the date goes first. Until then we're keeping it on the down low, but it looks like you're gonna have to find another date for your next trip,' Susan said with a smile.

'I'm hurt you replaced me so easily,' he teased. 'But that kind of was our objective, so I'm happy for you. And yeah, I suppose I will have to find another date,' he said, adding a pensive look and stroking his chin.

'Oh! I know who you are thinking about. You are trying to out-Slytherin the Slytherins,' she smirked, slowly shaking her head back and forth.

'Well, it didn't really cross my mind until I got to the tower that night. They assumed just as we predicted. Well, Tracey did; Daphne didn't really get the chance to say anything, Tracey wouldn't shut up about it.'

'Well, her silence tells you something, doesn't it?' Susan said thoughtfully.

'Maybe, but not much. And the first weekend in December is still a long ways away,' he replied, trying to sound casual.

'Well you better not wait too long to ask her,' she cautioned.

'Nah, she's already said she's not dating any Hogwarts boys. I want to make sure she'll say yes before I ask again,' he countered assuredly.

'Whatever you say.'

'And what about Hannah and Michael?'

'He hasn't told you anything?' she asked with a grin.

'No! He won't say a word. He thinks I'll tease him,' he said pretending to be offended.

'Cause you would,' she responded with a knowing look.

'Yeah, you're probably right. How about this, is there even anything to tease him about?'

'No,' she sighed. 'Not yet, at least. And that's probably what he thinks you get on him about, not doing anything.'

'He's not entirely wrong, but I wouldn't be too hard on him. At this point it's up to them to figure out where this goes. If Hannah wants him to make a move she's going to have to let him know somehow.'

'Maybe so, and I kind of think she knows that now. Now, are you ready to start? I know I'm ready to kick your butt again.'

'I can't wait til I beat you one of these times,' he smirked.

'Gonna have to hit me first,' she taunted, now back in her element.

Saturday was Daphne's birthday, and he had sent her a big box of gum, with a little note saying that it should definitely last until Christmas. He knew she would like it, but also that he would need to start coming up with other ideas, the novelty was bound to wear off at some point.

He had hoped Daphne and Tracey would come to breakfast before he had to go to the greenhouses, so he could see Daphne's reaction. Alas, it was not to be, they liked their sleep too much on the weekends. He would settle with seeing them at the Astronomy Tower, as he was unlikely to cross paths before then. And so it was, but he did accomplish a lot with Neville, and even learned some things.

Daphne met him with a giant hug upon arriving at the tower that night.

'How'd you know it was my birthday?' she asked, a big grin still on her face.

'Tracey, that was her good faith negotiation.' Daphne rolled her eyes. 'And I was worried you had said something actually important,' she said to Tracey.

'Hey, I would never,' Tracey feigned hurt. 'And you're welcome. Otherwise you would've missed out on a quality gift. And it's your job to make sure he knows when my birthday is.'

'Be careful what you wish for,' Daphne warned.

'You have nothing to worry about, Tracey. But that doesn't mean I have forgotten about you letting me wallow in guilt all last week,' he said.

'I know, we are sorry. We thought we were being funny, but that was probably more than you deserved,' Daphne admitted apologetically.

'I'll take that into consideration,' he smirked, while nodding his head in acceptance.

Besides the company, the night sky had become one of Cody's favorite things about Hogwarts, or maybe the company made him enjoy the stars more, who could say. Either way, these Saturday nights had become times he would have circled on a calendar if he had used one.

Daphne squeezed her arms around him a little tighter that night, and she didn't relinquish her hold as quickly either. When she did finally loosen her grip she left her arms wrapped around his neck, resembling a dancing position. She looked up into his eyes and softly said, 'I really am sorry for last week. I've realized you should've been more mad at me, but you've been so sweet, please forgive me,' she pleaded.

'I do,' he responded softly.

'Thanks, Cody. You're the best.' She raised up and put the quickest of pecks on his cheek before bounding away.

'Night, Cody,' the two girls sang in unison.

'Night, TouchDown,' he said, as an ear to ear grin spread slowly across his face. It wasn't cloud nine exactly, maybe cloud four or five, he sure didn't feel like he was walking, though his legs were moving. And it hit him—that was the moment he didn't know he was waiting for. Something she said, or did, that told him if he asked her out again, she would say "yes." He was still in no particular hurry to do it, but he couldn't help but think of different ways he could ask her. A new found confidence boosted his mood even further on his walk back to the dorm.

Over the following weeks there was a gradual build up of anticipation for the arrival of the foreign schools. Speculation swirled regarding how they would arrive, and how many students would come. There was also much speculation regarding the Triwizard Tournament that would follow.

The greatly anticipated day arrived on a Friday and the whole school stood outside to welcome the guests. Cody stood to the back, pretending to not really care, but inside, he was glad that he wouldn't be the only foreigner at the school anymore. He had integrated fairly well, but there were definitely still moments when he felt like an outsider, no amount of self confidence would completely eliminate those insecurities.

He didn't get any clear looks at the arriving students, but there were some outbursts from the crowd of students that made him wonder what could set some visitors, so distinctly apart from others.

They all made their way into The Great Hall, this was one of those occasions where they were obliged to sit at their given house tables. Dumbledore gave his welcome speech, and the feast began. As the meal progressed there was a moment when the eyes of his tablemates across from him began to glaze over. Soon after, he heard from behind him, a soft French accent asking if they were finished with a particular dish, the name of which he could not understand, let alone attempt to pronounce.

He rotated in his chair to be met by a radiant beauty, dressed in the light blue uniform of Beauxbatons that perfectly complimented her deep blue eyes. He wasn't alone in not responding to her inquiry, though his delay was more due to wanting to spend some time checking her out. Regardless of the reason, she was irritated by the lack of response from the table as a whole, and repeated her query.

Cody didn't know exactly what dish she was asking for, but there were only a couple that had barely been touched, so he assumed it was one of them. Thus, he picked up a plate of chicken that was half eaten and offered it to her. She shook her head and pointed in the direction of what she wanted. He set down the chicken and just pointed at another dish he knew couldn't be what she was asking for.

'This?' He asked.

'Non,' she replied sharply, while shaking her head. He continued pointing at wrong dish after wrong dish until he had completed a circle around what he now learned was the bouillabaisse, he still refused to attempt pronouncing it. Finally, his finger hovered over the object of her desires. And with her irritation reaching a boiling point, it was fortunate he finally got it right.

'Gotta be this one,' he said assuredly with a smile.

'Yes,' she breathed in relief. He gave her a cheesy smile, and she rolled her eyes, accepting the dish and walking back to her seat, his eyes stayed on her the whole way.

'Looks like you approve of the French delegation,' George intoned.

'They make a good first impression,' Cody replied approvingly.

'I don't think she'd say the same for you, you were almost struck dumb.'

'No, I wasn't,' Cody contended.

'Uh, mate, we weren't exactly thinking straight, but even we could tell you couldn't find the bouillabaisse right underneath your nose,' Fred laughed.

'That's the Veela effect,' George added.

'Veela?' Cody asked.

'Yeah, their allure can turn your brain to mush. Just like you were.'

'I wasn't,' Cody argued.

'It's ok, it's a normal reaction,' Fred consoled.

'You're not going to believe me, are you?' Cody questioned.

'You haven't given us a reason to,' George explained.

'So, what do you want me to do?'

'You really want to embarrass yourself again?' Fred asked.

'What do you have in mind?' Cody replied curiously.

'Just hold a conversation with her without turning into a pool of drool,' Fred said.

'That's it? Ok, you're on. Do you want to make a wager of it?' Cody asked, feeling confident.

'We could use somebody to test some of our products.'

'That's brilliant Fred, but what are we putting on the line? Not that we'll need to worry about it.'

'How about—' Cody's proposal was interrupted by Dumbledore introducing the Goblet of Fire and going over the rules and stipulations surrounding it. Everyone cleared out of the Hall as soon as the speech ended. The Gryffindor common room was bustling with excitement, as those who were of age were preparing to enter their names. Cody made his way to his four-poster bed where he read up on the details of the Marauder's Map. He threw on his invisibility cloak and went back down to the common room where the energy had died down considerably.

It didn't take long to find the twins in their all too familiar corner. He walked slowly under the cloak, expecting them to notice his approach at any moment. His guess was right, and as he got closer Fred looked up and over in his direction. Not seeing anything he looked back down, and then back up, slight confusion crossing his face, Cody smiled. He crept closer and now both brothers were double and triple taking in their glances down and then back in his direction. Eventually, they gave up looking and Fred called out to him,

'Langdon, we know you are there.'

'Show yourself,' George added.

He paused, and levitated a book on the opposite side of the twins, then let it drop. It hit the floor with a loud thud, and they both turned their heads to the sound. It was enough time for Cody to remove and hide the cloak before the twins turned back in his direction. Their eyes bugged out of their heads when they saw him, and he gave them a satisfied grin.

'Where'd you come from?' Fred asked in disbelief.

'Was that a disillusion charm?' questioned George.

'Wouldn't you like to know? I've come to finish our negotiations,' Cody taunted.

'Let's hear it,' they both said, all else forgotten as a possible guinea pig for their experimentations ventured near. Cody sat down across from them and leaned his head over close to them.

'Mischief managed,' Cody said slowly and deliberately.

'But how?' George breathed, his eyes wide. Fred's face mirrored his brother's but no words left his mouth.

'Doesn't matter,' Cody replied, and he leaned back in his chair with a smirk.

'No,' said Fred, while shaking his head.

'But I got the feeling you thought I don't stand a chance,' Cody said teasingly.

'You don't, but still, no,' George said firmly.

'K, what about when you leave? It's not gonna do you any good when you're gone. Who were you going to give it to?'

'Ginny, maybe,' Fred replied, looking at George who just shrugged his shoulders.

'K, well, how about this. If I win, you give it to me when you leave, and I get to use it occasionally before then,' Cody suggested.

'Ok, if you win, we'll give you the map when we leave, and you can use it, under supervision, until then,' Fred countered.

'Deal,' Cody declared.

'Deal, and you only get one attempt with the Veela, and you only have one week,' George added.

'The first chance I get,' Cody replied confidently.

That Saturday was the Tournament selection feast. The champions were selected from their respective schools; Fleur Delacour, Viktor Krum, and Cedric Diggory. The champions had all entered the designated chamber and there was still a low rumble of voices in the hall. The rumble was silenced when another piece of parchment flew out of the cup, which Dumbledore snatched from the air. As he stared at the parchment, he tried to keep his face expressionless, but if you looked close enough the shock was there. He cleared his throat before he announced—

'Harry Potter.'

Voices erupted all over. During the chaos Dumbledore's eye met Cody's for a short moment. The Headmaster's slightly raised eyebrows asked Cody if he wanted to make this public. Cody gave a subtle shake of the head and Dumbledore responded with the slightest of nods. Dumbledore then turned to enter the chamber with the other champions, leaving the Great Hall in its state of chaos. Many minutes later, he and all others involved in discussions returned. He raised his hands to invoke quiet from the crowd.

'Quiet, please. We have discussed the events of this evening and our first action to take will be to contact Mr. Potter as soon as possible.' His eyes lingered ever so briefly on Cody, who gave the Headmaster a slight nod of acknowledgement. 'I suspect that our Triwizard Tournament will shortly become a Quadwizard Tournament. The first task will be November 24. That is all for now, good night.'

The crowd filed out of the Hall, speculation running rampant. The common room stayed busy for most of the evening. Cody wanted to sneak out early to go to the Headmaster's office, but Neville caught him sneaking away—

'Where are you going?'

'Going to do my Astronomy work,' Cody replied casually.

'A little early for that, isn't it?' he noticed.

'Uh, yeah, I guess, I just want to get some extra stuff done,' Cody half mumbled.

'Maybe, a little pre-study entertainment?' Neville asked with an added wag of the eyebrows. Cody just grinned and gave a little shrug as he walked out. That was as good an excuse he could've come up with himself, and he didn't have to actually say it. He only wished it were actually true.

Somehow, he navigated his way to the Headmaster's office, and it went quicker than he had imagined, almost as if the castle was helping him find his way. He reached the gargoyles but had no idea of the password. It wasn't a moment later that they parted and allowed him entrance. If he wasn't sure someone wanted him to arrive here before, he was now.

'Come in, Cody,' Dumbledore said before Cody could even knock after ascending the stairs. 'Quite the eventful evening we've had.'

'Yeah, you could say that again.'

'So, how are you feeling?' Dumbledore asked.

'Fine. I guess I wanted to hear from you what I need to know before freaking out,' Cody said.

'Well, I have a question I have to ask you, just to be certain. Did you put your name in the cup?'

Cody was taken aback by the question, the thought hadn't even crossed his mind. 'No, I barely went near the cup at all. And I wouldn't go putting Harry Potter in there even if I wanted to get in the thing.' He tried to stay calm and not assume an accusation in the question.

'I thought as much, and you may still be able to keep your privacy if that is what you wish. You are only obligated to come to Tournament sanctioned events as Harry Potter.'

'You're saying that like I have to compete,' Cody said, taking in a deep breath, hopeful he was wrong. 'From what I've heard, I'm nowhere near qualified to actually participate.' There was a piece of him that was actually excited about the challenge, but he wasn't ready to tell anyone that yet.

'I have no idea how your name got entered —and I will certainly be looking into it— but your name coming out of the Goblet created a magically binding contract. To not put in an honest effort would result in the loss of your magic.'

Cody let out a sigh, 'no idea how my name got in?' Dumbledore gave a slow shake of the head. 'Ok, well, I'm not a quitter, so I'll do what I have to. Any hint on that first task?'

'I'm sorry, I cannot divulge anything besides what was told to the other champions— the task is designed to test your daring.'

'That's nice and vague. So, just show up and see what happens, wonderful. Anything else?' he asked, not doing a very good job of concealing his annoyance.

'There is a wand weighing ceremony on Thursday you will need to be present at. Professor McGonagall will give you more details. I can help you get out of class and modify your appearance if you need help,' Dumbledore suggested.

'I think I can take care of it, I've learned some good glamour charms already. And I've got an idea of how to get out of class without needing your name attached to it, but I'll be sure to come back to you if it doesn't work out.'

'Be sure to see me if you need anything. Don't take the tasks lightly, they are meant for skilled wizards. And don't be ashamed if you need to wave the white flag. Staying alive is more important than proving you are brave,' Dumbledore said with a grave sincerity. This tone caught Cody off guard. He had heard people had died in previous versions of the tournament, but he felt they wouldn't bring it back only to put more wizards lives at risk. This had him rethinking that thought, and gave him pause.

'I will be sure to keep that in mind, thanks,' Cody replied thoughtfully.

'Maybe you can find some information in the stars,' the Headmaster had that twinkle back in his eye. 'Have a good night, Cody.'

'Thanks, you too, Professor.'

His chat had made him a few minutes late to his Astronomy lesson, and he was met by two girls that had playful glares on their faces.

'Good thing you showed up,' Daphne said in mock anger.

'Hey, everyone's all crazy about this tournament and Harry Potter, I could barely get out of the common room,' he justified.

'It is pretty crazy, isn't it? I mean, first we thought he was some great hero, then he was dead, now his name is coming out of the Cup. I think that means the rumors that Dumbledore has been training him this whole time are true. You saw how sure he was that he could get in contact with him,' Tracey rattled off her thoughts.

'Just cause he might be able to contact him doesn't mean he's been training him, though,' Cody countered.

'You think Dumbledore just has him somewhere, and hasn't been teaching him magic this whole time?' Tracey asked.

'Obviously, nobody truly knows, but I'd say it's just as likely that he hasn't been trained in magic much at all.'

'No way, he's Harry Potter. He's a magical hero,' Tracey said adamantly.

'Just make sure not to have your expectations too high, or he'll never live up to them,' Cody said.

'He's right, Tee. I remember my parents sitting me down before our first year. They knew we all thought we were going to be coming to school with this big hero, but no one even knew where he was growing up. They told me his whole story about him being an orphan, and how no one remembers that when they think of the hero. I was so sad hearing it all, I wrote him this silly letter. Oh, I hope to Merlin it never got to him, it would be so embarrassing now,' Daphne said, color growing in her face.

'What did it say?' Tracey asked bemused.

'I can't remember everything, but I'm not even telling you what I do remember,' Daphne proclaimed.

'It was probably sweet,' Tracey cooed.

'Did lots of people write to him?' Cody asked.

'Oh yeah, lots of people used to write on the anniversary of his defeat of the Dark Lord,' Tracey replied. 'They kind of stopped when everyone started believing he had died as a baby though.'

'Oh, that makes sense.' Now Cody really wanted to see those letters, especially that one from Daphne. He couldn't imagine what she could've written at eleven that would be so bad now, but it couldn't be half as embarrassing as she was making it out to be.

Sunday morning he was playing many of the same songs for his dog friend. There were only so many songs he had memorized, and without any new music it meant cycling back through the ones he knew. The dog seemed to appreciate this. He was now getting familiar with more music. For Cody, this meant he had to hear more of the dog's attempts at singing, as he was getting more vocal as the two became more comfortable with each other; even at the protest of Cody's ears.

The dog had also become a pseudo therapist / sounding board for Cody's inner monologue. Ranging in topics from magical theory, to relationships with family, friends and girls. It was another thing that was really weird at first, talking to the dog about these things. But the way he responded to tone inflections and pauses, if someone had told him the dog could actually comprehend everything he was told, there would be no way for him to refute the point.

Today he had quite the tale to tell, when he mentioned that the name Harry Potter had come from the Goblet, the dog barked and leaped up on the rock where Cody was sitting, his eyes wide and tongue hanging out. He definitely appeared to recognize the name and wanted to know more. He was going to have to figure out more about magical creatures, and find out about dogs in particular. He was just about to continue the story when they heard the woosh of brooms overhead. That meant it was time to head in, he didn't need to chance anyone overhearing any of this, no matter how unlikely it was.

He got to the Great Hall, and there was only a smattering of students left, so he found a spot and sat down. Someone had left a copy of the Daily Prophet and though he generally couldn't care less what was in the paper, today's headline piqued his interest.

The-Boy-Who-Lived Lives?

By: Rita Skeeter

The return Triwizard Tournament has been greatly anticipated since its announcement at the beginning of the school year. But no one suspected the surprise that will surely spread like fiendfyre across the wizarding world. The Goblet of Fire spit out the names of three champions; Fleur Delacour of Beauxbatons, Viktor Krum of Durmstrang, and Cedric Diggory of Hogwarts. That is where the meeting of expectations ceased as the Goblet shocked everyone in attendance by producing another name—Harry Potter.

After consultation with the Department of Mysteries, we have confirmed that the Goblet of Fire can only create a contract with a living wizard. This conclusion would fly in the face of well circulated rumors that the baby Harry did not actually survive his encounter with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. The number of questions that this incident propagates would push the boundaries of countless. Where he is, and in what condition, are just as much mysteries to you, as they are to the rest of the wizarding world.

One question immediately asked of tournament organizers was how the name got into the goblet in the first place. The only response we received was a not so polite, "No comment." You can be sure this reporter will be on the case, and will provide you with the latest updates in this most interesting turn of events since, well, the last time Harry Potter was involved in a significant magical event.

He couldn't help but smile at all the speculation. If they only knew that he was just a normal kid, not much different from other wizards his age, outside of his lack of knowledge about the magical world. The third paragraph also drew his attention, but as he pondered it, it wasn't just the "who" that he was questioning, but the "why." If the majority of people thought him dead, why even bother submitting his name? The answer he settled on for the moment was that someone just wanted some confirmation of rumors, but even that reasoning had its holes, so he mentally set it aside for now.

He walked into the Great Hall for dinner that evening at the same time as the Weasley twins.

'You guys want to come witness this so there is no complaining about how I won?' he asked them in a challenging tone.

'Oh, we are going to enjoy this. You have to stay there for the whole five minutes, even after you start drooling,' Fred declared, and George howled in agreement with his brother, as they all walked over to the Ravenclaw table where the Beauxbatons students had found a home. Michael gave him a sideways glance when he walked past and sat in some seats across from Fleur and her friends.

'Hello, ladies,' Cody said pleasantly with a smile.

'For the drool,' George smirked as he pushed an empty bowl directly underneath Cody, who just rolled his eyes at the jokester.

'Bonjour, can we help you?' Fleur replied with an air of grace and an expressionless face, though a couple of her friends did spare a smile.

'I just wanted to give you a proper welcome to Hogwarts.' Again he went with a pleasant tone, but it had yet to be reciprocated, and she didn't give any indication she was going to help this conversation along. 'Well, that and I wanted to congratulate you on becoming a champion. I don't have any real loyalty to this school so, who knows, I might end up cheering for you.' This at least piqued her interest a little.

'No loyalty to the school, why not?' she asked, a slight hint of curiosity entered her voice.

'It's my first year here, I'm from America. It still doesn't quite feel like home. The food is different, as it seems you notice also,' he said while indicating the barely touched dishes of English food. 'I think I'd prefer more French cuisine, honestly—'

'If you say french fries and french toast. . .' she cut across with annoyance.

'Uh, of course I wasn't going to say that. I was gonna say. . . um, yeah. I guess you got me,' he replied with a 'what are you gonna do?' grin.

'Americans, you're all the same,' she said haughtily.

'We are not,' he retorted. She cocked a questioning eyebrow. 'We've just all agreed to use the same dumb jokes at an international level.' A small puff of air escaped her nose —though nothing approaching a snort— and accompanied by the twitch at the corners of her mouth, he knew she was at least slightly amused.

'I must confess, you get points for originality. Do you have a name, or shall we call you. . . American?' Her tone hadn't changed much, but something in her face said she was not nearly as displeased with his presence anymore.

'I'm Cody, these are my friends, Fred and George.' He indicated his two friends who just nodded along, before making their attempt at speech—

'Hi,' they stuttered.

'These are my friends, Celine, Vanessa and Estelle,' Fleur said.

'Nice to meet you,' Celine said with a smile. 'Fleur, I can't help but notice that this one doesn't seem to be affected by your allure,' she added with an impressed tone, indicating Cody.

'Oui, this is most interesting. I do recall you seemed to be quite affected during our first meeting.'

'He was the one who couldn't find the bouillabaisse?' Celine asked with a small giggle.

'Oui, he was. Don't think I didn't recognize you,' Fleur said, directing the last bit to Cody with a little accusation.

'Yeah, that was me trying to be funny. My mom doesn't laugh when I do it, either.'

'If that sort of thing didn't happen to her all the time, she might've thought it amusing,' Celine noted.

'Non, I wouldn't have,' Fleur corrected.

'That's ok, my humor isn't for everyone,' Cody conceded.

'I think it's kind of funny, now that I know it was on purpose,' Celine said.

'H—Hogsmeade,' Fred stuttered.

'What was that?' Fleur asked.

'I think he was asking if you'd like to go with him to Hogsmeade,' Cody clarified, while Fred nodded his agreement.

'Oh, that's sweet,' Fleur sing-songed to Fred. 'But I'm afraid I'd rather go with someone I can hold a conversation with—and before you ask, I actually already have a boyfriend,' she continued, turning to Cody halfway through.

'I wasn't—' Cody started.

'I don't have a boyfriend,' Celine cut in with a coquettish tone. That received a quick turn of the head and a mini glare from her friend. 'What? I'd like to also enjoy the company of someone that doesn't lose his mind when my best friend is present.' Fleur gave her friend a conceding nod, and Celine then gave Cody a questioning look.

'I—uh,' he was not expecting to ask anyone on a date let alone be asked out himself. His friend Victor would think him crazy for even hesitating, but the thought of taking Daphne to Hogsmeade was still at the front of his mind.

'Do you have girlfriend?' Celine asked him.

'No, I don't,' he admitted.

'Then do you not think my friend is pretty?' Fleur asked in accusation.

'No—I mean—yes,' both girls didn't do well at restraining their giggles.

'He may not be affected by my allure, but he does seem to be affected by yours, Celine,' Fleur teased. Celine's teeth weren't the same brightness of Fleur's, nor as straight, but her smile was brilliant nonetheless. Her soft olive green eyes were complimented by her tan complexion. Her small nose, with a tiny ski jump at the end, sat in the middle of her face, framed by shoulder length light brown hair.

'Ah, of course you're pretty —gorgeous— actually. And that would be true whether I had a girlfriend or not. And I would be honored to take you, but I just have to figure some other things out first,' he tried to vaguely explain. 'Is that ok?'

'Oui, that is ok. Don't take too long to figure things out, I won't wait forever,' she said with a bit of disappointment.

'I won't. Sorry for being so confusing,' he said apologetically.

'It's ok, I believe I understand,' she implied her comprehension.

'Ok, well, has this been enough for you two?' Cody asked the twins, who just nodded in response. 'It's been nice meeting you all. Good luck in the tournament, Fleur. I'll be sure to catch up with you, Celine.'

'Au revoir,' they both said, Celine with more enthusiasm than Fleur.

'You hustled us,' George accused, as they sat at their house table to actually eat now.

'No, I tried to tell you, but you wouldn't believe me,' Cody retorted.

'I guess you're right. We've been had, brother.'

'That we have. It doesn't happen often.'

'I'm gonna need something else from you guys, though.' They gave him questioning looks, what more could you want? 'I'm gonna need some of those Puking Pastilles. And the antidote.'

'You wouldn't be the first to forget that very important companion, and you will have to pay for those,' Fred replied.

'That's ok. Can I get them tonight?'

'Absolutely, we pride ourselves in quick delivery.'

As they were completing their transaction in their isolated corner of the common room, Fred pulled out the map and said,

'Alright, now that you are our honorary apprentice we need to show you a couple things.' He opened and activated the map. Then pointed to various parts.

'These here are some of the different secret passages.' Both twins laughed at Cody's surprised face. 'Yes, there are a bunch of secret passages, some aren't even on here.'

'But this is the important one, it goes right to Honeydukes,' George said.

'No need to wait until December for your next Hogsmeade trip,' Fred said mischievously.

'Just gotta watch out for Filch. We don't know if he knows about the passages or is just suspicious of those areas, cause he's always on patrol,' George warned.

'Good to know, thanks.'

That Thursday afternoon he was sitting in his potions lesson trying to find the right moment to take the Puking Pastille. Eventually, he found his moment, and then he approached the professor's desk.

'Professor, I'm not feeling well, may I be excused?' he asked Snape, while clutching at his midsection.

'Langdon, you are not getting out of class for a silly stomach ache,' Snape sneered, while rising from his chair and walking around his desk to place himself in front of Cody. It was then that the Puking Pastille kicked in, and Cody hurled the contents of his stomach onto the floor, splattering over his professor's shoes and the bottom of his robes. He looked up to the irate man with a sickly look.

'Get out!' The lack of volume in his voice portrayed the anger that was underneath the surface more than any yell ever could.

Cody quickly gathered his things and left the class, which was full of students unsuccessfully trying to stifle their own laughter.

'Silence!' he heard the professor bellow out as he was closing the classroom door.

He stepped into a bathroom, confirmed it was vacant, and began doing some glamour charms. He changed his hair color to a light brown and shortened it into an untidy mess that revealed his scar. He undid the charm on his contacts so his green eyes shone through. Dumbledore had even given him a pair of round rim glasses with no prescription that he could wear, so he decided to go all in, and threw them on as well. He also changed into jeans and a plain white t-shirt, then he made his way to the Wand Weighing ceremony.

As soon as the door opened flashes went off, a photographer was waiting for him just on the other side. Lovely, so begins the circus, he thought. He was the last to arrive, so as soon as he stepped through, the press was moved away and they proceeded with the ceremony. Aside from a few press members, there were multiple tournament and ministry officials present, he caught more than one of them less than subtly glancing at his scar. He could tell they all had questions, thankfully, for the moment they were refraining from asking.

Ollivander was all too happy to imply that he had already met Mr. Potter, and flamboyantly completed the Wand Weighing ceremony. He was impressed with Mr. Ollivander's ability to "weigh" the wands without the help of a scale, perhaps a spell learned in wandmaker school, he thought.

After the ceremony Harry was converged upon as if he were a fresh slab of meat for a hungry pack of wolves. "It's a pleasure to meet you," and "I've always wanted to thank you," were the most common greetings, and he just nodded his head as he shook hands. One, though, was particularly ravenous, she called herself Rita Skeeter.

'Mr. Potter, the wizarding world is dying to know more about you, and where you have been. Do you have time for a quick interview? Where have you been living all this time?' She asked without waiting for his consent.

'Lo siento, hoy no,' he replied.

'Pardon,' Rita returned in confusion.

'Hoy, no. Lo siento, gracias,' he said politely but sternly.

'Uh, ok. I guess Harry Potter speaks. . . Spanish?' she said with even more confusion. Others around backed off as well. There was another that had hung back also, he hadn't swarmed with the crowd, and waited for them to dissipate before he approached.

'That was nice maneuver, unless of course, you do only speak Spanish. But you didn't seem lost during the ceremony, so my guess is no,' he said with a knowing smile.

'Yeah, that was about the extent of my Spanish,' he laughed.

'Ahh very well, and you already know press is pack of vultures, smart. It is very nice to meet you Harry Potter,' he said extending his hand.

'Nice to meet you as well, Viktor, right?' he replied while shaking.

'Please, call me Krum. It's all anyone calls me now, except my mother, it sounds weird from anyone else.'

'Wow, you're one name famous like that?' he said, impressed.

'You, of all people, shouldn't think that impressive. You are far more famous than me.'

'Well, we can commiserate together,' he smirked.

'My English isn't great, but that sounds like celebrate, so I like the idea,' Krum said with a nod. 'But I actually wanted to invite you to come fly with me and a few friends.'

'I would love to, but I really don't fly much,' he said with some genuine disappointment.

'You don't fly?' Krum asked in surprise.

'Yeah, I've never really got into wizard sports,' he admitted. 'But if you're looking for some people to fly with, I know a couple girls that would love to join you. They are good flyers.'

'They aren't ugly, are they?' Krum asked like he might be getting set up for a joke.

'No, of course not. I wouldn't do something like that to a fellow champion,' he said with a convincing smile. 'I'm leaving from here, so just write down the information, make it out to Daphne and Tracey, and I'll make sure it gets to them. Just don't tell them I told you to do this.'

'Why not?' Krum asked suspiciously.

'It's complicated, but you know what's it's like being famous.'

A knowing look flashed onto Krum's face as he nodded his comprehension. He scribbled on a piece of parchment, folded it up and handed it to Harry. They wished each other well and Krum departed, leaving Dumbledore the only one left.

'Well, how was your first experience as Harry?' Dumbledore asked.

'You saw them, that was a bigger circus than I thought,' he replied.

'I don't think you fully grasp the impact they perceive you've had on their lives, so don't judge them too harshly. And, am I correct to presume you won't be able to continue the speaking Spanish ruse,' he added with a twinkling eye.

'Yeah, that was all of it. I realized that my accent would be more than I wanted to talk about today. So I improvised. Am I going to have to talk to people much as Harry Potter?'

'There will be press conferences after each of the events, I imagine you will have no shortage of questions thrown your way.'

'I'm gonna actually need to work on my accent,' Cody acknowledged.

'Well, I already notice a little difference, so a little bit of concentration and I have all the faith that you will manage just fine. Now, you can take the floo to Professor McGonagall's office and alter your appearance, it is just about time for dinner. Good evening Har—Cody.'

That night he stopped by the owlery on his way to Astronomy and tied up the note, giving the owl his instructions. He was really excited to see the reaction of the two girls. It was no big secret that Krum was a Durmstrang student, and anybody who followed Quidditch was hoping to be able to meet him, forget the chance to actually fly with him.

The next morning Cody caught a glimpse of another funny headline—

The-Boy-Who-Lived Internationally

By: Rita Skeeter

It appears that Britain's great magical hero has spent significant portions of his life away from our beautiful shores. Though we received no official confirmation from our contacts in Barcelona and Madrid, there were many who confirmed recognizing the person photographed as Harry Potter at the Weighing of the Wands. The fact that Mr. Potter only responded in Spanish to our harmless interview questions only seems to substantiate the claims that he spent much of his life in the land of Don Quixote. You can be sure your untiring reporter will have an interpreter at the ready for our next conversation so you, the people of Magical Britain, can get to know your boy hero.

He looked up just in time to see the post delivered. He spotted his designated owl land right between Daphne and Tracey. Tracey was engaged in some conversation, so Daphne opened the note and began reading. After a moment she began smacking Tracey repeatedly on the arm. He couldn't hear what Tracey said, but he could imagine it, "stop it! What are you slapping me for?!" Daphne shoved the note in front of Tracey, who quickly read it and turned back to Daphne with her mouth wide open.

They started looking around, only a few Durmstrang students even took meals in the Hall, and Krum was never one of them. Their little outburst had drawn the attention of quite a few people and they caught Cody's eye as they scanned the room. He scrunched his eyebrows to give an inquisitive look and Daphne tilted her head toward the door as she and Tracey began to stand up from their table. He met up with them just outside the doors and walked out to the courtyard where they wouldn't be overheard.

'What's got TouchDown all excited?' he asked coyly.

'We've created a monster,' Daphne teased with a little sigh.

'You created the monster,' Tracey shot back.

'Ok ok, what's the news?' Cody interrupted their minor spat.

'Krum invited us to go fly with him and his mates,' Daphne responded, bouncing up and down, barely containing her excitement.

'I take it that's a big deal or something.' He played it off like he had no concept of the magnitude of this.

'A big deal?! He's the consensus number one Seeker in the world right now!' Tracey cried.

'Ok, ok, so you get to fly with a famous guy. Hope you are up to snuff,' he said with a smile.

'Who cares if he flies circles around us, which he probably will,' Tracey added.

'Well, if it's half as fun as you are making it out to be, you should have a great time,' Cody said, genuinely happy for his friends.

That evening he was reading more about the Animagus transformation. He had made it through the pages of theory, having done well at understanding what was behind the spell. Now, the first part of the process was getting in touch with your magic since the transformation almost always took place without a wand, that part would be easy for him. There were descriptions of their attempts to do simple tasks without a wand, such as shutting a door. It was funny to read of their struggles and imagine the scene playing out in a room like the one he was currently in. Apparently some people were able to discover what they would transform into at this point, others wouldn't know until their first transformation, or anywhere in between. And as far as the Marauders could tell, there wasn't a clear reason for the discrepancy.

He saw at the bottom of this page; "Peter - rat." That sparked his recollection of things Dumbledore had told him about his dad's friend. He wanted to know what the others transformed into, so he skipped ahead, looking for some sort of list. He finally found it on the last page of the Animagus information:

James - Stag - Prongs

Peter - Rat - Wormtail

Sirius - Grim - Padfoot

Remus - ? - Moony

He recognized the nicknames from the map and later entries in the journal, but Remus didn't have an animal associated with his name. And Cody had never heard of a Grim before, so Padfoot didn't quite make sense either. Those were a couple puzzle pieces he would have to find some time to fit together. Time, where that would come from, he had no idea.

A/N - I must give credit to reviewer Kisame Hoshigaki for pointing out, by example, that I should be spelling TouchDown with a capital "D." I will fix this going forward.

And I'm striving for an update every Tuesday, so hopefully I can still keep up this pace when my writing time slows down.